Is growth good for the poor Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Is growth good for the poor - Essay Example isting of the wealthy communities like the Netherlands and the England were the kind of nation, which lived a life compared to be equivalent to that of the Stone Age. In contrary the vast swath of humanity in South and East Asia, especially in Japan and China, eked out living conditions which were comparably significantly poorer than the living conditions of the cavemen (p. 17). The parameters of gauging the quality of life could not withstand the test of time and substantially no improvements were observable from any dimension: when the life expectancy was not higher than that of the hunters and gatherers in1800, just merely 30-35 years of age. Stature-the measure of how children are exposed to diseases and the quality of diet was gauged to be higher in the Stone Age than as compared to the 1800. In fact, the poor of 18th C, the kind of individuals who lived by providing unskilled labor alone, would be in a better off situation when transferred to the hunter-gatherer band. Even after the robust Industrial revolution prosperity has not been felt by every society. Material consumption in certain nations, especially in the Sub-Saharan Africa, is currently well below the Preindustrial era (Clark 237). It is believed that countries like Tanzania and Malawi would have been better off materially if the y could have continued with their preindustrial state and had no contact with the world industrialization process. The different nations have of late embraced the spirit of capitalism-the winner gets it all art, and therefore material well-being and social welfare of individuals are not components of the gauging parameters. Rapid growth in population across different nations has resulted to over dependency and exhaustion of the available resources, thus material improvement in quality of life. Unless justified from another perspective growth has not proved to be good to the poor, or it could be its taking long to prove substantial to the

Biblical canon Essay Example for Free

Biblical canon Essay What do Fee and Stuart say is the only proper control for hermeneutics?Answer | | | | | Selected Answer:| the original intent of the biblical text| * Question 2 0 out of 3 points According to Fee and Stuart, regarding literary context, the most important question you will ever ask is, Whats the point?Answer | | | | | Selected Answer: | False| * Question 3 3 out of 3 points According to Fee and Stuart what do they say is the aim of a good interpretation?Answer | | | | | Selected Answer:| to get at the plain meaning of the text| * Question 4 3 out of 3 points According to Fee and Stuarts analysis they think most people do a very good job of handling Old Testament narrative passages. Answer | | | | | Selected Answer: | False| * Question 5 3 out of 3 points The Septuagint is a product of the Babylonian Exile.Answer | | | | | Selected Answer: | True| * Question 6 3 out of 3 points Old Testament narrative normally does not directly teach a doctrine.Answer | | | | | Selected Answer: | True| * Question 7 3 out of 3 points Until just after World War II the oldest OT manuscripts we had dated from about 200 B.C.Answer | | | | | Selected Answer: | False| * Question 8 3 out of 3 points What is the first concern of translators?Answer | | | | | Selected Answer:| that the original text they are using is as close as possible to the original wording as when it left the authors hand| * Question 9 3 out of 3 points According to the text (Harbin) and the traditional/conservative view Moses wrote Genesis.Answer | | | | | Selected Answer: | True| * Question 10 3 out of 3 points What three languages were the 66 books of the Protestant Bible originally written?Answer | | | | | Selected Answer:| Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek| * Question 11 3 out of 3 points The focus of the ___________ is on Jesus and his claim to be the Messiah.Answer | | | | | Selected Answer:| Gospels| * Question 12 0 out of 3 points The Modern View of the Bible approaches biblical documents as highly reliable.Answer | | | | | Selected Answer: | True| * Question 13 3 out of 3 points What is the significance of the Dead Sea Scrolls?Answer | | | | | Selected Answer:| They gave us a much older collection of Old Testament manuscripts.| * Question 14 3 out of 3 points The two types of context Fee and Stuart discussed in this weeks reading were†¦Answer | | | | | Selected Answer:| historical and literary| * Question 15 3 out of 3 points | The Traditional View of the Bible is also known as the liberal view.Answer | | | | | Selected Answer: | False| * Question 16 3 out of 3 points Which of the following are not among the common causes people misinterpret biblical narratives mentioned in the text?Answer | | | | | Selected Answer:| projection * Question 17 0 out of 3 points In our readings this week the Bible is described in part as, the Word of God given in human words in history.Answer | | | | | Selected Answer: | False * Question 18 3 out of 3 points  According to Fee and Stuart what is the antidote to bad interpretation?Answer | | | | | Selected Answer:| good interpretation, based upon commonsense guidelines| * Question 19 3 out of 3 points The NT canon was formalized at the 3rd Council of Carthage in AD397.Answer | | | | | Selected Answer: | True| * Question 20 3 out of 3 points  At the end of Old Testament narratives we are always told whether the events spoken of were good or bad. We are not expected to be able to judge for ourselves based upon other related portions of scripture.Answer | | | | | Selected Answer: | False

Antipredator Defense as a Limited Resource : Unequal Predation Risk and

INSECTS WITH PARENTAL INSTINCTS More than two centuries ago, a Swedish scientist named Modeer described what appeared to be maternal behavior in the acanthosomatid shield bug Elasmucha grisea. He noted that the female did not fly away when an intruding object threatened her compact egg mass; instead, she remained steadfast and tilted her body towards the object (Tallamy). Unfortunately, this evidence, no matter how well documented, was not enough to convince countless people of the possibility of insects having parental instincts. The acknowledgement of parental behavior in insects was not a widely accepted idea for a number of years. Many people believed insects were too primitive to care for their young and that only when physical conditions became extremely severe were insects capable of expressing paternal abilities. The traditional view of maternal care is that it is an exceptional and relatively recent evolutionary leap forward (Tallamy). Fortunately, the assumptions made about maternal care in insects do not have to be accepted or rejected based only on faith or an educated guess; today it is possible for these predictions to be empirically tested so that the data may be recorded and analyzed. The following experiment is just one example of the various ways in which ideas regarding insects and maternal care may be effectively evaluated. Reginald B. Cocroft, of the Neurobiology and Behavior Department at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, researched insects known as Umbonia crassicornis, or the thornbug treehopper. U. crassicornis offspring thrive in large aggregations on the often exposed stems of host-plants. These offspring are incredibly vulnerable, making them easy targets and subject to intense predatio... ...ymphs unequally. The mother distributed her protection equally throughout the entire aggregation along the length of the branch. Main Points: Location in relation to the mother is possibly competitive Location independent of the mother is possibly competitive, but only exploitation competition Signaling is not competitive for maternal care, it is cooperative and the mother distributes protection along the aggregation equally. WORKS CITED Cocroft, Reginald B. 2002. Antipredator Defense as a Limited Resourse: Unequal Predation Risk and Broods of an Insect With Maternal Care. Behavioral Ecology, 13, 1, 125-133. Tallamy, D. W. and C. Schaefer. 1997. Maternal behavior in the Hemiptera: Ancestry, Alternatives, and Current Adaptive Value. pp. 94-115, In B. Crespi and J. Choe (eds.). Social Behavior in Insects and Arachnids. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

“Advice To youth” by Mark Twain Essay

â€Å"Advice To youth† by Mark Twain is basically a short little composition that he was asked to write to the youth’s of America. Basically it was just meant to be something to be educational and useful in life. I think that what he said back then is just as true today as it was back then when he wrote it. He starts off by saying that you should always listen to what your parents say even if you don’t agree because if you try to rebel against them you’ll just get into an argument and after being punished you’ll be forced to do what they said anyway. It doesn’t matter if you’re right or not just listen to them; you’ll save yourself the hassle of fighting with your parents and ruining your relationship with them. That’s advice that we all have heard, but find impossible to follow growing up. It always ends up with us punished and us having to do something we didn’t want to do plus some other stuff. He says that you should always respect your superiors whether they’re strangers, family or friends. If someone does something to disrespect and your not sure whether it was intentional or not you should hit them with a brick and then if you find out that he didn’t mean any harm you should be a man and tell the person you hit with the brick that you were the one who did it. He said that you shouldn’t fight and just try to talk it out, let bygones be bygones. The first half of this advice is correct; we should respect our elders even if they are wrong. As for hitting someone who offended you miss intentionally or otherwise, if we were to do this in today’s society we would all have to carry weapons on us at all times and we’d all leave a trail of bodies everywhere we went. It’s best just to ignore dumb remarks that are made by even dumber people and get on with life. There is too much ignorance in this world, one person won’t be able to make a difference with something like this. In the third paragraph he says the old clichà © â€Å"early to bed, early to rise†. Then he talks about getting up at different times and how whatever wakes you up will change your attitude. He trained a bird to wake him up at nine thirty every morning, so I guess it makes him optimistic to wake up to a lark chirping. I guess that’s true, but in today’s world no one gets enough sleep; everyone goes to bed late, wakes up early and is always tired. Alarm  clocks are a pain to wake up to and so are radios. The sounds of nature wouldn’t wake most people up because we have gotten used to loud noises, so low noise wouldn’t make us shudder. Most of us wake up to the buzzing or beeping of a blaring alarm clock, which makes us angry and groggy. We spend most of the morning dazed and confused and at night tired and lazy. He then talks about lying; he says that you refrain from lying as much as humanly possible unless you are skilled at it. If your a bad liar then you shouldn’t lie because it will usually be slanderous and if you get caught spreading lies you’ll be branded a liar by everyone. This is obvious advice that most people have taken. Most people are good at lying because they have been practicing for years. To become successful you need to be able to lie and stick with the lie until you are on your deathbed. To hear a complete truth from anyone in today’s world is almost impossible since we all stretch the truth from time. He then talks about guns and gun control. He says that you should have a gun in the house in case you need it, but you shouldn’t have it loaded unless you plan to use it. It should never be left unlocked or else you could get hurt if it was left accidentally loaded. He says never point a gun at a person unless you plant to kill them. This is something that most political people and lobbyists talk about allot. I agree with this completely. It’s better to have a gun and not need it then need it and not have it. A gun should never be loaded until right before you are going to use it, anyone with a gun license should know that; same goes for never point a gun at something that you don’t wish to destroy. Guns are weapons not playthings. A gun should be locked on a gun rack or have a gunlock incase someone where to get a hold of it they wouldn’t be able to do anything with it. He then starts talking about how you should read allot, but that you should be careful of what you choose to read. He says you should only read good books having to do with religion. Reading is always a good thing to do. However, in today’s society most people are agnostic so reading about religious topics is something they wouldn’t do under normal circumstances. People should read anything whether comic books, manga, manuals, how to  guides or whatever. It’s all better then watching television. He then says that if you listen to his advise you will be a good person. I agree with his statement. All of his written advice is useful stuff that you always hear but don’t care to pay attention to while growing up until it’s too late in life to do anything about it. Mark Twain was a great writer and as it turns out; he also had allot of common sense and useful knowledge, of which he decided to share some with us in that little passage that he was asked to write. Reading it all again and responding to it enforces those ideas in my mind as I hope it will for all those who decide to do this assignment.

Greek Contributions to Modern Western Civilization Essay

Ancient Greek culture has influenced modern western civilization from their discoveries and traditions during their Golden Age. Their philosophies, politics and values have helped shape our every day life. Some of the most prominently displayed leaders of all time lived in Greece during the time. Their math, art science politics, architecture, drama, medicine, philosophy and values have inspired today’s everyday way of life. If it weren’t for their constant strides towards a better tomorrow, civilization today might be less advanced. A lot of their academic achievement math and science has trickled down from the generations and into western civilization today. Euclid, a mathematician, is now viewed as the most prominent mathematician of all time. He wrote a book called â€Å"The Elements† and put all of his discoveries and theories into it. A lot of the math and science that we use today was influenced by his theories and discoveries. A man named Hippocrates also solely influenced today’s medical practices. His discoveries in medicine made a long lasting imprint on today’s doctors and practices. He was an extremely trustworthy doctor. He made an oath stating that he would never give bad medicine and always strive to cure a patient, not just get paid. Today when becoming a doctor, you must take the Hippocratic oath, which was the oath that Hippocrates created. Whenever you go to see a performance now, whether you know it or not, Greek influence is involved. Greek drama and auditoriums are big influences. The three types of theaters that the Greeks had were Proscenium (like in today’s Gershwin Theater), Thrust (like in many of the concert halls seen today) and Arena (like today’s sports arenas). The architecture of these stages and of a lot of other structures are direct influences of the Greek civilization. Playwrights such as Socrates, Aeschylus and Euripides wrote plays that entertained people in Greece and all around the world still today. Playwrights wrote tragedies in which there is a main character with either a  special ability or tragic flaw. As the story progresses, the tragic flaw ruins the character (just like in today’s drama). One of the most tragic of plays are the stories of Oedipus, the King. In this, the main character’s tragic flaw is unknown even to him. It is his tragic past and how it influenced his present day life. Tragedies such as Oedipus the King have contributed to the making of today’s theater. Greece’s system of democracy was a new ideal for the time. Today, countries around the world use it. During the time of the first democracy, philosophers started to teach their thoughts and voice their opinions. This is because it was a time of turmoil. Corrupt leaders were leading Greece and people did not have much faith in democracy. At this time, philosophers gave the people things to ponder and believe in. The greatest three Greek philosophers were Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. Even today, people live by some of the teachings of these philosophers and they are widely studied. Overall, many of today’s traditions, beliefs and values have been passed down from Greek civilizations. Their discoveries, traditions and strides toward perfection inspired later generations to act as they did. The individuals that invented and discovered new aspects of life and their surroundings gave way to brand new lifestyles that are used today.

