Saturday, August 31, 2019

Pre and Post M&a Performance in Accounting Ratio Essay

There are loads of tools to measure the performance of a financial performance of an entity but financial ratios is probably the best known tool which is mainly to analyze the performance of an entity by comparing the present to the past relative figures taken or composed from the financial statement . The few categories of ratios are liquidity ratios, profitability ratios, efficiency ratios, debt ratios and market ratios which will be able to describe the entity’s characteristics. Ratios show the true performance and position of the entity. In order for investors to determine their choices of entity to invest in, financial ratios play an important role in providing sufficient information to users about the entity’s characteristic. We predict that companies are performing better after merger and acquisition and there will be an increase in profit of companies pre merger and acquisition compare to post merger and acquisition activities. However, the global merger and acquisition (M&A) market is expected to experience a modest increase this year following significant revisions in earnings expectation for 2009. Studies relatively prove that ratios are important but which ratios, among the loads of ratios which can be computed easily from the available financial statement, should be used to analyze to obtain a wise decision (Kung & Thomas, 1981); (Maretno & Howard, 1996). Problem statement Accounting ratios usage in merger & acquisition are not understood very well as to whether companies or investors are using accounting ratios to analyze performance pre and post decision making for M&A. Therefore, this study will try to find out as to whether merger and acquisition activities are caused by the use of accounting ratio when management tries to expand a company’s operation. Accounting ratios is wide in variety and is known for its diversities in calculating different ratios, which makes selecting the right ratio to do analysis on is difficult. Every company when making merger and acquisition decisions will have to go through different decision making process in their organization and not based solely on accounting ratios when taking actions. Things such as relationship of merging companies, financing matter or management efficiency are often overlooked in previous studies, therefore, apart from addressing the use of accounting ratio in making merger and acquisiti on, we will also address on other matters that are affecting merger and acquisition decision making. Companies that have made merger and acquisition in the few years will be analyzed whether merger and acquisition has benefitted the company. This analysis will have to be based on companies that have made merger and acquisition for few years so that analysis could be made to ascertain whether merger and acquisition has improved the company’s performance. The data that is collected could be redundant as the data collected could only be analyzed from the past. Apart from that, companies that are engaged in merger and acquisition will tend to keep their methods in acquiring companies as a secret; therefore, there is no information that will be disclosed to us when we are doing research. We will only be able to get information based on announcement on the Bursa Saham Malaysia and also annual report analysis on the companies that we will base our study on. Based solely on the annual report, we will have to analyze companies that have been engaged in merger and acquisition is perfor ming better as a company before merger and acquisition or after merger and acquisition. Studies that have addressed the problem Several past studies have shown several findings. There were significant improvements in the liquidity, leverage and profitability position of most studied companies. Normally, total assets consist of equity, debt and retained earnings to finance the corporation. In the study, it was found that total assets were always less than the debt plus equity for pre acquisition period, but after acquisition, it is positive. All the units selected for the study were sick, but after takeover five out of eight revived (Rao & Sanker, 1997). The acquiring firms had performed above the industry average and the acquired firms were below the industry average in term of size and profitability (Cosh et al., 1998). The firms recorded meaningful increase in their net earnings, and those with the successful merger of the firms, the return on capital employed and return on total assets, increased substantially with a significant percentage. The variability in the earnings (risk) of the pre-merger firms was significantly higher than that of post-merger firms (Agundu & Karibo, 1999). Pilloff (1996) finds no significant change in post merger ROE, however, when he utilizes operating income before provision instead of net income to calculate ROE, there is a significant increase in post-merger returns. Deficiencies in studies Unfortunately, most studies do not distinguish between healthy and troubled companies due to the relative scarcity of outright failures as an indicator of the latter. Data are not readily available to every person and critical data is only available to top level management, which causes analysis on company performance not accurate. Accounting ratios usage in studies are not standardized for number of ratios used and types of ratios used, making comparisons of this study to previous studies almost impossible. Some of the studies only find out accounting ratio performance before and after merger and acquisition, but they did not take into account the management performance improvement. Importance of the study Basically, the compelling reason for merger and acquisition is to make more money. This study analyses the pre and post performance in accounting ratio of various entities in Malaysia which involved in merger and acquisition. Therefore, it seeks to contribute to entities which look forward to expand their businesses by merging and acquiring entities in order to broaden their sources and to increase their performance as well as position of the entity. This study also justifies the importance of financial ratios as a tool in decision making for most users to merge and acquire entities. Besides that, this study further proves that financial ratios could be used to speculate and estimate the future of the entity’s development and growth by developing ratio values to be compared with the normal or regular value. Furthermore, the global merger and acquisition market is expected to experience a modest increase this year following significant revisions in earnings expectation for 2009. According to KPMG International’s Global merger and acquisition Predictor, modest increases are expected in both deal-making appetite and capacity globally. Therefore, it is hoped that the result of this study is valuable to entities for the purpose of merging and acquiring. Purpose statement The purpose of this study is to determine whether financial ratios contribute to the decision in merging and acquiring another entity. For this purpose, we analyze the performance of the entity before and after merging or acquisition of the holding or parent entity across industries to identify the status of the performance and position of the entity currently. We would have to identify the entity’s characteristics in terms of their operating and accounting performance by comparing to their values before the merger and acquisition. In our analysis, we also focus on the use financial ratios as a mechanism to compare the pre and post-acquisition performance. Furthermore, we also use financial ratio to predict the performance of the acquired entity as well as the growth of the entity. Organization of the study The rest of the research is organized into chapters as follows. Chapter 2 review about the literature regarding the accounting ratio performance before and after merger and acquisition would be provided. The topic and the arguments from researchers will be discussed. Justification of the research objectives would be provided with all the relevant literatures. Chapter 3 describes and provides detailed explanation on the method used in collecting the relevant data, the desired sample design, appropriate methodology employed in this study and also the data analysis method. CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.0 Introduction In this chapter, further discussion on the topic will be done based on prior empirical studies and a derivation of hypothesis will be done. To be able to evaluate the post and pre merger and acquisition deal by companies in Malaysia, a concept is to be conceived with prior literature that is related to the performance of firms that has been acquiring other firms. 