Jetblue Ipo Pricing Essays

Jetblue Ipo Pricing Essays Jetblue Ipo Pricing Paper Jetblue Ipo Pricing Paper 1. Introduction An initial public offering (IPO) is defined as the first offering of shares by a private company to the public. A share is one of a finite number of equal portions of the capital of a company that entitles the shareholder to a proportion of distributed, non-reinvested profits known as dividends, and to a portion of the value of the company in case of liquidation. Shares can be either voting or non-voting, meaning that the shareholder may have the right to vote on the board of directors and thus the corporate policy (Draho, 2004). The money the private company raises through the issuance of shares is either transferred to the original investors of the company, used to pay-off existing debt, used to finance operating expenses, or, is used to fund future company projects. The ability to conduct an IPO efficiently and effectively encourages entrepreneurship and economic growth through increasing the availability of equity and lowering the cost of equity finance (Kleeburg, 2005). The following report introduces a generic process of an IPO without detailing specifics for an individual country or region. The advantages and disadvantages of choosing an IPO to raise capital is then discussed followed by an examination of the various pricing and allocation techniques that are commonly adopted in the IPO. The final section uses the 2002 IPO of JetBlue as a case study to demonstrate the accuracy and effectiveness of the discussed pricing techniques. 2. The IPO Process Jenkinson and Ljungqvist (2001) define 5 generic steps that are required to be undertaken in the process of raising equity through an IPO: Figure 2. 1 – Five generic steps undertaken in the process of an IPO Each of the 5 steps are briefly discussed in the following section paying particular attention to the role of the investment bank and the pricing and allocation decision. 2. 1. The Choice of Market It is important to note that the act of ‘going public’ has two distinct requirements: Investors who are willing to purchase the shares Exchange regulatory conditions that companies must meet Historically, the first aspect of finding investors has not been of great concern, however, given the increasing levels of integration of global financial markets companies are able to select the market that best suits their requirements. The choice of market is therefore essentially focussed on ensuring that there is enough depth within the market so that the company can raise the amount of equity required and that the company is able to comply with the regulations imposed by the stock exchanges and their regulatory bodies (Jenkinson and Ljungqvist, 2001). . 2. Producing a Prospectus The second stage of an IPO is the preparation and lodgement of a prospectus with the market regulatory authorities. A prospectus sets out the terms of the equity issue and provides information on the financial and management performance of the issuing company. It is used to ensure adequate information is provided so that investors can make an informed investment decision (ASX, 2008). Investment banks ar e usually engaged to assist in the preparation of the prospectus to ensure due diligence has been performed. Due diligence refers to the process of providing reasonable grounds that there is nothing in the prospectus that is misleading, and typically involves reviewing company contracts and tax returns, visiting company offices and facilities and interviewing company and industry personnel (Draho, 2004). This prospectus usually includes either a fixed price for the offer (where a predetermined price has been established) or an initial price range (a first ‘best guess’ on the price) that have been determined by the investment bank. With the latter technique the initial price range is usually modified throughout the remaining stages of the IPO (Brau and Fawcett, 2006). 2. 3. Marketing Having produced a prospectus, the next stage is marketing the issue to investors. This marketing can take place in a variety of forms and usually involves a road show, where the issuing firm and the investment bank conduct presentations to a high concentration of institutional investors. Where the offer price has already been established (i. e. fixed price offering) the main purpose of the marketing stage is to elicit bids from investors. Where an indicative price range has been given, the key purpose is to produce expressions of interest and thus begin the process of book building. Book building encompasses the collating of non-legally binding offers of price and quantity that is used to develop a demand curve and thus a more accurate price range for the subscription (Geddes, 2003). An important aspect that influences the marketin g technique is the role of the investment bank as the underwriter. Underwriting can be in the form of a firm commitment, where the investment bank accepts the risk of the issue by agreeing to purchase any securities that had not been subscribed, or on a best efforts basis, where the investment bank agrees to only use its expertise to sell the securities to the best of their abilities (Jenkinson and Ljungqvist, 2001). 2. 4. Pricing and Allocation Where a fixed priced is initially established, it is typical for either heavy over or under subscription to occur. In these cases, allocation methods such as pro rata allocation, retail investor bias allocation or random allocation are utilised depending on the policies imposed by the market regulators (Jenkinson and Ljungqvist, 2001). Where book building has occurred, if the issue is oversubscribed the allocation is typically based on either a common strike price (where a single price is quoted and allocation is based on the amount of information contained in the bid and/or the investor reputation), or, allocation and pricing starting from the highest bid downward until the issue demand is fully met (Draho, 2004). . 5. After the IPO Once the final pricing and allocation decisions have been made, trading in the shares usually commences within a few days. In some countries it is typical for the investment bank to be involved in a price stabilisation process where the principal purpose is to protect the downward price pressure once trading begins. This process of price stabilisation is usually linked with the granting of an over-allotment option (typically 15% of the total number of shares issued) which have usually been sold during the marketing process (Geddes, 2003). 3. Advantages / Disadvantages of the IPO Decision There are considerable advantages with obtaining equity through the IPO process. There are, however, some drawbacks that also need to be taken into consideration. Table 3. 1 outlines the key advantages and disadvantages as outlined by Fishman (1993). AdvantagesDisadvantages The partners can obtain a true value of the shares they possess in the companyThe market is extremely unpredictable and an unsuccessful IPO can result in a great loss of time as well as money for the company Partners can remove their signatures from the lines of credit and thus, are no longer personally liable to the creditorsThe ownership of the partners is dissolved and they become mere employees who are responsible to the shareholders and Board of Directors The overall financial condition of a company is improved as it brings in non-refundable moneyContinuous dealing with shareholders and the press is a time-consuming process A broader capital base gives the company more access to credit which gives the company an option to venture into new business opportunitiesShareholders judge the performance of the company on the basis of the profits and stock price and may cause managers to overlook the long-term strategic objectives Capital raised in an IPO can be used to pay off debt and t hus reduce the interest costs and enhance the company’s debt to equity ratioThe company needs to make nation-wide presentations about its performance to the interested shareholders, brokers and the investment bankers The value of the stock may see an upward trend thus increasing the initial investors financial wealthThe company’s continued success may bring a lot of close scrutiny by the public When a company goes public, it attracts the attention of the media and financial community thus providing free publicity and helps in creating a better corporate imageLarge amounts of fees and expenses are associated with a public company on a continual basis commissions, advertising costs, securities exchange fees etc. By going public and listing on a stock exchange it can directly foster public reputation in general Table 3. – Advantages and disadvantages of going public through the IPO process 4. IPO Valuation Techniques Deriving a value for an IPO is the critical par t of the process. In both fixed price and book building offers some form of initial price must be determined by the investment bank. The key methods that are used to determine the value of a company and thus the initial IPO price include (Geddes, 2003): Discounting Methods – based on a firms intrinsic value (future cash flows) Comparable Multiples Method: value based on similar publicly traded companies 4. 