Losing The War On Drugs Essays - Drug Control Law, War On Drugs

Losing The War On Drugs Losing the War on Drugs America is spending millions of dollars to run ad campaigns with teenage waifs smashing up the kitchen with frying pans, brain fried egg commercials, and other inaccurate and misleading ads put fear into our nations youth and adults alike. One such ad showed a flat line brain scan purportedly hooked up to a drug user. It was later proven that it was hooked up to nothing and most of our nations kids now know it. Seeing the Land of the Free turn into a nation that imprisons more of its citizens than any other industrialized nation on earth is neither effective or a good message to send our children. We are building 9 new prisons for every one new university( ). Which do you want built for your children? In this country, we are locked in war we simply cannot win. We strive to protect over 10,000 miles of border, against enemies who are driven by the lure of an obscene really resulted from this war is the overcrowding of prisons, the expansion of law and distrust. If its not obvious already, I am referring to the war on drugs. As time goes on, it becomes more and more evident that the war on drugs is as useless as officials, who use the war as a reelection tool. To study this problem, I visited government web pages for statistics and facts dealing with the war, and was surprised what I found. To most people the fiscal reasons for ending the war are the most convincing. For example, it costs over $30,000 per year to house a prisoner - this does not include processing and legal fees, only the actual prison costs - food, water, electricity and guards ( ). There are over 1.5 million non-violent drug law offenders in prison right now, and this number is increasing daily( ). That means we are spending a minimum of $45 billion per year keeping former tax-paying citizens, most of whom had jobs and were contributing to the economy in some way, locked up with murderers and rapists. When these people get out of jail, they will have criminal records, which will make it nearly impossible to get a decent job, and a grudge against the government and society in general. In addition, we spend $37 billion per year funding the police efforts and interdiction, and recent evidence suggests the CIA has been involved in drug-trafficking to fund its own private wars ().Currently there is over $150 billion worth of drug traffic that remains untaxed ( ).If you figure a tax rate of 15%, that is a total of $22.5 billion of taxes that America doesn't see. The bottom line? The US Treasury estimates America wastes a minimum of $104.5 billion per year fighting a war that can not be won ( ), while crime rates continue to rise (because of the huge profits made possible by the risks involved in the drug trade as drugs remain illegal), and the quality of education, medical care and environmental protection falls due to lack of money in the budget. There are also moral dilemmas in declaring war on drugs and their users. Firstly, drug use or abuse is a medical and social problem not a criminal problem, yet we think we're solving the problem by throwing people in jail. The logic seems to be, maybe if we just take their life away, confiscate all of their personal property, ruin their reputation and self-respect, put them in jail with the worst elements of society - murderers, thieves and rapists, where they will most likely be beaten and/or raped repeatedly they will see the error of their ways. Not a very enlightened sentiment. Also bear in mind, nicotine, caffeine and alcohol are all drugs. Nicotine is one of the most addictive drugs known to man, behind substances like heroin. Cigarettes kill over 300,000 people every year. Alcohol kills over 120,000 people every year ( ).Alcohol has been linked to men beating their wives and children. In contrast, marijuana has a recorded history that dates back over 4000 years, and has never killed anyone in the direct way alcohol does ( ). The DEA's own Administrative Law Judge, after reviewing the evidence, called marijuana ...one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man... ( ). It's been said that the first casualty in any war is truth. That sentiment is seen nowhere as clearly as in the

