Andrew Carnegie and rise of big Business

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Andrew Carnegie was somebody who was born wise and ambitious in getting whatever he wanted. Though born in a family that was not well up financially this seems to be of no issue to him and he knew what he was after. His dream was to find his platform in United States rather than in Scotland. Immigrating to US in 1848 at a young age his talent came to play.

At a very young age of 12 Andrew showed his hard work and his industrialism and also the passion and determination to succeed in life. He started being bobbing boy in a factory where cotton was made and due to his flexibility he could also do other jobs. Andrew still in a tender age he could consider getting literate because he knew the importance of education and he went to night school and he educated himself in writing and reading. He wanted to become wise no matter what it cost him even if it was through borrowing money.

At the age of 14 Andrew found another job where he was a messenger at a telegraph office, while in this job a superintended of Pennsylvania Railroad Company called Thomas Scott noticed him. In 1953 Carnegie was lucky since Scott decided to make him his private secretary and also a personal telegrapher. This showed that his hard work was noticed. At the age of 23 in 1859 he succeeded Scott and he also used this position to expand his potential. It was said that the root to his success was this point of life and it is at this time Scott helped him in the venturing to bigger business. This process was to some extent an illegal deal with the president that governed Pennsylvania at the time and was none other than Edgar Thompson. There was corruption going on which would bring Andrew to the pedestal of his start to great success. All this was done by Scott.

This is when he made  investment in business of Woodruff Sleeping car .This is a company where he made an introduction  of the first sleeping car in America’s railroad .This shows that by coming up with this company had a role in his success towards  recognition in the industrial greatness. It also shows that he was a great thinker and he came up with a company which would not face competition from other common companies in those days.

This set a path to more investments like key stone Bridge Company, another being Rail mill and also he was also involved in investment of Blast furnaces, iron mills inclusive of the Pittsburgh locomotive works. He also had many other companies in which he was in partnership with the president and also he decided to buy the competing company in the year 1988. He was able to achieve profitably and to the heights on the oilfield located in Pennsylvania. During these years he had bought many shares from different companies.

Andrew Carnegie had so many qualities and characteristics that helped him to his achievement and the goal he had dreamt of. Being a small kid he was a hard working boy and so he started being employed .He had a mind of an achiever. He also thought that education would be of great help in the future and he also went on to gain it by himself and though he was born with wisdom he was to add it through education.

The way to his greatness in the United States industrial world was through his entrepreneurial success in the steel and iron companies and many other companies he managed to have. Though there was some corruption deal done by Scott and Edgar who helped to the greatness he was not involved and may have not intended to do that in his opinion. The vertical integration in his manufacturing companies did the companies well on the side of the raw materials. His writing of different books would also contributing to the industrialization

Joseph (1979), by the year1889 Andrew properties which were include in his companies which were manufacturing steel, there was a limitation in the partnership that later would become so great in the industries that were known to manufacture steel. For the first time in history the United States out did the Great Britain in the industries that manufactured steel was in the year 1890.The credit could be given to none other than Andrew himself for effort he had made to reach to this level. This would be said to be a great success because it was even immune to the upset of the depression that came up during the strike of the union. The strike affected the companies that dealt in the manufacture of steel. Carnegie had looked ahead and had a strong goal for his company.

From the information given by Joseph it is clear that Carnegie played an important part in the escalating of industrialization in the country of United States. In the earlier years America was mostly well oriented in the world of agriculture but this man had big part to play in turning that around. His clever ideas helped him even overtake the country which is Britain where he borrowed the ideas. This shows clearly that Carnegie was a captain of industrialization and credit should be given to him. After selling his company to J.P. Morgan his character as philanthropic shows that he was helpful and he understood very well where he came from.

According to the biography of Andrew Carnegie and how he achieved his wealth it is clear that it was out of his handwork and his innovation. But him being robber Barron was just an assumption that people had in that time period that there was rapid growth of industrialization.        The retirement of Andrew Carnegie was in 1901 when he turned 66 years of age and he would make the final negotiations on his business in March that year. He then decide toform a corporation of the U.S steel which was to thrive and become the greatest with the capitalization of market of just over 1 billion dollars.

Up to his death in 1919 Andrew was said to be a kind, generous man and clean individual in his business deals. His life can be said to be celebrated through his good deeds. It was clear that Andrew is a legend and is well recorded in the history of U.S for his handwork. Contribution to building different major institution in America and also in Netherlands is a great achievement for instance the Hague.

Organizational Dynamics

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All the individuals in a team should not be free riders instead they should be actively involved in the activities of the team. We were all keen in delivering a project that will have a great legacy in the future. At first we were harmonious as a team but we were still being faced with many difficulties in communication and team work. As a group we improved our working skills and developed a positive conflict which enabled us not to be any more limited in thoughts and we were also able to generate a grater variety of innovative ideas.

As a group we started meeting regularly because we found out that the reason as to why we avoided conflicts is because we had not known each other for long and feared embarrassing each other. Some of the members in our team are non-native English speakers and as a result some of us who are native English speakers communicated with our external beneficiaries. As an individual I became more motivated as compared to before and instead engaged in thorough research to enable the team get potential partnerships for our group to communicate with. This was not yet enough and as result I proposed identification of more than one charity and finally all members became more involved since the deadline was approaching and as a result we were successful in creating legacy with UK online centers.

As a group when working together you should all have some personality that should help in making the team grow in the right way. There is a need to develop team working skills, have positive conflict in your team so as not to be limited in your thoughts and also to enable you generate great variety of innovative ideas. You should not avoid conflict in fear of embarrassing each other but instead you should learn to respect other peoples’ idea. Issues in the team should be raised up and also problems in the group because failure to do this can lead to even greater problems in the process of delivering the project. Interested people in our group contributed in various ways in the growth of the team, partnering with the UK online Centers enabled us generate legacy with the Career Services Centre  and Volunteering and this enabled the team to further promote the project and pass it on to people outside the group who were willing to contribute to the project.

            The people interviewed at the career Services Centre regarding to our project expressed interest in the project in that they believed our idea to be successful as it created a legacy in continuing with the project. The interviewees found it fascinating in that it not only provided a great social impact but also a learning opportunity. When people express interest in your work as a team you get to know whether they are confident in you or not and in return do not hesitate in giving you a credit, for instance when the UK online Centers expressed interest in our project and believed that we had the ability to deliver the project as a success since we had the skills and methods necessary for that particular project. Getting such commends from people whom we  have partnered with was  of great importance and motivated us even more and in return we became more efficient in carrying out our duties since someone was having a great interest.

            Contributors to the group activity also have an impact in the way the group is run. This is because you get to know better the kind of clients you are working with and their expectations. After we had an interview with a contributor to our community project we could better detect the mentality and true feelings of the people who are directly involved in our services. If you get a response you are likely to get more motivated and even improve you activities. When you get this information as a group you can decide on what step to take next. We can say that all the people who are involved in any activity in the organization have different roles to play thy have different abilities, behaviors, feelings, plan and they react differently to outcomes.    Organizations can be social, cultural or even business oriented and are made up of individuals who are involved in different activities in the running of the organisation. People in an organization have different relationships among themselves depending on how they know each other and the extent to which they interact with one another. This gives rise to team dynamics. Team dynamics can be described as unforeseen forces that operate in groups of people who are in teams and are engaging in the same activity. Team dynamics in organizations can strongly influence the way a team reacts to situations and this can have either a positive or negative effect in the team. (Woodman, 1993).

Knowing one another in a team or not having knowledge of one another can have effects in the way the organization undertakes its activities. I and my team mates met with each other only for a short duration of time prior to our project .This made us act courteously and in a polite manner and as a result we always compromised with one another easily when one of the group members raised an idea and as a result our thoughts were limited hence restricted from generating a variety of innovative ideas the reason being that we did not want to embarrass each other. This in return made us face a lot of hindrance in delivering the project.

Existence of diversity among team members can also be a source of dynamics within the organization. In our team we had people from different nationalities and also people with different mentalities. People of different diversity always have different opinions on matters, this is the reason as to why we found it difficult to understand each others’ opinion because we all see things form different points of view because of the difference in cultural difference. Individuals who have diversity and are working together are supposed to try their best so as to understand each others’ thoughts better and this can be achieved by taking time to know one another better where by during the meetings each individual is given an opportunity to express ideas and the whole team to engage in discussion so as to decide on whether to take the suggested idea or to ignore it.

Forms of communication that a team uses while communicating among the members can also be a cause of team dynamics. Teams should put into practice formal communication methods which are vertical, horizontal or diagonal in nature. Where informal communication methods are used the team can suffer negative team dynamics. If a team allows grape vine which is either in form of gossips and rumors, individuals involved in the gossips may get discouraged if the rumors were negative and they are likely to withdraw from the team which may cause a great lose to the team.