1. Discounting Methods Theoretically, the price of a share is derived by discounting all future cash flows that accrue to shareholders. These techniques are used throughout industry, however, they do suffer in practical application due to the risk associated with forecasting both revenue and expenses (Draho, 2004). The two most frequently used discounting methods include the discounted free cash flows (DCF) and a residual income model (RIM). 4. 1. 1. Discounted Free Cash Flows Free cash flows are defined as the cash flows from operations after investment in working capital and any capital expenditures. These cash flows are considered more appropriate than accounting earnings which include non cash items such as depreciation that cannot be used to pay shareholders. Cash flows are used to pay dividends and thus capture true value for the investor. These cash flows are then discounted using a risk adjusted rate. The rate is estimated either by using the capital asset pricing model (CAPM) for a 100% equity company or by calculating the weighted average cost of capital of the firm’s debt and equity (Geddes, 2003). 4. 1. 2. Residual Income Model The DCF model requires accounting earnings to be converted to cash flows. This is considered inappropriate as accounting values do not take into consideration the time value of money and may be subject to manipulation by way of accounting methods. The RIM is similar to the DCF method in that both methods use a risk adjusted discount rate. The RIM model, however, utilises the difference between the realised earnings and the expected earnings, where the expected earnings is the cost of equity multiplied by the start of period equity book value (Draho, 2004). 4. 2. Comparable Multiples This is the most common method used by investment banks to value IPO’s. Its fundamental approach is the comparison of ratios of companies that operate in similar businesses that possess the same characteristics of risk, current and future profitability and growth prospects (Geddes, 2003). There are number of ratios that can be used under this method, the most common being: Price/Earnings multiples Price/EBIT Market value/Book value Price/sales The successful application of this method lies in choosing an appropriate comparison company. One method used by practitioners is to select up to 10 company’s operating within the same industry and to use the group’s median multiple to value the issuer. The second and most common method is to select 3-4 companies that are direct competitors within the particular industry to the issuer. The third method is to use multiples of firms that have recently gone public assuming all issuers share common valuation multiples (Jenkinson and Ljungqvist, 2001). Comparable multiples is a popular method to value an IPO due to its simplicity and accuracy (Richardson and Tinaikar 2004). With the use of multiples there is no need to estimate the cost of capital, neither is there a need to depend on forecasted earnings and assumptions of valuation models. The use of multiples is supported by the idea that relevant ratios capture the markets estimate of risk and growth (Zarowin, 1990). 5. JetBlue Pricing Table 5. shows the results of utilising the techniques discussed in the previous section for determining the share price for the 2002 JetBlue IPO (for complete calculations see Appendix 1 and 2). The initial subscription price of the IPO was given by th e investment bank (in this case Morgan Stanley) at $22-$24 and this was revised to $25-$26 during the book building process. MethodShare Price ($) Discounted Cash Flow Free Cash Flows$94. 00 Industry Averages Price / Earnings Multiples$40. 38 Market Value / Book Value$115. 22 Price / EBIT$33. 13 EBIT Multiple Leading$38. 92 Competitor Averages Price / Earnings Multiples$97. 06 Market Value / Book Value$274. 54 Price / EBIT$88. 33 EBIT Multiple Leading$65. 10 Recent IPOs EBIT Multiple Leading$40. 37 Table 5. 1 – Share prices for the JetBlue IPO using the different techniques It should be noted that the JetBlue opening share price, this being the price of the stock at the end of the first day of trading, was $50. 30 demonstrating that the IPO was heavily underpriced. The price peaked in September 2003 at just above $90. 00. JetBlue’s current trading price is approximately $17. 21 (after adjusting its actual price of $5. 10 for the three 3:2 share splits and dividends distributed). This shows that there has been a significant loss since the shares began trading in April 2002 (for historical monthly stock price data see Appendix 3). This could reflect either changing market conditions since the IPO or inadequate pricing techniques used at the time of the IPO. Table 5. 1 demonstrates the wide range of share prices that can be achieved depending on the technique that is adopted. The free cash flows technique utilised Southwest Airlines data, assumptions for the airline industry and cash flows given from JetBlue management (see Appendix 1). This value was quite high but reflects high investor demand which took the share price above $90. 00. Of the comparable multiple techniques, the industry average and recent IPO methods reflect the first day closing price, whereas, the competitor average technique reflects similar results to the discounted cash flow technique. Recognising that the discounted cash flow method utilises data for Southwest Airlines that may not accurately represent JetBlue’s conditions, a sensitivity analysis was conducted (see table 5. 2). The four variables that were examined were the horizontal growth rate, the beta (a measure of company returns relative to market returns), the credit rating and the debt to equity ratio. VariableShare Price ($) Growth Rate Forecasted4%$94. 00 Optimistic5%$133. 44 Conservative3%$64. 18 Beta Forecasted1. 3$94. 00 Optimistic1. 1$149. 74 Conservative1. 5$52. 78 Credit Rating (spread) ForecastedBa (3. 00%)$94. 00 OptimisticBaa (1. 50%)$96. 37 ConservativeB (5. 0%)$90. 90 Debt / Equity Ratio Forecasted5. 0%$94. 00 Optimistic10. 0%$108. 03 Conservative2. 5%$86. 96 Table 5. 2 – Sensitivity analysis of share price for fluctuations in the growth rate, beta and credit spread Changes in the value of beta, the perpetual growth rate and the debt to equity ratio provide considerable variatio n in the calculated share price. Credit rating had little influence over the final value. As the premise of the discounting cash flow method is the forecasting of data, this sensitivity analysis demonstrates that caution should be used when relying on this technique given the uncertainty of forecasting information. 6. Conclusion In conclusion, the initial public offering (IPO) process involves a decision on which market is used to raise the funds, the preparation of a prospectus to meet regulatory conditions, marketing of the issuance to institutional investors and a pricing and allocation decision based on the type of subscription that is being offered (fixed price or book building). The key challenge for both the issuing firm and potential investors is the pricing of the shares. The two key techniques of discounted cash flows and comparable multiples, demonstrate that considerable variation in value can occur depending on the technique used. The reliability and accuracy of forecasted and historical data is also of considerable importance in ensuring accurate pricing. In order to overcome many of the disadvantages of an IPO, accurate pricing is paramount to ensure ongoing investor involvement. To draw any conclusion on the accuracy of techniques from this case study would be inappropriate, however, the complexities of the pricing decision has been quite clearly demonstrated. 7. Reference List Australian Securities Exchange. (2008, February 29). Listing on ASX. Retrieved April 23, 2008, from asx. com. au/professionals/listing/index. htm Brau, J. Fawcett, S. (2006). Initial public offerings: An analysis of theory and practice. The Journal of Finance, 61(1), 399-436. Draho, J. (2004). The IPO Decision: Why and How Companies Go Public. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing. Fabozzi, F. Modigliani, F. (2003). Capital Markets: Institutions and Instruments (2nd ed. ). New Jersey, Prentice Hall. Fishman, L. (1993). Going public: The pro’s and cons. The Secured Lender. 49(4), 58-60. Geddes, R. (2003). IPO’s and Equity Offerings. Oxford, UK. Butterworth-Heinemann. Jenkinson, T. Ljungqvist, A. (2001). Going Public: The Theory and Evidence on How Companies Raise Equity Finance (2nd ed. ). United States: Oxford University Press Inc. Kleeburg, R. (2005). Initial Public Offering. Ohio, Thomson. Richardson, Gordon D, and Surjit Tinaikar. (2004). Accounting based valuation models: what have we learned? Accounting and Finance, 44(2), 223-255. Zarowin, Paul. 1990. What determines earnings-price ratios: Revisited. Journal of Accounting, Auditing Finance, 5(3), 455-457.