The Changing World Essays

The Changing World Essays The Changing World Essay The Changing World Essay The world is has never been the same. People living a century ago, can never imagine the world we are living in. Over the last one hundred years we have seen extraordinary changes in technology. We had been on the foul smelling four leg  carts and now at the foul smelling gas consuming four wheels. We wished to be like birds flying here and there, now we are visiting planets and isolated areas. We dreamed to go â€Å"Around the world in Eighty Days† and now we communicate across the world  in seconds. The culture of the people changes accordingly with the devolvement in science and technology. From the literature to living styles, every thing changes shape with the passage of time. Changes in our world are occurring at the both sides of the spectrum. With all these developments, there are also some negative effects. Pollution and global warming are the best examples caused by these changes. Change in the living standards should be for the betterment of mankind and to make this world a better place to live. Technology: One single thing which we are unable to predict is the continual change in the technology. Communication: Technology has enabled us to connect with others any where in the world. Today we’re no longer forced to send letters through the postal service, or spare some time to specially meet some one just to talk. Thanks to technology today we can communicate with any one in this world just in seconds. Mobile phones were launched in 1983, changing the route of the world: connecting people around the world. The advent of the Short Message Service (SMS) allowed inarticulate youths everywhere to express their interest. You can imagine this great change by just knowing that in 1992 first SMS was sent and now 6,700,000,000 SMS are sent every day! Media: Today, digital technology is changing this whole concept of â€Å"mass media†. There used to be a known â€Å"news hour† and a place to go to for the news, but now we get the news on the move (mobile phones). Put another way, we used to go to the news, but now the news comes to us. On the internet, people create even more content of their own using blogs (personal websites accepting contributions) and social networking sites like MySpace, Facebook and YouTube. Transportation: In this modern era, technology has enabled us to travel thousands of kilometers in some days or just some hours. People used to travel through wooden carts powered by animals or humans. Today we travel around the world by fuel consuming cars or by flying in planes here and there. Gadgets: People living in the world before us never imagined how the gadgets of today will work. Gadgets are considered to be more unusually or cleverly designed than normal technological objects at the time of their invention. Here are some interesting gadgets; ULTIMATE GAMING CHAIR: This chair is packed with features. To start off, there are 12 vibration motors throughout the chair that are synchronized with the games action, including the PS2, Xbox, GameCube, PC, Mac, PS1, and Xbox Live. For audio only, you can use all those and your iPod, DS, PSP, or generic MP3 player. AUTO-PARKING SYSTEM: Good news for inexperienced drivers is news that Volkswagen’s Touran and Sharan will come with Valeo’s Park4U auto-parking system,  which uses ultrasonic sensors to automatically park the car without scraping across neighboring vehicles. ION AUDIO’S COZ-E: The Electric Snuggie the COZ-E is essentially an electric blanket with sleeves, and it has a control pad with a green light for low heat,  a yellow light for medium heat, and a red light for high heat. Now this is an electric quilt which warms you up any one in few seconds! Education: We have seen a huge change in education in our lives. The changing education changes the world we live. Now there are new learning and teaching styles which have improved the learning of the students. Today students learn from the Multi-Media as well as from the Computer aided learning programmes which were quite rare not so long ago. Today even dumb and blind can also have this opportunity to learn and be educated. The information age has led to the use of computers in the laboratory, as an aid to teaching. New education styles have enabled us to move beyond the blackboard and chalk times of old fashioned school houses. Now, we have the ability to use computers to show students how to better understand math and science. With the improvement of audio technology, we now have the ability to replay historical speeches so they can be listened to by a new generation or even show how they were originally broadcast. Today online college courses allow working professionals to work on higher degrees while working. Online high schools will allow students to participate in the extracurricular activities of their choice while working on their high school diploma. Students who once could not finish their high school classes due to chronic illness are able to finish their classes now. Students will also be able to enter the workforce sooner and start college sooner. Education as we know it is reversing itself in that the student will be able to complete their education at their own pace, similar to the education of students in the one room schoolhouses. Students will no longer be grouped based on age. With computers being able to do some of the work of the teachers, education will become more individualized. Culture: Over the last centuries we have seen extraordinary changes in culture. Culture refers to the ways we live, for example, language, style or fashion etc. Fashion always changes, it never remains the same. So does the literature, if we compare books of present and 100 years ago, there will be a lot of difference i. e. language, style and type of the literature. Literature: We have been listening and reading stories about fairies and a â€Å"happy ever after† and now these fairies are converted into vampires and wizards, for example very famous twilight series and harry potter series. Today, unbelievable fantasies are converted into modern science fiction like Super man, Bat man etc. Today, simple communicative language is preferred and used in our present books but before, classic language was used which was difficult to understand and study. Fashion: Fashion is a general term for currently popular style or practice. The concept of fashion implies a process of style change, because fashions in dress, as well as in furniture and other objects, have taken very different forms at different times in history. Since the beginning of the 20th century, however, fashions have changed rapidly. We would look strange indeed if we wore the styles our great-grandparents wore. Fashion reflects the society of which it is a part. It has been influenced by wars, conquests, laws, religion, and the arts. Individual personalities have also had an impact on fashion. Fashion industry developed first in Europe and America, today it is an international and highly globalized industry, with clothing often designed in one country, manufactured in another, and sold in a third. Adverse changes in the world: Our world is constantly changing. These changes affect our lives in a good way; technology has made our lives easier, new education systems has enabled our students to learn in a easy and more effective way. But obviously the world is changing on the both sides of the spectrum. If these changes have given benefits to the people, these are also destroying the systems of the world. The best examples of the adverse affects are our environmental changes and our social interactions. Environmental changes: Social interaction: Change is also seen in people’s behavior after the advanced technology. If we move back to the time when there were no electronic communication devices, like cell phones and internet, people were more close to each other. They had more time for their friends and family, they were not so â€Å"busy† in their work that they didn’t even had time for their parents. But today,

How does Revolutionary Communism compare with Democratic Socialism

How does Revolutionary Communism compare with Democratic Socialism Introduction The last two centuries have been characterized by the emergence of ideologies which have brought about potent political movements advocating for change and transformation of the government systems of the world. While some of these ideologies have been largely ignored and practiced by an inconsequential proportion of the population, there are those which have been widely embraced and used by states all over the world.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on How does Revolutionary Communism compare with Democratic Socialism? specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More These varied political ideologies have differed in terms of their philosophies, policies and agendas. Arguably the most prevalent political ideology is democratic capitalism which is championed by the western world and is currently the most popular system in the world. Revolutionary communism and democratic socialism are two other potent political ideo logies. While communism remains to be a former shell of what it was in the past, democratic socialism still has a significant following though out the world. Both these political systems differ profoundly from the capitalist ideology which hugely favors the capital contributors in the society. This paper will undertake a concise yet informative comparison between revolutionary communism and democratic socialism so as to arrive at a conclusion as to which of these systems is better off. The political questions on which these two movements agree as well as those which they disagree on will be articulated. A discussion on which of these systems offers a better government will also be presented. Brief overview of Communism and Democratic Socialism Communism by definition is a system or form of common life in which the right to private or family property is abolished by law, mutual consent, or vow† (Woolsey 1). This definition parallels the ideals of socialism which are centered on giving power to the workers who not only form the majority but responsible for the creation of wealth. Socialism therefore calls for them having an equal share to the profits that they help generate. Socialism and communism share some major characteristics with the major difference being that while socialism is only an economic system, communism is a political system. Communists advocate for the socialist system which is characterized by centralized planning agencies and the single legal party. Notable Communist regimes are the collapsed Soviet Union and China. In these regimes, the single party is authorized to set goals and organize activities of the workers collectively as well as devise plans that balance the need to reward skilled workers against the need to prevent high income inequalities that characterized capitalist societies (Kornblum 479).Advertising Looking for research paper on political sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Socialism is regarded as the primitive stage of communism in which public ownership maintains a dominant position in the economy especially in key economic sectors. However, this system does not hold some of the radical views as expressed by the communism ideal. As such, democratic socialism can be seen to be and evolved or precursor to the communism system which advocated for an absolutely socialist nation. Democratic Socialists believe that both the economy and society should be run democratically to meet public needs, not to make profits for a few (DSA). As such, the government structures that are set up under the capitalistic ideology out to be transformed so that the ordinary citizen has a greater say in decision making. Similarities Arguably the most apparent similarity between social democracy and revolutionary communism is that both see capitalism as a grossly exploitative system that results in numerous social injustices (Schwartz and Schulman 4). Both of these political systems argue that capitalism inevitably gives rise to vast disparities of wealth as the working class’s efforts are used to make the wealth industry owners even wealthier. Both systems blame industrial capitalism for destroying important human values such as compassion, religious believes and altruism among others and replacing them with naked exploitation as everything is based on money (Wren). The two systems also see capitalism as hugely undermining the individuals sense of personal value since the working class who are responsible for creation of wealth are never paid or valued enough and instead, the wealth goes to the capital owners. Both social democracies and revolutionary communism praise the efforts of the laborer who turns the raw materials into something of greater value and as such believe that he should play a bigger role in decision making. The very symbols of communism which are a hammer and a chisel reinforce the importance with whic h the working force is held in revolutionary communism. Kornblum notes that Karl Marx, the acclaimed Father of Communism taught that the socialist state which communism sought to create would be controlled by the working class led by their own trade unions and political parties (479). Social democracies on the other hand advocate for an increase in the power that the worker has as well as an increase in the share that they receive from the profits since they are deemed to be the most important piece in the economy. Social democrats and communists alike view capitalism as being socially unjust and somewhat undemocratic. While capitalism purports to be democratic in nature, Schweickart questions this proposition by highlighting the enormous role that money plays in contemporary elections and the fact that major media outlets which influx public opinion are owned by and controlled by the wealthy (8).Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on How does Revolution ary Communism compare with Democratic Socialism? specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More As such, capitalism results in the elite being in power as a result of their enormous wealth and vested interests in media. Schwartz and Schulman note that while capitalism proposes an economic and political relationship that is free and private to all; this is not feasible since such a contract is not made among economic equals and as such, only the well off benefit (1). A significant similarity between communist parties and social democratic parties is their relationships with trade unions. The BBC suggests that communist trade unions played a significant role in government and were used as the communist partys transmission belts which increased the power of the communist regime. Democratic socialists on the other hand back up trade unions and propose for the incorporation of democracy in industry which results in a situation whereby the workers are not only â€Å"drones† but play an active role in establishing their destiny. Democratic socialists continue to enjoy a close relationship with trade unions since they view building of strong trade unions and community organizations as the only means through which the imbalances that capitalism has created can be redressed (Schwartz and Schulman 4). Differences A significant difference between communism and democratic socialism is with regard to property ownership. In communism, the private ownership of property is abolished in favor of public property which is run by the state for the good of all the people. As such, changes to communist regimes are characterized by the widespread repossession of land and property from the rich and a management of the same by the state. On the other hand, social democracy does not call for the abolishment of private property but rather believes that the public should have some measure of control on the use of property. This is in line with the democr atic socialism belief that private property may exist at the same time that large corporations are owned by the state and run for the benefit of all citizens (Kornblum 478). Social democracies advocate for the promotion of majority social ownership in which there exists a property-owning working class. Guo notes that social democracies propose a system whereby stock ownership by individual workers is the main form of public ownership in the society (124). Another difference between democratic socialism and communisms is in their idea of how the change into their political ideals can be made. Revolutionary communism holds it that the capitalism would never let go of their hold on community and political power and as such, only a violent revolution can result in the changes that communism calls for.Advertising Looking for research paper on political sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The 1917 Bolshevik revolution that threw off the Czar in Russia and led to the establishment of a communism state were marred with violent uprisings. This revolt was led by the workers and the peasants just as the communism mandate proposes that such revolutions would occur. The socialist revolution that occurred in china also had a violent history with little sympathy being shown to the bourgeois democracy that had once ruled the nation. Social democracy on the other hand believes that the changes they propose for the society can occur through an evolutionary process that follows the democratic means that are a part of our modern society. The prevalence for following of democracy by social democrats is evident with most European countries having parties which identify themselves as social democrats. Social democracy and communism also show huge differences in the economic model that they follow. Communism follows the non-market, centrally-planned economy. Schweickart notes that mod ern day social democracies have distanced themselves from this economic model and rather follow a post capitalistic economy that retains market completion, but socializes the means of production and in some instances extends democracy to the workplace (9). This difference in their economic outlook can be best articulated in the difference between the socialist principle of from each according to his ability, to each according to his work to the communist principle of from each according to his ability to each according to his needs (Bornstein and Fusfeld 117). Discussion While both revolutionary communism and democratic socialism continue to play second fiddle to capitalism, both are influential ideologies. The demise of the Soviet Union was without a doubt a major blow to communism and Ziblatt notes that the collapse of communism presented a significant challenge to the ruling communist parties of East Central European as they lacked the central leadership, Moscow (123). As such, m ost of these parties reinvented themselves as social democratic parties. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, many parties which were once socialist began to distance themselves from the socialism as it was traditionally understood and reinvented themselves as social democratic parties Guo notes that while the European social democrats have been criticized by most of the capitalism oriented parties, this has changed with time and in the recent years, these former critics are gradually endorsing the ideas of the social democrats (127). Firm believers of democratic socialism such as Venezuelas President Hugo Chavez hold it that only this political system can solve the world problems and bring about social justice and prosperity for all. This is a sentiment that has sound theoretic backing since social democracy combines the best from the major political ideologies of the world namely; capitalism and communism. While most people deride communism and social democracies as bein g undemocratic, the New York Times notes that capitalism as well comes in various forms and in the same manner that a communism or socialist state might fail to be democratic, capitalism is not necessarily democratic as was the case with Hitlers Germany or Mussolinis Italy. As such, each ideology should be taken on merit and the making of generalizations should be avoided at all costs. The communism ideal has long lost popularity and communist parties remain unpopular in post-communist democracies. However, their significance in certain organizations such as trade unions remains strong and as such; their influence can still be felt. Conclusion Inequality has been universally acknowledged as a major roadblock in the way for economic and social prosperity. Political ideologies propose to solve this by coming up with systems that income inequality is diminished or ideally done away with therefore leading to a utopian society. This paper set out to perform a critical comparison of two p olitical ideologies; Communism and Democratic Socialism, both of which propose to do away mitigate social ills therefore leading to a harmonious society. From this paper, it has been seen that both this systems have a lot of similarities and that communism is in fact a more evolved form of democratic socialism. From the arguments presented in this paper, it can be seen that at the present time, democratic socialism is not only more feasible but presents the best system of governance. This is because the absolute equality and communal ownership that communism advances may never be achieved in the world but the ideals that Democratic socialists’ advances are achievable in the present time. DSA. Democratic Socialists of America. 2007. Web. Guo, Baogang. â€Å"Old Paradigms, New Paradigms, and Democratic Changes in China.† Journal of Chinese political science, 2008. Kornblum, William. Sociology in a Changing World. Cengage Learning, 2007. New York Times. East Berlin Diary . Web. Sackur, Stephen. President Chavezs socialist world vision. 14 June 2010. Web. Schwartz, Joseph and Schulman, Jason. Towards Freedom: Democratic Socialist Theory and Practice. Schweickart, David. Democratic Socialism Encyclopedia of Activism and Social Justice Sage Reference Project. Sage, 2006. Woolsey, Dwight. Communism and Socialism in Their History and Theory: A Sketch. BiblioBazaar, LLC, 2009. Wren, Christopher. Communists Meet in South Africa. 06 Dec 1991. Web. Ziblatt, Daniel. â€Å"The Adaptation of Ex-Communist Parties to Post-Communist East Central Europe: a Comparative Study of the East German and Hungarian Ex-Communist Parties.† Communist and Post-Communist Studies, Vol. 31, No. 2, pp. 119–137, 1998.