Communication barriers which may be in form of language, failure to listen and time can have effects to the team. In our team English which was the language of communication was a second language to some members in the team and as a result it became a barrier in our communication and as result we had to rely on native English speakers in communicating with our external beneficiaries where else the non-native English speakers used the non-verbal forms of communication which includes writing and sending emails. Lack of a common language of communication can be a cause of misunderstanding among team members and as a team you can have problems in making of important decision that concerns the whole team.  Where there are communication barriers the team members are likely to fail to understand one another hence there may be difficulties in making some important decisions that concern the team.

As a member of the team I realized that the wide organizational context is highlighted by processes, values, timings, business logics and various ways through which things are done in the organization and as a result Team dynamics in an organization must be recognized so that the concerned persons should put emphasis on positive dynamics which are likely to improve the organization and instead avoid negative ones which can affect the organization in a negative way. To recognize team dynamics, as a team you need to put into consideration forces within the team that may influence the team in terms of its behavior.

PART 3

 

An organization is a formal or informal place in which all the factors of production normally are integrated and coordinated; they include materials, human resources, machines and the management which has a main aim of ensuring that the organizational objectives are met. This organizational process is continuous in nature and changes with time. Organizational Dynamics are evident in all forms of organization and focus on conflicts, problematic behaviors, challenges, concerns pertaining to change, communication and team dynamic which is difficult to handle. Leadership and staff issues interfering with individual’s productivity in addition to organizational goals form part of the organizational dynamics. (Kotter, 1973).

Organizational dynamics also refer to evolutionary change that take place within an organization and are in response to other external influences. They include organizational product or growth lifecycle, strategic plan changes, market forces, work place reform and work trend changes. Recognizing organizational dynamics is important especially as pertains to the impact they may have on career development path of clients hence a corrective action should be taken in good time to eliminate chances of adverse effects in the organization.

Organizations have formal structures, processes, values, timing and patterns of interacting. As a member of a team you should know the kind of structure that the organization you work for has and also its components. This will enable you know the constituents of the organization you interact with and the dynamics that may arise within it and the effects of this to the whole organization. Like any other religious, social, and cultural organization a company has its set objectives. This is of most importance because the set objectives determine management pattern and sales of operations. The organizational structure should be built up in a way such that it will fulfill the objectives relating to the particular organization. Structures differ from one organization to another and their implementation give rise to organizational dynamics because the various activities concerned in ensuring that the set objective is met is exposed to very many determining factors. (Allcorn, 2005).

Each organization has principles that it uses in directing the efforts of the employees or team members. Each organization has a different organizational structure and as a result the principles governing one organization may be different from the other. Although the guiding principles of a particular organization may be different from the other Henri Fayol laid down some principles that are applicable to all the organizations and once an organization follows them it becomes possible for it to run its affairs smoothly. These principles include;

  • Subordination of an individuals’ interest to the common good of the organization
  • Division of labor
  • Discipline
  • Authority and responsibility
  • Unity of command
  • Unity of direction
  • Order
  • Justice
  • Hierarchy
  • Remuneration of team members
  • Centralization

Organizational dynamics may arise when the management attempts to administer various principles in order to be in the same path with organizational structure which comes along in different ways. These are;

  • Line or scalar organization- authority originates from the top in this organization, it then flows to the subordinate executives through the various departments.
  • Functional or staff organization- Authority originates from the top and flows functionally to the subordinate executives.
  •  Line and staff organization- It’s a combination of the two types of organization; scalar and functional or staff and line or scalar organization. Line organization is for departmental set up and defining lines of authority used in the organization. The functional organizational provides advice and assistance which is done by staff officers though this falls outside their main duty.

Team work should always be operated at an intelligence level well below individual work the reason being that team learning is hindered when the team employs defensive routines and as a result teams should aim at preventing to incur it. Conflicts in teams are always evident and are essential elements as they encourage creative thinking. Different approaches that teams employ in handling conflicts and defensive routines indicate competencies of that particular team. Defensive routines are habits for which most people get used to not revealing their real way of thinking so as to prevent embarrassments. This habit becomes reinforced in an organization and it eventually becomes part of that organisational culture.

Defensive routines should be criticized as an obstacle against the groups collective learning. Some recommendations that can be used to reduce defensive routines includes mutual inquiry and self- disclosure for which the individual is supposed to reveal his real thinking to the group members as well as motivating one other to do the same. Team members ought to be aware of defensive routine signals, and then try to discourage the bad habit so that the team can learn and advance team goals.

I and my team mates had various choices available, in order to deliver a sustainable project we were to take some and leave others behind. First there was a need to develop team working skills and stop compromising with each other when one of us raised an idea .Having conflicts amongst ourselves was also necessary if the project was to succeed, there was also a need to contribute ideas especially during the initial stages of our project. A clear leader was also required for the team. These choices were for various intended outcomes though some other unintended outcomes also came about.

When working with a team you are supposed to encourage efficiency and effectiveness in the team work, encourage the team in moving on especially during critical moments and there is a need to assure that as team mates work is completed in good time so as to avoid delaying the schedule. As a group when working together you should all have some personality that should help in making the team grow in the right way. There is a need to develop team working skills, have positive conflict in the team so as not to be limited in your thoughts and also to enable you generate great variety of innovative ideas. You should not avoid conflict in fear of embarrassing each other but instead you should learn to respect other peoples’ idea. Issues in the team should be raised up and also problems in the group because failure to do this can lead to even greater problems in the process of delivering the project.

PART 4

The most important lesson that I have learnt from this project is that when choosing a team to work with I should identify a co-operative team that is positive in nature so that during the time when I will be working with it we will be able to set and work towards the achievement of our set objective. As an individual I should be in a position to take action should there arise a need that am able to take care of. (West, 2002).

For instance when we were doing our community outreach project as a team we had a difficulty situation of locating any form of organization that could be positive in  co-operating with the team during the specified  period of time you wanted. Even after communicating with a number of potential charities, as a team we found that we did not get a positive response instantly from them and realized that we had limited time. As an individual I became more motivated as compared to before and instead engaged in thorough research to enable the team get potential partnerships for our group to communicate with. This was not yet enough and as result I proposed identification of more than one charity and finally all members became more involved since the deadline was approaching and we were successful in creating legacy with UK online centers.

As an individual am not actively motivated in the first place when am assigned to complete something, though if under time pressure I can become participative than before. This should not always be the case because if I be inactive in the beginning of an activity that am supposed to accomplish in the long run I may suffer in that some of the activities that I was supposed to have accomplished at the beginning may not be done and this can result to problems in the team am working with and some objectives may not be met. Work should also be delegated to the people who are supposed to carry it as the activities of the team begin.Methods and processes of communication between the team members should be specified to ensure that the work assigned is completed effectively and within the time limit. Lastly every team member should be actively involved in the activities that the team engages in to ensure that all team members are motivated to continue belonging to the team that they all benefit from the effort that are collectively made by those who are much involved in the team.

Effects of Punishing and Sentencing

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Criminal justice law was set up for reasons such as punishment and sentencing of crime. When strict measures are not taken to prevent vices, the society becomes a hostile and unfriendly place to be. People live under constant fear and are unprotected creating room for moral decay. Crime is also costly, asserts Cole and Smith (2006 p45) it forces the society to pay dearly in form of increased taxation, price rise and fear. One purpose of sentencing is mostly to give the deserved punishment in accordance to the crime committed. For a long time the decision to sentence was entirely left to the judge who in turn would use previous experience to sentence the crime presented.

Fundamental philosophies

As new crimes emerged the need to develop fundamental philosophies became urgent if criminal justice was to fairly sentence and punish crimes. Four basic philosophies are widely used to help understand and determine punishment and sentencing (Cole and Smith, 2006). Retribution, deterrence, incapacitation, and rehabilitation are four basic philosophies for sentencing.

Retribution is a philosophy that states severity of a crime only determines crime punishment. Other factors are not considered, the main focus is on how serious/ weighty the crime and no other circumstances.

Deterrence derived from the term means put off or discourage. It thus is a philosophy that suggests punishment should not only be for the offenders. Its severe consequences deter others from committing such crimes. The main thought is that if the punishment is severe potential criminals will avoid committing crimes (Cole and Smith, 2006).

Incapacitation states that on punishment the criminal will be in no capacity to commit the crime again. Separating the criminal from the society reduces criminal activity. Death penalties for instance are a sure way of eliminating crime forever. Once the criminal’s life has ended he can no longer kill or harm the society, it incapacitates him.