2.1 Theory/Concept Foundation Shareholders of a corporation that is involved in Merger & Acquisition activity would like to see their value of stock in the acquiring corporation to rise post-M&A compared to pre-M&A. Therefore, it is important that an M&A transaction done with the shareholders in mind, this theory of maximizing shareholder value is fairly new as it is introduced by William Lazonick and Mary O’Sullivan in year 2000. Shareholder value should be used regularly when decisions are made to be able to regulate how a company operates for the sake of the shareholders. For a shareholder to have his value increased, all the activities from the factory workers to top level management should work together to find the best way to increase the value of the company. To increase shareholder value, restructuring of companies are needed to be able to sustain the changing economic climate according to time development. Evaluation of companies performance will be done to ensure shareholders value do increase po st-M&A. From the theory we could derive that performance of a company depends on the value that they would like to preserve for their shareholders. For every shareholder that would like to expand the company operation and size, they will have to be able to provide funds for the company in the form of investment. Apart from that, trend evolution plays a part in a merging or acquisition decision. An acquirer may look at the performance of the company that they are trying to takeover. The acquirers look at the financial feasibility of acquiring the company on the share price and value for money. If a value is low, they will be able to takeover the company at a lower price. And it is known that M&A deals are done so that a company could expand into a new market segment or improve their current segment. Apart from that, it should be noted that there are several types of mergers and acquisition. It should be noted that firms that are acquiring are larger if not significantly larger than the acquired firms. 2.2 Review of Prior Empirical Studies Life cycle of a firm will accelerate the need for M&A deals as firms grew older, they could be expanding their size and because of this, and M&A will be done to be able to involve themselves into different segments of businesses. According to (Sian Owen & Alfred Yawson, 2008), they propose that in certain life cycle of a company, they will engage in some kind of M&A activities. This is because there is a need to grow their company or to decrease the involvement of the owner by giving up the power of the company to another firm. Therefore, it should be noted that companies will go through M&A at different life cycle to develop their performance even further or simply to pull out of the company ownership. The data that they use to examine this is based in the US, therefore, it may be not practical to be used here, but this is an opportunity for us to examine the life cycle factor in the pre and post M&A performance figure. The main objective for merger and acquisition activities is to increase the return of the equity shareholders who are considered real owners of the company. Shareholders are also takes the responsibilities to bear maximum risk of the company. Different impact (positive, negative and mix) either success or failure will occur for different M&A deals. Since we cannot make any conclusion based on only one ratio. So, different ratio are using in this article to measure the company performance in term of liquidity position, operating efficiency, overall efficiency, return to equity shareholders and financial composition. By looking at single ratio, it is hard for researcher to determine whether acquirer company success or failure to make M&A deals? Because a high rate of return showed on acquiree company such as consulting firms doesn’t means they make a good investments, since they require no assets. There are more than half of the 74 merger and acquisition cases showed an improvement in the financial performance in post time period of this article. However, 15% out of these cases had increase their working capital and debt to equity, which means that the company suffer long term financial burden of current assets and long terms funds which use to finance current assets. Small sample size was used by this researcher. Although there are 200 deals of M&A in India but only 74 companies can provide the available financial data which require by researcher. So, there was reliable issue of this research outcome. Except ratio, there are many issues must be takes into consideration by making M&A decision such as by predicting future prospects, company past performance, law and regulations of the country which can help to reach a better conclusion. So researcher can’t make exact and absolute conclusion by only interpret financial ratio of company (Kumar and Bansal, 2008). Those are significant difference between merger and acquisition. Misleading conclusions may be made by those researchers who combined these two different terms. Acquisitions is a more successful way to bring positive effects to the company compared with mergers in term of generate greater profitability, return on investment or equity, increased in operating performance, etc. This might due to the way the merger or acquire. Acquirer may acquire a small division, patent or the company which use for the purpose of strategic alliances and value added to current business. In contrary, merges activities become less attractive to the potential shareholder due to reduce return or shareholder wealth or even negative return and decrease in profitability or even suffer losses of the company (Hassan, Patro, Tuckman & Wang, 2007). The theoretical models of liquidity stresses the degree of trading stock, adverse selection, stock volatility, and competitiveness of market making (Lipson & Mortal, 2007). According to the prior review, the degree of trading interest in a stock has a positive relationship with the level of trading activity. Therefore, the fixed trading costs can be spread out over a larger number of trades. The adverse selection cost incurs when negative action is taken to counter an adverse situation of trades. For example, if stock traders have relatively more information compare to the liquidity providers, liquidity providers will recover their losses from trading with better informed counterparts by increasing their average revenue. Stock volatility affects the trading cost positively as well. When stocks are more volatile, the holding cost of the stock would be relatively higher and the cost would be passed on to buyers when being traded. The competitiveness of market making affects the trading cost negatively. When the market makers are less competitive, the increase in competition will reduce the trading cost. Besides that, the firm’s characteristics also affect the accounting ratio after M&A. Prior studies noted that M&A increases the liquidity of firms on average but the improvements are fully explained by the accompanying changes in firm characteristics (Lipson & Mortal, 2007). Firm characteristics such as sizes of the firm, volume and number of shareholders are taken into consideration in prior studies. Relatively larger firms will have greater trading interest since more positions are offered in the firm. Benston and Hangerman (1974) also acknowledge the effect of firm size and volume to M&A. Therefore, the sizes of the firm are expected to affect the decision M&A of a firm. The increase in adverse selection can be seen in Heflin and Shaw (2000) where they argue that the effect of a blockholder ownership is a result of superior blockholder information. The results are consistent with the results in Lipson and Mortal (2007). Past studies document that larger firms tend to be followed by a greater number of market makers (Wahal, 1997), which he attributes to increased c ompetition among market makers. Also derived in Lipson and Mortal (2007), the increased in market making reduces order processing cost, hence reducing trading cost. According to (Arturo Bris, Neil Brisley, Christos Cabolis 2008), M&A is done following the corporate governance decision as legal rules or accounting standard. The countries difference in degree of investor protection as well as firm value, ownership structure. When we are merger and acquisition usually adopts the accounting standards. This implies that, the corporate in a country can adopt difference level of investor protect. If corporate governance have set the legal rules then the corporate follow it. Therefore, the corporate investments losses or change operation performance. The legal rule can protect shareholder and investors so that they will not have legal liabilities. The