Literary Critique Essay

Literary Critique Essay Literary Critique Essay Synopsis: Literary critique is necessary when an author is handing a manuscript for publication. The critique is used to design marketing strategy and determine the target readership for the piece of work. In literature, critique of a book is necessary to determine the historical background of the work. This analysis, gives an insight into what influences a writer to create a piece. Through criticism, the message of writer is passed to readers. Book critique presents a summarized version of the writers work and aim of writing. Book criticism, follows a certain critiquing instrument in order to achieve a masterpiece criticism. This paper aims to use the literary critique instrument to analyze an excerpt of The Prince by Machiavelli. The paper will use the instrument to give a clear analysis of Machiavelli piece of work. The story is written during the Italian Renaissance period. Machiavelli was born in 1469, attended school to University level. He is reputed as an acute analyzer of institutions and personalities. He served in government in various diplomatic posts and other political assignments. The story is written right after the government he serves is overthrown. Machiavelli is forced into internal exile and later thrown in prison. The republican government overthrow made Machiavelli a victim of change. While in prison, he endures torture and after being released he retires to his farm. At this juncture, Machiavelli turns to literary pursuits; The Prince, is his first piece of literature. The political upheavals of the time influenced his literary work a lot. In The Prince, he seems to pass a political message to the rulers of the time. As aforementioned, the writer steeps his literary piece in the turbulent political times. His writing is bluntly honest, although, it contradicts with some of his works. The piece of work is composed in a reflective state of mind. He takes a critical view of himself and the world around him. He writes this work as an effort to gain his stature and standing in government. Most of his contemporaries in the overthrown government were quickly reabsorbed back to service, which motivates him to write The Prince, with the hope of presenting it to the ruler of the time. He was not successful in his attempt. The writer uses a very authoritative voice in his work. His critical and cynical view, presents him as an angry man. His imprisonment was based on false accusations, which may act as the reason he is angry. Personal response: Reading The Prince, one is impressed by Machiavelli’s use o direct person. He writes with a lot of occurrence of â€Å"I†. This allows the reader to feel he is part of the conversation. Reading the book makes one feel he is talking with and not being talked to by the author. The book gives a peek into the powerful mind of an insightful politician. He exhibits a blunt sense of honesty in an astonishing manner. The style of writing, as earlier noted, is quite authoritative, mixed and blended with a conversational tone. One might be repulsed by his view on power. Quite clearly, he refutes the moralistic approach to power and argues that a person with power should command. He clearly does not believe in goodness with power. He holds the view; one should be feared instead of being loved. In a moral society one finds this view to be out of sync and maybe evil. In conclusion, the book seems to reflect Machiavelli’s political ideology. He gives an overview of how a ruler should use his legitimate power. The work can be viewed as a political satire, because one can get the feeling the views expressed do not reflect the writer’s true political opinion.

Final reflection Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Final reflection - Essay Example A well-established democratic society requires citizens, who should be active and well aware of their roles and responsibilities for betterment of their society as well as for maintaining their own living standard in the society. In this paper, we shall discuss roles and responsibilities of good citizens living in a democratic society. Discussion Typical definition of a good citizen states that a good citizen needs to represent values, moral and models of responsible attitude and democratic values solely for the growth and improvement of society. To do perform the assigned roles and responsibilities of a good citizen, people are required to gain knowledge concerning social, political, economical and legal and other institutional roles and issues. Up to date knowledge and a good understanding of all rights and roles of social institutions can help a citizen to understand his own responsibilities and actions he/she can take to improve societal condition. Additionally, knowledge or unde rstanding of a good citizen should not be confined to roles and issues raised by societal institutions, but he should be aware of all current happenings that take place in the society and ultimately result in good or bad for the people. Carroll has discussed in his work that responsibilities of a good citizen should be identified as corporate social responsibilities (CSR). These responsibilities involve economic, legal, ethical and discretionary expectations that society has of organizations at a given point in time (Sison, 2008). The core understanding of corporate social responsibilities implies that institutions that are involved in the process of socialization should have moral, philanthropic, and ethical responsibilities. However, from the broader spectrum Carroll as emphasized on the fact that corporate social responsibilities should not be solely viewed in a traditional way. But, citizens should be provided with an opportunity, where they can enjoy a number of constituencies such as from employees, local state or community, environmental groups, suppliers, clients and other special interest parties (Sison, 2008). According to Loeb, responsibilities of a citizen in a democratic society have been defined for the making society more lively, safe and potential place for the people to live in. Author has strongly focused on the role of citizens to bring positive social change in the country, every time when a society suffers any critical social, political or economical issue. Additionally, apart from understanding the roles and responsibilities, a citizen needs to have such feelings and enthusiasm for the society that led him/her to participate actively in all activities and social works that aim to improve living conditions in a democratic community (Loeb, 2011). Also, Loeb highlights that it is not only important to work in a group or with any organization for the betterment of social issues, but it should be noted that each and every effort is worthy and individual efforts of citizens can also contribute to make a considerable difference in a democratic society. It is because, in democratic system all citizens are all equal and they have freedom of speech or thoughts that can even bring a revolution on a national level. Liu has mentioned five core responsibilities

Nursing Case Study Assessment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Nursing Assessment - Case Study Example This shows that she is staining to breathe. The other priority problem that the nurse should note in the diagnostic statement is that Jane is experiencing dehydration. Dehydration is shown by dryness of the lips and the fact that her skin has lost its turgor and has become (Shen, Johnston and Hays, 2011). The other priority problem that should be noted by the nurse is that the patient is experiencing pain. During the examination it is observed that Jane is having problems forming sentences and she is not able to take Ventolin. Q2. During the diagnosis, it has been identified that Jane’s oxygen saturation is alarming which suggests that the oxygen saturation are 90 percent of Room air. To deal with this problem, the nurse will use the four components of the nursing interventions. The intervention will be performed by the nurse who will be in contact with the patient for most of the time during her stay in the hospital. The other nursing component that will be included in the in tervention is performance of respiratory evaluations of the respiratory rate and effort that Jane is using when breathing (Shen, Johnston and Hays, 2011). Assessment of the respiratory rate is critical given that Jane has already shown signs of having problems in breathing and asthma is usually characterized by respiratory problems. The other nursing intervention to be implemented to rectify the problem is to carry out frequent assessment of the patient at least once daily. Frequent monitoring will allow the nurse note the progress of the patient and in case any emergency care is required, a physician can be called in immediately. The fourth nursing intervention that will used to rectify the problem is to administer pain relief to the patient. This is because the patient has shown signs of being in pain (Shen, Johnston and Hays, 2011). Q3. During the assessment of Jane, it becomes evident that she is experiencing chronic pain as she coughs. According to Gagnon (2011), pain is a subj ective symptom and when measuring pain, the medical practitioner aims at identifying pain location, its intensity, temporal patterns, relieving factors and interference. It is hard to measure pain that Jane is experiencing given that she is an infant and has difficulties in communication. However, the best assessment tool should be relying on behavioral assessment of the child. The nurse should therefore observe facial expression as the child coughs and how she makes facial expression after medication has been administered. Therefore the best tool for the case should be the Wong-Baker Faces Pain Rating Scale which uses to evaluate the level of pain based on the face. Q4. The recommended dosage of paracetamol is 15mg of paracetamol per kilogram. This is calculated by dividing 210 by 14 which gives 15mg per kg. Therefore the dosage recommended by the RMO is correct. Q5. Given the age of Jane and her present condition that gives her difficulties when swallowing, the nurse can utilize d ifferent strategies to administer paracetamol to her. The nurse can administer the paracetamol through a syringe placed at the corner of the mouth after which the nurse pushes the syringe slowly to release the medicine into the throat of the child (Ganzewinkel et.al., 2012). The other strategy that the nurse can use is by giving the paracetamol using a teat bottle where Jane will suck the medicine. The nurse may also administer the pa