Rehabilitation philosophy is the sole purpose of all sentencing done. Modifying behavior and vice eradication is the main aim of punishment and sentencing and can be achieved through rehabilitation. Some crimes can be eliminated through if resources to make individuals productive are provided. Training on the consequences and effects of crime if properly done in the prison modifies behavior. Some criminals after release live a life free of crime as a result of acquired training in during the rehabilitation period (Cole and Smith, 2006).
Determining crime sentence

Most people look up to the jury and judge as determiners of crime sentence. What they do not realize is that several factors have to be examined to conclusively reach the verdict. How serious a crime is normally has a major role in determining sentencing, Some crimes like murder, robbery, homicide, rape and assault are ranked as serious crimes. The sentencing of such a crime is thus incomparable to minor crimes (Wyatt, 2010).

The defendant may be contrite and go ahead to plea guilty showing that they are regretful of the crime committed. A criminal who incriminates himself and pleas guilty may be viewed as an honest person leading to a sentence reduction.

Factors like first time offences are considered too as they prove the fact that he/she has no past criminal records. Factors like crime accessory are looked into, if they were an accomplice of another offender. He may have been forced to commit the crime by assailants.

Physical and psychological state at the time of the crime is also considered. Factors like stress, depression, paranoia, delusions contribute to mental instability causing people to commit crimes unintentionally. The nature of crime tells a lot and determines sentencing. If the victim was hurt, vindictive or property was destroyed clearly depicts violence. This in turn increases the term of sentencing.

Capital punishments

They have been ancient methods of punishing crime through death penalties like hanging, use of syringe, electrical chairs, burning, shooting amongst others. The life of a conscious person is seemingly put to an end and slips off. George goes on to describe how he witnesses ‘a life in its full bloom cut down because of a death penalty’ (Orwell, 2004). Any one witnessing the life of another human being come to an end is moved by compassion whether they are of support for the practice or not. They are viewed as inhumane and painful but the victims tell a different story.

Pros and cons

One reason perhaps why death penalty is a critical debate is the inability of humans to create life and therefore never end it. Those who advocate penalty there is no better way of punishing crime. Those who commit crimes are totally wiped off existence. It effectively deals with crime as we never witness repetition of crime from that specific individual. Victims of rape and other offences have to deal with psychological trauma for the rest of their live hoping that the criminal will never strike. It thus reduces crime and creates a sigh of relief for the society. For crimes such as serial killing and homicide living becomes safer as we no longer fear living home only to meet with a serial killer. To some extent homicide rates drop. The practice of an eye for an eye gives fair treatment for all (Wyatt, 2010).

For those who face death penalties it means that they can no longer have their behavior rehabilitated which is the sole purpose of punishment. Previous research by criminologists has proven that once a penalty is publicized, there tends to be an increase in the rate of a similar crime (Phillip, 2009). They die without transformed from the vices that got them sentenced in the first place. Not only is the practice highly condemned socially but is wrong according to many world religions. Human life is sacred and should go back to its author when it ends but not through a penalty. Human right activists view this as a barbaric way of modifying behavior. Unfair crime conviction may lead to death of innocent lives. Past evidence has revealed that many innocent lives are lost to unfair sentencing leaving behind painful memories (Child, 2009).

Debate influences on the decisions for punishment

Punishment and sentencing are methods that are suitable for putting to an ill behavior cropping up in our society. There is need to achieve fairness and justice especially to the accused and victims. Capital punishment has become a highly publicized issue resulting to positive and negative opinions. It is not only a political issue but religious, social and psychological. While some states like Taiwan approve it, some Western Europe states refer to the practice as barbaric (Wyatt, 2010). If capital punishment for instance never attains the purpose of punishment and sentencing, how can we achieve this? There should be establishment of accepted codes of punishing wrong doers. The society needs to air their opinions and suggest suitable ways of addressing the issue of punishment and sentencing. This is one way of achieving success especially in the hotly debated issue of capital punishment.

Utilitarianism

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Whereas the term utilitarian has been seen as an equivocal terminology, it is contextually used to imply the rightness or the wrongness of any action. This wrongness or rightness makes reference to the good side and the bad side of any activity. According to Bentham who developed this philosophical thought, the consequences and the returns of any action determine the utility of the action (Mills 1963). The actions’ utility nevertheless is always relative and therefore pecking the controversy over what is ideally utilitarian.

The utilitarian theory works on the presumption that the person has maximum happiness and pleasure. However, whereas one person will be having some pleasure, another would well be having a lot of pains. In view of this, the theory relatively appears to be farfetched and unrealistic. The explanation adopted in this theory on morality as being based on social extension with natural inclination is indeed non-founded.

According to this principle difficult situation with moral deliberations would be readily transformed into manageable and yet very empirical considerations. Whereas this assertion would still remain a relative consideration, it does stress on the happiness of the person seeking pleasure and remains silent on the environment’s effect and receptiveness of the acts (Frederich 1899). Ideally this seems to have a clear lee way for the perpetuation of injustices provided the person committing the acts is deriving happiness from the activities.

The theory emphasizes and stresses more on the practices that would make an individual happy.  Provided the environment supports the happiness of person (Mills 1963). The principle remains very silent on the aspect of human norms and natural rights.  Besides, the theory remains very unclear on the confines of happiness; there are no defined units for which happiness can be measured. The theory does not appreciate the fact that there would be the extraversion of the altruistic components in the event that the demands are strictly followed.

 

2          The capitalist nature of the present economic setup does approve of the market economy. Within the presets of the market economy, the going-on in the market should be determined by the forces of supply and demand. Ideally, the market economy demands that the law of demand and supply dictates the market prices without the interference of the state. Nevertheless, it is arguable there free market s are non existent and are only theoretical.

In an economic system where the price of good and services and other critical decisions are made through the interaction of the citizens, with the least government intervention constitutes free economy. The decisions of the consumers and the producers determine the course of the activities in the market

Command economy on the other hand is the direct opposite of the free market economy. In the command economy (planned economy), the government is fully charged with the control of market activities inclusive of the price control. In command economy, the government is able to explore the available resources without fail and this makes the economy more stable than in the market economy where the forces of demand makes the economy more prone to effects of the external forces such as international economic downturn (Planned economy vs. free economy

). Well planned command economies have reduced cases of surplus production and unemployment.

The planned economy fronts for collective benefits for the resident of the state. On the other hand the market economy like in the capitalist case ascribes to the principle of individual benefits dependent on the inputs of the person. Rewards to the benefits the economy accrues are shared on the basis of the services rendered. Profit making, unlike the free economy, are based on the state and not the individual.

In a world where inequalities are becoming a common phenomenon, the planned economy would offer the best solution towards the reduction of these inequalities. The activities carried out will benefit everybody within the economy; stabilizing and redistributing the wealth without fail. The culture of class alienation would be relatively reduced, resulting into increased social and economic justices. Continued free market economies would simply translate into a world with two divergent classes; the poor and the bourgeois.

 

3.         Stuart Mills was a philosopher who developed the harm principle asserting that provided an action does not cause harm then it should not be banned. Ideally according to Mills an act should only be banned if the act has some harmful effects on the person. Whereas there are a number of acts that are harmful, the liberals argue that these activities should be allowed altogether. Inherently, the harm principle sets minimal requirement for which an act can be justifiably be banned.

Harm according to the harm principle implies anything that does instill some pain or anything that deprives an individual pleasure. The harm would be psychological or physical. In line with the principles of utilitarianism for which Stuart ascribed to, as along as the individual got the most good out of the activity, then the activity was ideally rights and should not be banned.

According to the harm principle the activities of one individual can be prevented for as long as the activity is proved to be having harm to others. This school of thought asserts that any person can do anything provided the actions do not harm others. This system of believes hold that an individual is sovereign provided over their mind and their own bodies. The implication in this assertion is that the person can do anything with himself but the action to the others is subject to the effects on those persons.

Allowing this principle to take root implies that the persons should be allowed to do anything with their lives as long as the effect on the others are not harming. Ideally, this is tantamount to giving leeway to acts such as suicide. This would contravene most nations’ obligation of protecting lives. Besides, one would simply break person values in the name of observing the harm principle.

 

4.         Utilitarian postulates that provided the provided the persons committing anything are able to determine that it is right or wrong, the principle tenet of utilitarianism would be met and therefore.

Whereas liberty and toleration have always been argued as dependent on the formal principle of defense, any individual would not readily escape from unfruitful and inclusive disputes. On the contrary it is immutable forcing persons to be free. Though it is agreeable that toleration and liberty in terms of the autonomy of humanity are not ardently eliminated through the non liberal paradoxes, I do not agree that Mill’s defense of liberty is typically trapped in the paradox. I shall argue that Mill was particularly conscious of the paradox and anxious for overcoming it and that his efforts are still suggestive when we think of liberty and toleration today.