Medieval Half-Timbered Construction

Medieval Half-Timbered Construction Half-timbering is a way of constructing wood frame structures with the structural timbers exposed. This medieval method of construction is called timber framing. A half-timbered building wears its wood frame on its sleeve, so to speak. The wooden wall framing - studs, cross beams, and braces - are exposed to the outside, and the spaces between the wooden timbers are filled with plaster, brick, or stone. Originally a common type of building method in the 16th century, half-timbering has become decorative and non-structural in designs for todays homes. A good example of a true half-timbered structure from the 16th century is the Tudor-era manor house known as Little Moreton Hall (c. 1550) in Cheshire, United Kingdom.  In the United States, a Tudor-style home is really a Tudor Revival, which simply takes the look of half-timbering instead of exposing the structural wooden beams on the exterior facade or the interior walls. A well-known example of this effect is the  Nathan G. Moore house in Oak Park, Illinois. It is the house Frank Lloyd Wright hated, although the young architect himself designed this traditional Tudor-influenced American manor home in 1895. Why did Wright hate it? Although Tudor Revival was popular, the house that Wright really wanted to work on was his own original design, an experimental modern home that became known as the Prairie Style. His client, however, wanted a traditionally dignified design of the elite. Tudor Revival styles were extremely popular to a certain upper-middle-class sector of the American population from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Definition The familiar half-timbered was used informally to mean timber-framed construction in the Middle Ages. For economy, cylindrical logs were cut in half, so one log could be used for two (or more) posts. The shaved side was traditionally on the exterior and everyone knew it to be half the timber. The Dictionary of Architecture and Construction defines half-timbered this way: Descriptive of buildings of the 16th and 17th cent. which were built with strong timber foundations, supports, knees, and studs, and whose walls were filled in with plaster or masonry materials such as brick. Construction Method After 1400 A.D., many European houses were masonry on the first floor and half-timbered on the upper floors. This design was originally pragmatic - not only was the first floor seemingly more protected from bands of marauders but like todays foundations a masonry base could well support tall wooden structures. Its a design model that continues with todays revival styles. In the United States, colonists brought these European building methods with them, but the harsh winters made half-timbered construction impractical. The wood expanded and contracted dramatically, and the plaster and masonry filling between the timbers could not keep out cold drafts. Colonial builders began to cover exterior walls with wood clapboards or masonry. The Look Half-timbering was a popular European construction method toward the end of the Middle Ages and into the reign of the Tudors. What we think of as Tudor architecture often has the half-timbered look. Some authors have chosen the word Elizabethan to describe half-timbered structures. Nevertheless, during the late 1800s, it became fashionable to imitate Medieval building techniques. A Tudor Revival house expressed American success, wealth, and dignity. Timbers were applied to exterior wall surfaces as decoration. False half-timbering became a popular type of ornamentation in many nineteenth and twentieth-century house styles, including Queen Anne, Victorian Stick, Swiss Chalet, Medieval Revival (Tudor Revival), and, occasionally, on modern-day Neotraditional houses and commercial buildings. Examples Until the fairly recent invention of rapid transportation, such as the freight train, buildings were constructed with local materials. In areas of the world that are naturally forested, homes made of wood dominated the landscape. Our word timber comes from Germanic words meaning wood and wood structure. Think of yourself in the middle of a land filled with trees - todays Germany, Scandinavia, Great Britain, Switzerland, the mountainous region of Eastern France - and then think about how you can use those trees to build a house for your family. When you cut down each tree, you may yell Timber! to warn people of its impending fall. When you put them together to make a house, you can stack them up horizontally like a log cabin or you can stack them vertically, like a stockade fence. The third way of using wood to construct a house is to build a primitive hut - use the wood to build a frame and then put insulating materials in between the frame. How much and what kinds of material you use will depend on how harsh the weather is where you are building. Throughout Europe, tourists flock to cities and towns that prospered during the Middle Ages. Within the Old Town areas, original half-timbered architecture has been restored and maintained. In France, for example, towns like Strasbourg near the German border and Troyes, about 100 miles southeast of Paris, have wonderful examples of this medieval design. In Germany, Old Town Quedlinburg and the historic town of Goslar are both UNESCO Heritage Site. Remarkably, Goslar is cited not for its medieval architecture but for its mining and water management practices that date back to the Middle Ages. Perhaps most notable to the American tourist are the English towns of Chester and York, two cities in northern England. Despite their Roman origins, York and Chester have a reputation for being  quintessentially British because of the many half-timbered dwellings. Likewise, Shakespeares birthplace and Anne Hathaways Cottage in Stratford-upon-Avon are well-known half-timbered houses in the United Kingdom. The writer William Shakespeare lived from 1564 until 1616, so many of the buildings associated with the famous playwright are half-timbered styles from the Tudor era. Sources Dictionary of Architecture and Construction, Cyril M. Harris, ed., McGraw-Hill, 1975, p. 241Architecture through the Ages by Professor Talbot Hamlin, FAIA, Putnam, Revised 1953American House Styles: A Concise Guide by John Milnes Baker, AIA, Norton, 1994, p. 100