corporate governance quality is follow shareholder protection and accounting standard when we are merger and acquisition can test corporate worsening and preserving acquisitions. If we are test pre merger and acquisition performance not efficiency then corporate governance quality also will not good. The corporation will easy give large corporate takeover or the corporation will bankrupt. However, the corporation operation quality good will not let large corporate takeover the firm. The corporate governance quality well can enhance merger and acquisition value and good performance. According to Holger Breinlich (2008), merger and acquisition become industrial restructuring after trade liberalization. It is can increase merger and acquisition activities and merger and acquisition transferred resource from less to more productive firms. It is because pre corporation not efficiency performance source make it loss. Therefore, after merger and acquisition the corporate efficiency performance source make it earning profit and improvement the corporate. Merger and acquisition not just to transfer source, it is also can qualitatively difference from other adjust form. Before merger and acquisition is not well make the workers becoming unemployed and also will make economic recession. When new ownership takeover the corporate then worker has working already and economic also will slowly become good. However, the larger corporate takeovers corporate better the corporate bankrupt and as such no need face unnecessary legal restriction. From the past studies, Letho and Lehtoranta (2004) study that M&A synergies can be realized by owing unique technology and knowledge and then transferring these intangibles to the target firm. The industrial organization (IO) literature states that both horizaontal and industry-diversifying acquisitions might affect R&D. When firms are active in the line of business, economies of scale in R&D input can be occurred because of M&As. Besides, value can created also by M&As from uniting complementary know-how (Cassiman B, Colombo M, Garrone P, Veugelers R, 2003). Similarly, intangibles could matter in domestic as well as cross-border takeover (Kang and Johansson, 2000). The ratio of intangible assets (goodwill paid in earlier M&As has to be minus first) to total assets is used to examine these ideas. The financial synergies are realized by looking at the capital structure of potential acquirers. The idea is that when firms relying heavily on bank loans, it is risky to the firm and also acquirers will have less interest on the firm. Therefore, firms that relying heavily on bank loans will quickly seek to reduce their overall risk and recognize a lower cost of capital by engaging in industry-diversifying and in cross-border M&As. Indeed, cost of capital can be reduced when cash flows from target and bidders are not highly correlated. Besides, additional borrowing capacity post-M&A can be created and this is a good performance for a firm after M&A. If stock prices of a firm are down, the takeover of a firm can constitute a bargain relative to investing in new facilities in order to recover from scratch. Furthermore, the valuation of private targets is lower once stock market sentiment is down, through the use of a lower multiples or higher risk premium when valuing target stock. This under-valuation hypothesis suggests that stock prices and M&A decisions are negatively related. In contrast, soaring stock prices can facilitate the financing of M&As in which they using bidder stock to pay for these deals. When firms consider that their stock to be over-valued, they tend to issue new shares (Shleifer and Vishny, 2003). There will be positive relationship between stock prices and external growth. However, the positive relationship may be difficult to observe when a sample is dominated by private enterprises. This is also because of those non-listed bidder stock is unwilling to be accepted by target investors. The average market-wid e price earnings (P/E) ratio at the M&A announcement date is used to capture stock market conditions, given that private firms dominate the sample. 2.3 Hypothesis Development The first hypothesis comes from our own assumption to examine how does a company perform post-M&A compared to pre-M&A. The assumption is that a company could perform better in the form of ratios because their capital has increased due to increase in non current assets. If a company obtains another company through M&A, it is expected that they have certain amount of capital available to expand their firm size; therefore, there will be increase in capital in the form of ROE and ROA ratios once a firm is engaged in M&A activities. H º =After M&A, there will be increase in ratios of ROE and ROA H ¹=Before M&A, asset ROA and ROE are higher From previous study of (Moeller, Schlingemann & Stulz, 2004), it is known that they examined for the below hypothesis in their research. And this hypothesis will be tested in Malaysia context so that we will be able to measure the level of performance compared to the size of the firm. H º=Small firm perform better after M&A H ¹=Acquirer’s firm perform worse after M&A 2.4 Model/Framework Negative relationship Positive Relationship As proposed, the relationship between pre-M&A is a negative relationship to the ratio. And it should be lower than post-M&A ratio as after M&A activities, the ratio should increase and higher. Positive relationship Negative relationship As proposed, the larger firm will adapt less well after M&A compared to smaller firm. Chapter 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 3.1 Research Design The research will be carried out as an explanatory study. This study method is used for our research because this study will explain how M&A affects performance of a company. The design will be carried out by using pair sample T-Test testing the relationship of the variables of performance of the company and the pre and post M&A activities. The research will be carried out to test whether an M&A activity does increase the performance of a company or it does not accelerate the activity of the company. Archival research will be used thoroughly to understand the improvement or deterioration in the firms post-M&A compared to pre-M&A. 3.2 Population, Sample and Sampling Procedure For our research for M&A companies in Malaysia, a census will be conducted as it is expected that there are only several hundreds of companies that have conducted M&A locally. The census data will be collected by using the Bursa Malaysia website via manual search and the usage of Osiris database. Therefore, the data will be collected through these 2 ways. 3.3 Data Collection Method As it is said, the data to be used will be secondary data. Documentary secondary data will be collected and used throughout this research. The data will be consisted of written materials which are companies’ annual reports. The annual report will be compiled based on the activities that are involved by the respective companies with a view that M&A deals are conducted by the company within the years of investigation which range from year 2001 to 2005. References Rao, K.V., & Sanker, K.R. (1997). Takeover as a Strategy of Turnaround. UTI edited book. Cosh, A., Hughes, A., Lee, K., & Singh, A. (1998). â€Å"Takeovers, institutional investment and the persistence of profits†, in Begg, I. and Henry, S.G.B. (Eds), Applied Economics and Public Policy, Department of Applied Economics, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Agundu, P.C., & Karibo, N.O. (1999). â€Å"Risk analysis in corporate mergers decisions in developing economies†. Journal of Financial Management and Analysis, 12(2), 13-17. Moeller, S.B., Schlingemann, F.P., & Stulz, R.M. (2004). â€Å"Firm size and the gains from acquisitions†. Journal of Financial Economics, 73, 201-28. Pilloff, S.J. (1996). Performance changes and stockholder wealth creation associated with mergers of publicly traded banking institutions. Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, 28, 294-310. Bris, A., Brisley, N., & Cabolis, C. (2008). Adopting better corporate governance: Evidence from cross-border mergers. Journal of Corporate Finance, 14, 224-240. Breinlich, H. (2008). Trade liberalization and industrial restructuring through mergers and acquisitions. Journal of International Economics, 76, 254–266. Kumar, S., & Bansal, L.K.(2008). The impact of mergers and acquisitions on corporate performance in India. Management Decision, 46 (10), 1531-1543. Hassan, M., Patro, D.K., Tuckman, H., & Wang, X.L. (2007). Do mergers and acquisitions create shareholder wealth in the pharmaceutical industry? International Journal of Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Marketing, 1 (1), 58-78.