Conrail Case Study Essays

Conrail Case Study Essays Conrail Case Study Essay Conrail Case Study Essay The Railroad revolution in the united States began in the early 1 sass. The developed infrastructure was used for freight transportation business. In the mid-sass the industry experienced explosive growth, followed by significant consolidation in 1870. The rail road companies initiated expansion through acquisitions in attempt to reduce marginal costs and increase their market share. As a result of this competition, a number of cartels were formed; therefore the federal government intervened and established regulation on railroad mergers, infrastructure construction and divestment. On the other hand, the government initiated enormous investments in highway infrastructure, which resulted in the emerging of the trucking industry. Together with innovations in motor and tire technologies, the trucking industry began gaining significant market share of the freight transportation business from the rail road companies. As a result, the six largest railroads in the Northeast filed for bankruptcy. In response to the failures, the Congress passed the Staggers Rail Act of 1980 in order to deregulate the railroad industry, which resumed the mergers and acquisitions activity. The following analysis will investigate the economics of the offer for Consolidated Rail Corporation (Conrail) by CSS Corporation (CSS) and Norfolk Southern Corporation (Norfolk). The stand-alone bidders, CSS and Norfolk would value the target, Conrail, based on its fundamentals, however if both bidders are present they would enter price wars and legal battles, therefore this would inflate the offered price for the target. In particular the acquirers have to take into account of the opportunity cost of losing the bidding war (I. E. Going significant proportion of their revenue going forward) as calculated in Question 3. According to our analysis, the value of opportunity cost of losing the bid war can be as high as 13% of total offer price (calculated in SQ). In this case, although the synergy impact between Norfolk and Conrail is lower compared to that with CSS, the value of opportunity cost of Norfolk losing the bid is significantly higher, which brings Norfolk potential offer pric e higher than that of CSS (1 16. 84 vs.. 114. 36) -? calculated in SQ. If they were stand- alone bidders, Coxs potential offer price is significantly lower (105. 44), and Norfolk offer price is c. 102. However, since CSS, Conrail and Norfolk are in tauter market with high concentration of market power, believe the bidding war is naturally the product of this market structure. The following analysis would provide further details of the synergies of the potential deals. In 1 973, following the Regional Reorganization Act, the government established Conrail (the target), out of the remains of the six bankrupt, Northeastern railroads. The company became the 2nd largest in the region and it was privatized in 1987, via PIP (the largest in LOS history at the time). On 15 October, 1996 the CEO of CSS announced $8. Ban merger with Conrail. Due to he friendly nature of the offer, both management boards claimed significant synergies, including operations improvement, cost efficiencies and compatible cultures. This horizontal merger would create value by consolidating overlapping operations. CSS, the largest company in the East (freight transportation market share 38. %) operated 1 8,645 track miles and 29,537 employees. Conrail possessed 29. 4% of the Eastern freight transportation market with 1 0, 701 track miles and 23,51 0 employees. The network expansion would link Midwestern, Northeastern CSS cities with Canadian cities; therefore the CSS-Conrail company would also capitalize on North American Free Trade Agreement NONFAT(1 994). The merger CSS-Conrail would result in significant operating synergies, in particular in completeness of the distribution network. Although Coxs had important presence in the railroad business, the company also provided diversified transportation services, including ocean container shipping, barging and contract logistics services. The combination of intermediate services (transportation of truck trailers and container by rail-car) and network expansion would result in higher operation efficiency to compete with the trucking industry. In addition, he maritime and the railroad presence of the merged company would result in economies of scope. The universal container would promote better branding and it would open the business to international trade. The industry consolidation and the merger of CSS and Conrail would create the 2nd largest company in US and the largest in the Eastern region; therefore the company would increase its market power in the freight transportation business, gaining revenues from its competitors Norfolk and the trucking industry companies. The financial synergies of the deal would lead to improved economies of scale in financing. The size of the merged firm would increase the debt capacity and tax debt shield, therefore dilute financing costs. Although the management of both CSS and Conrail were convinced in the success Of this merger, individually the companies were the least efficient (higher operating ratio) among the three leading railroad companies in the East. This potential weakness could result in a concern about the management synergies of the deal. Following the merger announcement of $8. Ban of CSS-Conrail in 1996, the third largest railroad company in the Eastern region, Norfolk proposed a hostile offer of $9. Bin for Conrail. The concerns of a potential merger between CSS and Conrail would have significant implications for the transportation system and for the shipping public, which would pose a serious threat to Norfolk market share. Although the operating synergies for Norfolk-Conrail would be of a similar nature, I. E. Horizontal merger resulting in higher market share, expanded rail network, increased revenues and cost reduction, the bidder could offer stronger management synergies. Norfolk was recognized by the industry specialist as the most efficient (lowest operating ratio) and best managed railroad in the united States. In addition, Norfolk would have used cash as a payment method, which suggests that the company would borrow money, therefore benefit from higher Tax Shield. The case states that the bidder was backed by a consortium of banks, ready to fund the acquisition. This suggests that Norfolk has good access to the capital markets. Given the presence of the two competitors, CSS and Norfolk, the merger with Conrail resulted in bidding wars and legal battles. To close a good deal, the created value from the merger should exceed the costs, premium paid and transfer to other parties (source Lecture Notes FEMME): AAA + AP + C The bidding war would inflate the share price of the target, therefore would increase significantly the premium paid AP. From 14 October 1996 to 16 January 1997, the blended value of the CSS offer per share increased by 15% from $89. 07 to SSL 02. 16. On the other hand, Norfolk bid also increased by to $115. 00 per share in cash. In addition, the legal battles against the CSS-Conrail mergers increased the cost associated with organizing the deal C. The length of the price wars also resulted in decreased stock prices of the bidders and an increase of the targets stock price. Question 2 Deals Not Chosen: Santa Fee pacific (Jinn pacific) and Kansas City Southern are not taken because these offers did not go through. Therefore, the accepted value of the target companies was not determined, hence very biased: Potential synergies were probably rather biased since these bids were not accepted by the target Fundamental value of the target was probably undervalued since these bids were rejected Control premium was probably not correctly captured in the bid price Deals Chosen: Santa Fee Pacific (Burlington Northern), Chicago and North Westerner, Southern Pacific are chosen because: They are completed deals Both the targets and acquirers are from same industry of Conrail, and I would assume that they have the same risk exposure to the economy and industry The deal dates are within recent past Company sizes are closer to the target company in term of total asset value However, please note that the % operating synergy of chosen deals are significantly higher than that of either CSS or Norfolk Southern s deals, the derived equity price for Contrails deal is likely to be significantly lower due to lower synergy effects. Since we do not have any deals with similar synergy effects as Conrail, would chose these three deals to value Conrail. Multiples Not Chosen: Offer price per PEPS and Book Value as a Multiple of offer price are not used because of the following reasons: Both PEPS and book value are highly affected by accounting decision and standards (GAPS vs.. FIRS) adopted by companies, which make the multiples on these very hard to be compared across companies Both PEPS and book value can sometimes be negative if negative earnings are sustained over long period of time PEPS is affected by capital structure, which IS vastly different across firms. This characteristic makes the offer price multiple on this item not very useful to identify value of there firms Both PEPS and book value can be manipulated by the company management Book Value does not reflect the intangible side of the business such as employee skills, brand name etc. Book Value reflects the assets on historical basis, making it very hard to compare across companies with different asset ages due to high inflation and many major technological advances over time PEPS is not stable since it is affected by the business cycle, and/or one-off events (asset sale, debt write-offs etc.. The offer price and book value are not consistent with each other since the price is net cost of bet, however, book value includes debt Enterprise value/Sale multiple is not used because of the following reasons: Sale is quite distant from the bottom line of the business since it does not capture cost structure of the business, compared to EBITDA or Free Cash How Sale does follow business cy cle, which make it hard to compare across business Multiples Chosen: Enterprise Value/Belted multiple is chosen because: Consistent between numerator and denominator since both of them are pre- debt measures. EBITDA is earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization, whereas Enterprise value includes both debt and equity This ultimate is not affected by differences in capital structure across firms EBITDA is the least affected items in the financial statement by the accounting standards EBITDA is closest item to Free Cash Flow, which can be used to indicate quality of earnings EBITDA is usually positive as well, especially in the railway case where depreciation tends to be high due to asset intensive Since the question does not state the timing of the takeover, I would assume that the takeover time is SQ 1996 As offs 1996, the long term debt is $2094 million (Exhibit 6), and the cash amount is $33 million. Therefore net debt mount as of SQ 1996 32061 million The EBITDA (last SQ) is 1017 (Exhibit 6) The number of fully diluted shares outstanding is 90,500,000 at acquisition Below is the summary of the valuation by multiples: The multiple valuation method gives a range of Contrails value between $73 and S 124, with the average value of $104 per share Question 3 Part a) Valuation of Conrail Growth Rate: In response to the failures, Congress passed the Staffers Rail Act of 1 980, a deregulatory act that gave railroads the ability to set prices in competitive markets, abandon profitable lines and pursue merger and acquisition. This has had major impacts on the market between 1980 and 1995, where companies significantly restructured their businesses with better dispatching system, cutting cost program, and abandoning unprofitable lines. Since the Act came into force in 1980, I would assume that the impact Of the program was not as extensive in 1 sass, and the Contrails growth was a sustainable one rather than event-driven growth post 1995. In addition, since the market is already rather mature, I would assume that inflation is to be used for projecting future sustainable growth of Conrail, which is 3% Appendix 6) Risk Free Rate: since the cash flow of Conrail is ongoing concern with indefinite cash flow horizon, hence the duration of cash flow will be rather high. Using Asset Liability duration matching, I would assume that 30 year bond is the one that have the most similar duration profile as Contrails cash flow. Therefore the risk free rate I would use to value Conrail in this case is 6. 3% Timing: since the timing is not indicated in question I would assume that the timing of the valuation exercise as of SQ 1 996 and no takeover activities or announcements have happened Marginal Tax Rate: 35% is assumed (Exhibit b) Market Return: 14. 1 % is the average annual return for S index (Source: Bloomberg) Cost of equity: I would assume that the current leverage ratio will remain the same going forward The current Conrail beta will remain the same as 1. 30. Assuming the market is the efficient and satisfying all the CAMP assumptions, I use CAMP to derive the cost of equity. Re=6. 83% + 1. 30 (14. 1% 6. 83%) = 16. 28% Equity Market Capitalization: is the price pre-bid (as Of 14/10/1996) (assuming the remaining the same due to no activity) multiplied by the number of shares in the market (77,628,000) (Exhibit 2). Equity market capitalization is $5,51 1 Leverage Ratio as of SQ 201 6: assuming the leverage ratio is constant going forward and the leverage ratio is net debt / (Equity market capitalization) = 206115511. 588 = 37. 3% Debt beta: since the debt leverage ratio is rather low, I would assume that debt beta equals O UN- levering Contrails Beta: Unlearned beta levered beta / (1+ ratio) 1. 3 / (1 + 0. 65 * 0. 373) = 1. 046 Identifying interest rate of the debt: assume that the debt rating can be identified using the interest coverage ratio. Below is the table from ONLY Stern (http://pages. Stern. You. Due/-?dammar/New_Home_page/ dateable/ratings. HTML) Assuming that rating of the debt is determined using the last year (1996) for rating going forward. The credit rating of Conrail Bond is A, hence its interest rate is 7. 71 % Assumption about the credit rating of Contrails Debt: the future merger between Conrail and either of CSS and Norfolk Southern likely to improve the Coverage Ratio, hence likely to improve the credit rating of the debt. However, since the success of the merger really depends on Surface Transportation Board decision of competitive access to certain key markets. Hence, from the perspective of the bank, it is highly risky and the bank is not likely to upgrade the debt rating. Also, since after the merger, both acquirer and acquirer become one company, the bank is likely to kick at both to decide the debt rating. Since this involves lots of assumptions, would assume that no financial synergy is achieved by the merger with either acquirer. Standalone Equity Value of Conrail: assuming that the market is efficient, and the market price of Conrail fully reflects the fundamental of business. Equity Value of Conrail in this case is then $71 , which is on 14th October 1 996 the day prior to CSS-Conrail announcement. A CSS Merger Growth Rate: assuming the synergy cash flow grows at the inflation rate of 3% beyond year 2000 (as explained above) Discount Rate for the merger CSS: I would assume that there is no debt attached to the synergy. Also, since I do not have the information CSS share volume, the unlearned beta of CSS cannot be calculated. Therefore, I would assume the unlearned beta is the same for both CSS and Conrail. Hence, I would use the Contrails cost of unlearned equity to value the merger as below: = 6. 83% + 1. 046 * (14. 10% 6. 83%) = 14. 43% Valuation Without opportunity cost of losing the bid Terminal Value as of 1 996 = [488. 80 * 1. 03 / (0. 1443 factor of year 5 = $2,245 million Opportunity cost of losing the bid Terminal value as of 1 996 [127. 4 * 1. 03 / (0. 1458 factor of year 5 = -585. 14 million Value of equity value/share of Conrail from the point of view of CSS: Pre-merger: $71 synergy: (871. 02 + 2245) / 90. 5 = $34. 4 Opportunity Cost: (222. 7 + 585. 14)/90. 5 = $8. 92 Total Offer Price: SSL 14. 6 B Norfolk Southern Merger not have the information Norfolk Southern share volume, the unlearned beta of Norfolk Southern cannot be calculated. Therefore, I would assume the unlearned beta is the same for both Norfolk Southern and Conrail. Hence, would use the Contrails cost of unlearned equity to value the merger as below: = 6. 83% 1. 046 * (14. 10% 6. 83%) = 14. 43% Terminal Value as of 1 996 = [442 * 1. 03 / (0. 1443 0. 03)]*Discount factor of year 5 52030 Opportunity cost Of losing the bid Terminal Value as of 1 996 = [-208 * 1. 03 / (0. 1443 0. 03)]*Discount factor of year 5 = -$955. 33 Value of equity value/share of Conrail from the point of view of CSS: Pre-merger: $71 Synergy: (776. 6+2030) / 90. 5 $31 opportunity cost: (387. 95 + 955. 33)/90. = $14. 84 Total Offer Price: SSL 16. 84 Please note: the equity values of Conrail calculated above are absolute maximum value that both CSS and Norfolk Southern will pay for Conrail since the gain in revenue from competitor is highly risky, subject to the decision of SST B. Technically, the discount rate should be higher and probability should be applied on this portion of incremental synergy. Part b) Contrails Market Capitalization as a standalone value Pros Since Conrail is rather large company, I would assume that it is w ell covered by analysts and practitioners in the financial market. Hence, it can be safely assumed the market is efficient and the price of Conrail is fundamentally reflected in its price Easy and quick way to determine the value of Conrail Cons The market is highly fluctuated dependent on Stage Of the market Ignore the control premium since the stock price does not assume the control power of the stock owner There might be information available to the acquirers but the market is not aware of. Therefore the market price does not reflect the information Question 4 The stand-alone bidders, CSS and Norfolk would value the target, Conrail, based on its fundamentals, however if both bidders are present they would enter price wars and legal battles, therefore this would inflate the offered price for the target. In particular the acquirers have to take into account of the opportunity cost of losing the bidding war (I. E. Losing significant proportion of their revenue going forward). According to our analysis, the value Of opportunity cost of losing the bid war can be as high as 13% of total offer price (calculated in SQ). In this case, although the synergy impact between Norfolk and Conrail is lower compared to that with CSS, the value of opportunity cost of Norfolk losing the bid is significantly higher, which brings Norfolk potential offer price higher than that of CSS (116. 84 vs.. 114. 36) calculated in SQ. If they were stand-alone bidders, Coxs potential offer price is significantly lower (105. 44), and Norfolk offer price is c. 02. However, since CSS, Conrail and Norfolk are in mature market with high concentration of market power, I believe the bidding war is naturally the product of this market structure. Question 5 CSS Friendly Offer: Two-tiered transaction of the purchase 90. 5 Mil lion Conrail Shares (acquisition shares) Inc. Apron. 1. 3 million common shares owned by management and directors. 1 CSS to pay USED 92. 5 per share on cash for 0% of Contrails acquisition shares (Front-end offer) to be completed in 2 stages (regulatory reasons) a Stage 1: CSS to acquire 19. 7% of the shares (17. 86 million shares at USED 92. 5 per share) b stage 2: CSS to acquire 20. % of the shares (after shareholders approved the deal) The reason why the front-end offer was split as such is given Pennsylvania Business Corporation Law in which Conrail Shareholders would be required to opt-out of the Pennsylvania Statue before CSS could purchase more than 19. 9% of the shares. For the opt-out vote, CSS had 17. 86 million shares from the first-stage tender offer, management had 1. Million shares and employees trust had 13 million shares. Since management was in favor of the merger, parties in support had 35. 5% of the acquisitions shares and would require another 14. 6% to vote in f avor of theopt-out for it to pass. Following shareholders approval it would be possible to complete the second cash tender offer. 2 Following cash tender offers, CSS would exchange shares in ratio of 1. 8561 9:1. (CSS:Conrail) for the remaining 60% of Contrails Shares (back-end- offer). The back end offer is calculated by multiplying the ratio with the Coxs closing price on the bid announcement day. A Based on closing price on the id announcement day, blended value of CSS was USED 86. 77 per share (23. 5% premium over Contrails pre-announcement stock price of USED 71. 00) b 06/11/1996 CSS increased front-end offer. In 19/1 2/1996 CSS increased back- end offer. 16/01/1 997 was the eve of shareholder vote The blended value in Exhibit 8 is calculated by weighted average affront-end and back-end offers: The blended value was adjusted in 19/12/1 996 and 16/01/1 997 to reflect the completion of Coxs first stage tender offer. Blended value idea is to have a single value of the combination of both the front-end and back-end offers given they were done with different set of eights (40% and 60% respectively). Its major limitation is that it calculates both Front-end and Back-end offers on the same day ignoring the time element. The time element is essential for a correct valuation given there are a set of events that need to happen in between the first cash tender offer from the front-end offer until the back-end offer and hence both would happen on a different set of dates. The back-end offer is sensitivity to the time because it is reliant on prices given its proposition to exchange of shares based on a ratio. Question 6 CSS intended to take control of Conrail through a combination of financial orientations, deals with management and limiting Contrails susceptibility to other acquisitions. By definition, the most important aspect of the aqua session was through the ownership of Conrail stock. However, in order to make the acquisition easier for CSS, CSS wanted to control access to Conrail. CSS tried to do this by placing barriers to prevent Conrail from back-tracking from the deal, such as: A breakup fee of $mm in the event Conrail chose not to proceed with the takeover. The breakup fee is a crude and obvious deterrent for Conrail, as well as for any new potential bidder. It would no longer make sense for Conrail to pull out of the agreement unless it discovered it would be more than $mm worse off if the deal went ahead -? which was highly unlikely. The deterrent for any new bidder is that they would now have to beat Coxs offer by $mm in order to become more attractive for Contrails management to choose their new bid. Offer of 15. Mm newly issued lock-up shares to CSS at the same price as the initial Front-End tender. This reduces many of the fees and complications associated with purchases on the stock exchange. It also means that this 20% of stock would not be subject to shareholder whims and s a certainty to CSS regarding how it will obtain 20% of the required shares. It made sense to exercise the option only if shareholders voted to opt-out of the fair value statute (described below), because if shareholders did not opt out of the fair value statute, common stock to the value of 20% of Conrail would have been needlessly created. If CSS purchased shares that were already outstanding, they could simply resell them on the open market, and Conrail would not have created these additional shares. Conrail suspends Poison Pill option to offer new shares at 50% discount in order to protect itself against an unsolicited takeover. This mitigates one of Contrails biggest threats against Coxs ownership. Should there be a change in management that is no longer willing to proceed with the takeover, the poison pill option will no longer be available to deploy. A no-talk clause, which prevents Conrail from entertaining other bids. This clause is valid unless it interferes with the boards fiduciary duty to shareholders (and if it seems unlikely that CSS would be able to complete the deal). Conrail board members, to an extent, had license to define Fiduciary Duty as they pleased, and since the board had already agreed to the CSS bid, Norfolk would have to replace board members in favor of the deal. This would be difficult, since Conrail had a classified board, which meant only a third were up for election each year so it could take years before the decision to go with CSS was overturned by which time the CSS deal would have been consummated. Further complications to the deal were Pennsylvania Business Laws. Coxs bid to take control of Conrail included a Front End offer to purchase at $11 0 per share with cash, 40% of the shares it needed to take control. The Back End offer was to exchange the remaining 60% of the shares it needed, or shares in the new company at the rate of 1. 85619:1. 0 plus a further $16 of new convertible preferred stock. This created a blended value to the Back End of $105. 07 per share. The difference in prices (SSL 10 vs. $105. 07) meant that the bid was subject to a Pennsylvania fair value statute, which stated that an acquirer must tender all shares at the same price. An acquirer cannot tender at different prices, unless shareholders explicitly vote to opt out of the fair value statute. CSS now had to persuade Conrail customers to vote to opt out of this statute. It attempted to do this by running adverts in financial newspapers hampering its proposed takeover.