Medications for treatment T2 DM Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Medications for treatment T2 DM - Term Paper Example Thus the medications for type 2 diabetes mellitus are aimed at administering insulin to combat tissue resistance and adjusting the lipid profile back to normal. Different preparations of insulin and a number of oral hypoglycemic drugs are used to treat diabetes mellitus type 2. The oral hypoglycemic drugs are further divided into sulfonylureas, biguanides, thiazolidinediones and alpha glucosidase inhibitors (Trevor et al 2008). Insulin is a protein molecule so it is not given orally to avoid degradation in the gastrointestinal tract; instead it is administered subcutaneously to the patients to lower the blood glucose levels (Finkel et al 2009). The available preparations of Insulin can be categorized as rapid acting, short acting, intermediate and long acting insulin. The rapid acting insulin preparations are insulin lispro and insulin aspart. Due to their rapid onset of action, they mimic the natural prandial insulin secretion. Lispro Insulin was the first insulin analogue developed by recombinant DNA technology. The lysine and proline amino acids at its carboxyl end are reversed. This structure has no effect on binding to insulin receptor, immunogenecity or the half life, as these all are similar to the natural human insulin. The advantage of this structural alignment is that it decreases the propensity of insulin to form dimers, thus more amount of insulin is available in monomer form. It starts working within 15 minutes and achieves peak activity within one hour. The effect lasts for 3 to 5 hours. Insulin aspart has B28 proline in its structure replaced by negative aspartic acid, this modification inhibits insulin self aggregation. The regular insulin comes in the short acting insulin category. It is a soluble crystalline zinc insulin molecule. When injected subcutaneously in substantial amount (a vial), the molecules aggregate antiparallel and create dimers which stabilize around zinc to form insulin hexamers. This structural configuration renders the regu lar insulin the ability of delayed onset of action, so the peak action is achieved slowly. The involved mechanism of slow prolonged action is that initially, the hexamers are too large for the vascular transport, but as the interstitial fluid dilutes them, their concentration begins to decrease locally. The hexamers break and slowly change into mononers. This insulin is administered 30 to 45 minutes before meals. This is the only insulin type that can be given intravenously as well (Trevor et al 2008). Neutral protamine hagedron (NPH) or isophane insulin is the intermediate acting insulin formed by combining protamine and insulin in 1 ratio 10, in the form of isophane complex. In the complex form, insulin and protamine, both lose all their free binding sites. When injected, protamine is degraded by proteolytic enzymes and insulin is then absorbed. It starts acting after 4 to 5 hours of administration. Insulin glargine and insulin detemir are the types of long acting insulin. Insulin glargine, also called as peak-less insulin has the isoelectric point lower than that of human insulin, so it precipitates at the injection site, allowing slow prolonged hypoglycemic effect and provides a background insulin replacement. Insulin detemir has a fatty acid side chain in its structure. It binds with tissue albumin at the site of injection and then dissociates

The Arab Spring Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

The Arab Spring - Research Paper Example The Arab Spring came into existence as a response to the lack of political freedom in the various countries in which it has occurred. At first, they were peaceful protests some of which became armed struggles whose aim was to topple the autocratic regimes ruling over these countries. According to Ben-Meir , the rebellion against such governments was due to the fact that instead of taking into consideration the calls of their people to allow them freedom that is more political. These autocratic regimes responded with violence against peaceful protesters, a move that may have been spurred by their conception that their authority was being threatened and that there was a need for them to reclaim such authority by using brute force. The use of force against unarmed civilians led to the discrediting of the legitimacy of such governments and calls for the stepping down of these leaders were made from many international organizations and governments. Moreover, in cases such as Libya and Syr ia, the peaceful protests suddenly became fierce armed rebellions against the government that attacked the unarmed civilians.Jones   states that protesters in the Arab Spring made very good use of modern technology such as social networks in order to organize protests as well as making people outside their countries aware of what was really going on because of the media blackout that had been created by the autocratic regimes. Many of these regimes had banned and continue to ban international journalists from having access.

An Entrepreneur's Journey Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

An Entrepreneur's Journey - Assignment Example Both her personal and business life need maximum and equal attention. Simi will have a difficult time during the transition as first she has to find an appropriate house for the family, and one that she can afford. Her husband is dealing with the housing issue, but it has an effect on the family and their finances. In addition, she has her children’s education to worry about, as the move to Lagos will necessitate them to change school. Finding this a good school for the kids to settle is another challenge. The moving process will have a huge effect on the family as it involves many changes to their personal and professional lives. The children will have to change schools and the environment they have been used to. Simi and her husband will also have to adapt to the new personal and business environment they will now be exposed to (Davis and Spence 5). The move to Nigeria presents a new challenge to the survival of the business, which is only 2 years old. Simi had to put in measures that will ensure the survival of the business even without his husband’s presence throughout the year. She has to have a strategic plan on the sustainability of the business in both the long-term and short-term. To safeguard the survival of the business, Simi has taken several steps. The first step has been to ensure that she will find time to take care of the business by being there for 4 months in a year. This will give her the opportunity to deal with the company issues and assess the progress in her absence. In addition, she will keep constant communication with Feyi to help her in the day-to-day running of the business. Simi and Feyi have hired a marketing consultant to help them articulate the story to the media and public in general. This is a step to help the business gain more recognition and extend its outreach to more potential clients. This will help grow the business and ensure its

If employee involvement and participation were used effectively by Essay

If employee involvement and participation were used effectively by organistions many conflicts would never occur - Essay Example company’s production output efficiency as well as employee’s commitment in attaining the organizational goal and overall financial success of the business. (Bryson, 1999) Basically, increasing a company’s production output contributes a lot of savings in terms of being able to maximize the company’s fixed costs. Eventually, a higher production rate increases the company’s profitability from the sales of products and services. With regards to the practice of employee involvement, several authors have noted that each type of employee involvement technique or a combination of these techniques have different effects on employee’s performance. (Cabrera, Ortega, & Cabrera, 2003; McNabb & Whitfield, 1998) In line with the purpose of this study, HR student will first define the meaning of employee involvement. Given that each type of employee involvement technique or a combination of these techniques have different effects on employee’s performance, there is a need for the HR student to identify and discuss the different types of employee involvement and participation techniques including the significance of reward systems in terms of solving organizational conflicts that could hinder the attainability of organizational goals and objectives. Eventually, the benefits of employee involvement and participation will be thoroughly discussed. Prior to conclusion, the HR student will discuss some of the challenges that human resource managers will be facing when implementing employee involvement and participation including the recommended ways on how human resource managers could implement employee involvement and participation in order to solve organization conflicts. Employee involvement is considered as â€Å"the voluntary employer-led initiatives that are designed to encourage more active employee to participate in the business organization.† (Caldwell, 1993) Among the long list of benefits associated with the implementation of employee involvement and

An Entrepreneur's Journey Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

An Entrepreneur's Journey - Assignment Example Both her personal and business life need maximum and equal attention. Simi will have a difficult time during the transition as first she has to find an appropriate house for the family, and one that she can afford. Her husband is dealing with the housing issue, but it has an effect on the family and their finances. In addition, she has her children’s education to worry about, as the move to Lagos will necessitate them to change school. Finding this a good school for the kids to settle is another challenge. The moving process will have a huge effect on the family as it involves many changes to their personal and professional lives. The children will have to change schools and the environment they have been used to. Simi and her husband will also have to adapt to the new personal and business environment they will now be exposed to (Davis and Spence 5). The move to Nigeria presents a new challenge to the survival of the business, which is only 2 years old. Simi had to put in measures that will ensure the survival of the business even without his husband’s presence throughout the year. She has to have a strategic plan on the sustainability of the business in both the long-term and short-term. To safeguard the survival of the business, Simi has taken several steps. The first step has been to ensure that she will find time to take care of the business by being there for 4 months in a year. This will give her the opportunity to deal with the company issues and assess the progress in her absence. In addition, she will keep constant communication with Feyi to help her in the day-to-day running of the business. Simi and Feyi have hired a marketing consultant to help them articulate the story to the media and public in general. This is a step to help the business gain more recognition and extend its outreach to more potential clients. This will help grow the business and ensure its

Bussiness memo Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Bussiness memo - Assignment Example In spite of the fact that the essentials of satellite correspondences are reasonably clear, there is a colossal financing needed in building the satellite and propelling it into space (Verma et al ). All things considered numerous correspondences satellites exist in circle around the globe and they are generally utilized for an assortment of requisitions from giving satellite telecommunications connections to guide television and the utilization of satellite telephone and singular satellite correspondence joins. However, satellite correspondences frameworks give huge levels of adaptability and versatility give the open doors to numerous satellite interchanges frameworks (Macy et al ). In spite of the fact that the beginning base expenses are high, frequently new remote stations could be included moderately economically as new lines dont have to be introduced to give correspondence to the new remote station, not at all like wire based telecommunications frameworks or numerous physical remote connections were repeater stations may be required. Here the satellite empowers correspondences to be created over substantial separations - well past the viewable pathway. Correspondences satellites may be utilized for some requisitions including transferring phone calls, giving interchanges to remote territories of the Earth, giving satellite interchanges to ships, flying machine and other portable vehicles, and there are a lot of people more courses in which interchanges satellites could be utilized (Helfers 415). Verma, Ajeet Singh, et al. "Measurement of reliability and availability of satellite communication links: Progress and challenges."Â  Intelligent Systems and Signal Processing (ISSP), 2013 International Conference on. IEEE,