Secondly and interestingly so, suggestion which can be found in Mill’s arguments for toleration is related to the fact that he thinks that tolerating an action which we feel unpleasant or imprudent is compatible with our criticizing it and advising not doing it. If we think it desirable that toleration in the negative sense, unwilling forbearance should be transformed into toleration in the positive sense, chances for mutual understanding and changing one’s attitude to others , then, Mill’s suggestion that freedom of thought and freedom of action share a public character can be seen as an important step towards that transformation.

For Mill, dynamic collisions among various opinions about what kind of life is worth living should not be avoided. Rather, it should be welcome. It is true that he treats freedom of thought and freedom of action from slightly different points of view but he sees both of them possessing a public character in that they are open to discussion and criticism.

 

5.         Utilitarianism provides that for as long as one has maximum satisfaction form the activity, the activity is justified. The rightness or the wrongness of an activity is pecked on the person undertaking the act. Under the circumstances, the soldier was right, either way the bombs effects to the troop would still have been blamed on his lack of responsibility as the troop leader.

The case implies that death was inevitable under the circumstances and that the attempts he was making was simply to elude the fears of the loss of many lives him inclusive. In view of this argument and in the light of the utilitarian theory, his decision was justifiable by all standards. Death would not be evaded ideally, regardless of whether he did this or not, death was certainly imminent.

Whereas the soldier saw that right, it pecks the subjectivity of the argument of the utilitarian theory.  Whatever one may deem as right would end up hurting those around him or her. In this case the family of the soldier would have many aspersions on the exact cause of the death of their loved one, causing discomfort and anguish.  In view of this argument it is plainly evident that the utilitarian theory has very many flows and loopholes for the perpetration of injustices.

6.         Injustice is injustice regardless of the number of times it is done. The modest thing for Jim to do was to refute the offer, because whether one person is killed or all re killed; it is unjust.  Besides, which member was less entitled to life that Jim would have chosen onto to be killed? In view of these paradoxes, it is upon the incumbent to refute the offer. Perhaps this stand would show the perpetrator of the injustices that either way it was wrong.

Ultimately refuting the request would make the perpetrator to rethink the stance and ideally this is the right thing that would bring justice to all. And given that the tenets of utilitarianism demands that whatever one does should not harm the other, the victim chosen would be harmed by what Jim’s views as the right stand.

Evaluating the Stock of IGM Financial Inc

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The change in the conditions making the economy in the year two thousand and nine to a certain bit of two thousand and ten have negatively affected IGM Financial Inc. This has been due to high unemployment rate that has let too low demand for the goods and services provided by the firm. This was also due top other factors that are beyond the companies management. They entail but not limited to, foreign exchange rates, the international relations, global equity, we have funding risks and interest rates on borrowed funds among other factors. However the funds raised from various ventures including the issuance of debentures worthy $ 375 million, and the giving out of the preferred stocks in two thousand and nine was a clear indicator of the availability of funds for carrying out its investment activities. The redemption of the preference shares also indicated that there would be a reduction in the interest expenses to be paid out. The net income generally decreased from $730.8 to $113.9 million at the year end as the gross revenue generally decreased from $2.31 billion to $2.67 billion as was reported by ( IGM financial Inc. reports for 2009 earnings); given the positive information. But given the general growth in most of the factors in 2010 as compared to 2009 I i.e. Gross revenues, Net income, Earnings per share, I predict a positive growth rate of 5% that shall be used in the evaluation model.

There are the forecasted financial statements on the next page

The numbers have continued to grow from year to another due to the following assumptions

I.            All the factors affecting the industry shall remain constant hence the rate of growth shall remain at 5%. The justification is that they are only the new changes that will impact on the growth rate either negatively or positively.

II.            The rate of growth shall always remain constant. For this reason the figures shall increase at the stated rate of 5%.

Below is a the forecasted financial statements

Income statement

 

Fee and net investment  income              
Management       $1,646,636

1728967.80

1815416

1906187

2001496

 
Administration      

346,020

363321.00

381487.1

400561.4

420589.5

 
Distribution      

257,427

270298.40

283813.3

298004

312904.2

 
Net investment income and other  

62,297

65411.90

68682.5

72116.62

75722.45

 
Total Fee and net investment income  

2,312,290

2427904.50

2549300

2676765

2810603

 
                     
Operational expenses                
Commission expense    

808,482

848906.10

891351.4

935919

982714.9

 
Non-commission expense    

614,222

644933.10

677179.8

711038.7

746590.7

 
Interest expense      

109,864

115357.20

121125.1

127181.3

133540.4

 
Total operating expenses    

1,532,568

1609196.40

1689656

1774139

1862846

 
                     
Income before income tax    

779,722

818708.10

859643.5

902625.7

947757

 
Income taxes      

220,630

231661.50

243244.6

255406.8

268177.1

 
                     
Net income      

559,092

587046.60

616398.9

647218.9

679579.8

 
                     
                     

 

 

 

 

 

 

A balance sheet

       

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

 
 

Assets

                   
Cash and cash equivalents   $945081

992335.1

1041952

1094049

1148752

   
Securities    

1246259

1308572

1041952

1094049

1148752

   
Loans      

671556

705133.8

740390.5

777410

816280.5

   
Investment in affiliates  

598221

628132.1

659538.7

692515.6

727141.4

   
Differed selling commissions  

850082

892586.1

937215.4

984076.2

1033280

   
Other assets    

592908

622553.4

653681.1

686365.1

720683.4

   
Intangible assets    

1128280

1184694

1243929

1306125

1371431

   
Good will      

2613532

2744209

2881419

3025490

3176764

   
       

8645919

9078215

9532126

1050363

1102881

   
Liabilities                  
Deposits and certificates  

907343

952710.2

1000346

1050363

1102881

   
Repurchasing agreements  

629817

661307.9

694373.2

729091.9

765546.5

   
Other liabilities    

780329

819345.5

860312.7

380415.3

399436

   
Future income taxes  

328617

345047.9

362300.2

380415.3

399436

   
Long term debt    

1575000

1653750

1736438

1823259

1914422

   
                     
Shareholders equity                
Share capital                  
  Perpetual preferred shares

150000

157500

165375

173643.8

182325.9

   
  Common shares  

1562925

1641071

1723125

1809281

1899745

   
Contributed surplus  

32702

34337.1

36053.96

37856.65

39749.49

   
Retained earnings    

2737785

2874674

3018408

3169328

3327795

   
Accumulated other comprehensive loss

-58599

-61529

-64605.4

-67835.7

-71227.5

   
       

4424813

4646054

4878356

5122274

5378388

   
       

8645919

9078215

9532126

10008732

10509169

   
                     
                     
                     
                     
                     

 

 

 

 

 

Below is the statement of forecasted the cash flow for five years from 2009 to 2013

      A cash flow forecast statement assuming a 5%growth rate for ING Financial inc.
                     
                     
        Cash Flow statement        
                     
         

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

 
                     
Operating activities                  
  Net earnings    

$445,881

468175.1

491583.8

516163

541971.1

 
  Adjustments to determine              
  net cash from operating              
  activities                  
  Future taxes    

-19864

-20857.2

-21900.1

-22995.1

-24144.8

 
  Commission amortization  

25591

26500.95

27826

29217.3

30678.16

 
  Amortization of capital  

25239

26500.95

27826

29217.3

30678.16

 
  and intangible assets    

10760

11298

11862.9

12456.05

13078.85

 
  Changes in operating              
  assets and liabilities and other  

687106

721461.3

757534.4

795411.1

835181.6

 
                     
  Commission paid    

-156202

-164012

-172213

-180823

-189865

 
                     
Financing activities                  
  Net increase in deposits and  

-5995

-6294.75

-6609.49

-6939.96

-7286.96

 
  certificates    

-286615

-300946

-315993

-331793

-348382

 
  Repayment of bankers acceptances            
  Net increase in obligations related to            
  assets sold under repurchase agreement

631258

662820.9

695961.9

730760

767298

 
  Issue of debentures    

375000

393750

413437.5

434109.4

455814.8

 
  Issue of common shares  

24580

25809

27099.45

28454.42

29877.14

 
  Common shares purchased for              
   cancellation    

16200

17010

17860.5

18753.53

19691.2

 
  Perpetual preferred share dividends paid            
  Common share dividends paid  

404300

424515

445740.8

468027.8

491429.2

 
         