Letter on the desire to become a college coach Essay

Letter on the desire to become a college coach - Essay Example I have for this reason been following their games and training sessions and I am informed of their potentials, to be exploited, and their weaknesses that should be managed for success in competitions. Besides my personal interest in the college team and my passion for its success, I have extensive and outstanding skills and qualities that meet the college’s expectation of a football coach. I am a trained coach who meets the national coaching standards for a national league team. My experience as a coach also establishes confidence in my performance potentials. Based on my training, I have the capacity to ensure the student’s physical fitness through offering safe training. This guarantees mitigation of the college’s liabilities that would arise from student’s injuries while on sporting duties, either in trainings or in competitions. I have successfully achieved this as a high school coach, a position in which I served for six years. My experience also includes coaching special team’s ‘runningbacks’, wide receivers, tight ends, and offensive coordination. My personal attributes include a firm belief in positive coaching, and respect and discipline among team members. I am also a hard worker who ensures motivation of my team for effective preparations before each game. Further, I am a self-motivated individual, self reliant, positive, a self-starter, energetic, trustworthy, and a team player. My skills and experience, therefore, identify my qualification as the best candidate for this job. This is because my intrinsic motivational features and my long-term passion for the team have already established a commitment towards a high-leveled leadership and management that will not depend on external environmental factors. My successful coaching experience also guarantees success with the college team. Similarly, my leadership potentials will ensure a good relationship between the team and the school

Health Care Spending Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Health Care Spending Paper - Essay Example The current developments in health care spending indicate that this sector is slowly spiraling out of control. Policies are being put in place to try and address the problem before it completely gets out of hand. This paper will look at some of the aspects of health care spending, and how it is affecting different trends in the economy in the United States. Currently, health care spending has hit an all-time high. It is estimated that in the year 2013, the health care sector in the region used almost 3 trillion U.S. dollars, which is said to be over 15% of the region’s economy. Statistics also provide evidence that spending in this sector has been growing at a rate of at least 3 percent since the year 2009. Spending in the United States has doubled since the early 2000s, but the sluggish recovery of the economy is what may be making the rates much lower than anticipated (Yesalis, Politzer & Holt, 2012). Most of the people in the region are foregoing medical care as a result of a decline in their disposable income, increase in cost to workers, and even loss of health cover. It is my belief that the coming year, and the ones after that, may record a sharp rise in health care spending. It is my opinion that the figures projected by some of the organizations in the region are too high. This is a clear indication that almost a quarter of the region’s economy is spent on health care and other related health care costs, which means that the other sectors present are having to share most of what is left. The health care sector is just as important as any other sector that is present in the region. This means that proper policies must be put into account when coming up with estimates for the use and appropriation of capital into the health care sector. The amount of capital that is spent on medicine, as compared to other Organizations for Economic Co-operation and

The Scarlet Letter Compared to the 21st Century Essay Example for Free

The Scarlet Letter Compared to the 21st Century Essay â€Å"Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that†- Martin Luther King Jr. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a story that proves how far the love of a mother will go for their child. Hawthorne inspired a literature story that pushes the human soul past its own limits. The Scarlet Letter Demonstrates how the human spirit, in both Hester Prynne’s Puritan culture and in the lives of 21st century citizens is resilient. To begin, Nathaniel Hawthorne shows how morals in a human life can affect more than one person. A person could take it in many possible ways either being a negative or positive way. A negative way it could be taken is if a reader could compare it to a dictator’s harsh ways against a culture that he might not like. His own morals would force his people look down upon a group of people like for an example; North Korean citizens’ hates American people because their dictator has forced them to gain hatred against them even though America tried to help them. â€Å"if the United States did not end its hostile policy, the North would expand the deterrent, demonstrate it and transfer it.†(Green). North Korea has threatened America with using missiles like Hester Prynne being to have her child taken away. Another example that has bad moral standards would be genocides that are being committed all the over the world. It is a sickening movement that leaders use those actions to justify things that would make no sense to the â€Å"normal† human being because it just takes humanity back to their primal instinct of mammal to kill or be killed. Even so, there are also good morals that people follow each day to also bring back a peaceful resolution to the world. A leading point into this is that people like Martin Luther King Jr. shows how just one person’s moral can change people hatred in their hearts against a race to having love for a random stranger knowing they will be judged by the color of their skin. Hester Prynne, the main character, exposed many noble morals in the sense of that she never judged anyone else and it is not because she was an outcast but she didn’t need to worry about the things people say about her. Hawthorne creates a character that even though she gets judged, not once did she commit herself to fight other puritans. If the reader uses those same standards in reality, they will become a better person and that is one main theme that Nathaniel is trying to teach using Hester as gateway to it. To continue, Hawthorne displays that a mothers love will always be there for their child. Hester Prynne endures agony each day to protect not just herself but also her daughter Pearl. Hawthorne writes how much Hester has to go through to protect even while being an outcast and knowing how Pearl will be looked down by the community because she is the daughter of women who had an affair during her marriage. An example that can be used to prove it is that an Indiana mother lost parts of both her legs as she tried to protect her children from a tornado that hit her home. She risked her life for the safety of her own child. It shows how a mother risks all of herself to protect her children even if it cost body limps. That mother had the mentality to risk everything to ensure that her child would be saved and knowing that she might not make it but could careless because it is that same love that proves a mother is practically one of the best things that can to child even though sometimes the mother may not be great. Another example would be is when a Hispanic mother stayed at church after she found out she was to be deported. It’s a connection to the story because the mom didn’t want to leave her child even though the government wanted to deport her. Its’ a connection to story because it demonstrates how a mother defies law that everyone is supposed to go by just to try stay with her son because he is a big part of her life and doesn’t want to change it. The last example would be that a mother in Oklahoma shot two robbers to protect her child. She killed the men that tried to rob her family and she had the instinct to protect her young ones from any harmful actions that could have risked their safety. Hester Prynne risked her own life by being mocked each day by the community because she didn’t want to bring forward the father’s name out to public. Lastly, Hawthorne exhibits how no matter how much a person gets tormented they will always find a way that is stronger. Hester endures punishment after punishment to hold her secret in. A particular case that shows how much person can handle would be the holocaust. Jews were executed by man who was pure evil hearted and had twisted mind. â€Å"As the production of line of a slaughter-house, members of the SS†¦ Put them to death with a shot through the base of the skull.† (William 31) Yet, they survived all the hardships they had to go through, they had to face gas chambers, labor camps, and being shot down when getting off trains. The holocaust was one of the most gruesome genocide Jews to gain power over a group of people who did not really do anything. As a reader, The Scarlet Letter should be used to look at every aspect in life even if it is the past. Nathaniel describes how Hester had to scrap away at people because she committed a horrible crime to the puritan community. â€Å"There was a more real torture in her first unattended footsteps from the threshold of the prison† (Hawthorne 75). People get thrown to deepest holes in life but everyone has the will to fight for their life’s and does not matter what the situation is. The Holocaust and Hester Prynne â€Å"Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that†- Martin Luther King Jr. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a verified story how faraway the love of a mother would go for their child. Hawthorne inspired a literature story that pushed the human soul past its own limits. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne shows how standards in a human life can affect more than one person, that a mothers love will always be there for their child and no matter how considerable a person gets tormented they will always find a way that is stronger.