American Immigration History Essay Example for Free

American Immigration History Essay American immigration history can be viewed in four epochs: the colonial period, the mid-19th century, the start of the 20th century, and post-1965. Each period brought distinct national groups, races and ethnicities to the United States. During the 17th century, approximately 175,000 Englishmen migrated to Colonial America.[11] Over half of all European immigrants to Colonial America during the 17th and 18th centuries arrived as indentured servants.[12] The mid-19th century saw mainly an influx from northern Europe; the early 20th-century mainly from Southern and Eastern Europe; post-1965 mostly from Latin America and Asia. Historians estimate that fewer than one million immigrants—perhaps as few as 400,000—crossed the Atlantic during the 17th and 18th centuries.[13] The 1790 Act limited naturalization to free white persons; it was expanded to include blacks in the 1860s and Asians in the 1950s.[14] In the early years of the United States, immigration was fewer than 8,000 people a year,[15] including French refugees from the slave revolt in Haiti. After 1820, immigration gradually increased. From 1836 to 1914, over 30 million Europeans migrated to the United States.[16] The death rate on these transatlantic voyages was high, during which one in seven travelers died.[17] In 1875, the nation passed its first immigration law, the Page Act of 1875.[18] The peak year of European immigration was in 1907, when 1,285,349 persons entered the country.[19] By 1910, 13.5 million immigrants were living in the United States.[20] In 1921, the Congress passed the Emergency Quota Act, followed by the Immigration Act of 1924. The 1924 Act was aimed at further restricting the Southern and Eastern Europeans, especially Jews, Italians, and Slavs, who had begun to enter the country in large numbers beginning in the 1890s.[21] Most of the European refugees fleeing the Nazis and World War II were barred from coming to the United States.[22] Immigration patterns of the 1930s were dominated by the Great Depression, which hit the U.S. hard and lasted over ten years there. In the final prosperous year, 1929, there were 279,678 immigrants recorded,[23] but in 1933, only 23,068 came to the U.S.[13] In the early 1930s, more people emigrated from the United States than to it.[24] The U.S. government sponsored a Mexican Repatriation program which was intended to encourage people to voluntarily move to Mexico, but thousands were deported against their will.[25] Altogether about 400,000 Mexicans were repatriated.[26] In the post-war era, the Justice Department  launched Operation Wetback, under which 1,075,168 Mexicans were deported in 1954.[27] First, our cities will not be flooded with a million immigrants annually. Under the proposed bill, the present level of immigration remains substantially the same. Secondly, the ethnic mix of this country will not be upset. Contrary to the charges in some quarters, [the bill] will not inundate America with immigrants from any one country or area, or the most populated and deprived nations of Africa and Asia. In the final analysis, the ethnic pattern of immigration under the proposed measure is not expected to change as sharply as the critics seem to think. — Ted Kennedy, chief Senate sponsor of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965.[28] The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, also known as the Hart-Cellar Act, abolished the system of national-origin quotas. By equalizing immigration policies, the act resulted in new immigration from non-European nations, which changed the ethnic make-up of the United States.[29] While European immigrants accounted for nearly 60% of the total foreign population in 1970, they accounted for only 15% in 2000.[30] Immigration doubled between 1965 and 1970, and again between 1970 and 1990.[31] In 1990, George H. W. Bush signed the Immigration Act of 1990,[32 ] which increased legal immigration to the United States by 40%.[33] Appointed by Bill Clinton,[34] the U.S. Commission on Immigration Reform recommended reducing legal immigration from about 800,000 people per year to approximately 550,000.[35] While an influx of new residents from different cultures presents some challenges, the United States has always been energized by its immigrant populations, said President Bill Clinton in 1998. America has constantly drawn strength and spirit from wave after wave of immigrants [] They have proved to be the most restless, the most adventurous, the most innovative, the most industrious of people.[36] An analysis of census data found that nearly eight million immigrants entered the United States from 2000 to 2005, more than in any other five-year period in the nations history; 3.7 million of them entered without papers.[37][38] Since 1986 Congress has passed seven amnesties for undocumented immigrants.[39] In 1986 president Ronald Reagan signed immigration reform that gave amnesty to 3 million undocumented immigrants in the country.[40] Hispanic immigrants were among the first victims of the late-2000s recession,[41] but since the recessions end in June 2009, immigrants posted a net gain of 656,000 jobs.[42] Over 1 million immigrants were granted legal residence in 2011. - Contemporary immigration Until the 1930s most legal immigrants were male. By the 1990s women accounted for just over half of all legal immigrants.[46]Contemporary immigrants tend to be younger than the native population of the United States, with people between the ages of 15 and 34 substantially overrepresented.[47] Immigrants are also more likely to be married and less likely to be divorced than native-born Americans of the same age.[48] Immigrants are likely to move to and live in areas populated by people with similar backgrounds. This phenomenon has held true throughout the history of immigration to the United States.[49] Seven out of ten immigrants surveyed by Public Agenda in 2009 said they intended to make the U.S. their permanent home, and 71% said if they could do it over again they would still come to the US. In the same study, 76% of immigrants say the government has become stricter on enforcing immigration laws since the September 11, 2001 attacks (9/11), and 24% report that they personally have experienced some or a great deal of discrimination.[50] Public attitudes about immigration in the U.S. were heavily influenced in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. After the attacks, 52% of Americans believed that immigration was a good thing overall for the U.S., down from 62% the year before, according to a 2009 Gallup poll.[51] A 2008 Public Agenda survey found that half of Americans said tighter controls on immigration would do a great deal to enhance U.S. national security.[52] Harvard political scientist and historian Samuel P. Huntington argued in Who Are We? The Challenges to Americas National Identity that a potential future consequence of continuing massive immigration from Latin America, especially Mexico, might lead to the bifurcation of the United States. The population of illegal Mexican immigrants in the US fell from approximately 7 million in 2007 to 6.1 million in 2011 [53] Commentators link the reversal of the immigration trend to the economic downturn that started in 2008 and which meant fewer available jobs, and to the introduction of tough immigration laws in many states.[54][55][56][57] According to the Pew Hispanic Center the total number of Mexican born persons had stagnated in 2010, and tended toward going into negative figures.[58] More than 80 cities in the United States,[59] including Washington D.C., New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, San Diego,San Jose, Salt Lake City, Phoenix, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, Detroit, Jersey City, Minneapolis, Miami, Denver, Baltimore, Seattle,Portland, Oregon and Portland, Maine, have sanctuary policies, which vary locally.[60] - Effects of immigration Demographics The Census Bureau estimates the US population will grow from 281 million in 2000 to 397 million in 2050 with immigration, but only to 328 million with no immigration.[77] A new report from the Pew Research Center projects that by 2050, non-Hispanic whites will account for 47% of the population, down from the 2005 figure of 67%.[78] Non-Hispanic whites made up 85% of the population in 1960.[79] It also foresees the Hispanic population rising from 14% in 2005 to 29% by 2050.[80] The Asian population is expected to more than triple by 2050. Overall, the population of the United States is due to rise from 296 million in 2005 to 438 million in 2050, with 82% of the increase from immigrants.[81] In 35 of the countrys 50 largest cities, non-Hispanic whites were at the last census or are predicted to be in the minority.[82] In California, non-Hispanic whites slipped from 80% of the states population in 1970 to 42.3% in 2008.[83][84] Immigrant segregation declined in the first half of the cen tury, but has been rising over the past few decades. This has caused questioning of the correctness of describing the United States as a melting pot. One explanation is that groups with lower socioeconomic status concentrate in more densely populated area that have access to public transit while groups with higher socioeconomic status move to suburban areas. Another is that some recent immigrant groups are more culturally and linguistically different than earlier group and prefer to live together due to factors such as communication costs.[85] Another explanation for increased segregation is white flight.[86] â€Å"The lesson of these 236 years is clear – immigration makes America stronger. Immigration makes us more prosperous. And immigration positions America to lead in the 21st century.† President Obama, July 4, 2012 A stronger GDP means a better standard of living for Americans.Immigrants start small businesses.Immigrant-owned businesses create jobs for American workers.Immigrants boost demand for local consumer goods. More than 40 percent of Fortune 500 companies were founded by immigrants or a child of immigrants. According to thePartnership for a New American Economy these companies employ more than 10 million people worldwide and generate annual revenue of $4.2 trillion. Immigrants innovate as scientists and engineers.Immigrants develop cutting-edge technologies and companies.Immigrant scientist and engineers positively impact wages.Fixing our broken immigration system is critical to bilateral trade and U.S. exports. Fixing our broken immigration system will help increase international travel and tourism to America. merica’s immigration system is broken. Too many employers game the system by hiring undocumented workers and there are 11 million people living in the shadows. Neither is good for the economy or the country. Together we can build a fair, effective and common sense immigration system that lives up to our heritage as a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants. The President’s plan builds a smart, effective immigration system that continues efforts to secure our borders and cracks down on employers who hire undocumented immigrants. It’s a plan that requires anyone who’s undocumented to get right with the law by paying their taxes and a penalty, learning English, and undergoing background checks before they can be eligible to earn citizenship. It requires every business and every worker to play by the same set of rules. The Know Nothing movement was an American political movement that operated on a national basis during the mid 1850s. It promised to purify American politics by limiting or ending the influence of Irish Catholics and other immigrants, thus reflecting nativismand anti-Catholic sentiment. It was empowered by popular fears that the country was being overwhelmed by German and Irish Catholicimmigrants, whom they saw as hostile to republican values and controlled by the pope in Rome. Mainly active from 1854 to 1856, it strove to curb immigration and naturalization, but met with little success. Membership was limited to Protestant males. There were few prominent leaders, and the largely middle-class membership fragmented over the issue of slavery. The most prominent leaders were ex-President Millard Fillmore (the partys presidential nominee in 1856), Massachusetts Congressman Nathaniel P. Banks,[1] and former congressman Lewis C. Levin. Social Irish immigration was opposed in the 1850s by the nativist Know Nothing movement, originating in New York in 1843. It was engendered by popular fears that the country was being overwhelmed by Irish Catholic immigrants. In 1891, a lynch mob stormed a local jail and hanged several Italians following the acquittal of several Sicilian immigrants alleged to be involved in the murder of New Orleans police chief David Hennessy. The Congress passed the Emergency Quota Act in 1921, followed by the Immigration Act of 1924. The Immigration Act of 1924 was aimed at limiting immigration overall, and making sure that the nationalities of new arrivals matched the overall national profile. After the September 11 attacks, many Americans entertained doubts and suspicions about people apparently of Middle-Eastern origins.[citation needed] NPR in 2010 fired a prominent black commentator, Juan Williams, when he talked publicly about his fears on seeing people dressed like Muslims on airplanes.[127] Racist thinking among and between minority groups does occur;[128][129] examples of this are conflicts between blacks and Korean immigrants,[130] notably in the 1992 Los Angeles Riots, and between African Americans and non-white Latino immigrants.[131][132] There has been a long running racial tension between African American and Mexicanprison gangs, as well as significant riots in California prisons where they have targeted each other, for ethnic reasons.[133][134] There have been reports of racially motivated attacks against African Americans who have moved into neighborhoods occupied mostly by people of Mexican origin, and vice versa.[135][136] There has also been an increase in violence between non-Hispanic Anglo Americans and Latino immigrants, and between African immigrants and African Americans.[137] A 2007 study on assimilation found that Mexican immigrants are less fluent in English than both non-Mexican Hispanic immigrants and other immigrants. While English fluency increas es with time stayed in the United States, although further improvements after the first decade are limited, Mexicans never catch up with non-Mexican Hispanic who never catch up with non-Hispanics. The study also writes that Even among immigrants who came to the United States before they were ï ¬ ve years old and whose entire schooling was in the United States, those Mexican born have average education levels of 11.7 years, whereas those from other countries have average levels of education of 14.1 years. Unlike other immigrants, Mexicans have a tendency to live in communities with many other Mexicans which decreases incentives for assimilation. Correcting for this removes about half the fluency difference between Mexicans and other immigrants.[138] Religious diversity Immigration from South Asia and elsewhere has contributed to enlarging the religious composition of the United States. Islam in the United States is growing mainly due to immigration. Hinduism in the United States, Buddhism in the United States, and Sikhism in the United States are other examples.[139] Since 1992, an estimated 1.7 million Muslims, approximately 1 million Hindus, and approximately 1 million Buddhists have immigrated legally to the United States. Os Imigrantes e as Religià µes A maior religià £o dos EUA à © o cristianismo, cerca de 78,4% da populaà §Ãƒ £o à © cristà £. Tradicionalmente a maioria dos americanos eram majoritariamente protestantes, mas pela primeira vez em 2011 o grupo atingiu porcetagem menor que metade da populaà §Ãƒ £o. Ainda assim os americanos continuam sendo de maioria protestante somando 48% ou ainda ma maioria crentes 51% somando afiliaà §Ãƒ µes mà ³rmons. O cristianismo foi introduzidos durante o perà ­odo da colonizaà §Ãƒ £o europeia. O cristianismo à © uma das religià µes que mais cresce nos EUA. Isto se deve, entre outros fatores, pelo elevado nà ºmero de imigrantes latino-americanos e filipinos que o paà ­s recebe a cada ano. A regià £o com a maior concentraà §Ãƒ £o de catà ³licos à © o Nordeste, que apesar de ter sido colonizada por puritanos, recebeu grande nà ºmero de imigrantes catà ³licos europeus (principalmente alemà £es, irlandeses e italianos) a partir da segunda metade do sà ©culo XIX. O Norte, à ¡rea de forte influà ªncia da Igreja Batista, por outro lado, à © a regià £o com a menor porcentagem de catà ³licos. Os  Ingleses, Alemà £es, Escoceses, Holandeses, Noruegueses entre outros do norte europeu introduziram o Protestantismo, enquanto os franceses, espanhà ³is e irlandeses trouxeram o Catolicismo. Apesar de seu status de religià £o mais difundida e mais influente nos EUA, o Cristianismo està ¡ num declà ­nio relativo contà ­nuo. Quando o nà ºmero absoluto de cristà £os foi levantado de 1990 a 2001, a porcentagem cristà £ da populaà §Ãƒ £o caiu de 88.3% para 79.6%. O Judaà ­smo à © a quarta maior preferà ªncia religiosa nos EUA. Os judeus atuais està £o presentes nos EUA desde o sà ©culo XVII, embora a imigraà §Ãƒ £o em grande escala nà £o tenha ocorrido atà © o sà ©culo XIX, em maior parte por causa das perseguià §Ãƒ µes na Europa Oriental. O CIA Fact Book estima que 1% dos americanos pertencem a esse grupo. Aproximadamente 25% dessa populaà §Ãƒ £o vive em Nova York. O Budismo entrou nos EUA durante o sà ©culo XIX com a chegada dos primeiros imigrantes da à sia Oriental. O primeiro templo budista foi estabelecido em San Francisco em 1853 pelos chineses-americanos. Ao longo do sà ©culo XIX, missionà ¡rios budistas do Japà £o vieram aos EUA. Simultaneamente a estes processos, certos intelectuais dos EUA ficaram interessados pelo budismo. O sà ©culo XX foi caracterizado por uma continuaà §Ãƒ £o das tendà ªncias do sà ©culo XIX. A segunda metade, pelo contraste, viu uma emergà ªncia de correntes principais do movimento budista que tornou-se uma massa e um fenà ´meno religioso social. Estimativas do nà ºmero de budistas nos Estados Unidos variam de 0.5% a 0.9%. No que diz respeito a histà ³ria do Islà £ nos EUA, ainda que muito pequena, a populaà §Ãƒ £o muà §ulmana aumentou extremamente nos à ºltimos cem anos. Boa parte do crescimento foi por causa da imigraà §Ãƒ £o e pela conversà £o. Atà © um terà §o dos muà §ulmanos americanos sà £o africanos que se converteram ao Islà £ durante os à ºltimos setenta anos. A imigraà §Ãƒ £o muà §ulmana aumentou em 2005, assim como mais pessoas de paà ­ses islà ¢micos se tornaram residentes legais permanentes nos EUA do que qualquer ano, nas duas dà ©cadas anteriores. A estimativa de muà §ulmanos nos EUA à © de 2,35 milhà µes (0,8% do total da populaà §Ãƒ £o). A primeira vez que o Hinduà ­smo entrou nos Estados Unidos nà £o està ¡ claramente identificado. No entanto, grandes grupos de hindus emigraram da à ndia e de outros paà ­ses asià ¡ticos desde o Ato pela Imigraà §Ãƒ £o e Nacionalidade de 1965. Durante as dà ©cadas de 1960 e 1970, o fascà ­nio pelo Hinduà ­smo contribuiu para o pensamento New Age. Atualmente, as estimativas de hindus nos Estados Unidos sugerem um nà ºmero de quase 800.000 pessoas, ou cerca de 0.4% do total da populaà §Ãƒ £o. A religià £o hindu està ¡ em crescimento nos Estados Unidos, nà £o sà ³ graà §as a imigraà §Ãƒ £o, mas tambà ©m devido a conversà £o de muitos ocidentais. Place of birth for the foreign-born population in the United States Top ten countries| 2010| 2000| 1990| Mexico| 11,711,103| 9,177,487| 4,298,014| China| 2,166,526| 1,518,652| 921,070| India| 1,780,322| 1,022,552| 450,406| Philippines| 1,777,588| 1,369,070| 912,674| Vietnam| 1,240,542| 988,174| 543,262| El Salvador| 1,214,049| 817,336| 465,433| Cuba| 1,104,679| 872,716| 736,971| South Korea| 1,100,422| 864,125| 568,397| Dominican Republic| 879,187| 687,677| 347,858| Guatemala| 830,824| 480,665| 225,739| All of Latin America| 21,224,087| 16,086,974| 8,407,837| All Immigrants| 39,955,854| 31,107,889| 19,767,316|