317728

333614.4

350295.1

367809.9

386200.4

 
Investing activities                  
  Purchasing of securities  

-1167087

-1225441

-1286713

-1286713

-1351049

 
  Proceeds from the sale of securities

477611

501491.6

526566.1

552894.4

580539.2

 
  Net increase in loans    

1147325

1204691

1264926

1328172

1394581

 
  Proceeds from securitizations  

1071734

1125321

1181587

1240666

1394581

 
  Net addition to capital assets  

-5581

-5860.05

-6153.05

-6460.71

-6783.74

 
  Net addition to intangible assets  

-4385

-4604.25

-4834.46

-5076.19

-5329.99

 
  Acquisition of non-controlling interest

-1048

-1100.4

-1155.42

-1213.19

-1273.85

 
         

-776081

-814885

-855629

-898411

-943331

 
  Increase in cash and cash equivalents

72551

76178.55

79987.48

83986.85

88186.19

 
  Cash and cash equivalent              
  beginning of period    

1232171

1293780

1358469

1426392

1497712

 
  Cash and cash equivalent              
  at end of period    

1304722

1369958

1438456

1510379

1585898

 
                     
                     

 

Sensitivity analysis

This analysis looks at two scenarios. Here we have the situation where the status remain as it is for now i.e. neutral scenario and secondly if they take a conservative state.

Should the status quo remain then we shall be having a 5% growth rate but if they decide to take a conservative state then it means they won’t be pursuing any new ventures to enhance growth. I recommend that they keep up a status quo scenario so as to continue growing at the rate of 5%. Stock Report. (April 2010). NYS Symbol.

Finding the terminal value

We make an assumption that there will be a constant growth beyond twenty ten. Considering that revenue and capital shall be stable over the same period, we do it as shown below;

Terminal value= FCF (1+g)/ (WACC-g): Where

  • FCF is the firm’s cash flow.
  • g is the growth rate.
  • WACC the firms weighted average cost of capital.

 

Enterprise value should be found by discounting the firm’s current value and adding it up to the firm’s discounted terminal value.

Factors that influence body image

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One of the factors influencing body image is social-cultural aspects. Human beings live in societies and it is in them that we get to know how we should look like. Cultures also play a major role such that an African American woman would rather be bigger while Caucasians lean towards a size zero. The sentiments of the African Americans are shared by Africans who believe that a woman should be big with broader hips and breasts so as to ensure fertility and sexual satisfaction. For example, in Africa, if a woman was too skinny they were put on a fattening diet as this also ensured that they got a husband (Ricciardelli, et al, 2004). Among the African American women, they do consider big hips and behind an advantage which they believe that their male counterparts will also enjoy the benefits during sexual intercourse. Thus, African American girls will grow up knowing that having more on the desired areas is what is beautiful and what they should aim towards. If it happens that they do not get enough ‘flesh’ in certain areas they will then feel inadequate. For the Caucasian women, they belief that smaller body is more desirable thus the girls will grow up wanting to be of that size. This has led them to develop eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia which has often ended in fatalities (O’Connell, 2009). For the males, cultural studies have shown that they are supposed to be big, strong and have rippling muscles. This is to enhance their masculinity. So the boys will want to develop six packs as the men will hit the gym working out to get the packs and increase muscles. This is universal as men in all cultures want to have such a body. A tall and big man will command more authority than a short and smaller man. A man who is smaller and shorter will often be on the receiving end of teasing and bullying. Women will be attracted to big bodied males as they exude a sense of security and virility (Ricciardelli, et al, 2004). Pageants are social activities that have taken over in defining body image to society. There are set international measurements for the different types of models. There are bikini models that should have a well proportioned body, catwalk models that should be very thin, catalogue models that are to be petite, lingerie models that should be shapely and feminine and the male models that should have excellent physical body shape but not too much muscle. This is the rule book that sets the standards of body image to the society. A model will never be successful until they meet these standards, no agency will sign them if they have the wrong proportions. Also when the model is seen as having added weight, they will be told to lose the extra pounds or lose income. In the US there is the American sweetheart look which for girls is blonde and blue-eyed. This can be shown by looking at the winners of miss teen USA and miss USA. Other girls will then dye their hair blond or bleach and wear blue contacts to achieve this look (Rubenstein & Cabellero, 2000).

The second influencing factor is the family and friends. A family is the first socialization agent that a child is placed into. Next are the friends who we make in the different areas of our lives. To most people we are more concerned with what our parents and siblings think of us. This then indicates the important role that parents play in shaping attitudes on body image. This role should be taken seriously so that parents can triumph over any external influences such as Barbie dolls and pageants (Anschutz & Engels, 2010). The opinion of close friends is also taken to heart. If a family defines the body image and the child does not meet the standard, then they get stressed and think negative of themselves (O’Connell, 2009). Also if most of one’s friends have an attitude towards a certain body type, then we tend to hold a similar opinion. A study carried out showed that teenage girls who have eating disorders often felt criticized at home by parents or guardians and siblings. The family may be directly or indirectly making the girls feel inadequate (O’Connell, 2009). A recent study has shown that friends are the biggest influencers of body image among teenagers than even magazines and celebrities. Teenagers are technology savvy and therefore know that the pictures in magazines and television have been digitally enhanced and air-brushed to make them perfect so they cannot possibly look like them. They will therefore take in more what their peers will describe the body types as to them this is more realistic. If among friends you are the only big one then there may be pressure for you to change yourself to look like the others. At times, it is someone who may want to join a certain clique of friends so one ends up changing their body and dressing in order to fit in. The feelings of acceptance and especially in areas such as school or workplace are the driving force behind change. From time immemorial, man has always valued conformity (O’Connell, 2009). Man is a social being and will subject ourselves to the dictations set by our relations.

The third factor of influence is sports. Women and men are dictated upon on what sports they can participate in largely due to their body type. Sports have been classified as masculine or feminine and each has its own body type to go with it. For example, boxing is one of the sports that are largely thought of as a masculine one. This is because one has to build up muscle mass as it involves having to fight off the opponent which is what males usually do. Women who are boxers will have to work out and develop muscles such that they will resemble a man (Swami, Steadman and Tovee, 2009). They are then subjected to public scrutiny as whether they are really ‘females’ and if biologically they are then they are labeled as lesbians. A recent case is the South African athlete Caster Semenya who is a runner, in the 800 meters, and a world champion. She had to undergo compulsory gender determination tests as people and officials questioned how she appears too masculine. This has led many young women to actually shy away from such sports. The athletes themselves also do actually have negative body image perceptions when they think that their bodies are not as they should be. They thus begin a struggle of getting the desired body and this is varied whereby some may need to loss weight and others add weight. There has always been a negative relation between athletes and weight control. When they are underweight, they tend to use steroids to put on weight and develop muscles. When the athlete has been told to lose weight they will use drugs to achieve this as to them it is either do or die and they do not have the luxury of loosing weight on their own schedule. The steroids have a harmful effect on the body’s physiological processes. In male gyms, these steroids are sold undercover as the peddlers target men who want a faster solution to developing muscles. In some sports such as figure skating, one is supposed to have a certain body type. For the women, they are to be thin and average weight so that they are flexible enough to be lifted duding the routines. For the men, they are to have good muscle capacity so that they can lift the females. When someone is watching these sports, their attention is drawn to the body type that the athletes have and will admire them and want to have such (Swami, Steadman and Tovee, 2009).

The fourth factor influencing body image is the media. The mass media is perhaps the biggest factor and especially in this advanced technological age. Mass media is a general term that is comprised of print and digital. Print media include magazines, newspapers and catalogues. Digital media includes television, radio, internet and social networking sites .Everyday and all the time we are bombarded with information that may often be uncensored by authoritative figures such as parents or the government (Jean, 1999). The media promotes certain body images and especially underweight females. This ends up encouraging harmful practices in order to achieve the body type that they saw on television or in the magazine. Media largely affects women more than men most likely because they are more gullible than their counterparts. You will find that quick diets are the most selling information in the media. The diet industry in the US is at an estimated value of $100 billion every year.  Human beings will react more to a virtual stimulus thus these diet companies will advertise using pictures of people who are in their before and after to actually show the results thereby selling more of their products (Grogan, 2010). What most people may not realize is that these companies will often doctor the results so their sales go up. They will also omit any information on the side-effects or what is contained in the diet pills that will be harmful to consumers. It is mostly young women in comparison to older women who will read magazines, watch movies and television where they see thin women and their minds will subconsciously take that size as what they should be. The worst influencers are models that are nowadays a size zero (Jean, 1999). The ‘common’ woman will then do all her best to achieve this size. The media also plays havoc on the self esteem of women who feel that they are not good looking enough. Allen Ginsberg said that whoever has the control on media will then control the images that are released thus in turn controlling the culture at that time. This is very true as the people you see in the media are mostly small bodied for women and heavily muscled men. Nowadays it is not unusual to hear young children, as young as six years old, talk about how fat they are (Jean, 1999). This is a situation that has been brought about by their exposure to mass media that does promote underweight. It leaves you wondering their attitude when they reach adolescence and hormones begin to change their bodies as they undergo the changes that come with maturity. Mass media has been blamed for eating disorders in countries where television programs are being brought in from other countries. An example is Melrose place and 90210 which were among the programs to be aired outside USA that had themes on body types. In certain areas the local perceptions on body image changed to the negative (Rosen, Gross & Vara, 1987).