Essay --

In Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre both examine the thematic element of the role of women in society. In the Victorian Era, women were held to very narrow gender roles. While the era was in midst of a drastic change regarding gender equality, towards a 'modern' concept of equality, the process was not achieved (Marsh). A women's place during the Victorian Era was meant to be in the home as a wife and a mother (Abrams). Like today, a women could either be considered pure or impure. A pure women would be considered quiet, passive and loyal whereas an impure woman would be considered a disgrace and expendable (Appell). Both Jane Eyre and Dracula have many of these elements in the characters. In Bronte's novel Jane Eyre, Jane is considered the ultimate image of a Victorian Era women where Bertha is the impure woman. In Dracula, Mina is the image of a Victorian Era women, much like Jane. Lucy, on the other hand, is considered an impure character. Thr ough the main characters in Jane Eyre and Dracula, the ideas of what a Victorian women should be, and the idea of what a women should not be are shown. With the lead character in Bronte's novel Jane Eyre, there is the ultimate image of a Victorian Era women. Jane is considered to be a plain, quiet, passive, and simple minded woman; yet she is intelligent and sophisticated. "if she were a nice, pretty child, one might compassionate her forlornness; but one really cannot care for such a little toad as that" (Bronte 22). The novel begins with Jane as a rebellious young girl reading a book, and being punished. "You have no business to take our books; you are a dependant, mama says; you have no money; your father left you none; you ought to beg, and not to live here ... ...torian Era. Bram Stoker uses Mina and Lucy, like Charlotte Bronte uses Jane and Bertha, to show the Victorian Era belief about the roles of women in society. The social construct of the time involved women to be inferior to men in all areas of life, with the exception of being a mother. Through Mina and Jane, Bram Stoker and Charlotte Bronte show the ideal Victorian woman. Whereas Lucy and Bertha are shown as the opposite of ideal, and in the end die to show the restore of order. Both, Jane Eyre and Dracula, have the same aspects of what defines a Victorian Era woman. It is shown, through Dracula, women can fall from their place in society and unless there is a man to put them back there is no hope for return. Through the main characters in Jane Eyre and Dracula, the ideas of what a Victorian women should be, and the idea of what a women should not be are shown. Essay -- In Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre both examine the thematic element of the role of women in society. In the Victorian Era, women were held to very narrow gender roles. While the era was in midst of a drastic change regarding gender equality, towards a 'modern' concept of equality, the process was not achieved (Marsh). A women's place during the Victorian Era was meant to be in the home as a wife and a mother (Abrams). Like today, a women could either be considered pure or impure. A pure women would be considered quiet, passive and loyal whereas an impure woman would be considered a disgrace and expendable (Appell). Both Jane Eyre and Dracula have many of these elements in the characters. In Bronte's novel Jane Eyre, Jane is considered the ultimate image of a Victorian Era women where Bertha is the impure woman. In Dracula, Mina is the image of a Victorian Era women, much like Jane. Lucy, on the other hand, is considered an impure character. Thr ough the main characters in Jane Eyre and Dracula, the ideas of what a Victorian women should be, and the idea of what a women should not be are shown. With the lead character in Bronte's novel Jane Eyre, there is the ultimate image of a Victorian Era women. Jane is considered to be a plain, quiet, passive, and simple minded woman; yet she is intelligent and sophisticated. "if she were a nice, pretty child, one might compassionate her forlornness; but one really cannot care for such a little toad as that" (Bronte 22). The novel begins with Jane as a rebellious young girl reading a book, and being punished. "You have no business to take our books; you are a dependant, mama says; you have no money; your father left you none; you ought to beg, and not to live here ... ...torian Era. Bram Stoker uses Mina and Lucy, like Charlotte Bronte uses Jane and Bertha, to show the Victorian Era belief about the roles of women in society. The social construct of the time involved women to be inferior to men in all areas of life, with the exception of being a mother. Through Mina and Jane, Bram Stoker and Charlotte Bronte show the ideal Victorian woman. Whereas Lucy and Bertha are shown as the opposite of ideal, and in the end die to show the restore of order. Both, Jane Eyre and Dracula, have the same aspects of what defines a Victorian Era woman. It is shown, through Dracula, women can fall from their place in society and unless there is a man to put them back there is no hope for return. Through the main characters in Jane Eyre and Dracula, the ideas of what a Victorian women should be, and the idea of what a women should not be are shown.

Project Management Theories

Assessment 2: Pre-Course Assignment (20%) Carry out a comprehensive literature review on the software development methodologies (for eg: Rapid Application Development, Object-Oriented Software Development etc) adopted by organizations emphasizing on the following for each method addressed: * What are the main characteristics of the method? * What are the main constraints of the method? * What are the advantages and drawbacks of the method? * When is this method more suitable to use? This is an individual assignment. All reference materials used must be properly acknowledged.Use Harvard referencing method. Assessment 3: Main Assignment (20%) Select an organization of your choice. * Describe the nature of the organization and the nature of the industry to which it belongs to. * Identify the major competitors and the competitive forces affecting the organization. Describe any environmental opportunities or threats to the chosen company that can be considered as significant or likely to be significant over the next few years. * Identify key business, functional or standalone strategies formulated by the chosen company to face the changing environmental conditions.How are these strategies matched with the strengths and weaknesses of the company? * Critically examine the Information systems/strategic IS used, development alternatives used, the purpose of use and analyze the benefits achieved and drawbacks of these information systems. Explain how each of these systems supports the overall business goals of the organization. * Describe the nature of the relationship between the IT division and the other divisions of the organization. Explain problem, change and recovery management processes adopted by the IT division. If the organization does not posses such processes, you may make suitable suggestions as part of your recommendations) * Explain the types of controls used by the IT division in order to protect the IT assets of the organization. * Explain briefly how IT costs are recovered and charge back mechanisms used by the IT division. * Based on you findings make suitable recommendations to improve the Information Systems and the IT division that would enable the organization to emerge as a market leader. Related article: Conveyor Belt Project