Friday, August 30, 2019

Promote from Within and Hiring Form Outside Essay

Introduction In my opinion based on the case study, it is not justified in appointing Mike Ullman, an outsider as CEO instead of Jessica Robert, who was instrumental in turning around the company between 2005 and 2010. The reason I disagree is because promoting from within brings a lot of benefits to employees and organization. I individually support promoting from within and I think that promoting from within is definitely more justified than bringing in an outsider. Research shows that insider and outsider both has different benefits and loss and it is depends on the managerial decision. Different management has different view towards insider and outsider. I have choose to support promoting from within in this assessment is because that the research make me believe that promoting from within can increase productivity and employees satisfaction. I have provides three strong reason to support my personal view. Question 1 The first reason of promoting from within is good for morale. When the top management is decided to promote from within, the others employees are often very pleased because they think that â€Å"one of their own† has been promoted to a management-level position and makes them feel nothing is impossible. (David G. Javitch., 2005) The morale of employees will improve when they realize that every one of them is possible to be promoted and this usually leads to increase motivation of employees. Since Jessica Robert was instrumental in turning around the company, the others employees will think that it is justified to promote Jessica Robert. The others employee has witness her hardworking in turning around the company and they do not have any objection in promoting Jessica Robert. If the company promotes Jessica Robert, the morale of employees will definitely boost because they think that it is possible to happen on their own too. When morale and motivation goes up, the productivity and the efficiency of the company will increase especially when the employees like or respect the newly promoted individual because they are already used to the way that work together with the newly promoted individual. (Charles R. Knoeber., 2001) Motivation is playing an important role within an organization because in increased of motivation often leads to increased of employee satisfaction. In case, Jessica Robert has joined the organization as the COO at 2005 and she was made a turnover for the company. Her succession is all seen by the others employee in the organization and she became a very respective person in the company. If the company promotes Jessica Robert as CEO, the motivation of others employee will definitely increase because most of the employees are respect her and they have been working together quite a long time thus, they are already used to the way Jessica Robert work. Second reason is an internal candidate is most likely already familiar with the functional aspects of their new job because he used to an employee in the organization. (DR. David G. Javitch., 2005) Jessica Robert He joined the company at 2005 and she is very familiar with all the process and the system in the particular organization and she don’t have to spend times to get used to the new environment, people, and the job scope. She knows the corporate culture, the procedures, policies, processes, employees, and internal and external customers associated with the job. (DR. David G. Javitch., 2005) Therefore, by promoting she can definitely increase the effectiveness of the company because she can generally hit the ground running. She can work more effectively than an outsider and increase the productivity. She can also lead the team to achieve goals easier than an outsider because she probably already familiar with every employee’s ability and behavior. (Mobb. S., 2010) A final reason to promote from within is that the current employee is already a â€Å"known quantity† to both management and non-management. Both groups know the employee’s strengths and limitations in terms of technical skills, abilities, knowledge bases, and professional personality. (DR. David G. Javitch., 2005) Internal candidate is recognized by both group and they may find easy and feel satisfy to work together with the person who they used to familiar with. Promoting Jessica Robert is actually benefits to the company because both management and non- management know her ability and strength. Her succession on turning around the company has proved her ability and she is definitely qualified to be the CEO of the company. Besides that, she is not longer requires any or as much training as employees from outside the company because she are familiar with at least the general workings of the business. (G. Raheja.C., 2010) Question 2 Advantages of promoting from within The first advantage of promoting from within is benefits on both sides. An organization that promotes from within has the opportunity to identify the characteristics, qualifications and skills it wants to be the suitable leader. (Greenwood, B., n. d) This will benefit the employees, who have a clear understanding of expectation. It is also benefits the organization because by promoting from within, it actually gives the top management a chance to evaluate staff carefully before making a recommendation for a promotion. In the process of evaluation the employees, the top management may discovered the skill and ability of each different employees and make a further promotion or changes. (Mobb. S., 2010) The other advantage is good relationships. (Greenwood, B., n. d) They have a solid network of collegial relationships within the organization because they used to an employee of the organization. The employees are willing to mentoring by him because he probably has build up a very good relationship within them. The top management is also relieved on him because his ability and skill has been recognized. Employees who are promoted from within are more likely to have a good understanding of the organization, its history and core values as well as the culture of the organization. They do not have to spend much time for extra training and they know the way to manage the organization and the way to help organization to earn profit. (Moobs.S., 2010) Disadvantages of promoting from within The first disadvantage is competition among staff. Promoting from within can lead to competitiveness among staff members vying for the same position. When one person is promoted, bad feelings can result in the people left behind. (Agadoni, L., n. d) This can lead to dissatisfaction at work, poor work performance and de-motivated the employees. Some employees may have felt entitled to a promotion even if they are not qualified, simply because they have put in more time and effort to the company. If length of service were the only criterion for promotion, people could be promoted to a job they can’t perform, which could lead to them being fired and reduce the effectiveness of company. The other disadvantage is smaller pool. The top managements have fewer options to fill a spot when they look for promotion only within the organization. (Agadoni, L., n. d) In addition, an insider of the company might not have the right skills needed to perform a job above their current level. They would need training and experience to accomplish the new tasks as expected, whereas outside talent might already possess the needed skills and different kind of experience. It will definitely reduce the organization’s efficiency when training is necessary for the new promote because re-training takes a lot of times and cost. (R. Knoeber. C., 2003) Advantages of bringing in from outside The first advantage of bringing in from outside is be able to achieving clarity on what the situation really is right now both internal to the company and externally. Most of the times, an outsider can see things in different angle and with precisely because they have different experience and they are new in the organization. (Constance Dierickx., n. d) They sometimes bring a point of view that is clear for that very reason. This different lens and frame of reference is exactly why an outsider is valuable and also what most organization is looking for. The second advantage is calibration. Most of the insider of the organization who are appropriately trying to inform the leader but who do not have an independent point of view and who may be stuck in routine ways of reporting. They are often follows the leader’s point of view and they do not have their own experience in certain sector. An outsider first in the organization, he may bring a breadth of different experience from having worked at different of companies in multiple countries on multiple continents as well as different industries. (Constance Dierickx., n. d) An outsider can ask questions that are different, share what he has observed and lead the members to achieve organizational goal. They can challenge their own assumptions as well as the veracity of the information they may hold dear because they have different of resources comes in different way. Disadvantages of bringing in from outside The disadvantage of bringing in from outside is learning curve. It takes time to follow up to speed on a new job, and learning about the corporate culture. (Lisa McQuerrey., n. d) This is especially true when the new outside manager wish to radically change the management style that previously was in place. Not only does the manager need time to be acquainted with the changes and its employees also need to come to an understanding of how the new promoted operates and what performance expectations he brings to the table. The second disadvantage functional expertise of the outsider. Unless the top management has witnessed the outsider at work in his/her field of expertise, otherwise there is no way of knowing whether the outsider’s functional expertise is meets the organization’s standards. (Mayhew.R., n. d) The technical skills or clinical experience of an outsider might not fit the organization’s requirement as well as the job scope. In addition, most of the organization does not take long time for employers during the recruitment and selection process and the employer should always ready to pay risk for incompetency recruitment. (Richards Brigg. B., n. d) Impact of promoting from within on the morale of employees The impact of promoting from within can improve the morale of employees due to great communication. An organization actually has many levels of communication such as from management to employees, between departments, between management groups and between individual employees. To maintain morale, communication lines need to remain open and important information needs to be delivered in a timely fashion. (Anderson. A., n. d) According to Anderson. A, laying off employees usually has a negative impact on morale, but allowing employees that are not scheduled to be laid off to believe that they could damage morale even further. A communication must be build within an organization, a leader who are promoted from within is actually be able to do that because they have been worked for a long time in an organization and good relationship could be build within employees as well as management group. Impact of bringing in outside on the morale of employees The impact of bringing in outside is affect the morale of employees because of the changes in management. Employees can become accustomed to the practices and methods of a particular manager, and when there is a change in management that can have an effect on morale. (Anderson. A., n. d) When an outsider bringing in, he might change the management of the organization and this will affect the morale of employees because most of them are not comfortable with the change and it may takes time for them to acquainted. (Lisa McQuerrey., n. d) Referencing Charles R. Knoeber. (2001) CEO Succession: Handicapping and the Choice between Insiders and Outsiders. [Online] Available at: http://hubcap.clemson.edu/~sauerr/seminar_papers/succession2.pdf [Accessed: 14 Jan 2013] Agrawa. A. (2004) Are outsiders handicapped in CEO successions? [Online] Available at: http://www.bama.ua.edu/~aagrawal/succession.pdf [Accessed: 14 Jan 2013] Briggs, B. (2007) Problems of recruitment in civil service: case of the Nigerian civil service. African Journal of Business Management, Vol 1 (6), p. 142-153. Available at: http://www.academicjournals.org/ajbm/pdf/Pdf2007/Sep/Briggs.pdf [Accessed: 19 Jan 2013]. Mobb. S. (2010) Internal Managerial Promotions: Incentives, CEO Influence, and Firm Valuation. [Online] Available at: https://editorialexpress.com/cgi-bin/conference/download.cgi?db_name=ALEA2010&paper_id=267 [Accessed: 15 Jan 2013] G. JAVITCH. David. (2005) Selecting the Best Manager. [Online] Available at: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/78576 [Accessed: 15 Jan 2013] Greenwood. B (n. d) The Advantages of Promotion From Within. [Online] Available at: http://work.chron.com/advantages-promotion-within-6320.html [Accessed: 17 Jan 2013] Laura Agadoni (n. d) business and entrepreneurship. [Online] Available at: http://yourbusiness.azcentral.com/disadvantages-promoting-within-4019.html [Accessed: 17 Jan 2013] Mayhew. R. (n. d) Disadvantages of hiring an outside supervisor. [Online] Available at: http://work.chron.com/disadvantages-hiring-outside-supervisor-5593.html [Accessed: 20 Jan 2013] Dierickx. C. (n. d) Benefits of hiring an outside consultant. [Online] Available at: http://www.cdconsultinggrp.com/resources/articles/benefits-of-hiring-an-outside-consultant/ [Accessed: 20 Jan 2013] Anderson. A. (n. d) What impact morale in organization? [Online] Available at: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/impacts-morale-organization-6.html [Accessed: 20 Jan 2013]