When all the factors that influence body image have been analyzed, the next step is to look at how the situation can be corrected and save ourselves from self-destruction. Cultures will always change according to the times and we should therefore not take to heart whatever is said or has been set. People should learn to filter the information that bombards them from the mass media. As for young people, figures of authority in their lives should check the kind of information that is passed to them. Parents have the biggest influence on body image and should therefore not dictate but be more accepting and unrestrictive. In sports, the competition is often stiff and to them much is at stake. Body image is something that affects us all regardless of our age, race or gender. It knows no boundaries. At one time or another we question our body’s image and wish that we could look different. The same factors of influence can be used to spread the message of acceptance regardless of your body type. In the end health should come first before body image.

The FDA Effectiveness of Protecting the Safety of Human Subjects

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Generalized Background

Regulations on drug use by Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has become very vast following international reforms, growth in the workforce and in terms of the recommendations arising from statutory requirements. There have therefore been concerns with regard to the implications coming out of the operations carried out by the drug regulation agency’s processes and procedures. FDA has gained esteem as well as essence being one of the global drug regulatory units, whose contribution has been recently called for in decision making processes as well as in deducing oversights into such processes (Sexton et al., 2004). But then, the general public has questioned the FDA’s competency in achieving a unilateral evaluation in reviewing both drug safety and efficacy following the approval which was accorded to them (Alazraki, 2004). There have also been concerns into their delivery in terms of the performance on the basis of normal life situations.

For long, health care agencies have had themselves committed in protecting the general public from the probable drug and/or medicine abuse as well as harms aligned to clinical trials. As per Alazraki (2004), they have also engaged in ascertaining that potential and prospecting practitioners comprehend the possible risks as well as benefits in any given subject of research. An amendment to the United States of America’s Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act in 1960s held that a person had to assent to (at minimum) taking part in any given experimental therapy. But then, some 1967 policy by FDA made it clear that the procedure had to ascertain there is a valid consent which had to be in writing.

Later on, there was established the Office for Protection from Research Risks (OPRR) to make certain people’s safety as well as their welfare. FDA reviewed its stipulations in 1981 in requirement of written consent for all the product related studies for which it forms the regulatory body (Califf, 2003). Presently, the leadership of FDA and some other agencies are in top gear taking part in essential roles so as to ensure an oversight into researches alongside ensuring that the persons involved are protected. Furthermore, FDA has ensured that its responsibilities are shared among and with a number of institutions of research as well as individual research personalities.

Considering these concerns, the question that comes into the minds of many is whether FDA is really effective in protecting the safety of human subjects or not. Califf (2003), notes that FDA has been rendered to be in the fore front in the evaluation of drug safety systems within the country. There is need to enhance such systems by empowering clinical researches as well as researches relating to epidemiology along with actions for regulations as based o upon scientific approaches. FDA has recently been putting more efforts into enhancing decision making processes regarding its post-marketing, but there should be a more comprehensive reaction which incorporates acknowledgement for the need for alertness throughout the processes involving drugs (Evens, 2007). It is proper that public preferences, needs and interests be fully complied to and be offered best when dealing with matters relating both to safety and efficiency. Nevertheless, FDA has not been mindful in the same as these are only limited to itself. It can therefore be justified the FDA has been effective in protecting the safety of human subjects.

Problems and Obstacles

Recently, there have been controversies emerging based on drug safety as leading to perception by the public holding that there is crisis on drug safety system. From this perception, there have developed a prospect for a thorough and detailed assessment and evaluation of the system of drug safety in United States of America (Evens, 2007). Along with the same concerns, there have been instances where there have been queries into the process of reviewing as well as approval processes for drug safety systems. Besides, there have been questions whether FDA has lost its focus to pace up adequacy into the attention which may not be accorded to safety with respect to the efficiency and timely communication or dissemination of relevant information to the public.

Armum (2010), notes that apart from these, there have been questions regarding FDA’s independence in utilizing and relying on scientific expertise. This has become an obstacle since it has led to conflict of interest from within FDA’s advisory units. Moreover, there have been queries on possibility of unjustifiable industrial influence regarding funding processes. FDA’s problems reflect its fluctuations based on unstable regulatory approaches (Baker, 2009). There is complexity in the reality behind FDA since no real documentation has been carried out on whether there is crisis on drug safety on not thereby probable drug safety obstacles cannot be figured out from the agency’s information on the existing systems on drug safety.

It has otherwise been noted that FDA’s relationship has improved in the recent past years by offering enhanced directives and guidelines concerning its expectations. Gad (2006) observes that this has been observed since the endorsement of its 1997 Act on Modernization. Quite a number of companies have also welcomed FDA as per its focus towards integrating its feedbacks into developments on products (Loftus, 2010; Gad, 2006). Even though there have been some companies which have deemed FDA as frustrating by changing its positions over the review processes, it has been widely viewed by some as getting to meet with FDA well before submission of review tools has enhanced their application standards as well as quality (Califf, 2003). Nonetheless, some of the companies’ products have been in the past rejected following FDA’S inadequacy in its resources for review processes while a minute number of the companies feel that FDA is doing little in advancing personalized drugs and/or medicine and therefore lacking in competency to execute the intended initiatives (McKee, 2010).

In spite of some stipulations from life-science companies, the public is however contented with FDA’s level of performance. This is so even with consumers’ depicting its improvement. Actually, a majority of the consumers are very satisfied of the safety and efficiency of both medical and drug devices as recommended for use in America, with an even bigger number agreeing that the country possesses the overall best standards globally regarding drug effectiveness as well as their safety (Baciu et al., 2007). A further larger number is also confident that FDA examines the safety and effectiveness of drugs upon their approval and release to the public for consumption.

Proposed Solutions and Methods to Overcome Obstacles

To overcome the obstacles and problems addressed, there are supposed to be new initiatives towards enhancing the safety of drugs and medicine. This can be achieved or realized by enacting policies which integrate new resources into the medical as well as drug related safety concerns. Besides these, there should be regulatory instruments as well as authorized bodies or units to ascertain that the use of drugs and medicine is both safe and appropriate (Alazraki, 2010). This furthermore will call for sponsorship to ensure that there are changes in safety-related labeling of products. In addition, there is need to establish the potential risks in assessments as well as prevention approaches for the risks related to drug and medicine necessary for verifying the benefits in a drug which actually surpass the drugs’ risks (Califf, 2003).

There is need to formulate methods for acquiring access to relevant information from reliable sources. In addition, there should be developed risk identification strategies and systems for analyses to relate health associated data gathered from various sources. This should actually concentrate on developing and executing systems that incorporate electronic systems for the role of monitoring medical products safety (Richard, 2009; FDA, 2004). Moreover, this will ensure there is competency in having new drugs and medicine in an effective and safe qualities.

To ensure an oversight that is effective, especially with the rise in the number of entities taking interest in clinical research which is also becoming quite complex, there is need to sustain the integrity of research by all means. This should also be considered with regard to the need to further improve the existing protections for the human subjects.  Reyes (2010) suggests that many new efforts should be developed to enhance research on human safety so as to further empower the oversight of the government regarding research on medical disciplines as well as to strengthen the responsibilities of clinical researchers into abiding to the guidelines given by the federal authority.

There should also be established a process to make efforts for the enhancement of assessors’ clinical education and training. FDA should consider looking into the an approach that will; ensure that it works mutually with the other agencies so as to ascertain that every clinical assessor, administrators in the research areas and any other staff and members affiliated to the agency and its affiliate agencies are given proper research induction into both human subjects and bioethics researches (Reyes, 2010).

Proper consultations by FDA with other relevant agencies should also be considered in guaranteeing specified directives for well informed approvals as well as consistent auditing for confirmation on compliance as regards research institutions (Baciu et al., 2007). Regarding intricate clinical trials which also pose as risky, FDA should consider incorporating observations from other agencies so as to reaffirm the consents of all the bodies involved in any given trial-based occurrences that may further influence how they respond towards taking an active part in the trials themselves.