Bad law Essay

Bad law BY erik2408 Bad Law/Lawyers Introduction: Law is a term which does not have a universally accepted definition, but one definition is that law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior. What is bad law you may ask? Bad law ties in with quite a few things, as a matter of fact it’s a very big subject but I would like to break it down to Just a few certain topics. The topics that I would like to discuss are what is and makes a bad lawyer in general, the morality of some lawyers. You could be a great lawyer but if you have horrible morals by my definition I would have to abel you as a bad lawyer. But my most important topic is on lawyers and ambulance chasing which is frowned upon. There are two great movies that explain both of these topics. One of the movies is â€Å"My cousin Vinny’ which shows you an example of an overall bad lawyer. The other movie is a bit more popular â€Å"The Verdict† which portrays a morally bad lawyer that is an ambulance chaser. Discussion: Let’s get started! The first thing I’d like to discuss is a bad lawyer Just in general. I don’t know if a lot of people seen the movie â€Å"My Cousin Vinny’ but that movie is a great example of a bad lawyer. For the people that are unfamiliar with it let me tell you a little bit about it. The movie starts off by two boys driving across the country and get arrested and trailed for murder, for the killing of the clerk at a gas station they had Just been into. The two boys were innocent and but there were witnesses saying they saw them. They were broke and in big trouble. So one of the boys called his uncle Vinny who was a lawyer. This was Vinnie’s first case ever as a lawyer and was completely clueless. Vinny did not know the rules and regulations on how to behave in a courtroom to say the least. Somehow he convinced the kids to let him represent them. Vinny was learning as we went along, and with the help of his girlfriend he actually won the case. But if I was being trailed for murder I for sure know I would not want him representing me. If you are in need of a lawyer here’s some tips you may need to know to avoid the bad ones. For one don’t go for a general practitioner when you need a specialist. Two, do some legwork to find a good attorney. Three, don’t sign up unless you’re completely comfortable with the fee arrangement and relationship. Four, understand what an attorney is doing for you. Last but not least be wary of the â€Å"slam dunk† claim. Any lawyer who says you got a slam dunk case is not a very good lawyer (Collins). Hopefully that information gives you a better understanding ofa bad lawyer. Now to talk about my main issue, which are lawyers with bad morals. What do I consider a morally bad lawyer? An attorney that is an ambulance chaser would be considered a morally bad lawyer in my eyes. An ambulance chasing is a form of barratry, refers to a lawyer using an event as a lawyers that follow ambulances to the emergency room to find clients. Ambulance chasing is prohibited in the US. Such conduct violates Rule 7. 3 of the American Bar Association Model Rules of Professional Conduct. Some bar associations strongly enforce rules against barratry. For example, the State Bar of California dispatches investigators to large-scale disaster scenes to discourage ambulance chasers, and to catch any who attempt to solicit business from disaster victims at the scene. Ambulance chasing is also illegal in Australia, in accordance with clauses 20 and 22 of the Legal Profession Regulation of 1987 (Wikipedia). Lawyers aren’t supposed to solicit their clients directly, at least in theory (Toothman). But of course that would be in a perfect world, but as right now the reality is that there are always some lawyers cutting deals with ambulance drivers, nurses, and funeral homes so on and so forth just to get tips on finding victims that might have a legal case (Toothman). When there’s a big event, like an explosion or a train wreck or even a bus crash, how do the random victims find their way to the hungry lawyers? In the good old days, plaintiff lawyers chartered planes to fly to Bhopal, India, for example (Toothman). In Toothman’s article he writes about Lawyers fake press release to sign up clients. What these lawyers did was send out a bizarre press release, announcing that, without even having a single client so far, they are â€Å"investigating† or â€Å"looking into† the disaster du Jour, which they have ripped from the headlines (Toothman). Du Jour is a magazine by the way. That wasn’t intended to get a local paper to run a story about that, the goal was to reach out to any victims or their families who might be looking around for hope, or a lawyer, will stumble upon these press releases using Google or yahoo and rush to sign up with the hungry lawyer (Toothman). In other recent rticles about ambulance chasing an attorney in Texas was arrested for doing this. The event took place in May of 2012 only a year and half ago. Ronald Reynolds was a state representative and former municipal Judge. He was arrested for barratry which is a fancier term for ambulance chasing. Texas, it’s not Just prohibited by legal ethics rules it’s also flat out illegal (Rabiner). This was such a widespread problem at the Harris County Courthouse near Houston, officials recently erected signs warning attorneys that barratry is a crime (Rabiner). The legislator was caught soliciting otential clients soon after they had been in car accidents. It was also reported that he founds some clients with the help of a local chiropractor. This is something you would not expect from a state representative. It’s very sketchy and illegal in the state of Texas which I did not know until reading this article. In Texas, attorneys arent permitted to send unsolicited offers of representation until 31 days after the underlying incident. Or when they know the individual already has legal representation (Rabiner). In addition to breaking these rules, the District Attorney has also accused Rep. Reynolds of tricking an undercover investigator he never met into signing an attorney-client agreement that gave him part of any settlement. â€Å"Any settlement† included insurance monies (Rabiner). What I found to be humorous in the article was the Rep. Ronald Reynolds even voted for the barratry law back in 2011. You would think someone who votes for a certain law would not be dumb enough to break that very law. Especially someone with a stature of being a state representative. I was appalled and in shock after reading this how can somebody be I was unaware that ambulance chasing was so common, I ran into another article here a lawyer was accused of offering kickbacks to two local insurance agents for referring accident cases to him, challenging the legality of the state statute that makes such practices a crime (Smith). Scott Jeffrey Jontiff, 33, of Miami, was charged with two counts of unlawful solicitation by an attorney after insurance agents he contacted turned him in to the Florida Division of Insurance Fraud in West Palm Beach (Smith). It was stated in the police report that there was a recorded and videotaped conversation where Jontiff offered to give the insurance agents $100 for ach personal injury case referred to him or $1 50 if the agents waited until the insurance companies paid up (Smith). The charges that Scott Jeffery faced were 3rd degree felony which is punishable by 5 years in prison and 5000 dollar fine. What I don’t understand is why put yourself in such danger by committing such a crime to me it seems stupid. You’re eventually going to get caught sooner or later. To get a better understanding on ambulance chasing and actually have a visual aid I strongly recommend watching the movie â€Å"The Verdict†. â€Å"The Verdict† came out in 1982 it’s an ld movie but very popular back in the day and still is, and yes it’s in color. The movie portrays a lawyer who is down-on-his luck, reduced to drinking and ambulance chasing. The down on his luck lawyer is Frank Galvin. Former associate Mickey Morrissey reminds him of his obligations in a medical malpractice suit that he himself served to Galvin on a silver platter (The Verdict). All parties were willing to settle out of court, until Frank suddenly realized that perhaps after all the case should go to court, to punish the guilty and get a decent settlement for his clients, nd to restore his standing as a lawyer (The Verdict). Conclusion: Bad lawyers are not Just in movies are not Just in movies. As you can see by the few example articles that I talked about ambulance chasing is a real thing and happens more often than you think. It practically happens on a daily basis there are always lawyers or somebody out there trying to take advantage of you. As I read in a few articles ambulance chasing attorneys are viewed as bottom chasers, theyre not very well liked. â€Å"The Verdict† does a really good Job portraying an ambulance chasing attorney. Those types of lawyers are always trying to get a lawsuit on something to get an easy buck. When you go as far as go to funerals and such right after a family has had a death in the family to try to catch a case in my eyes that’s having low morals and its frowned upon. As far as having a bad lawyer in general you Just have to be careful on that and take all the necessary precautions to avoid them. The tips I stated above are a few helpful hints to spot a bad attorney. As society grows and changes I hope lawyers won’t be as hungry and try to have a little sympathy for others and reevaluate their morals.