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Definition Of Hiv And Aids Health And Social Care Essay

I have chosen the subject of HIV/AIDS. In this written assignment, Firstly, I will get down by presenting what are HIV and AIDS and the influence of them. Second, I will bring forth some figure of the universe and besides in Hong Kong. Then, I will utilize the biopsychosocial theoretical account to depict the causes of HIV. Last but non rent, I will discourse the wellness publicity and Motivation Strategies.2. Definition of HIV and AIDS:Definition of HIV The short term of Human Immunodeficiency Virus is called HIV which is a virus and it is reported by Dr. Luc Montagnier in 1983. They can non reproduce and turn by themselves, they have to trust on a life being and infect the cell of them in order to retroflex. Viruss normally are found and killed by the human immune system rapidly, nevertheless, HIV could straight assail the human immune system which would impact our organic structure wellness and can non acquire rid of a virus. Definition of AIDS AIDS – Acquires Immune Deficiency Syndrome which is caused by inflexion of HIV which would destruct the human ability to contend with the diseases and malignant neoplastic diseases. AIDS is non a individual disease and it combine with timeserving infection which would occupy the unrecorded organic structure easy when the immune system is destroyed. Peoples with HIV are non equal to infect AIDS. For the people who inflect HIV can besides stay hibernating in organic structure for several old ages. During the average incubation period, for grownup, it would take ten old ages to develop AIDS on norm. And a batch of people with HIV may be unaware of their inflexion position and look healthy.3. InfluenceFor the people who have infected HIV are they are higher hazard to acquire septic and malignances because the immune system is harm which is called ‘opportunistic infects ‘ . The most common HIV-related timeserving infections and diseases includes the bacterial diseases and protozoal diseases, fungous diseases, Viral diseases and HIV-associated malignances. There are different status would look in different phase of HIV infection. For the first phase patient, they have higher rate to infect TB, bacterial pneumonia, malaria, staphylococcal tegument infections, herpes shingles and blood poisoning and more hard to retrieve. For the ulterior phase of the patient, the immune system is being more and more weak, it is easier for them to infect PCP, cryptococcosis and toxoplasmosis which can be fatal.4. Figure of HIV/AIDSHIV is a planetary epidemic. They affect different state of the universe. It could hold negative effects in households, communities and the whole states. From the above saloon chart, we can happen that the figure of people populating with HIV addition from 8 million in1990 to 34 million in 2010. Besides, in recent old ages, the overall figure of growing of the epidemic has become more stable and the one-year figure of the new inflexion has continuously decreased because of the increasing figure of people has received antiretroviral therapy. Furthermore, AID-related deceases figure has besides lessening. From the above saloon chart, it is clearly to see the bulk people populating with HIV is largely unrecorded in low and in-between income states, particularly Sub-Saharan Africa where has two-thirds of all septic people of the whole universe which carries the greatest load of the epidemic. Besides, South and South-East Asia is the 2nd highest figure of people who are infected HIV. Figure in Hong Kong This research is done by The Virtual AIDS Office ( VAO ) of Hong Kong. In Hong Kong, the first instance of HIV infection was reported in 1984. From the above artworks, we would happen that the figure of instance of people infected HIV maintain on increasing in recent old ages. The figure of instances has a mild bead in 2009 and 2010, nevertheless, the figure of instance in 2011 addition to a record high of 438 instances. Besides, it is clearly to happen the most inflexion were in grownup, male and Chinese. In 2011, there is 79 % of the reported instances were work forces and 66 % of reported instances is Chinese and the 83 % of the reported instances aged between 20-49 which is the highest. This pie chart show the suspected path of HIV transmittal in 2011, we would happen that the big proportion of people acquiring septic HIV is from sexual transmittal which includes 39 % of homosexual, 27 % of heterosexual and 4 % of bisexual. Besides, 3.5 % is infected from blood contact which includes contaminated blood, blood merchandises and acerate leafs.5. CausesBiological Causes Transmission of HIV – Sexual contact During the sexual contact, the seeds or vaginal discharge of the inflected spouse would straight in contact with the mucose membrane of the male and female ‘s generative organ. Therefore, homosexual and homosexual contact can convey HIV, such as vaginal, unwritten or anal sex. And the hazard of HIV transmittal would increase when there is ulcer and blood during the sexual contact. Blood contact HIV would be transmitted by contaminated blood, blood merchandises and acerate leafs because there is the high concentration of HIV in blood of the people inflected. It is common to happen that blood-borne transmittal of HIV frequently occurs when the drug users who infected HIV portion the acerate leafs with others. Besides, we would happen some instances in the wellness attention puting, such as needlestick hurts and the HIV transfuse to the blood or blood merchandise. Mother to infant infection During gestation, bringing or breasting eating, there is 15-40 % alteration that HIV can convey the baby if the female parent is infected. Psychological Causes There are a batch of psychological causes would increase the hazard of HIV. For illustrations, the personal depression, self-destructive ideas, deficiency of slumber would take to an addition of emphasis and may do some psychiatric jobs which would decelerate down our immune systems and we have to put more discoloration on it. Besides, for the people who have infected HIV it would take to high HIV viral tonss. Furthermore, addition of emphasis will do a batch of jobs. When people acquiring more and more nerve-racking, some people may take to travel to the recreational topographic point to loosen up themselves, such as clubbing, saloon and game centre. It is easier for them to run into some bad friend and they may misdirect them to take the drugs or have the sexual relation which would increase the hazard of HIV transmittal, such as blood contact and sexual contact. In add-on, for the people who have infected HIV, eating wont would besides impact the procedure from HIV to AIDS which is base on the diet of the patient. It would be faster if the patient is malnourished. Sociological Causes – For the underdeveloped state In the underdeveloped state, there is a deficiency of antiretroviral interventions and hapless wellness attention system which leads to the rate of people septic HIV remains in a high degree. Peoples in the development states are unawareness of HIV, For the modern society In the modern society, people are more open-minded. A batch of people may take to travel to the nine or saloon to loosen up after work and they may believe there is nil job to hold sex with person and it would take to an addition to the figure of people acquiring sexual contact. -Media The mass media ever play the cardinal function of the whole society and it would impact the head of the citizen. In the modern society, one of the causes that people acquiring more and more open-minded is affect by the media. Although they