Three Gorges Dam in China Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Three Gorges Dam in China - Research Paper Example â€Å"The massive project sets records for number of people displaced (more than 1.2 million), number of cities and towns flooded (13 cities, 140 towns, 1,350 villages), and length of reservoir (more than 600 kilometers)† (Three Gorges Dam). its location. China's huge Three Gorges Dam hydro-power project could spark a "catastrophe" unless accumulating environmental threats are quickly defused, senior officials and experts have warned. The dam, which is located in Hubei province in south-western China, is the world's biggest hydro-electric project. Inaugurated in 2006 it began generating electricity in 2003(Chinese government fears Three Gorges Dam â€Å"catastrophe) Three Gorges Dam has caught the headlines of media recently because of the huge concerns about the environmental impacts it may generate in Chinese territory. Environmentalists, not only from China, but also from other parts of the world unanimously opposed this project because of the huge threats it may cause to wild animals and to the environment. At the same time, Chinese authorities describe it as a landmark which has proved the technological advancements or dominance achieved by China. Moreover, Chinese authorities claim that the success of this project was achieved through the careful blending of social, engineering and economic capitals. They also argued that this dam is the greatest victory man achieved over nature because of the complexities involved in the construction of this dam. Amidst all such exaggerated or colourful claims, many people in the world are looking at this project suspiciously because of the environmental impacts it can cause not only to China, but also to the neighbouring nations. Erosion, landslides etc are some of the major threats other than the threats to the habitats of wild animals, as a result of the construction of this dam. This paper analyses the reasons for the construction of this dam, arguments of ecological organizations against it, alternate option s which could have been used, future plans of Chinese authorities to construct such dams etc. Chinese authorities labelled Three Gorges dam as a multipurpose dam because of the multiple utilities it can provide to the public and the nation. The entire world is currently facing severe energy shortages and it is necessary for each country to find out alternate energy sources since most of the energy sources available on earth are non-renewable in nature. For example, bio fuel or petroleum is a non-renewable energy source which is used extensively all over the world. According to some estimates, the available oil stocks may be used up within another 30 or 40 years time and it is necessary to find out alternate energy sources. Solar energy is a non-renewable energy source; however, cheap technologies have not been developed yet to exploit solar energy. Hydroelectric power is a renewable energy source and it is necessary for a big country like China to exploit such power as much as possi ble since alternate options are limited. Another reason for the construction of this dam is the increasing threats of floods. It should be noted that because of global warming and subsequent atmospheric temperature rise, huge ice blocs in the polar region are melting and as a result of that the probabilities of flood increasing day by day. Yangtze River is extremely vulnerable to flood threats and in