What Teachers Should Never Say or Do

What Teachers Should Never Say or Do Teachers are not perfect. We make mistakes and occasionally we exercise poor judgment.  In the end, we are human.  There are times that we are simply overwhelmed. There are times we lose focus. There are times we cannot remember why we choose to stay committed to this profession.  These things are human nature. We will err from time to time. We are not always at the top of our game. With that said, there are several things that teachers should never say or do.  These things are detrimental to our mission, they undermine our authority, and they create barriers that should not exist. As teachers, our words and our actions are powerful.  We have the power to transform, but we also have the power to tear apart.  Our words should always be chosen carefully. Our actions must be professional at all times. Teachers have an awesome responsibility that should never be taken lightly. Saying or doing these ten things will have a negative impact on your ability to teach. 5 Things Teachers Should Never Say â€Å"I don’t care if my students like me.† As a teacher, you had better care whether or not your students like you. Teaching is often more about relationships than it is about teaching itself. If your students do not like you or trust you, you will not be able to maximize the time you have with them.  Teaching is about giving and taking. Failing to understand will lead to failure as a teacher. When students genuinely like a teacher, the teachers job as a whole becomes much simpler, and they are able to accomplish more. Establishing a good rapport with your students ultimately leads to greater success. â€Å"You will never be able to do that.† Teachers should always encourage students, not discourage them. No teachers should crush any student’s dreams.  As educators, we should not be in the business of predicting futures, but of opening doors to the future.  When we tell our students they can’t do something, we place a limiting threshold on what they may try to become. Teachers are great influencers. We want to show students a pathway to achieving success, rather than telling them they will never get there, even when the odds are against them. â€Å"You are just lazy.† When students are repeatedly told that they are lazy, it becomes ingrained in them, and pretty soon it becomes a part of who they are. Many students get mislabeled as â€Å"lazy† when there is often a deeper underlying reason that they are not putting in much effort. Instead, teachers should get to know the student and determine the root cause of the issue. Once this is identified, teachers can help a student by providing them with the tools to overcome the issue. â€Å"That’s a stupid question!† Teachers should always be willing to answer a student’s questions about a lesson or content they are learning in class. Students must always feel comfortable and encouraged to ask questions. When a teacher refuses to answer a student’s question, they are discouraging the entire class to withhold questions. Questions are important because they can extend learning and provide teachers with direct feedback allowing them to assess whether or not students understand the material. â€Å"I’ve already gone over that. You should have been listening.† No two students are the same. They all process things differently.  Our job as teachers  is to make sure that every student understands the content. Some students may require more explanation or instruction than others.  New concepts can be especially difficult for students to grasp and may need to be retaught or revisited for several days.  There is a good chance that multiple students need further explanation even if only one is speaking up. 5 Things Teachers Should Never Do Teachers should never put themselves in a compromising situation with a student. It seems that we see more in the news about inappropriate teacher-student relationships than we do about all other news related to education.  It is frustrating, startling, and sad.  Most teachers never think this can happen to them, but opportunities present themselves more than most people think.  There is always a starting point that could have been stopped immediately or prevented completely. It often starts with an inappropriate comment or text message.  Teachers must proactively ensure that they never allow that starting point to occur because it is difficult to stop once a certain line is crossed. Teachers should never have a discussion about another teacher with a parent, student, or another teacher. We all run our classrooms differently than the other teachers in our building. Teaching differently does not necessarily translate to doing it better.  We are not always going to agree with the other teachers in our building, but we should always respect them. We should never discuss how they run their classroom with another parent or student. Instead, we should encourage them to approach that teacher or the building principal if they have any concerns.  Furthermore, we should never discuss other teachers with other faculty members. This will create division and discord and make it more difficult to work, teach, and learn.   Teachers should never put a student down, yell at them, or call them out in front of their peers. We expect our students to respect us, but respect is a two-way street.  As such, we must respect our students at all times.  Even when they are testing our patience, we should remain calm, cool, and collected.  When a teacher puts a student down, yells at them, or calls them out in front of their peers, they undermine their own authority with every other student in the class. These types of actions occur when a teacher loses control, and teachers must always maintain control of their classroom. Teachers should never ignore the opportunity to listen to parent concerns. Teachers should always welcome any parent who wants to have a conference with them so long as the parent is not irate.  Parents have a right to discuss concerns with their child’s teachers.  Some teachers misinterpret parent concerns as an all-out attack on themselves.  Truthfully, most parents are simply seeking information so that they can hear both sides of the story and rectify the situation.  Teachers would be best served to proactively reach out to parents as soon as a problem begins to develop. Teachers should never become complacent. Complacency will ruin a teacher’s career. We should always strive to improve and become better teachers. We should experiment with our teaching strategies and change them up a little every year. There are multiple factors that warrant some changes each year including new trends, personal growth, and the students themselves. Teachers must challenge themselves with ongoing research, professional development, and by having regular conversations with other educators.