are non aim to direct whose messages to them, but when they watch the films or a Television programmes that the histrions can easy hold the sexual relation to others or they are taking drugs which would straight impact their head and they may desire to copy. It would increase the hazard of infect HIV through blood contact and sexual contact.6. Health publicity– Information and instructionThe effectual AIDS programme should advance the information and proviso of instruction which is the cardinal requirements. It should cover the all sectors of the society and educate them in a manner that they can easy understand and acceptable. Besides, it should be put attempt continuously to accomplish the result. HIV and AIDS instruction in schools For educating the immature about HIV and AIDS, the most common topographic point is to larn from school which is a important scene to educate the immature. School normally pays an of import function in determining the young person ‘s attitudes, sentiments and behaviour. Therefore, learning in school about the biological facets of HIV and AIDS is ideal environment for learning the societal. HIV and AIDS instruction in the workplace To forestall HIV/AIDS, the cardinal location is to educate them in the workplace. It is an of import manner to give them the information about what are HIV/AIDS, the causes and some bar. Besides, learning them at the workplace can make people who have non larn it before at school. Furthermore, there are some researches found that there are nine out of 10 people who are infected HIV are working. Therefore, supplying instruction at the workplace can assist the people live healthier. For the authorities, they can advance some plans of the International Labour Organization ( ILO ) for some company to fall in. One of the purpose of the International Labour Organization is to advance different prevent solutions at the workplace and back up the workers with HIV, such as supplying intervention and attention. -HIV and AIDS instruction through the mass media Besides the other effectual manner is educating the populace through the mass media. Mass media ever play the cardinal function in a batch of states in respond to HIV and AIDS. For illustration, UK authorities in order to raise the consciousness of the populace about the HIV and AIDS, they use the progamme called ‘blanket instruction ‘ which make good usage of the mass media that can cover the whole society, and it is truly successful in advancing HIV and AIDS.-Clinical and support serviceInformation and instruction is non sufficient to inform to public. The most critical measure is to supply the guidance, advice, medical interventions and support services which should besides cover the whole society, particularly for whole who are high hazard to infect HIV, such as the drugs users, commercial sex workers. These interventions and services are both indispensable to the AIDS programme which can contend against the disease. For illustration, for the bar of sexual Transmission of HIV, there are some sexually transmitted diseases ( STD ) clinics can advance some AIDS information and instruction to be informed to the patients, such as inform the people who have high hazard of infecting HIV should hold a regular trial. Besides, an effectual AIDS programme should develop some wellness professional to supply effectual interventions to the patients.7. Motivation Schemes-For the people who have non inflect HIV To forestall sexual contact Apart from abstention, safe sex should be reciprocally monogamous sexual relationship with an clean individual. If you do non cognize your spouse is affected or non, you should utilize the rubbers from the beginning whatever which types of sexual intercourse. Using rubbers can cut down the hazard of infecting HIV. To protect yourself and to love your sexual spouse, rubbers have to utilize decently and systematically. To forestall blood contact For drug user: There are 4 things that they can make to forestall the blood contact. First, they should avoid taking drugs and every bit shortly as possible to seek the drug intervention and rehabilitation services. Second, if person can non avoid taking drug instantly, the shooting method of taking drugs should be adopted and they should fall in the dolophine hydrochloride intervention programme. Third, if the drug users can non halt to shooting drugs, they should non portion panpipes and acerate leafs to other and they should utilize once-only panpipes and acerate leafs. Last, if the drugs users do non hold their ain syringe and acerate leafs, they should utilize bleach to unclutter the syringe twice and twice with H2O to avoid infection. For wellness attention workers: In the wellness attention puting, wellness attention workers are easier to hold some blood borne diseases such as HIV through needlestick hurt. If the accident occurs, to cut down the hazard of infection, first-aid direction is really of import. Furthermore, the most effectual manner to cut down the hazard of infection is to utilize cosmopolitan safeguards to all patients, such as have oning the protective barriers and rinsing manus often. To forestall female parent to infant infection For the adult females who are sing holding a babe or have been pregnant, if they are suspected to be infected with HIV, they should speak to their physicians or the AIDS counsellor and should hold an HIV antibody trial. Furthermore, to forestall mother-to-child transmittal, there is a manner to utilize antiretroviral drugs which can cut down the hazard of the kid acquiring septic HIV. For the people infected HIV: Have the Medical direction of HIV infection Although from now on, there is no such method to root up the disease, but there is some intervention have been made of AIDS. It includes two types, one is the antiretroviral drugs acceptance which can command the activities of the HIV, aid to reconstruct the unsusceptibility maps and minimise the harmful consequence of the virus. The other 1 is to hold some intervention and prophylaxis to minimise the hazard of timeserving infection. Using the above methods can better the wellness of the septic people and better their measure of life and endurance in people. Therefore, for the people infected, they should hold the regular medical followup for monitoring of the disease, so that the wellness attention professional can follow the instances. It can observe the complications earlier and have appropriate intervention which can better the endurance alteration. Control your emotion When the patients face the unwellness of HIV/AIDS, they must experience fear, uncertainness, guilt, anxiousness, choler and depression. However, it may something decline the state of affairs. Therefore, they should non deny their feeling. Ventilation of feeling may assist them to deciding the emotional job. You may portion your feeling and concern to person you trust. They may besides seek to derive reding support, there will be the societal worker to assist you.8. DecisionTo reason, from the above transitions, we would establish that the figure of people acquiring septic HIV is remind in a high degree. And the causes can divide into the biological, such as the transmittal of HIV, psychological, such as the emphasis and eating wont and sociological causes which depend on the different states and society. Furthermore, there is some wellness publicity which should educate the populace and supply some clinical intervention and services to them. Last, we have discussed the motive schemes which design for the people have non inflected and the patient with HIV. And I believe that with the above methods, the jobs of HIV/AIDS would be improved in foreseeable farther.