Incarcerations effects on families Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Incarcerations effects on families - Term Paper Example Now there is a new category for incarceration, debtors, even for very small debts. In a bid for increased corporate welfare, businesses in some states (Illinois, Georgia, Louisiana, Ohio, Washington, for example) enlist the police, sheriff, and court system to imprison those who owe money and are not paying it quickly enough. A recent news article told about the case of Lisa Lindsay, a breast cancer survivor who ignored a $280 medical bill she was told was in error and not owed. A collection agency got jurisdiction over it and Illinois state troopers took her to jail in handcuffs (Sherter, 2012). In more than one third of the states in America, many poverty-stricken seniors, veterans, mothers, fathers, and the unemployed have been locked up in prison for the flimsiest of reasons, being unable to settle even the tiniest of debts. The marginalized poor are being increasingly criminalized. It is not the assumption of this paper that incarceration is totally without merit. There are peop le whose thinking is so distorted and whose actions are so dangerous that society must be protected from victimization. On the other hand, a rapidly rising prison population, unrepresentative of socioeconomic and racial parameters of the general population, and in comparison to the incarceration/population ratios of other countries, suggests a possibility that the USA criminal justice system is failing to solve crime through incarceration, and is worsening the situation. Incarcerating a person who is found to have broken the law removes a single threat from the street, perhaps, but there are less visible outcomes this paper intends to consider. Incarcerated prisoners, on any given day, represent more than 500,000 families being impacted by incarceration (Hairston, 1991). Those families need to be strongly bonded and assisted by personal and community networks. Maintaining strong family ties has been found to support prisoner and family mental health, increase the probability that th e prisoner will have a family to return to after prison, and reduce the probability that the prisoner, once released, will have to return to prison for probation violations or other criminal activity (Hairston, 1991). In support of strengthening family ties, prisons are beginning to implement more generous family communication policies, marital and private family visits, children’s centers in the prison, and prison visitor hospitality houses. Families of prisoners are organizing to advocate for conditions and services that support prison families (Hairston, 1991). A lot more is needed, however, not only to provide a strong family network for the prisoner, but especially to counter the profound negative effects of incarceration on other members of the family. The effects of parent incarceration on children is a significant social issue because 56% of all state prisoners have minor children, and the majority of incarcerated adults are, in fact, state prisoners (Lengyel, 2006). Separation from an incarcerated father, the stigma attached to the incarceration, and deceptions played on the child around that incarceration have reportedly been associated with emergent aggressive and antisocial behavior, particularly in the sons of

Comparing Two Shows Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Comparing Two Shows - Essay Example The show has had a very successful run, it is presently in its tenth season, this goes to show how popular the show has been thus far. â€Å"There are six main characters and each of them has their own traits. Almost all the characters have traits which would make them look funny, it is a sitcom and the characters must appear funny to be able to convince the audience.† (Television and Gender Roles) â€Å"Everybody love Raymond is another very popular TV show which has been very well liked and followed.† (Everybody loves lazy stereotyping of male roles)The concept of Gender roles must be noticed in this serial, Debra the wife of Raymond is always in the kitchen making food either for her husband or for her family, this goes to show that women are always in the kitchen spending their time cooking for their families. Marxist feminism also comes into play here, Karl Marx argues that women must be paid for domestic labor; this is what Marxist feminism is all about. Another v ery important thing which must be noticed in this show is that Debra is the one who always packs the lunch of her children; Raymond never bothers to do this. It goes to show how irresponsible at times men are towards their families. â€Å"The gender roles presented in these serials are presented very rightly after doing comprehensive research.† (Gender and Media Representation) Gilman called herself a humanist, she was deadly against exploitation of women, our society is still following the patriarchal ways and exploiting the women. She was not very comfortable accepting the theory of evolution laid down by Charles Darwin, the theory of evolution portrays man in the driving seat and gives less importance to women. Both the sexes are equally important and no favoritism of any sort can be done. She argued that women had to rely excessively on their sexual assets, they had to please their husband to ensure their survival, this is very true and beyond the pale. What a pity this r eally is. Grounded for life is another very popular TV show which is well liked by the audience. In one episode the husband decides to buy a car without even bothering to ask his wife, marriage is an institution and it is the right of the wife to be well informed about all the decisions made by her husband. This again reflects the reality; there are countless husbands who do not bother asking their better halves before making an important decision. Dad goes to work and Mom takes care of the household chores, it is unacceptable if a man packs lunch for his children, it is unacceptable if a man does the dishes. It is incorrect if a man asks his wife before making a big decision, buying a car is quite a big decision and a wife must know of this big decision before hand. Perkins Gilman was a very famous American sociologist who wanted to bring about change in the society, it is our duty to share the workload with women, and it is not a man’s world anymore. Women must be given res pect and their workload must be shared. It is very important to understand the responsibilities of living in a family, gender stenotypes must be abolished and we must awake to a new and a better world. Our society is becoming more and more men-oriented society, women have never been given enough respect and this is perhaps why so many marriages never workout. In a relationship both the partners have to make sacrifices and both should complement each other but this can only happen when there is perfect understanding and coordination between the pair of