Macbeth: Macbeth - A Tragic Hero :: essays research papers

Macbeth: Macbeth - A Tragic Hero "(Sometimes a tragic hero is created, not through his own villainy), but rather through some flaw in him, he being one of those who are in high station and good fortune, like Oedipus and Thyestes and the famous men of such families as those." (Poetics, Aristotle). Every great tragedy is dominated by a protagonist who has within himself a tragic flaw, too much or too little of one of Aristotle's twelve virtues. In Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, Macbeth, a great Scottish general and thane of Glamis, has just won an important battle, when he is told by three witches that he will become thane of Cawdor and then king of Scotland. After Macbeth is given Cawdor by King Duncan, he takes the witches words for truth and conspires against Duncan with his wife. When Duncan comes to Macbeth's castle that night, Macbeth kills him and takes the crown for himself after Duncan's sons flee from Scotland. Then Macbeth reigns for a while, has several people killed, and is eventually slain by Macduff when he and Malcolm return leading the armies of England. Often people read the play and automatically conclude that Macbeth's tragic flaw is his ambition; that he is compelled to commit so many acts of violence by his lust for power. However, by carefully examining the first act, one can determine the defect in Macbeth's character that creates his ambition; his true tragic flaw. Macbeth's tragic flaw is not his ambition as most people believe, but rather his trust in the words of the witches and in his wife's decisions. At the beginning of the play Macbeth has no designs on the throne, and he does not start plotting until his wife comes up with a plan. When first faced with the witches' words, Macbeth expresses astonishment and disbelief rather than welcoming them when he says, "...to be King stands not within the prospect of belief, no more than to be Cawdor...."(1.3.73-75). When confronted with the witches' proclamation that he is to be king, Macbeth responds as a loyal subject would; not as a man with secret aspirations in his heart. He has no reason to hide his true feelings at this point so therefore it can be assumed that Macbeth has not yet truly considered killing the king. Even after the first of the witches' predictions comes true, Macbeth does not plot against the king but instead decides to leave it to chance. "(Aside) If chance will have me King, why, chance may crown me, Without my stir."(1.3.143-144). Macbeth has already been granted the title of thane of Cawdor, but still he

Figures of speech in The Fall of the House of Usher -- Essays Papers

Figures of speech in The Fall of the House of Usher Edgar Allen Poe’s short story, â€Å"The Fall of the House of Usher†, sets a tone that is dark, gloomy, and threatening. His inclusion of highly descriptive words and various forms of figurative language enhance the story’s evil nature, giving the house and its inhabitants eerie and â€Å"supernatural† qualities. Poe’s effective use of personification, symbolism, foreshadowing, and doubling create a morbid tale leading to, and ultimately causing, the fall of (the house of) Usher. Poe’s use of personification, the act of giving human characteristics to nonhuman things, assigns the house of Usher a powerful and evil presence. In the first paragraph of the story, the narrator describes the house as having â€Å"vacant eye-like windows†. He uses this description twice: first to show that the house has seen everything that has led to the fall of Usher, and again to emphasize the unidentified deception of the house. The narrator also describes his negative reaction to the house as a â€Å"hideous dropping off of the veil†. This statement describes what the house has revealed to the narrator, a disgusting and disappointing appearance. Poe also uses symbolism to compare the deterioration of the house to the fall of the Usher dynasty. In Roderick’s poem, â€Å"The Haunted Palace†, he describes the history of the house as it began as a strong and â€Å"radiant palace†, which over time became a decrepit, disease-ridden cage. The radiant palace repres...