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Managing Secuity in Prisons Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Managing Secuity in Prisons - Research Paper Example The paper ends in a conclusion that offers the reader a second thought in the effort towards ensuring more favourable and habitable surroundings and security conditions within the prisons. The separate system is a version of reformatory organization that is based on the standard of securing hostages in solitary imprisonment. Having started in the 19th century, the intent of such a detention centre was that of reparation by the detainees through quiet reflection. More typically, though, the separate system refers to a precise jail architecture created to support that system (Cole, 2012). The first separate system jail existed in the U.S. Its design was erected by other numerous prisons worldwide. This structure encouraged the division of inmates from each other as a mode of rehabilitation. Typical features of a separate structure jail comprise of a central auditorium, comprising of several blistering wings of jail blocks, which side from the central antechamber and each other by magnanimous metal slabs. While all the jail building blocks are noticeable to the jail workforces at the central antechamber, single cell compartments are not observable unless the workforces enter into them singly (Brown, 2008). Thus, this structuring differs from the panopticon jails. Moreover, the gaps between the consecutive blocks and the jail walls are exercise yards. When the separate jail structure interred, inmates were kept in lonely confinement, even as they exercised. Resultantly, the prison management raised panopticon structures in the respective yards. More overt and communal working out yards replaced the 19th century panopticon formations. However, such prisons as the Pentoville in London mandated their detainees to wear their training masks during exercise, in total isolation. Most of the separate jail structures exist to date. Additionally, the

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Assignment Production Possibility Curve Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Assignment Production Possibility Curve - Essay Example This provision made it possible for the Homo sapiens to discover new activities such as hunting and gathering to cater for their basic needs. This also allowed for opportunities to develop speech in communicating. In contrast, the Neanderthals were set back by the fast growth rates (Clive, 80). U.S. and Dutch economists attribute the unlocking of trading experiences of the modern humans as a consequence for the extinction of the Neanderthals. An advantage to the modern man was the slow developmental cycles of the brain that enabled him to adapt favorably to the environment. The Neanderthals’ slow development slowed their advantages of engaging in activities such as hunting and gathering to cater for their needs as well as trading with other Neanderthals. Specialization was only an advantage to the humans and this method was not applicable to their cousins (Jon