Copper Ion Effects On Mung Beans Germination Environmental Sciences Essay

Copper Ion Effects On Mung Beans Germination Environmental Sciences Essay This experiment was planned to investigate the effect of different concentrations on copper ion on seed germination of mung beans. The experiment uses seed germination as a parameter in the presence of varying concentration of copper ion solution (Cu2+) in copper (ii) sulphate (CuSO4). Solutions used were 300 ppm, 200 ppm, 100 ppm, 75 ppm, 50 ppm, 25 ppm, and 0 ppm and the seeds were all soaked for 6 hours, and then sown on Petri dishes with a wetted cotton layer. The seeds were watered with the same volume of Cu2+ solution of respective concentrations. The numbers of seeds germinated were recorded after 20 hours, and the germination rate was calculated. Results showed that germination rate increases as concentration decreases. An analysis was done using the Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient (PMCC), and it showed a statistically significant negative linear relationship between concentration of Cu and germination rate as the calculated r-value was greater than critical va lue (Cr) at 5% significant level. Research and Rationale Plants as micronutrients require a number of heavy metals, which are found naturally in soil.13 However, the global buildup of metals in the environment is increasingly becoming a problem.1 Toxic metals continue polluting the biosphere by volcanoes, natural weathering of rocks, and by industrial activities such as combustion of fossil fuels and mining.2 Heavy metal pollution has accelerated since the beginning of the industrial revolution. Copper (Cu) is one of the main metal pollutants, and usually results from human activities such as mining and the use of fertilizers.4 Cu is an essential element needed in trace amounts in plants, about 4-30 ppm of the approximate dry weight in plants (Raven and Johnson 1999), associated with enzyme activity which catalyses the oxidative reactions in various metabolic pathways.(4) An excess causes a reduce in germination, growth, respiration, photosynthesis and also causes severe membrane decomposition.4 It becomes toxic as it interferes with the enzyme activity, acting as a non-competitive inhibitor, destructing the tertiary bonds in some enzymes, thus altering and inhibiting enzyme activity.4 Human life becomes at risk once these plants develop tolerance mechanisms against Cu, and when these plants are incorporated into our food chain.(2) Mung bean is part of the human food chain as it is a favourite ingredient in Asian food.5 It is commercially grown in many regions of Asia. An ability of it to become Cu tolerant would pose a high risk on human health due to Cu accumulation in the body.2 This investigation also serves to show the type of soils suitable for mung bean growth in agriculture. Soils contaminated by copper or near industries are deemed unsuitable. The seed- Vigna radiata, commonly known as mung beans was chosen as it has a short life cycle and is small, thus large numbers of the seeds can be used as not much space is taken. (487 Words) Germination rate, which is usually expressed in percentage, shows the number of seeds that is likely to germinate; based on a particular plant species.6 Germination is one of the most critical stages of development in a plants life cycle. It is at this stage where the plants are more susceptible to injuries, water stress or diseases. 7 Experimental Hypothesis The lower the concentration of Cu2+ in the solution, the greater the germination rate of mung beans. Null Hypothesis There is no correlation between the different concentrations of Cu2+ in the solution and the germination rate of mung beans. Variables: Manipulated variable : Different concentrations of Cu2+ from Cuso4. (ppm) Responding variable : Germination rate of mung beans (%) Fixed variables : Mass of Cuso4 (g) Volume of solution used for soaking (30 ml/beaker) and for moistening the cotton (50 ml/petri dish) Temperature Light Intensity Humidity (632 Words) Apparatus: Petri dishes Label stickers Weighing balance Dropper Beakers (600 ml) Volumetric flask (1000 ml) Measuring cylinders (100 ml, and 500 ml) Pipette Schott bottles Materials: 3.937g of Cuso4 Distilled water Mung bean seeds (A) Cotton Planning Number of seeds used: 15 The first trial was to determine the condition needed for germination. Three different conditions were identified- in the dark (inside a cupboard), normal laboratory conditions, and outside the laboratory (under normal environment). The seeds were soaked for an hour in distilled water and then sown on wetted cotton. For each condition, three replicates were prepared. The results were observed after 20 hours. (736 Words) Conditions Number of seeds Germinated Mean Number of Seeds Germinated Replicate 1 Replicate 2 Replicate 3 Laboratory 6 9 8 8 In the Cupboard 8 14 11 11 Garden 6 9 5 7 Table 1: Germination rate of seeds in different conditions Germination rate= Number of seeds germinated/Total number of seeds 100 The results showed that the seeds grown in the dark had the highest germination rate. This is in line with what has been written about the germination of mung beans in websites stating that mung beans germinate in darkness.5 Therefore, it was decided that further germination of the seeds would be carried out in the dark under room temperature of 25Â °C in the mornings and 22Â °C during night. The second trial was a combination to find out the most suitable duration to soak the seeds and the best concentrations needed to carry out the experiment. For starters, the concentrations decided were a range from 1000 parts per million (ppm), 750 ppm, 50 ppm, 250 ppm, 100 ppm and 0 ppm (distilled water). The stock solution of 1000 ppm was prepared by the following method. (929 Words) To make 1000 ppm of Cu using CuSo4.5H2o Molar Mass of CuSo4.5H2o= 249.5g Atomic weight of Cu=63.5g 1g of Cu in relation to molar mass of salt= 249.5/63.5 = 3.931g Hence, 3.931g is weighed out from CuSo4.5H2o and dissolved in 1000ml of distilled water to make a standard solution of 1000ppm of Cu.8 From the stock solution, the serial dilution method was applied to make a concentration of 750 ppm. From 1000 ml of the stock solution, 750 ml of the solution was diluted in 250 ml of distilled water in a volumetric flask, to make up 1000 ml of 750 ppm solution of Cu. To make up 500 ppm solution, 500 ml of stock solution was diluted in 500 ml of distilled water and so on. The duration to soak was set to one hour, three hours, six hours and 12 hours. The seeds were soaked in 6 beakers containing the different concentrations, and sown to germinate on Petri dishes. Wetted cotton was used, and the respective concentration of the solution the seeds were soaked in was used to wet the cotton. 15 soaked seeds of similar size were chosen to germinate in two replicates. (1125 Words) Concentration (ppm) Duration of Soaking (Hours) 1 3 6 0 A 10 8 10 B 11 10 10 Mean 11 9 11 Germination Rate (%) 73.3 60.0 73.3 100 A 5 6 13 B 2 2 12 Mean 4 4 13 Germination Rate (%) 26.7 26.7 86.7 250 A 0 5 2 B 0 4 6 Mean 0 5 4 Germination Rate (%) 0 33.3 26.7 500 A 0 0 4 B 0 0 5 Mean 0 0 5 Germination Rate (%) 0 0 33.3 750 A 0 0 0 B 0 0 0 Mean 0 0 2 Germination Rate (%) 0.0 0.0 0.0 1000 A 0 0 0 B 0 0 0 Mean 0 0 0 Germination Rate (%) 0.0 0.0 0.0 Table 2: Germination rate of seeds in different conditions soaked for different durations (1286 Words) Observations were made 20 hours later, and in concentrations of 1000 ppm and 750 ppm, no seeds germinated. 500 ppm was the highest concentration whereby seeds germinated while for 0%, the germination rate was 80%. The seeds that was soaked for six hours showed the highest seed germination rate for the concentrations whereby seeds did germinate. Therefore, it was decided that the best range of concentrations to be used included 0 ppm, and also a value slightly lower than 500 ppm, and the duration of soaking was 6 hours. For seeds soaking in 500 ppm solutions ad above, the seeds appeared slightly purplish, and some even turned black. The seeds germinated at concentration of 500 ppm had its roots stunted with necrotic tips. To ensure the results were more reliable statistically, the number of seeds to be used in the actual experiment was increased to 50 seeds per concentration instead of 15. The actual experiment also included two replicates, using similar methods to obtain more reliable results. The Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient (PMCC) was chosen to analyse the data obtained. Experimental Procedures A stock solution of 1000ppm of Cu2+ was prepared from 3.937g of Cuso4 (as indicated in the trial). The serial dilution method is used to prepare different concentrations of Cu2+ in Cuso4 solution. For example, 10 ml of 1000ppm solution was pipetted out and mixed with 990ml of distilled water in a 1000 ml volumetric flask to obtain a 10ppm solution, and so on. Besides 10 ppm, 25 ppm, 50 ppm, 75 ppm, 100 ppm, 200 ppm, and 300 ppm were prepared and stored in labeled Schott bottles. (1558 Words) At least a 150 seeds were chosen randomly and placed in a beaker to be soaked with a 300 ppm solution (50 ml) for six hours. Two Petri dishes were prepared and labeled A and B. Two layers of white cotton were placed in each Petri dish, spread evenly. The cottons were moistened with 300 ppm solution of the same volume (30 ml). 50 seeds of similar size were chosen and sown in each labeled Petri dish and placed inside the cupboard to germinate. Observation was made 20 hours after sowing. Germination was said to have occurred once the radicle was visibly extended from the surface of the seed for about a minimum of 5mm. The number of seeds germinated was determined, and the mean and the germination rate were calculated. Steps 2 to 8 were repeated for different concentrations- 200 ppm, 100 ppm, 75 ppm, 50 ppm, 25 ppm, and 0 ppm, and all results were recorded in Table 3, a graph was plotted and a PMCC test was used to analyse the data. Risk Assessment All glasswares, such as measuring cylinders and volumetric flask were handled with extra care as they can break easily and may then cause injuries. The soaked seeds were handled with gently as they are very fragile. While using the measuring cylinder, volumetric flask and pipette to measure the amount of solution needed, the eye-level was ensured to be perpendicular with the scale on those apparatus as to prevent parallax error. This was crucial while mixing the stock solution for a little difference may actually affect the percentages of all the other solutions. (1833 Words) Results Concentration (ppm) Number of Seeds Germinated Mean Number of Seeds Germinated Germination Rate (%) A B 0 49 50 50 100 25 46 48 47 94 50 44 45 45 90 75 40 38 39 78 100 15 13 14 28 200 7 10 9 18 300 7 9 8 16 Table 3: Germination of seeds in different concentrations Calculating germination rate: = = = 78% (1910 Words) Statistical Analysis (1932 Words) The PMCC test was chosen to measure the strength of linear dependence between two variables-concentrations and germination rate. The correlation coefficient, r ranges from +1 to -1. A value of zero indicates no linear correlation between the said variables, while +1 indicates a linear equation explains the relationship between concentration and germination rate perfectly, with all the points from the data lying on a line for which germination rate increases as concentration increases. A value of -1 indicates that all points from the data lie on a line whereby germination rate decreases as concentration increases.9 x 0 25 50 75 100 200 300 ∑X=750 y 100 94 90 78 28 18 16 ∑Y=424 x2 0 625 2500 5625 10000 40000 90000 ∑x2= 148750 y2 10000 8836 8100 6084 784 324 256 ∑y2=34384 yx 0 2350 4500 5850 2800 3600 4800 ∑xy= 23900 SS (x) = = =68392.857 SS (y) = = =8701.714 SS (xy) = = = -21528.571 ( Words) The correlation coefficient, r, is found using the formula: = -0.8825 (negative indicating a negative correlation between variables) r = 0.8825 > 0.754 Cr for 5% confidence level. The analysis using PMCC proved a statistically significant negative linear relationship between the concentrations of Cu2+ in CuSO4 and germination rate, as the calculated r value was larger than Cr at 5% confidence level. Hence, null hypothesis is rejected and experimental hypothesis is accepted. A higher concentration of Cu2+ leads to a lower germination rate of mung beans. Data Analysis The statistical analysis using PMCC proved that low concentration of Cu did result in a greater germination rate of mung beans, as shown in Table 3 too which shows the number of seeds germinated after treatment with respective concentrations of Cu2+ in CuSO4 solutions for 20 hours. The table shows that only a very low concentration of Cu allows germination. Graph 1 illustrates the trend and relationship between the variables. It can be seen clearly that as the concentration of Cu2+ in CuSO4 increases, the rate of germination decreases. Distilled water recorded the highest germination at 100%, while the lowest germination rate was noted when the concentration used was 300 ppm. There is a great difference in germination rate from 75 ppm to 100 ppm, about 50%. Increase the concentration from 25 ppm to 50 ppm and 200 ppm to 300 ppm only showed a decrease in 4% and 2% respectively. This may one of the inconsistencies of the experiment. Distilled water, or 0 ppm acted as a control in this experiment. From the results obtained, all the seeds germinated when soaked in distilled water. From the trials, seeds soaked in distilled water did not germinate more than 80%, however in the actual experiment it was 100%. After much research, I concluded that the results obtained from the actual experiment was valid as it supports the results obtained from various other research published.1, 10 The inconsistencies that occurred may have been due to: Some of the seeds may have been already damaged (trials) and so germination was impossible The cotton layers used in 0 ppm during trials were too thick, and became dry fast, thus made it impossible for the seeds to absorb the water and enable germination in 20 hours. Mixing errors could have occurred causing the drop between 75 ppm and 100 ppm, as the concentrations of the solutions could have been higher than it was suppose to be. ( Words) Evaluation The degree of seed germination in the presence of Cu2+ is to some extent a measure of resistance of mung beans to this toxic metal.11 Germination, is a process said to occur when a dormant seed begins sprouting into a seedling, under the right growing conditions.14 This process is highly dependent on external and internal conditions. Light or darkness, temperature, water and oxygen and considered to be the important external conditions that may affect germination. Imbibition, the process by which water is taken up by the seeds, causes the soaked mung bean seeds to swell and start softening, thus the breaking of the seed coat.11, 6 This makes germination easier. Hydrolytic enzymes are activated (due to water), and these enzymes digest the food source in the seeds into chemicals, that are useful metabolically. 6, 7 Excess Cu is detrimental as it becomes toxic. It interferes with the enzyme activity, acting as a non-competitive inhibitor, destructing the tertiary bonds in some enzymes, thus altering and inhibiting enzyme activity.4 It combines with the thiol groups, breaking the hydrogen bonds and disulphide bridges holding the 3-D shape together (of an enzyme). In order to germinate, amylose is needed, and is metabolized by amylase. The interference of toxic level of Cu causes the inhibition of amylases, thus preventing the food store in the cotyledon to be broken down, depriving the embryo from carbohydrate needed for respiration and production of energy for germination.4 ( Words) There were some limitations in this experiment. The temperature of the surroundings is one of it. It was assumed that the temperature in the cupboard was to be 22 and 25 at night and morning respectively. However, along the day, the temperature could have fluctuated. This could have affected the germination process, as the time taken for germination to occur could have been longer. Besides, the humidity of the surroundings was also not measured and thought to be constant all the time. However, due to changes in weather (rain at night, hot sun in the mornings) during the time of experiment, there could have been changes in relative humidity and temperature too. Some of the seeds may have already been damaged but appeared normal. These seeds could have been sown for germination, thus it can be certain that the seeds that did not germinate were purely due to high toxic Cu levels or not. The use of a large sample had given enough replicates to support the conclusion for this experiment. The results are reliable as the experiment can be controlled and also repeated. This investigation only stressed on the effects of Cu on the germination of mung beans, without subjecting the seeds to different abiotic or biotic pressures. Modification could be made by comparing the, effects of other heavy metals such as Nickel, Cadmium and Lead on the germination of mung beans. Besides investigating the rate of germination only, the length of the radicle can measured (plant growth) to see the effects on growth of mung beans. The growth of plants may show a more visible change due to the toxic metals. Plus, other varieties of seeds such as sunflower, orca or cabbage can be used to test the levels of metal toxicity tolerance on other plants species. ( Words) Conclusion With reference to the results obtained and statistical analysis made, it can be concluded that the lower the concentration of Cu in the solution, the greater the germination rate of mung beans, Vigna radiata. This is because Cu is an enzyme, non-competitive inhibitor which alters and inhibits enzyme activity. Thus experimental hypothesis is accepted, while null hypothesis is rejected. Evaluation of Sources Source 7 and 13 are published books written by well-known authors in the scientific community. The source is reliable as it has been revised, recognized and undergone a series of editing before being published. Sources 1,2,3, 10 and 11 are scientific journals. Scholars wrote it and the journals have been peer-reviewed, and have a high level of scientific creditability. Therefore, these sources should contain valid information. Sources 4,5,6,8,9,12 and 14 are websites. These are sites that have been referral site to by many people and the information in it are also cited, thus it is reliable. ( Words) Appendix Figure The apparatus used to make the stock solution-500ml Measuring Cylinder, 100ml Measuring cylinder, 1000ml volumetric flask ( Words)