The Future of Human Space Exploration

The Future of Human Space Exploration From Here to There: Human Space Flight People have a solid future in space, with regular flights to the International Space Station continuing to bring astronauts to low-Earth orbit for science experiments. But, the ISS isnt the only extent of our push to the new frontier. The next generation of explorers is already alive and preparing for journeys to the Moon and Mars. They could be our children and grandchildren, or even some of us reading stories online right now. Astronauts aboard the International Space Station in blue jumpsuits. NASA Companies and space agencies are testing new rockets, improved crew capsules, inflatable stations, and futuristic concepts for lunar bases, Mars habitats, and orbiting lunar stations. There are even plans for asteroid mining. It wont be long before the first super-heavy-lift rockets such as the next-generation Ariane (from ESA), SpaceXs Starship (Big Falcon Rocket), the Blue Origin rocket, and others will be blasting off to space. And, in the very near future, humans will be aboard, too.   Space Flight is in Our History Flights to low-Earth orbit and out to the Moon have been a reality since the early 1960s.  Human exploration of space actually began in 1961. Thats when Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man  in  space. He was followed by other Soviet and U.S. space explorers who landed on the  Moon circled Earth in space stations and  labs and blasted off aboard shuttles and space capsules. Yuri Gagarin, the first human to fly to space. alldayru.com Planetary exploration with robotic probes is ongoing. There are plans for an asteroid exploration, Moon colonization, and eventual Mars missions in the relatively near future. Yet, some people still ask, why explore space? What have we done so far? These are important questions and have very serious and practical answers. Explorers have been answering them throughout their careers as astronauts. Living and Working in Space The work of the men and women who have already been in space have helped establish the process of learning  how to live and there.  Humans have established a long-term presence in low-Earth orbit with the International Space Station, and U.S. astronauts spent time on the Moon in the late 1960s and early1970s. Plans for human habitation of Mars or the Moon are in the works, and some missions- such as the long-term assignments in space of such astronauts as Scott Kellys year in space- test astronauts to see how the human body reacts on long missions to other planets (such as Mars, where we already have robotic explorers) or spend lifetimes on the Moon.  In addition, with long-term explorations, its inevitable that people will start families in space or on another world. Very little is known about how successful that will be or what we may call new generations of space humans. Astronaut Sunita Williams exercising aboard the International Space Station. NASA Many mission scenarios for the future follow a familiar line:  establish a space station (or two), create science stations and colonies, and then after testing ourselves in near-Earth space, take the leap to Mars. Or an asteroid or two. Those plans are in the long-term; at best, the first Mars explorers most likely wont set foot there until the 2020s or 2030s. The Near-term Goals of Space Exploration   A number of countries around the world have plans for space exploration, among them China, India, the United States, Russia, Japan, New Zealand, and the European Space Agency. More than 75 countries have agencies, but only a few have launch capability. NASA and the Russian Space Agency are partnering to bring astronauts to the International Space Station. Since the space shuttle fleet retired in 2011, Russian rockets have been blasting off with Americans (and astronauts of other nationalities) to the ISS. NASAs Commercial Crew and Cargo program are working with companies such as Boeing, SpaceX, and United Launch Associates to come up with safe and cost-effective ways to deliver humans to space.  In addition, Sierra Nevada Corporation is proposing an advanced space plane called the Dream Chaser, and already has contracts for European use.   The current plan (in the second decade of the 21st century) is to use the Orion crew vehicle, which is very similar in design to the Apollo capsules (but with more-advanced systems), stacked atop a rocket, to bring astronauts to a number of different locations, including the ISS. The hope is to use this same design to take crews to near-Earth asteroids, the Moon, and Mars. The system is still being built and tested, as are space launch systems (SLS) tests for the necessary booster rockets. Water recovery of the Orion crew capsule in testing. NASA   The design of the Orion capsule was widely criticized by some as a giant step backward, particularly by people who felt that the nations space agency should try for an updated shuttle design (one that would be safer than its predecessors  and with more range). Due to technical limitations of the shuttle designs, plus the need for reliable technology (plus political considerations that are both complex and ongoing), NASA chose the Orion concept (after the cancellation of a program called Constellation).   Beyond NASA and Roscosmos The United States is not alone in sending people to space. Russia intends to continue operations on the ISS, while China has sent astronauts to space, and the Japanese and Indian space agencies are moving ahead with plans to send their own citizens as well. The Chinese have plans for a permanent space station, set for construction in the next decade. The China National Space Administration has also set its sights on the exploration of Mars, with possible crews setting foot on the Red Planet beginning perhaps in 2040. India has more modest initial plans. The Indian Space Research Organization (which has a mission at Mars) is working to develop a launch-worthy vehicle and carry a two-member crew to low-Earth orbit perhaps in the next decade. The Japanese Space Agency JAXA has announced its plans for a space capsule to deliver astronauts to space by 2022 and has also tested a space plane. The far distant future may well hold new ways of getting around space. Here, two spaceships enter a wormhole in outer space to get to another part of the galaxy. Such travel isnt possible yet, so humans are still constrained to exploring near-Earth space. Corey Ford/Stocktrek Images The interest in space exploration continues. Whether or not it manifests itself as a full-blown race to Mars or rush to the Moon or trip to mine an asteroid remains to be seen. There are many difficult tasks to accomplish before humans are routinely jetting off to the Moon or Mars. Nations and governments need to evaluate their long-term commitment to space exploration. The technological advancements to deliver humans to these places are taking place, as are the tests on humans to see if they really CAN withstand the rigors of long space flights to alien environments  and safely live in a more dangerous environment than Earth. It now remains for the social and political spheres to come to terms with humans as a space-faring species.

Violent, Overcrowded Prisons Negatively Affects Society Term Paper

Violent, Overcrowded Prisons Negatively Affects Society - Term Paper Example Prisons should concentrate on rehabilitation because many inmates will eventually be released. Punishment, aside from a need for societal vengeance, is meant as a deterrent for those who have committed a crime as well as for those who have not. Since people who commit crimes do so believing they probably won’t get caught, this type of reasoning is based upon a false premise. Those who have committed crimes such as identity theft, prostitution, gambling and drug use are thrown into an excessively cruel circumstance where violence and sexual assault run rampant which acts an opposite effect of rehabilitation. These people, as well as society, would be better served if they were assigned community service of varying degrees in an effort to repay the victim or the community for their transgressions. One method hurts, the other helps – seems like a simple and effective solution but one that is rarely considered. The U.S. incarcerates more of its population than any other ind ustrialized country. Currently, more than two million prisoners are jailed in local, state or federal facilities. Not only the number of prisoners is increasing, the ratio of prisoner to population is widening as well. About a decade ago, for every 100,000 citizens, 703 were in prison. That number exceeds 715 today. When categorized according to ethnicity, a wide disparity of justice is apparent. â€Å"At midyear 2003 there were 4,834 black male prisoners per 100,000 black males in the United States in prison or jail, compared to 1,778 Hispanic male inmates per 100,000 Hispanic males and 681 white male inmates per 100,000 white males† (â€Å"Prison Statistics† 2006) Those incarcerated for on drug charges constitute more than 60 percent of inmates in Federal prisons and 15 percent of the growth in total prison populations. Violent offenders including those charged with murder, rape, assault and robbery constitute the remaining approximate 40 percent. 1) (â€Å"Prison S tatistics† 2006) Anyone who has seen a prison movie likely has witnessed the stereotypical ‘shower scene’ where gang members viciously attack a lone inmate. They put a knife tightly against the victim’s throat and threaten to kill him if he puts up a fight. The lone inmate is then repeatedly raped by the gang and afterwards is too frightened to notify prison officials fearing retribution. This Hollywood recreation is not unlike the actual events taking place inside prison walls. Being brutally raped in prison is not simply a physical violation; it is an emotionally scarring event. According to the Human Rights Watch, this and other forms of gang-related violence occur regularly in prisons across the country. â€Å"Gang assaults are not uncommon, and victims may be left beaten, bloody and, in the most extreme cases, dead† (â€Å"No Escape,† 2006) However, violent and blatant rapes are but one type of sexual abuse many prisoners must endure. The most prevalent form of rape does not occur by means of violence nor have many of the victims been overtly threatened. Nevertheless, they engage in sex acts unwillingly because they do not believe they have a choice. Prison is an intimidating place. Prisoners, especially those new to the system can be easily coerced into doing things such as allowing themselves to be raped or committing violent acts against others out of fear. This type of prison rape is easier to conceal than violent attacks and much easier for prison staff and the