On the concerns of monitoring, FDA should consider looking for investigation personnel to assist in conducting the clinical trials with detailed plans for monitoring. These monitoring plans should also be made sure that they are shared out with the other agencies, by the selected investigators. Furthermore, FDA should supply a framework of guidelines that will define inter-agencies relationships as well as what they are expected of  in respect to issues of privacy, functional issues, membership qualifications, their roles and autonomy (Richard, 2009).

Though there is a process of streamlining FDA’s systems of assurance on institutions dealing in research, the agency needs to issue new regulations to accord applications for grants permission to suspend certain reviews on the proposed research procedures (FDA, 2004). This should be allowed to be till such a time that these applications have been completely documented and approved for submission.

It has been noticed that there exists conflict of interest and to tackle this, there is need to integrate another directive and/or regulation to assist in verifying FDA’s policies relating to the same.  Along with this, there should be forums to help in establishing strategies for managing conflict of interest in order to ensure that research subjects are aptly advised. This will also ensure that any results related to research work are appropriately analyzed and their presentations confined within the set objectives. Besides, this will help FDA and the other agencies work mutually in formulating fresh regulations and policies on drug safety and human researches for any clinical trials. As Baciu et al., (2007) observes, even though FDA has the authority to issue cautions and/or obliges sanctions to close down any research work up to a moment that any posing problems have been put right, it should consider enforcing financial penalties as a significant instrument in approving institutions of research, those responsible for sponsorship initiatives as well as research personalities who fail to adhere to federal directives. This will further be ascertained if FDA partners with a number of other agencies in enforcing such proposals.

Conclusions

Food and Drug Administration works to ensure there is uniformity in accessing drugs, especially with respect to safety concerns so as to ascertain there is a well and proper protection of the human subjects within the entire public health domain. Even though FDA faces patients of a diverse scope, it is has a complicated set of tasks in response to drugs as well as a umber of products as used by the patients (FDA, 2004). Though there may be limitations and obstacles in the regulatory systems of drug safety and/or severely negative cases which render individuals fail to sanction the drugs, the approvals by FDA are not a representation of safety and proficiency which are guaranteed for entire lifetime. Therefore, even with the best systems for drug safety are not able to curb negative responses within the market setting.

Getting a proper comprehension of the risks of drugs as well as the benefits that come with drug use is a significance that advances following measures put in place to guide drug safety systems and procedures. Members of FDA and its staff as well who are responsible for revising FDA’s policy submissions have been able to find a strong base in integrating both the benefits and the risks relating to drug safety before any approvals can be put in place (FDA, 2004). All in all, FDA has been and still is effective in protecting the safety of human subjects.

Liver Cancer: A Deadly Disease

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Liver cancer is a disease that kills almost all the people who suffer from it within a year. This is because by the time one realizes that they have the cancer, it has already spread to other parts of the body.  Statistics show that only “five percent of the patients with liver that has begun to show symptoms survive even five years without treatment.”(Leslie J. Schoenfield, MD, PhD). But if the cancer is detected early, it can be removed surgically.

In close association with liver cancer are diseases such as, alcoholism, viral hepatitis, liver cirrhosis obesity and diabetes. (NCI) All of the above diseases are closely related with alcoholism. This is because; alcoholism and viral hepatitis cause cirrhosis which in turn leads to the cancer.

In order to understand how dangerous this disease is,   (Cancer. Net) approximated that this year (2010) 24,120 adults in total in the United States 17,430 men and 6,690 women will soon be diagnosed with liver cancer and that, about 18910 deaths occur to be more specific, 12,720 will be men and 6,190 in women. In America thought the population that is worst hit is the immigrants. It is mostly in afro- Americans, the Spanish and the Asians due to the high rates of hepatitis b that affects the Asians

The Liver.

 The liver is a vital organ in the human body.  It is used to dispose off harmful substances from the blood, make enzymes and bile needed in the digestion of food. And also it food into valuable substances needed for health growth. One cannot live without one for a long time. It is one of the largest organs found just below the ribcage and is made up of four parts or lobes. The lobes are as follows:

The right lobe

The left lobe

The caudate lobe

Quadrate lobe

Why I take so much interest in my research on liver cancer, is because many young people are drawing closer and closer to the risk of getting liver cancer.  This is because of the high rates at which the youth are becoming dependent on alcohol and as we have seen, alcohol is a major cause of liver cancer.

Signs and Symptoms of Liver Cancer

There are no specific signs and symptoms of liver cancer but some of them are unexplained fever and weight loss, jaundice and ascites which are abdominal fluids and swelling. (Cited in.MedicineNet.com). other signs include nausea and vomiting, weakness and a feeling of exhaustion, loss of appetite and at times a feeling of fullness, feeling heavy or a lamp on the upper abdomen and pain in the upper right abdomen (NCI).  When having these symptoms, the patient should see a doctor for a thorough medical check up.

Design Strategy. Analytical epidemiological studies according to environmental health investigation branch are studies that are used in tests used show the relationship between human beings and the health effects. In this case having looked at the causes of liver cancer, you see that most of them are related to the way of life of human beings. Sicknesses such as obesity and alcoholism bring about liver cancer showing that it’s the way of life that affects the human health.

While doing my research, I was deeply enlightened on many things. Such as healthy living in order to avoid fatal sicknesses such as liver cancer.  If I were to present my research to a committee, I wouldn’t so much focus on what the paper has, but instead urge them to sensitize people on the preventive measures and the importance of healthy living.

Torture Techniques in Iraq

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The atrocities committed by some of the Iraq warlords are worth thorough punishment both from the Iraqi government and the international community. Nonetheless, these punishments should be meted on convicted prisoners and not all the suspects. The alleged torture of the Iraqi suspects by the United States soldiers is far from believable. Whereas the United States is believed to be one of the countries that uphold in high esteem the rule of law, it is ironically and scenically perpetuating this impunity.

The humiliation of the prisoners so as to give the required information is far from the legal. The argument that the United States troops humiliated the prisoners to get intelligence information from the prisoners elicits many queries than answers on the role of the United States in upholding the rule of law and the protection of human rights. Natural justice does dictate that suspects are innocent until prove guilty; torturing persons that innocent is adamant violation of human rights and should refuted forthwith.

Discussion: US Torture Techniques in Iraq

The United Nations convention does not allow the torture of suspects. Neither does the convention allow the torture of prisoners outside the stipulated punishment. However, it is absurd that the United States which is a signatory of this convention’s ratification allows under its watch he torture of suspects or alleged victims. Green (Green 2005) argues that suspects are expected to enjoy the human rights without any violation. The dispatch by some of the media that the Iraqi suspects were not allowed sufficient time for sleep leaves much to be desired.

The alleged secret jail abuse is a gross violation of he rights of the suspects (Coleman 2009).  The torture in Al Muthanna airbase where the Muslim suspects were forced to using the Koran as their toilet paper denied the suspects their right to services and subsequently their right to practice their religious doctrines. The detainee’s allegation that they were tortured hours on end by the united states troops calls for the review of the UN policy on terror suspects (ACLU 2005).

The existence of alleged secret jails created by the United States in itself was utter disregard of the expectation of the United Nations convention. Whereas the idea of fighting terrorism was such a noble idea, the war was expected to be fought openly and in consultation of the United Nations Security Council. The allegation that the United States created these jails without the knowledge of this noble international institution shows gross egotism.

Linday (Linday 2009) states that the inflection of cigarettes on suspects was not only inhuman but against the rights on the suspects as provided in the United Nations convention. The rounding of the suspects by very many American troops shows the shear violation of the rights of the suspects. The victims were rounded to the level of death. Similarly, according to Green (Green 2005) prisoners are entitled to the human rights like any other human being. The fact that prisoners in Iraq were provided with hoods made from sandbag sacking is in utter disregard of human rights.

If the secret documents accessed provide any basis for any discourse, it is evident that the conditions that the suspects went through were beyond the entitlement of any suspect, and in accordance with the UN Convention. Taking the example of female American soldiers who were allegedly allowed to have their menstrual blood streamed into the water used Muslim suspects, denied the suspects their rights to practice their religious doctrines. This is against the provisions of the United Nations convention; suspects are expected to enjoy their rights and practice their doctrines without denial.

The sodomizing and raping of the suspects as have been shown in the international media shows the denial of the human rights of the suspects (Ross B., & Esposito 2005). In some cases the media shows that some of the suspects had their fingernails removed and sometimes electrocuted. Ideally, these tortures showed the indignity of the American troops to the human rights of the suspects. Some of the torture cases were extremely serious to the extent of causing death.