Essay --

Generic Strategy of Thermofisher Scientific R&D: Ever since they put the hold onto their industry they also believed to the fact that R&D is one such thing which can bring them apart from other competitors so they largely invested in it since the inception. In 2011, they spent approximately $340 million on R&D which helped them launching the Q Exactiveâ„ ¢ system, latest innovation in hybrid mass spectrometry. In 2010, they increased their total R&D investment by more than $40 million strengthened their leadership position in innovation. M&A: In 2012, they also invested $1.1 billion on complementary acquisitions that expanded their offering for their customers and strengthened their strategic position. In 2010, They invested then $600 million to complete 11 acquisitions that extrapolated their existing capabilities in promising technologies and markets such as New Zealand. With the acquisition of that region’s premier provider of laboratory chemicals and consumables, Lomb Scientific they capped off the year by announcing their acquisition of Dionex Corporation for $2.1 billion, which created an industry-leading chromatography offering for their customers. Geographical expansion: They expanded to different geographies like India, China etc which helped in pruning their cost structure and bring out competitive products in the market. Growth Strategy in Year 2004 In 2004, they made couple of investments which lowered the costs & gave them the opportunity to expand globally. They opened a facility for HyClone cell-culture products in Beijing and Kuala Lumpur. They also completed plant expansion in both Switzerland and Penssylvania responding to the growth in clinical tests. They also expanded their England facility owing to the rising ... ...quality control analysis in applied markets, such as environmental, chemical and food safety. Other was iCAP Q mass spectometry system which was a reliable, easy-to-use workhorse for customers performing routine analysis or complex clinical research. They also strengthened their leading offering of portable instruments by the launch of the TruNarc analyzer, which put spectroscopy in the hands of law enforcement for the identification of narcotics. In biosciences, they introduced the PikoReal PCR system. In immunodiagnostics, they expanded their leading offering of tests for the diagnosis and monitoring of allergies, asthma and autoimmune diseases. They also invested $1.1 billion on complementary acquisitions that expanded their offering for their customers and strengthened their strategic position. The largest was One Lambda, which they completed in September 2012.

Philosophy Of Nursing Essay

Abstract A nursing philosophy explains what nursing is and why nurses practice the way that they do. A philosophy of nursing is usually created by an individual nurses for use in their daily practice. Nurses use their personal philosophy to explain what he or she believes nursing is, the role of nursing in the healthcare field and how the nurse interacts with the patient (McEwen & Wills, 2014). A Nurses philosophy of nursing can guide him or her in practice each day. Before one can explore their own personal nursing philosophy they must understand how nursing theories and philosophies directly affect each. The philosophy of nursing has been defined as the study of problems that are ultimate, abstract and general (McEwen & Wills, 2014). These problems are concerned with the nature of existence, knowledge, morality, reason and human purpose. Philosophy tries to discover knowledge and truth and attempts to content to identify what is valuable and important  ( McEwen & Wills, 2014, p. 25). Philosophy’s most basic level, theory, has been described as a systematic explanation of an event in which constructs and concepts are identified and relationships are proposed and predictions made ( McEwen & Wills, 2014, p. 25). With that being said it is easy to see how a nurses’ philosophy can determine what type of model or theory he or she uses to guide the care he or she provides. Just as nursing theory can help to develop a nurses personal philosophy, it is as important to acknowledge that nursing theories and philosophies both provide a way for a nurse to approach daily practice and individual patients. Personal Philosophy My personal philosophy of nursing is not based on a single theory but is a melting pot of many theories that has evovoled as my care has evolved over the years. My individual philosophy of nursing has resulted from being the product of an underserved community and seeing first hand how a healthcare provider’s individual bias can have a negative effect on patients outcome. Nursing is considered the art of caring and is translated into existence by doing what is right, what is good and ultimately in the best of the patient. I believe that nursing care should be transcultural as well as culturally caring. Just as Florence Nightingale investigated what could be done to address the connection between poverty, sickness and early death during the Crimean war, I believe nursing today should focus on the identification of poverty and discrimination as important contextual factors for an understanding of social vulnerability to disease . I believe that cultural competency should be the driving force behind care and that nursing must seek to address health disparities and risk reductions in doing so. As  nurses as we tend to focus on patient education, interventions, treatments and diagnoses but forget about the human rights aspect and dignity of those who may be social outcasts or of inferior status. It is my philosophy that in order to provide culturally competent care to the underserved and disenfranchised one has to have an understanding of there own value system and biases. The health promotion model of Nola Pender is deep rooted in my philosophy because I believe as her health promotion model states, humans have the potential to change and engage in new behaviors willingly to achieve self-selected goals or outcomes. I believe that we all go through various stages when seeking to make health related changes and it is that intervention  which is preformed at the right stage that will have the maximum impact in ensuring that the behavioral change will become a lasting one. This weeks readings have influenced my view points by helping me to explore the various nursing theories and providing a framework for which to base my own personal nursing philosophy on. The readings have also help me to realize that I had already established my own personal philosophy based on my own personal values and professional growth as well as patient encounters, interactions and knowledge but had not thought of it in abrader sense. Philosophical foundations Leininger’s cultural care theory of diversity and universality is based on a belief that people from different cultures can inform and are capable of guiding professionals so that they may receive the kind of care they desire or need from others. A major concept of this theory is cultural competent nursing care uses culturally-based care and health knowledge that is sensitive, creative and meaningful, in a ways to meet the general and needs of the individual or group. An example of this is when my Hispanic patient  asked me about the use of herbal supplements to address their medical illnesses. In an effort to provide care that is culturally competent I take the time to research the herb which the patient wishes to use to see if it will have a negative interaction on the prescribed treatment and if not, not only will I allow the patient to use them, but I encourage it’s use as well, while reinforcing to the patient the importance of continuing to use what I have prescribed also. Another example of culturally competent care use in my practice is with flu vaccines, I have found in my practice that a lot of african americans decline the flu vaccine for fear of post  vaccine illness. I respect the patients right to autonomy, but also educate them on the risk and benefits of the vaccine with hopes that at a subsequent visit they might change their mind. Philosophy and Knowledge Development Knowledge development is derived from philosophy and I implement this in practice by providing culturally competent care based on Leininger’s cultural care theory of diversity and universality. Leinger’s theory states that people from different cultures can inform and are capable of guiding professionals so that they may receive the kind of care they desire or need(Tomey & Alligood, 2006). This is why I actively involve the patient in his or her care. Positivism and Post-positivism Positivism supports mechanistic, and reductionist principles, where the complex is best understood in terms of basic components (McEwen & Wills, 2014). Post-positivism accepts the subject nature of inquiry while still supporting rigor and objective study through quantitative research method and is concerned with explanation and prediction of complex phenomenon, and recognized contextual variables (McEwen & Wills, 2014). Positivism is concerned with the positive application of knowledge to assist in human progress. In Nursing Positivism can be used to guide care. Conclusion This paper has given me the opportunity to recognize that I have always had a philosophy of nursing. Through self exploration this paper has given me an opportunity to put into words how highly I regard care being provided in a culturally competent manor, because it is by way of cultural competency that we can reach our truly most vulnerable population. References Flaskerud, J. (2007). Cultural competence: What effect on Reducing health disparities? Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 28(4), 431-434. Maze, C.M. (2005). Registered nurses personal rights vs. professional responsibilities in caring for members of underserved and disenfranchised populations. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 14(5),546-554. McEwen, M & Willis, E. (2014). Theoretical basis for nursing. Philadelphia, PA: Wolters Kluwer Health. Tomey, A.M. & Alligood, M.R. (2006). Nursing theorists and their work(6th edition). Philadelphia, PA: Mosby.