Pifzer Inc.’s Cost of Capital and Capital Structure

Pfizer Inc. ’S Cost of Capital and Capital structure – Xiaoyue Shi The costs of capital and capital structures for Pfizer Inc. and its two competitors Merck & Co. Inc. and Johnson & Johnson in the pharmaceutical industry are analyzed in this memo. When calculating the cost of common stock for the three companies, three different approaches including Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM), Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) and the bond yield plus risk premium are applied (Appendix A). For CAPM approach (Figure 1 & 3), the risk-free rate (rRF) used is the rate on the U. S. 10-year Treasury bonds, which is 1. 66.The market risk premium (RPM) is the required return on the stock market minus rRF. The required market return used here is the average 20 years rates of return on S&P 500. With highest beta (0. 71), Merck has the higher estimated cost of equity (6. 167). Pfizer has lower estimated cost of equity (5. 910) with lower beta (0. 67). Because of the lowest beta (0. 48), Johnson & Johnson has the lowest estimated cost of equity (4. 697). For DCF approach (Figure 2 & 4), the stock price used is the current stock price. The expected growth rate (g) is the annualized growth rate based on the dividend growth over the past 10 years.Among the three companies, Johnson & Johnson has the highest estimated cost of equity due to its highest expected growth rate in dividends. Pfizer’s estimated cost of equity is much lower than Johnson & Johnson. Having the lowest expected growth rate in dividends, Merck has the lowest cost of equity. For bond yield plus risk premium approach (Figure 5), the bond yield (Figure 7) for Pfizer, Merck and Johnson & Johnson are 2. 0724, 2. 5553, and 1. 9629 respectively. Since their betas are Pfizer 0. 67, Merck 0. 71 and Johnson & Johnson 0. 48, and all below 1, the three companies’ judgmental risk premium estimated as 3. , 3. 4, and 3, respectively. According to the bond yield plus risk premium method, the estimated costs of e quity are Pfizer 5. 3724, Merck 5. 9553, Johnson & Johnson 4. 9629. The final estimated costs of equity for the three companies in this memo are the averages of the three approaches (Figure 6), and they are Pfizer 5. 83, Merck 4. 44, Johnson & Johnson 7. 36. The three companies do not offer preferred stocks in public (Appendix B). Their costs of preferred stock would be zero. Although Pfizer offer Preferred stock for their employees, its costs of preferred stock still estimated as zero.According to the debt-rating organizations such as Moody’s, S&P, the three companies’ bond ratings are very high (Figure 7). The tax rates used for calculating the costs of debt are the average tax rates for the last four years (Appendix C, Figure 10). And their after-tax cost of debts are similarly low, for example, Pfizer 1. 657, Merck 1. 991, Johnson & Johnson 1. 528 (Figure 9). When calculating the percentage of debt and common equity (Appendix D, Figure 12), the common equity used i s the market value of equity, and the book value of company’s debt is used as a proxy of the market value of debt.According to the formula in Appendix D, the weighted average costs of capital (WACC) for the three companies are Pfizer 1. 86, Merck 2. 17, Johnson & Johnson 2. 15. The WACCs are quit low for the three companies as pharmaceutical giants. The debt ratios for last four years for the three companies were all around 50% (Appendix E, Figure 13). For example, in 2008, Pfizer’s debt ratio was 48. 1%, Merck was 55. 2%, Johnson & Johnson was 49. 9%; in 2009, Pfizer was 57. 5%, Merck was 45. 5%, Johnson & Johnson was 46. 6%; in 2010, Pfizer was 54. 7%, Merck was 46. 3%, Johnson & Johnson was 45%; in 2011, Pfizer was 56. %, Merck was 45. 8%, Johnson & Johnson was 49. 8%. Pfizer’s debt ratios were a little higher than its two competitors. But they all have quite similar capital structures with similar borrowing capacities. The three companies’ assets are financed with around 50% equity, and their risks of bankruptcy are low. Because involved in the pharmaceutical industry, the three companies are focusing on R&D, innovation and raise productivity, which are very costly for them. The three companies all have a lot borrowings. Drug development needs a lot of resources and quite inefficient.High failure rates cause a lot pharmaceutical companies unable to make profit and went bankruptcy. Based on the circumstances, the three companies all have very good capital structures in the pharmaceutical industry. They may have to figure out a way to cut their costs, and have even better capital structures. Pfizer used accelerated depreciation methods for tax purpose. Its depreciation & amortization increased a lot since 2009 (Appendix F, Figure 14). For example, it was $5,090 million in 2008, and $4,757 million in 2009, but it was $8487 million in 2010, and $9026 million in 2011.The huge increase in depreciation was mainly because of the merger with Wyeth in 2009. Merck mainly used accelerated depreciation methods for tax purpose except that its depreciation on intangibles was applied with primarily straight-line methods. Its depreciation & amortization also increased since 2009. For instance, it was $1,631. 2 million in 2008, and $2,576 million in 2009, but it was $7,381 million in 2010, and $7,427 million in 2011. The increase in depreciation was also because of the merger. Merck was also involved in a merger with another pharmaceutical company Schering-Plough in 2009.Johnson & Johnson had quite stable depreciations. And the straight-line methods were applied in this company. The three companies all paid stable dividends in last four years (Appendix G). Pfizer paid lowest dividends among them. Johnson & Johnson paid highest dividends. Only Johnson & Johnson performed stock repurchases (Figure 15 & 16). They (in shares) were 100,970 thousands in 2008, 37,114 thousands in 2009, 45,090 thousands in 2010, 39,741 thousands in 2011. And the money (in millions) used for stock repurchases was $6,651 in 2008, $2,130 in 2009, $2,797 in 2010, $2,525 in 2011.In my point of view, Pfizer and its two competitors – Merck and Johnson & Johnson all have low cost of capital. Although they all involved in a lot borrowings , they all have very good capital structures as pharmaceutical companies. The reason is that the costs in R&D and innovation are extremely high in the pharmaceutical industry. Reference: 1. Brigham, Eugene F. and Michael C. Ehrhardt. Financial Management Theory and Practice, 13th Edition, Thompson South-Western, ISBN-13# 978-14390-7809-9, ISBN-10#1-4390-7809-2 2. http://www. mergentonline. com/login. php 3. http://www. how. com/how_5833592_determine-target-debt-equity. html 4. http://cxa. gtm. idmanagedsolutions. com/finra/BondCenter/Watchlist. aspx 5. ww. finra. org 6. http://www3. valueline. com/vlquotes/quote. aspx Appendices: Appendix A: Cost of common stock Appendix B: Cost of preferred s tock Appendix C: Cost of debt Appendix D: Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC) Appendix E: Capital Structure Appendix F: Depreciation Appendix G: Yearly dividend and share repurchase Appendix H: Value Line reports Appendix A: Cost of common stock Equations used for calculating cost of common stock:CAPM approach: rS=rRF+(RPM)bi DCF approach: The bond yield plus risk premium approach: rS=Company’s own bond yield + Judgmental risk premium Figure 1 CAPM Equation Variables| Â  | Â  | Â  | | Pfizer| Merck| J&J| Risk Free Rate| 1. 66| 1. 66| 1. 66| Required Rate of Return| 8. 00| 8. 00| 8. 00| Beta| 0. 67| 0. 71| 0. 48| Required Return on Stock| 5. 91| 6. 17| 4. 70| | | | | | | | | | Required Return on Stock| Â  | | Pfizer| Merck| J&J| | 5. 91| 6. 17| 4. 70| Figure 2 Annualized dividend growth rate (g) | Pfizer|Year| Sum dividend| Total growth over 10 years| Annualized growth rate (g)| Next expected dividend| 2011| 0. 8| | | Â  | 2010| 0. 72| | | Â  | 2009| 0. 8| | | Â  | 2008| 1. 28| | | Â  | 2007| 1. 16| | | Â  | 2006| 0. 96| | | Â  | 2005| 0. 76| | | Â  | 2004| 0. 68| | | Â  | 2003| 0. 6| | | Â  | 2002| 0. 52| | | Â  | 2001| 0. 44| 0. 818181818| 6. 16%| $0. 85 | | Merck| Year| Sum dividend| Total growth over 10 years| Annualized growth rate (g)| Next expected dividend| 2011| 1. 56| | | Â  | 2010| 1. 52| | | Â  | 2009| 1. 52| | | Â  | 2008| 1. 52| | | Â  | 2007| 1. 52| | | Â  | 2006| 1. 52| | | Â  | 2005| 1. 52| | | Â  | 2004| 1. 5| | | Â  | 2003| 3. 976| | | Â  | 2002| 1. 3| | | Â  | 2001| 1. 39| 0. 122302158| 1. 16%| $1. 58 | | J&J| Year| Sum dividend| Total growth over 10 years| Annualized growth rate (g)| Next expected dividend| 2011| 2. 25| | | Â  | 2010| 2. 11| | | Â  | 2009| 1. 93| | | Â  | 2008| 1. 795| | | Â  | 2007| 1. 62| | | Â  | 2006| 1. 455| | | Â  | 2005| 1. 275| | | Â  | 2004| 1. 095| | | Â  | 2003| 0. 925| | | Â  | 2002| 0. 795| | | Â  | 2001| 0. 7| 2. 214285714| 12. 39%| $2. 53 | Figure 3 CAPM | CAPM| Â  | Â  | Â  | Â  | Â  | | Risk Free Rate (1)| Required Market Return (2)| Market Risk Premium (3)=(2)-(1)| Beta (4)| Estimated cost of Equity (1)+(3)? (4)| Pfizer| 1. 66| 8. 00| 6. 34| 0. 67| 5. 10| Merck| 1. 66| 8. 00| 6. 34| 0. 71| 6. 167| J&J| 1. 66| 8. 00| 6. 34| 0. 48| 4. 697| | | | | | | Figure 4 DCF | DCF| Â  | Â  | Â  | Â  | | | Stock Price (1)| Next Expected Dividend (2)| Expected Growth Rate (3)| Estimated cost of Equity (2)/(1)+(3)| | Pfizer| 25. 12| $0. 85 | 6. 16| 6. 194| | Merck| 45. 62| $1. 58 | 1. 16| 1. 195| | J&J| 67. 97| $2. 53 | 12. 39| 12. 427| | | | | | | | Figure 5| | | | | | Bond Yield plus Risk Premium| Â  | Â  | | | | Company’s Bond Yield (1)| Judgmental Risk Premium (2)| Estimated cost of Equity (1)+(2)| | | Pfizer| 2. 0724| 3. 3| 5. 3724| | | Merck| 2. 5553| 3. 4| 5. 9553| | | J&J| 1. 629| 3| 4. 9629| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Figure 6 Estimated Cost of Equity| Estimated Cost of Equity| | | | | Pfizer| 5. 83| | | | | Merck| 4. 44| | | | | J&J| 7. 36| | | | | Figure 7 Bond Data| Bond Data| Â  | Â  | Â  | Â  | Â  | Â  | Â  | Â  | Â  | Bond Symbol| Issuer Name| Coupon| Maturity| Callable| Moody's| S;P| Fitch| Price| Yield| PFE. GF| PFIZER INC| 4. 65| 3/1/18| No| A1| AA| A+| 116. 189| 1. 501| PFE. GI| PFIZER INC| 4. 5| 2/15/14| No| A1| AA| A+| 105. 468| 0. 367| PFE. GM| PFIZER INC| 7. 2| 3/15/39| Yes| A1| AA| A+| 159. 019| 3. 685| PFE. GO| PFIZER INC| 6. 2| 3/15/19| Yes| A1| AA| A+| 127. 5| 1. 66| PFE. GQ| PFIZER INC| 5. 5| 3/15/15| Yes| A1| AA| A+| 111. 554| 0. 521| PFE3666215| AMERICAN HOME PRODS CORP| 7. 25| 3/1/23| No| A1| AA| A+| 139. 65| 2. 819| PFE3667744| WYETH| 5. 5| 2/15/16| Yes| A1| AA| A+| 115. 705| 0. 715| PFE3667745| WYETH| 6| 2/15/36| Yes| A1| AA| A+| 134| 3. 791| PFE3667909| PHARMACIA CORP| 6. 5| 12/1/18| Yes| A1| AA| A+| 128. 14| 1. 677| PFE3667915| PHARMACIA CORP| 6. 75| 12/15/27| No| A1| AA| A+| 137. 221| 3. 552| PFE3667927| PHARMACIA CORP| 6. 6| 12/1/28| Yes| A1| AA| A+| 138. 179| 3. 484| PFE3670301| WYETH| 5. 45| 4/1/17| Yes| A1| AA| A+| 119. 153| 1. 044| PFE3670315| WYETH| 5. 95| 4/1/37| Yes| A1| AA| A+| 135| 3. 5| PFE3702946| WYETH| 5. 5| 3/15/13| Yes| A1| AA| A+| 101. 977| 0. 706| PFE3703979| PHARMACIA CORP| 8. 7| 10/15/21| No| A1| AA| A+| 142. 03| -| PFE3704635| WYETH| 5. 5| 2/1/14| Yes| A1| AA| A+| 106. 52| 0. 421| PFE3704636| WYETH| 6. 45| 2/1/24| Yes| A1| AA| A+| 138. 004| 2. 553| PFE3704637| WYETH| 6. 5| 2/1/34| Yes| A1| AA| A+| 139. 