The fact that some of the torture allegations were rubbished without any investigation by the United States troops shows that the torture cases reported were not a mistake but were understood in the high offices. As a nation according to ACLU (ACLU, 2005) that upholds human rights with immense seriousness, the adamant disregard of the allegations showed that the Bush government was ideally behind this torture cases. The reference to the torture by the bush government to the torture as interrogation technique simply meant Bush’s government had prescribed and perhaps approved these human indignities.

The uproar (Sigmund 2006) on the existence of suspect torture within the American camps should have raised sufficient concern for the American government. This international concern should have sufficiently proved to the US government that this much smoke was evidencing the existence of fire. Subsequent, if the American government’s concern was not belated, then it should have gone ahead to investigate this claims.

The criticism from both the Chinese and the British government equally raised sufficient concern for attention by the Bush government (Ross B., & Esposito, 2005). Given that these were key players in the declaration of the war in Iraq, their concerns should have been given some attention, albeit not much, by the Bush government. Similarly the international relations and the legal implication of these allegations should have been given due consideration in rubbishing the torture claims.

Conclusion

The foregoing discussion shows that the Bush government was in favor of the torture activities that had become a rampant thing in camps of the American soldiers. As the custodian of the human rights, the Bush government ought not to have shown its inclinations towards the support for the torture activities in Iraq. This support can be ardently seen in the defense he openly shows for the water boarding as a way of torture, ironically asserting that it did assist in saving lives. Bush shows that this technique had ideally been approved by his office.

The revelation that the CIA had destroyed the allegation tapes equally raised sufficient eyebrows. In a government that is held in high esteem of human rights protection, this was not expected. The subsequently stopping of the investigation that were going on concerning the torture was equal proof that the bush government had the least interest, if any, on upholding the rule of law in the Iraq.

Mainsteam media Portrayal Attacks On IRAQ

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The American mission in Iraq, launched in 2003 as the cornerstone of President Bush’s War on Terror and the beginning of America’s exercise in ‘nation building,’ has captivated and polarized national attention for the entirety of its thus far 2820 day existence. In 2003, much of the Western world unquestioningly accepted Saddam Hussein to be a tyrant in possession of nuclear weapons—and the Iraqi people one of the few in the world still forced to live in fear of a ubiquitous secret police.1 As days of American rule have grown to years, however, this narrative has largely unraveled and found itself reshaped as a web of power structures. As Iraq has emerged from a bona fide civil war, violence between sectarian tribes and the U.S.-Iraqi Government has continued. In the same timeframe in America, we have witnessed two Presidential elections and an increasing tendency of major media outlets to offer commentary and analysis—from a partisan viewpoint. The effect has been toxic: today the mainstream media has fractionated itself into insular cliques which often sacrifice big-picture reporting for attention grabbing headlines.

Prior to the Wikileaks release this month, which placed the death toll among Iraqi civilians in the past six years at 66,000, the number killed was unclear and largely outside of American public knowledge. A detailed series of Internet searches for news articles mentioning “Iraqi civilian deaths,” “Iraq civilian blast,” and other permutations of the above published in the last four years show no shortage of reporting from many news outlets.2,3 Each invariably includes a quote from an American official lamenting the deaths and remarking that dead civilians undermine American credibility and goodwill. Many give death toll estimates, some comment on the trend of falling casualties. Until mid-November of this year, however, very few reported attacks as individual accounts and stories. In the last month, sectarian violence has spread to the Christian minority living within Iraq. A flurry of articles from Fox News and CNN released within two weeks of one another touch on this violence in depth. Said one article from Fox News:

“Brothers Saad and Raad Hannah were working in their auto mechanic shop in Mosul when gunmen burst in and shot them dead before fleeing, police said. A local hospital worker confirmed the deaths. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.”

A more recent USA Today headline reads, “Iraq attack kills elderly Christian couple at home.” This is largely insignificant in itself but when taken as a trend, it is troublesome. By distinguishing between Iraqi Christians vs. Shiite’s or Kurds, the media plays into an ‘us vs. them’ mentality and contributes to Islamophobia.

By no means are these events unworthy of reporting—they may even deserve the spotlight and international focus. What they lack is context.

Both al-Qaeda and the Ba’ath party formerly headed by Saddam Hussein are Sunni umbrella organizations. Other major players in the insurgency, including the Mahdi Army and Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq are Shiite factions and are understood to share a transnational identity with majority-Shiite Iran. These groups advance their own sectarian interests by attacking both Coalition forces as well as Sunni insurgent groups.4 Caught between these interests lie Kurds, an ethnic minority, Christians—who make up three percent of the Iraqi population, and most other civilians.

In this still simplistic light, it is clear to see the folly of focusing on only one side of the story.An observation ios made that there are no interviews mad eon minstream media on ordinary Iraqi citizens.Mainstream media have massive reach out capabilities and spread news all over the world, this is no problem. The issue is when they use their resources to spread lopsided and biased news that are not a representation of how things are on the ground. How logical is it that on the websites of all the mainstream media, there are exact statistics of American soldiers who have lost their lives since the invasion on Iraq started whereas the same lack for Iraqi citizens who have lost their lives as a result of this war. Clearly this is a case where media feigns ignorance about some bits of information. If a soldier loses his life, that’s headline news. News of how many people die in a day in Iraq will not be found in mainstream media sources.

Mainstream media has the qualities of being extremely commercial and therefore has no problem taking sides in a story depending on who bids highest. The beginning of the Iraqi war was on spotlight by all the media in the world but it is interesting how vvast differences exist in their reporting. Taking sides is a critical point and knowing too well how deep the  pockets of the US economy are, it is not too hard to guess where the funding comes from. Political parties have a direct interest on how they are perceived and the issue of Iraq has been turned into a battle between the main political battlefield where they exercise their financial and persuasive abilities.

Though I may not have the statistics to make a statement n whether the war has helped or not; there is enough evidence to support that it has succeeded in denting the image of anyone who has Islamic affiliations. Mention the name Mohammed and immediately people start thinking of terrorism. The tendentious reporting has neglected the human side in the Iraqi war. Mainstream media never shows video coverage of the women and children suffering and always focus on the bigger picture of democracy and the elimination of insurgent groups in Iraq. According to the World Bank development indicators, the population of Iraq is 31.5 million. It is surprising that the news only seen is about how the militant groups are organizing themselves against the US troops. If the existence of the US troops in Iraq was truly an effort to return it to democracy, then why should the media take such extreme measures to depict the citizens as social misfits? Evidently there is more than meets the eye. The particular terminologies used to describe the Muslims have always been bent on putting Christians and Muslims on a colliding path. The media has enormous capacities in shaping the opinions, perspectives and preferences of the world’s population. With no limiting bodies, mainstream media operate within the prescriptions o f the sponsors. There is no telling to what limits that the media can go in shaping opinions when the sponsor is the government. Fox news can be taken as an example of a mainstream media that has always gone to extreme lengths to defend the Iraqi war. It takes little time to realize that some interviews that are held on some media channels are premeditated and the result and proceedings are predicted.

George Galloway a vocal anti-war activist “I gave my political life’s-blood to try to stop the mass killing of Iraqi’s by the sanctions in Iraq which killed a million Iraqis. Most of whom were children. Most of them died before they even knew that they were Iraqis…. I gave my heart and soul to stop you committing the disaster which you did committee in Iraq I told the world that your case for the war was a pack of lies… Senator, in everything I said, about Iraq I turned out to be right and you turned out to be wrong. And a hundred thousand people have paid with their lives, sixteen hundred of them American soldiers, sent to their deaths, on a pack of lies.” His statements on Iraq did not even make headlines and he is not known. Actually he has been denied entry into Canada.

This kind of selective reporting and has served to extend the divide between Muslims and Christians. The levels of suspicion between Arab countries and the US have increased. The fact that there were conflicting reports by the different media on site has brought out the varying interests by media in the war.

The fact that a special pentagon team met with news analysts to give them “special information” and convinced them to speak favorably on the war against Iraqi leave without doubt that after all the reporting that had been done, there was a side of the story that we did not learn about. The security situation worsened and it became quite difficult for journalists to operate independently. This could have opened a window of exploitation where journalists would be given protection and in return were expected to report favorably on the US. There were firings and hirings in the mainstream media. This was to conform to standards set by the government.

Observations made between the beginning of the war till now are sufficient evidence that opinions made about Iraq and its citizenry have been a result of media manipulation. Therefore it is important that the basis of one’s judgment of Iraq be on a foundation of critical thinking as the mainstream media has proved itself unreliable fairness in reporting.