History of Chocolate Essay

The first recorded evidence of chocolate as a food product goes back to Pre-Columbian Mexico. The Mayans and Aztecs were known to make a drink called â€Å"Xocoatll from the beans of the cocoa tree. In 1528, the conquering Spaniards returned to Spain with chocolate still consumed as a beverage. A similar chocolate drink was brought to a royal wedding in France in 1615, and England welcomed chocolate in 1662. To this point â€Å"chocolate† as we spell it today, had been spelled variously as â€Å"chocalatall, â€Å"jocolatte†, â€Å"jacolatte†, and â€Å"chockelet. 11. In 1847, Fry & Sons in England introduced the first â€Å"eating chocolate,† but did not attract much attention due to its bitter taste. In 1874, Daniel Peter, a famed Swiss chocolateer, experimented with various mixtures in an effort to balance chocolates rough flavor, and eventually stumbled upon that abundant product — milk. This changed everything and chocolate’s acceptance after that was quick and enthusiastic. GROWING COCOA BEANS Cocoa beans are usually grown on small plantations in suitable land areas 20 degrees north or south of the Equator. One mature cocoa tree can be expected to yield about five pounds of chocolate per year. These are planted in the shade of larger trees such as bananas or mangos, about 1000 trees per hectare (2,471 acres). Cocoa trees take five to eight years to mature. After harvesting from the trees, the pods (which contain the cocoa beans) are split open, beans removed, and the beans are put on trays covered with burlap for about a week until they brown. Then they are sun dried until the moisture content is below 7%. This normally takes another three days. After cleaning, the beans are weighed, selected and blended before roasting at 250 degrees Fahrenheit for two hours. Then shells are removed leaving the â€Å"nib. † Nibs are crushed to create a chocolate â€Å"mass. † This is the base raw material from which all chocolate products are made. KINDS OF CHOCOLATE Milk Chocolate This consists of at least 10% chocolate liquor (â€Å"raw† chocolate pressed from carob nibs) and 12% milk solids combined with sugar, cocoa butter (fat from nibs), and vanilla. Sweet and Semi-Sweet Chocolate Are made from 15-35% chocolate liquor, plus sugar, cocoa butter, and vanilla. Imprecision of the two terms causes them to commonly be called â€Å"dark† or â€Å"plain† chocolate. Dark chocolate has a large following among dessert makers, and for this reason is referred to as â€Å"baking† chocolate. Bittersweet and Bitter Chocolate Bittersweet usually contains 50% chocolate liguor and has a distinct â€Å"bite† to the taste. Bitter or unsweetened chocolate liquor also is used in baking and is also referred to as â€Å"bakers† chocolate. Creams and Variations Bite sized and chocolate covered. They are filled with caramels, nuts, creams, jellies, and so forth. White Chocolate Is not really chocolate as it contains no chocolate liquor, Carob This is a brown powder made from the pulverized fruit of a Mediterranean evergreen. It is used by some as a substitute for chocolate because it can be combined with vegetable fat and sugar, and made to approximately the color and consistency of chocolate. HOW CHOCOLATES ARE MADE chocolate pouring There are four basic methods of coating chocolate onto something such as caramel or a nut. They are: Enrobing Least expensive method. Centers are carried by conveyer through a machine that showers them with chocolate. Panning Chocolate is sprayed on the centers as they rotate in revolving pans, then cool air is blown in pan to harden the chocolates. Dipping Generally done by hand by small scale producers. Shell Moldinq Most sophisticated method. Used for most sculptural chocolates. The process consists of many intricate steps, thus causing it to be more expensive than other methods. (Source: Chocolate: The Consuming Passion by Sandra Boynton. Workman Publishing: New York, 1982).

What is the all that that Robert Graves is referring too Essay Example

What is the all that that Robert Graves is referring too Essay Example What is the all that that Robert Graves is referring too Paper What is the all that that Robert Graves is referring too Paper Essay Topic: All Quiet On the Western Front Literature The Poetry of Robert Frost This essay is going to explore Robert Gravess autobiographical novel and detail Robert graves use of the phrase all that and what it may refer too. The phrase all that is very vague and indefinite. All that could refer to so much; things, people, places, even emotions and feelings. In this novel all that could refer to individual things or the novel as a whole, it may even refer to only one thing. That is what I am going to find out and illustrate in this essay. Robert Gravess autobiographical novel Goodbye to All That was first published in 1929, 11 years after the end of World War 1 in which Graves served as a 2nd Lieutenant and was promoted to Captain in the Royal Welch Fusiliers. The work was revised and republished in 1957 removing and changing a great deal of significant material because of complaints, namely from Siegfried Sassoon a great friend and fellow soldier of Graves. Robert Graves states that the objects of writing about his own life at the early age of thirty-three, are simple enough: an opportunity for a formal good-bye to you and to you and to you and to me and to all that; forgetfulness, because once all this has been settled in my mind and written down and published it need never be thought about again. (Jonathan Cape, 1929) This quotation from Robert Graves himself shows why he chose to write his autobiography at a comparatively young age to other auto-biographers. A major part, probably the most major event of his life; the war, had come to an end and he felt that his memories and experiences ought not to be subject to the effects of old age and forgotten, lost in the passages of time. The first section of Robert Gravess novel is about his childhood and mainly his time at various preparatory schools and Charterhouse. Graves was born on July 24th 1895; his earliest memory is of Queen Victorias Diamond Jubilee in 1897. His family; his mother, his father and nine siblings lived in Wimbledon, His father had five children from a previous marriage and then had five more with Graves mother. He had expressed his dislike for Wimbledon and seemed to enjoy most the spring and summer spent in Harlech in Wales climbing the hills with his sister and best friend Rosaleen. I always considered Wimbledon a wrong place: neither town nor country. The house was at its worst on Wednesday, my mother At Home day.'(pp.32) He attended six different preparatory schools none of which he liked before settling at Charterhouse, which he equally disliked. He does not talk of a happy school experience, he describes a personally very familiar idea of a school where sports were important and those who did not play were looked down upon. He talks of how he had few friends, except those in the poetry club. His first friend at charterhouse, a boy called Raymond Rodakowski, encouraged Graves to box, because he was unable to play football, but he lost this friendship when he found he valued religion more than love. He had one special friendship with a boy referred to as Dick. Graves does not mention any particular significant encounters with Dick but it is commonly believed that Graves had homosexual relations with this boy. Dick and Graves remain in touch throughout most of his time in the trenches; Dicks letters had been my greatest stand-by all these months whenever I felt low; he wrote every week, mostly about poetry. (pp.125) Gravess affection for Dick is obvious and remains for many years, until Dick is arrested for making a certain proposal to a Canadian corporal and Graves convinces himself that Dick is mad. Gravess time at school and his encounters and experiences there are the first all that referred to by Graves. An episode in his life has come to an end in order to begin new one. The second section of Goodbye to All That begins with the war. Graves confesses he enlisted in order to put off going to Oxford; though the papers predicted only a very short warI hoped that it might last long enough to delay my going to Oxford in October, which I dreaded. (pp.68) Graves being half German was lucky to have not been accused of spying or arrested along with other German residents of England, though he did have relatives fighting for Germany. Among these enemy relatives was my cousin Conrad, only son of the German consul at Zurich. (pp.69) This loss of amicable connection with his German family is the second all that for Graves, he recalls his visits to various uncles and cousins in Germany and playing with his cousin Conrad as a child. His German roots are repeatedly referred to throughout the book his mothers maiden name; Von Ranke is used by Graves himself as homage to his German origins. He also mentions how through the war his mother is kept an eye on by the authorities because she is German and writes regularly to her sisters in Germany. Graves does not immediately enter the trenches as a Special Reserve; he spends the early wartime at the depot in Wrexham, before being transferred as 2nd lieutenant on detachment duty to Lancaster. Graves was once proud to be part of the Royal Welch Fusiliers; I used to congratulate myself on having quite blindly chosen the Royal Welch Fusiliers, of all the regiments in the armyThe Royal Welch Fusiliers had twenty-nine battle-honours, a number equalled only by a couple of other two-battalion regiments. (pp.83-84) Graves was sent to France in spring 1915 and was in the trenches to his disappointment with the Second Battalion of the Welsh Regiment. He talks comically of his frost experience in France with use of onomatopoeia such as, bump, crash, flop and buzzing and also of rifle and shell-fire. Later on his writing about trench life becomes more candid, authorities would have found this controversial at the time; soldiers were not allowed to keep diaries or write home about the conditions in trenches. Graves talks warmly of his companions in the trenches mentioning many by name, but deaths and wounds seem inconsequential after time; One can joke with a badly wounded man and congratulate him on being out of it. One can disregard a dead man. But even a miner cant make a joke that sounds like a joke over a man who takes three hours to die, after the top part of his head has been taken off by a bullet fired at twenty yards range (pp.118) Graves talks of pessimism breeding superstition and of strange coincidences in the trenches, for example his predecessor having predicted his own death and Graves himself managing to miss a shell literally by seconds. Graves had an unpleasant but uneventful time in the second battalion of the Royal Welch Fusiliers; the commanding officers were unlikeable and superior. Younger officers such as Graves were referred to as warts and were advised to keep quiet and were not allowed to drink whisky. Graves was wounded by shell-fire and sent home in summer 1916 he was originally thought and reported to have died. During his leave he spent a lot of time with his wartime comrade and fellow poet Siegfried Sassoon. They wrote poetry, played Golf and it was t this time that Graves first began to write about his experiences in France. In January 1917 he was sent back to France. After catching bronchitis and being sent to Oxford he does not return to the trenches, but is content to remain in England recovering, the western front to which he never returned, being his third all that. At the Somerville College hospital he meets various writers, such as Aldous Huxley, Lytton Strachey and Bertrand Russell. He later meets more writers, even H.G. Wells and John Galsworthy. Aldous Huxley, Lytton Strachey, and the Hon. Bertrand Russell were frequent visitorsH.G. Wells, who was Mr Britling in those days and full of military optimismAnd who else? John Galsworthy. (pp. 258-160) He is then moved to a convalescent home at Osborne House, previously Queen Victorias home on the Isle of Wight. Graves quoted Sassoons anti-war statement Finished with the War: A Soldiers Declaration. This troubled Graves as he felt his friend Sassoon was in no condition to be imprisoned, as he surely would be. Graves got himself wrongly declared fit for Home Service and set about doing everything in his power to get Siegfried into Craiglockhart convalescent home in Scotland. Graves accompanied Sassoon to Craiglockhart where the pair met Wilfred Owen. The third section of Robert Gravess autobiography deals with his life post World War 1; his marriage and children. Graves was next sent to serve at home in Wales, where he met Nancy Nicholson whom he married in 1918. After his marriage Graves returned to work in Rhyl where he stayed until the end of the war. Again the end of a significant episode in Gravess life and the beginning of a new one, the war itself being his fourth and most dramatic all that. Gravess first child Jenny was born in January 1919 and the family moved to Brighton. In October 1919 Graves finally went to Oxford after having managed to delay it for 5 years, slightly longer than I expect, he originally intended. Gravess second child David was born in March 1920, to the delight of his mother who had longed for grandson. It comes at this point that Graves meets his old flame Dick again, it was not a well received meeting, Graves saw no longer the boy he had loved but a much changed man. He was up at Oxford, about to enter the diplomatic service, and so greatly changed that it seemed absurd to have ever suffered in his account. (pp. 308) Graves and his wife opened a shop where they lived outside Oxford which was successful at first but eventually had to be sold. The Graves family then moved to Islip and had two more children, Catherine in 1922 and Sam in 1824. Nancy adopted a thirteen year old girl, Daisy, who later leaves with her father. Graves failed to take his final exams after the death of his tutor, but managed to secure a lecturing job in Egypt after his wife through ill health had been recommended to go there where his elder brother, Dick and sister Mollie lived. Nancy and Robert parted in May 1929. Graves suffered from severe shellshock and nightmares; he was haunted by shells and the faces of dead friends. I was still mentally and nervously organized for war; shells used to come bursting on my bed at midnight, even though Nancy shared it with me; strangers in day-time would assume the faces of friends who had been killed I was very thin, very nervous and with about four years loss of sleep to make up. (pp. 298-299) Robert Graves final and complete all that is England and his whole unhappy life from his birth in 1895, through school and the war to the end of his turbulent marriage in 1929 when he moved to Majorca never to return. I went abroad, resolved never to make England my home again; which explains the Goodbye to All That of this title. (pp.356) In conclusion Graves all that does not and can not refer to only one thing the whole book is the all that, and Graves is saying to goodbye to it all. His reason for writing this novel was as I have illustrated in a previous quote so he did not have to think about these disturbing memories anymore but so they were also not forgotten. He did not want to have to go through his worst times in his mind again so he gave them to someone else to worry about; his readers! Gravess early life was so dramatic and so utterly emotional; he lost all hope in humanity, especially in England hence his move to Majorca. Where he married again, had four more children and ended his days a much happier man than he had been in his youth. Despite the great amount of war novels that appeared before 1930 none are as famous or as greatly acclaimed for their honesty as Goodbye to All That. The impact this novel has had on readers for decades has given people a vision of the war that was so terrible, it distressed not only Robert Graves but so many of the people involved and plagued many of them for the remainder of their lives. Goodbye to All That was Robert Graves way of coming to terms with his life experiences, an opportunity that few people had. It was his chance to say leave them behind and say Goodbye, to everything, to his previous life, to all that.