025| 3. 807| PFE3706578| PHARMACIA CORP| 8. 2| 4/15/25| Yes| A1| AA| A+| 101. 5| -| PFE3739069| KING PHARMACEUTICALS INC| 1. 25| 4/1/26| Yes| NR| NR| NR| 99. 99| 1. 25| | | | | | | | | Average| 2. 072388889| MRK. GA| MERCK ; CO INC| 6. 3| 1/1/26| No| Aa3| AA| A+| 138. 945| 2. 76| MRK.GB| MERCK ; CO INC| 6. 4| 3/1/28| Yes| Aa3| AA| A+| 137. 464| 3. 278| MRK. GC| MERCK ; CO INC| 5. 95| 12/1/28| Yes| Aa3| AA| A+| 133. 211| 3. 28| MRK. GF| MERCK ; CO INC MTN BE| 5. 76| 5/3/37| No| Aa3| AA| A+| 131| 3. 808| MRK. GG| MERCK ; CO INC MT N BE| -| 11/27/40| No| Aa3| AA| A+| 98. 25| -| MRK. GH| MERCK ; CO INC MTN BE| -| 12/21/40| Yes| Aa3| AA| A+| 98| -| MRK. GI| MERCK ; CO INC MTN BE| -| 12/27/40| No| Aa3| AA| A+| 98. 5| -| MRK. GJ| MERCK ; CO INC MTN BE| -| 2/6/41| No| Aa3| AA| A+| 98| -| MRK. GK| MERCK ; CO INC MTN BE| -| 6/21/41| Yes| Aa3| AA| A+| 100| -| MRK. GL| MERCK amp; CO INC MTN BE| -| 7/18/41| No| Aa3| AA| A+| 97. 75| -| MRK. GM| MERCK ; CO INC MTN BE| -| 12/21/41| Yes| Aa3| AA| A+| 100| -| MRK. GN| MERCK ; CO INC MTN BE| -| 11/28/41| No| Aa3| AA| A+| 98. 25| -| MRK. GQ| MERCK ; CO INC MTN BE| -| 8/22/42| Yes| Aa3| AA| A+| 98. 275| -| MRK. GR| MERCK ; CO INC MTN BE| -| 2/18/43| Yes| Aa3| AA| A+| 99. 875| -| MRK. GT| MERCK ; CO INC MTN BE| -| 2/12/44| Yes| Aa3| AA| A+| 100| -| MRK. GU| MERCK ; CO INC| 4. 75| 3/1/15| Yes| Aa3| AA| A+| 109. 512| 0. 699| MRK. GV| MERCK ; CO INC| 5. 75| 11/15/36| Yes| Aa3| AA| A+| 135. 683| 3. 536| MRK. GW| MERCK ; CO INC| 4. 8| 2/15/13| No| Aa3| AA| A+| 101. 369| 0. 194| MRK. GX| MERCK ; CO INC NEW| 3. 88| 1/15/21| Yes| A1| AA| A+| 114. 717| 1. 883| MRK3671638| SCHERING PLOUGH CORP| 6. 55| 9/15/37| Yes| Aa3| AA| A+| 149. 11| 3. 56| | | | | | | | | Average| 2. 555333333| JNJ. GA| ALZA CORP DEL| -| 7/14/14| Yes| Aa1| AAA| AAA| 152. 8| -| JNJ. GC| ALZA CORP| -| 7/28/20| Yes| Aa1| AAA| AAA| 98. 75| -| JNJ. GH| JOHNSON ; JOHNSON| 6. 73| 11/15/23| No| Aaa| AAA| AAA| 145. 758| 2. 083| JNJ. GI| -| | 11/1/24| No| NR| NR| NR| 104. 36| -| JNJ. GJ| JOHNSON ; JOHNSON| 6. 95| 9/1/29| No| Aaa| AAA| AAA| 144. 925| 3. 422| JNJ. GL| JOHNSON ; JOHNSON| 3. | 5/15/13| No| Aaa| AAA| AAA| 102. 04| 0. 263| JNJ. GM| JOHNSON ; JOHNSON| 4. 95| 5/15/33| No| Aaa| AAA| AAA| 121. 154| 3. 499| JNJ. GO| JOHNSON ; JOHNSON| 5. 55| 8/15/17| Yes| Aaa| AAA| AAA| 121. 81| 0. 932| JNJ. GP| JOHNSON ; JOHNSON| 5. 95| 8/15/37| Yes| Aaa| AAA| AAA| 143. 163| 3. 369| JNJ. GQ| JOHNSON ; JOHNSON| 5. 15| 7/15/18| Yes| Aaa| AAA| AAA| 123. 223| 0. 982| JNJ. GR| JOHNSON ; JOHNSON| 5. 85| 7/15/38| Yes| Aaa | AAA| AAA| 143. 093| 3. 341| JNJ. GS| JOHNSON ; JOHNSON| 2. 95| 9/1/20| Yes| Aaa| AAA| AAA| 107. 12| 1. 969| JNJ. GT| JOHNSON ; JOHNSON| 4. 5| 9/1/40| Yes| Aaa| AAA| AAA| 123. 32| 3. 229| JNJ. GU| JOHNSON ; JOHNSON| -| 5/15/13| No| Aaa| AAA| AAA| 100. 154| -| JNJ. GV| JOHNSON ; JOHNSON| -| 5/15/14| No| Aaa| AAA| AAA| 100. 322| -| JNJ. GW| JOHNSON ; JOHNSON| 2. 15| 5/15/16| Yes| Aaa| AAA| AAA| 105. 523| 0. 588| JNJ. GX| JOHNSON ; JOHNSON| 4. 85| 5/15/41| Yes| Aaa| AAA| AAA| 125. 764| 3. 428| JNJ. GY| JOHNSON ; JOHNSON| 1. 2| 5/15/14| Yes| Aaa| AAA| AAA| 101. 399| 0. 311| JNJ. GZ| JOHNSON ; JOHNSON| 3. 55| 5/15/21| Yes| Aaa| AAA| AAA| 113. 786| 1. 807| JNJ. HA| JOHNSON ; JOHNSON| 0. 7| 5/15/13| No| Aaa| AAA| AAA| 100. 278| 0. 22| | | | | | | | | Average| 1. 62866667| Appendix B: Cost of preferred stock Figure 8 Cost of Preferred Stock| Cost of Preferred Stock| Â  | Â  | Â  | | Preferred Dividend (1)| Preferred Stock Price (2)| Floatation Cost (3)| Component cost of Preferred Stock (1)/[(2)*(1-(3))]| Pfizer| N/A| N/A| N/A| #VALUE! | Merk| N/A| N/A| N/A| #VALUE! | J;J| N/A| N/A| N/A| #VALUE! | Appendix C: Cost of debt After-tax cost of debt=rd(1-T) Figure 9 After-tax cost of debt| After Tax Component Cost of Debt| Â  | | Interest Rate| Tax Rate| Cost of Debt| Pfizer| 2. 072388889| 0. 2003| 1. 657289394| Merck| 2. 555333333| 0. 221| 1. 990604667| J;J| 1. 962866667| 0. 2218| 1. 2750284| Figure 10 Marginal tax rate Company| Pfizer| Merck| J;J| Year| 2011| 2010| 2009| 2008| 2011| 2010| 2009| 2008| 2011| 2010| 2009| 2008| Income before tax| 12,764| 9,282| 10,674| 9,694| 7,334| 1,653| 15,290| 9,931| 12,361| 16,947| 15,755| 16,929| Provision for tax| 4,023| 1,071| 2,145| 1,645| 942| 671| 2,268| 1,999| 2,689| 3,613| 3,489| 3,980| Tax rate| 0. 3152| 0. 1154| 0. 2010| 0. 1697| 0. 1284| 0. 4059| 0. 1483| 0. 2013| 0. 2175| 0. 2132| 0. 2215| 0. 2351| Average tax rate| 0. 2003| 0. 2210| 0. 2218| Appendix D: Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC) Figure 11 WACC| | | | | | | | WACC| Â  | Â  | Â  | Â  | Â  | Â  | Â  | % of Debt| Cost of Debt| % of Preferred Stock| Cost of Preferred Stock| % of Common Equity| Cost of Common Equity| WACC| Pfizer| 95. 15%| 1. 66 | – | – | 4. 85%| 5. 83 | 1. 86 | Merck| 92. 50%| 1. 99 | – | – | 7. 50%| 4. 44 | 2. 17 | J;J| 89. 26%| 1. 53 | – | – | 10. 74%| 7. 36 | 2. 15 | % of Debt, and % of Common Equity are the target proportions. Figure 12 Calculating the percentage of debt and common equity | | | | Pfizer| Merck| J;J| Shares outstanding (million)| 7,470| 3,050| 2,750| Market value per share | | 26. 03| 47. 96| 72. 52| Market value of equity ($ million), E| 194,444. | 146,278. 0 | 199,430. 0 | | | | | | | Book value of equity per share| 10. 64| 18. 16| 20. 95| Total book value of equity| | 79,480. 8 | 55,388. 0 | 57,612. 5 | Debt/Equity ratio| | 48. 26| 32. 91| 29. 07| Book value of debt| | 3,835,743. 41 | 1,822,819. 08 | 1,674,795. 38 | Cash on hand| | 24,340| 17,450| 16, 920| Net debt ($ million), D| | 3,811,403| 1,805,369| 1,657,875| | | | | | | Percentage of debt, D/(E+D)| | 95. 15%| 92. 50%| 89. 26%| Percentage of equity, E/(E+D)| 4. 85%| 7. 50%| 10. 74%| Appendix E: Capital Structure Figure 13 Capital Structure| | | | | Capital Structure| Â  | Â  | Â  | Â  | | Pfizer| 2011| 2010| 2009| 2008| Long Term Debt*| 34,931,000. 00 | 38,410,000| 43,193,000| 7,963,000| Common Stock*| 445,000| 444,000| 443,000| 443,000| Retained Earnings*| 46,210,000| 42,716,000| 40,426,000| 49,142,000| Redeemable Preferred Stock*| 45,000| 52,000| 61,000| 73,000| Total| 81,631,000. 00 | 81,622,000. 00 | 84,123,000. 00 | 57,621,000. 00 | | | | | | % of Debt| 42. 79%| 47. 06%| 51. 35%| 13. 82%| % of Preferred Stock| 0. 06%| 0. 06%| 0. 07%| 0. 13%| % of Common Equity| 57. 15%| 52. 88%| 48. 58%| 86. 05%| Total %| 100. 00%| 100. 00%| 100. 00%| 100. 00%| | | | | | Average/Target % of Debt| | 38. 75%| 95. 15%| |Average/Target % of Preferred Stock| | 0. 08%| 0. 00%| | Average/ Target % of Common Equity| | 61. 17%| 4. 85%| | | | | | | Total Debt*| 105,381,000| 106,749,000| 122,503,000| 53,408,000| Total Assets*| 188,002,000| 195,014,000| 212,949,000| 111,148,000| Total Debt/Total Assets| 56. 1%| 54. 7%| 57. 5%| 48. 1%| | | | | | | | | | | | Merck| | 2011| 2010| 2009| 2008| Long Term Debt*| 15,525,000| 15,482,000| 16,074,900| 3,943,300| Common Stock*| 1,788,000| 1,788,000| 1,781,300| 29,800| Retained Earnings*| 38,990,000| 37,536,000| 41,404,900| 43,698,800| Redeemable Preferred Stock*| – | – | – | – | Total| 56,303,000. 0 | 54,806,000. 00 | 59,261,100. 00 | 47,671,900. 00 | | | | | | % of Debt| 27. 57%| 28. 25%| 27. 13%| 8. 27%| % of Preferred Stock| 0. 00%| 0. 00%| 0. 00%| 0. 00%| % of Common Equity| 72. 43%| 71. 75%| 72. 87%| 91. 73%| Total %| 100. 00%| 100. 00%| 100. 00%| 100. 00%| | | | | | Average/Target % of Debt| | 22. 81%| 92. 50%| | Average/Target % of Preferred Stock| | 0. 00%| 0%| | Average/Target % of Common Equity| | 77. 19%| 7. 50%| | | | | | | Total Debt*| 48,185,000| 48,976,000| 50,597,100| 26,028,600| Total Assets*| 105,128,000| 105,781,000| 112,089,700| 47,195,700| Total Debt/Total Assets| 45. %| 46. 3%| 45. 1%| 55. 2%| | | | | | | | | | | | J;J| | 2011| 2010| 2009| 2008| Long Term Debt*| 12,969,000| 9,156,000| 8,223,000| 8,120,000| Common Stock*| 3,120,000| 3,120,000| 3,120,000| 3,120,000| Retained Earnings*| 81,251,000| 77,773,000| 70,306,000| 63,379,000| Redeemable Preferred Stock*| – | – | – | – | Total| 97,340,000. 00 | 90,049,000. 00 | 81,649,000. 00 | 74,619,000. 00 | | | | | | % of Debt| 13. 32%| 10. 17%| 10. 07%| 10. 88%| % of Preferred Stock| 0. 00%| 0. 00%| 0. 00%| 0. 00%| % of Common Equity| 86. 68%| 89. 83%| 89. 93%| 89. 12%| Total %| 100. 00%| 100. 0%| 100. 00%| 100. 00%| | | | | | Average/Target % of Debt| | 11. 11%| 89. 26%| | Average/Target % of Preferred Stock| | 0. 00%| 0%| | Average/Target % of Common Equity| | 88. 89%| 10. 74%| | | | | | | Total Debt*| 56,564,000| 46,329,000| 44,094,000| 42,401,000| Total Assets*| 113,644,000| 102,908,000| 94,682,000| 84,912,000| Total Debt/Total Assets| 49. 8%| 45. 0%| 46. 6%| 49. 9%| * $ in thousands Appendix F: Depreciation Figure 14 Depreciation | | | | | | Depreciation| Â  | Â  | Â  | Â  | Â  | | USEFUL LIVES| Pfizer| | (YEARS)| Â  | | | 2011| 2010| 2009| 2008| Type| | Accelerated depreciation methods|Classes of Assets and Depreciation Ranges | | | | | | Land | – | | | | | Buildings| 33 1/3-50| | | | | Machinery and equipment| 8-20| | | | | Furniture, fixtures and other| 3-12 1/2| | | | | Construction in progress| – | | | | | | | | | | | Depreciation ; Amortization**| | 9,026 | 8,487 | 4,757 | 5,090 | | | | | | | | | Merck| | USEFUL LIVES| Â  | | (YEARS)| 2011| 2010| 2009| 2008| Type| | Accelerated depreciation methods| Classes of Assets and Depreciation Ranges | | | | | | Buildings| 10-50| | | | | Machinery ; Equipment| 3-15| | | | | Capitalized software| 3- 5| | | | | Construction in progress| – | | | | |Products and product rights, trade names and patents| 3-40| Primarily straight- line methods| | | | | | | Depreciation ; Amortization**| | 7,427| 7,381| 2,576| 1,631. 2| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | J;J| | USEFUL LIVES| Â  | | (YEARS)| 2011| 2010| 2009| 2008| Type| | Straight- line methods| Classes of Assets and Depreciation Ranges | | | | | | Building and building equipment| 20–40| | | | | Land and leasehold improvements| 10–20| | | | | Machinery and equipment| 2–13| | | | | Capitalized software| 3-8| | | | | | | | | | | Depreciation ; Amortization**| | 3,158| 2,939| 2,774| 2,832| | | | | | | | | | | | ** $ in millions| | | | | | Appendix G: Yearly dividend and share repurchase Figure 15 Stock repurchase (in shares) and dividends| Stock Repurchaces and Dividends| Â  | Â  | Â  | | Pfizer| | 2011| 2010| 2009| 2008| Stock Repurchaces*| N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | Dividends ($)| 0. 8| 0. 72| 0. 8| 1. 28| | | | | | | Merck| | 2011| 2010| 2009| 2008| Stock Repurchaces*| N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | Dividends ($)| 1. 56| 1. 52| 1. 52| 1. 52| | | | | | | J;J| | 2011| 2010| 2009| 2008| Stock Repurchaces*| 39,741 | 45,090 | 37,114 | 100,970| Dividends ($)| 2. 25| 2. 11| 1. 93| 1. 795| | | | | | Number of Shares (Thousands)| | | | | | | | | | Figure 16 Stock repurchase (in U. S. dollars) and dividends| Stock Repurchaces and Dividends| Â  | Â  | Â  | | Pfizer| | 2011| 2010| 2009| 2008| Stock Repurchaces*| N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | Dividends ($)| 0. 8| 0. 72| 0. 8| 1. 28| | | | | | | Merck| | 2011| 2010| 2009| 2008| Stock Repurchaces*| N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | Dividends ($)| 1. 56| 1. 52| 1. 52| 1. 52| | | | | | | J;J| | 2011| 2010| 2009| 2008| Stock Repurchaces*| (2,525)| (2,797)| (2,130)| (6,651)| Dividends ($)| 2. 25| 2. 11| 1. 93| 1. 795| | | | | | * $ in millions| | | | | Appendix H: Value Line reports