Harriette Walters - BACKGROUND Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Harriette Walters - BACKGROUND - Essay Example Year Money Position 1989 $31735 Accounting technician in the real property division of department of finance and revenue D.C. 1990 $ 47,017 Accounting technician 1991 $ 160,153 Accounting technician 1992 $ 4,711 Accounting technician 1993 $ 246,301 Accounting technician 1994 $ 1,237,425 Accounting technician 1995 $ 1,423,238 Accounting technician 1996 $ 243,425 Accounting technician 1997 $ 543,423 Accounting technician 1998 $275894 Accounting technician 1999 $ 1,244,52 Accounting technician 2000 $ 2,587,831 Accounting technician 2001 $ 3,970,987 Manager of the Adjustment Unit in the Assessment Services Division 2002 $ 3,661,748 Manager 2003 $ 4,771,787 Manager 2004 $ 8,641,720 Manager 2005 $ 6,727,130 Manager 2006 $ 7,697,097 Manager 2007 $ 5,744,497 Manager Timeline for Harriette Walters’ Fraudulent Schemes (Gray & Evans 2011) Working Background   Ms. Harriette Walters started her carrier in 1981 as an accounting technician in the real property department of the D.C office of Tax and revenue. At that time the office of tax and revenue was department of tax and revenue. In the beginning Walters noticed the system and made fake documents like checks and other such document in collaboration with a coworker. Shortly thereafter, she realized that, she can work in a much safer manner. She made the checks refund to her friends and family members. She made fake residential addresses of her friends and family member and made the property tax refund checks. All this work was done with great care, to ensure that the refund checks and fake residential addresses would look normal. These checks ranged from 800 to 3000 dollars but it is nearly impossible to determine the exact amount of checks by the investigators during 1980’s (Jacoby, Lorigo & McCallum 24). Why It Last That Long? The fraud cases were prepared with great care and Walters even checked minor errors and tried to make as less mistakes as possible. The document should look genuine. The fake copie s were made as real as possible. Sometimes the documents were copied many times to produce real looking document (Jacoby, Lorigo & McCallum 24). The official requirements like official letter heads and signatures from different officials were there to go with the refund check requests (Jacoby, Lorigo & McCallum 24). She then prepared the documents which had the fake name and address and rather than mailed, she checked the option of â€Å"held for pickup†. The refund checks were sent to the revenue department from where Walters picked the checks up and cashed them (Jacoby, Lorigo & McCallum 24). Starting the Scheme In 1989, Ms. Harriette Walters processed the first fake documented refund check. The checked is payable to Alethia Grooms having worth of $4060. The next three years, Harriette Walters processed 13 more such fraudulent checks which have the worth of over $65000 which were paid to Alethia Grooms and some other person (Jacoby, Lorigo & McCallum 24). Walter then increa sed the amount of fraudulent refund and focused her attention on the processing of fraudulent refund checks for commercial checks instead of residential property. To achieve her goals, she involved her family members and close friends in her scheme (Jacoby, Lorigo & McCallum 24). She made fraud companies with her family members and other accomplices that never existed and claimed the refund check for the fake companies. She developed a power strategy to

An analysis of the theoretical ideals of Thtre des Champs-lyses Essay

An analysis of the theoretical ideals of Thtre des Champs-lyses - Essay Example That said, the Theatre des Champs-Elysees itself also showed other elements, including avant-garde and art deco. This was because it was built in 1913 in Paris, and, during this time, art was experiencing a kind of cultural renaissance. The artists during this time were blending African influences with the newest movements, which include futurism, a movement which disdained the past in full. Therefore, the building was in keeping of the spirit of the times, while blending the classicism and lines of the past. This report will detail Perret and his influences, along with a brief discussion of the artistic environment surrounding the building of the Theatre des Champs-Elysees, with a description of the key architectural elements of this structure. Influence and Theory of Perret Auguste Perret (1874-1954), was a French architect whose architecture was founded upon using reinforced concrete frame construction. As Frampton (1995) notes, Perret was influenced by the Romans, who used reinfo rced concrete in their construction of their vaults, including the Roman Pantheon. These structures gained their strength through their monolithic shells, as opposed to the â€Å"thrust and counterthrust of arch and buttress† (p. 121). ... 123). His frames were based upon classicized rationalism, which combined the classical with the rational. Perret had another influence around the time that he created the Theatre des Champs Elysees, and that was Paul Valery. Valery, according to Frampton (1995), stated that the importance of architecture is the durability of the framework, which means that the building will stand up through time. It is through the passage of time that the building will attain its character, which was the thinking of Valery, who noted that the buildings are currently furnished with elements and forms, but its harmonious style and character would come with time. This is what makes a building beautiful, according to Valery, as time gives it character, style and harmony. Moreover, buildings which have stood through time would give the culture memory of form, which complements the structure of the building of steeples and towers (Frampton, 1995). Frampton (1995) explains that Perret met Valery around 1909 , which was just three years before Perret realized the Theatre des Champs-Elysees. Valery was fond of the theatre, and he was on personal terms with luminaries such as Maurice Denis and Antoine Bourdelle, who are the artists who supplied the decor and sculptural relief for the theatre. Valery’s theory was that bearing constructions must be separated from reticulated construction, which also must be separated from consolidated construction cast in reinforced concrete. However, Perret’s theory for the Theatre des Champs-Elysees was that the tectonic potential of the concrete frame must be realized, which means that it was removed from Valery’s ideas of the tectonic which was based upon Greek culture. Other influences for Perret, according to