Theories of National Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Theories of National Culture - Essay Example Some of the famous theories of national culture include Hofsdete’s national culture theory, Hamden-Turner and Trompenaars model, and Edward Hall’s theory. It is important here to understand the link between national culture and organisational or corporate culture. Globalisation has reduced boundaries all over the world and this has led to highly diverse organizations. Employees belonging to different cultures and nationalities are working together in pursuit of the same goals. Employees are greatly influenced by their national cultures and their behaviour is an extension of their cultural values. Managers have to handle diversity and create a corporate culture that is flexible enough to accommodate people from different backgrounds. This is the link between organisational culture and national culture.Hofstde’s national culture theory has 5 dimensions and each explains a specific characteristic of national culture (Hofstede, 1983). All the dimensions can help us b etter understand the cultural values and beliefs of people who belong to those cultures. Most of the relevant information required is given by these 5 dimensions. The factors that distinguish national cultures from each other are grouped into 5 clusters. The first dimension of the theory is power distance that explains the distribution of power in a particular culture (Hofstede, 1983). More specifically this dimension is concerned with the degree of equality or inequality that exists in a culture. The second dimension is of individualism that is related to the extent to which individual or collective interests are pursued in a culture. The third dimension is uncertainty avoidance which explains the degree to which ambiguity is tolerated in a culture or a society (1983). The fourth dimension is masculinity which refers to the degree to which traditional masculine roles are accepted in the society. Initially Hofstede came up with four dimensions but later on he added another dimension of long term orientation or Confucianism (Hofstede, 1994). This dimension refers to the long term focus on traditions and values. All these 5 dimensions help us understand a particular culture better as this theory equips us to evaluate a culture on specific dimensions. Hamden-Turner and Trompenaars also gave a model of national cultures that included 7 dimensions (Hamden-Turner &Trompenaars, 2000). Universalism and pluralism is the first dimension that refers to the degree to which law or personal relationships are considered important in a society. The second dimension is individualism vs. communitarianism which is similar to the dimension of individualism of Hofstede’s model. The third dimension is called ‘specific or diffuse’ which explains how responsibilities are assigned in a society. The other dimensions include affectivity vs. Neutrality, inner directed vs. Outer directed, achieved

Monday, August 26, 2019

Compare Rule and Act Utilitarians Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Compare Rule and Act Utilitarians Paper - Essay Example It thinks more of the long term goals (Hayry, 2002). There are two forms of Utilitarianism. That is act Utilitarianism and other is rule Utilitarianism. They both are different and opposite from each other. Act Utilitarianism tells us that the basis of utility should be directly applied for each individual situation. In this, there is a point of view that the most happiness is for the greatest number of humans. The humans decide what to do after looking at that from where the most happiness is generated. In rule Utilitarianism it is told that what we should do to achieve the most wanted consequences and then the act that is seen is best for the majority is chosen (Lyons, 1965). In act Utilitarianism first the consequences are taken into sight of an act. The one with the better consequence is chosen. While the rule Utilitarianism looks at the consequence and then decide which rule to follow. Only that rule is selected that has the greatest utility or happiness whether the law is applied with fairness or not. Its aim is to deal people with fairness. It gives great value to justice. While in act Utilitarianism, it is to benefit the majority but sometimes the feelings are also hurt. Rule and Act Utilitarianism have one thing similar that they are interlinked with the prediction of future however; it is also a fact that predictions are not always right. This can lead to abrupt results which does not benefit the people. As act Utilitarianism is mainly concerned with gaining more good. The rights of the individuals are violated for benefiting the majority. But sometimes it happens that the decision taken is good but at the same time, it is thought that it is not beneficial for the people. It is because of the things that are changed (Crisp, 1997). Rule Utilitarianism constrains its usefulness. Rule Utilitarian believes that the rules should be followed as they benefit the majority (Hayry, 2002). While in

Sunday, August 25, 2019

British Constitution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

British Constitution - Essay Example Though the British constitution is conventionally held to be unwritten, a cursory look at the main sources of the constitution provided above by Brazier, reveals that to quite a large extent, the UK constitution has a written nature. The concept of parliamentary supremacy in the British constitution makes the Acts of Parliament superior to any other source of law and as such, Parliament can, and does amend the constitution and creates more statutes that are constitutional in nature. (Loveland, 2006) Whereas other sources of the constitution like conventions and the Royal prerogative are mostly unwritten and reflect accepted norms and practices established over time that are held to be binding, (Barnett, 2006; Durkin and Gay, 2005) they do not come into being on a consistent basis as do statutes. The increasing proliferation of statutes of a constitutional nature (especially under the Labour's constitutional reform programme), thus implies a move in the direction of a more documentary nature of the British constitution. Consequently, to argue that the United Kingdom is moving towards a documentary constitution is to recognise the largely written nature of the constitution, coming from sources li... Despite the 'infinite' nature of the British constitution, a panoramic review of statutes of constitutional significance would show the historical trend towards a more written constitution. Acts like the Habeas Corpus Act 1679, the Bill of Rights 1689, the Act of Settlement 1701, Act of Union 1707, the Parliament Acts of 1911 and 1949, Representation of the Peoples Act 1928, Representation of the Peoples Act 1949 and the European Communities Act 1972, all hold important positions in the British constitution and they are all written. (Barnett, 2007) The coming into power of the Labour government in 1997 and its implementation of the constitutional reform programme has added to the increasing documentary nature of the British constitution. The passing of important statutes like the Human Rights Act 1998, the House of Lords Act 1999, Freedom of Information Act 2000, and the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, are testaments to the move towards a documentary constitution. The various devolution Acts (i.e. the Scotland Act 1998, the Government of Wales Act 1998, and the Northern Ireland Act 1998) have also established in a constitutional and documentary manner the relationship between Westminster and the devolved entities within the context of a unitary state. Also as Lord Justice Laws opined (obiter) in Thoburn v Sunderland City Council, statutes may be conceived of either in ordinary terms or in constitutional terms. Going by Lord Justice Laws opinion of Acts of Parliament would thus establish a hierarchy of statutes - some ordinary and others 'constitutional statutes'. Thus the more 'constitutional statutes' that Parliament passes would be

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Explicate Descartes dream argument, taking care to lay out what it Essay

Explicate Descartes dream argument, taking care to lay out what it calls into doubt and the reason it does. How might you respon - Essay Example In Descartes’ dream argument, he casts several doubts about the things he knew. First, he does not believe that all the information received by our senses is accurate. After his revelation, he undertook an intellectual rebirth. His first prompt was to throw away everything he knew and believed in before proving himself that they were satisfactory. He concluded that it would be difficult to analyze each idea individually, instead, he attacked the foundation. In his argument, he states that he often dreams of things that seem real in his sleep. In one dream where he sits by a fire, he can feel the warmth of the fire just like when he is awake. He concludes that if his senses can convey warmth while he is dreaming, then he cannot trust the fire exists when he feels it in his waking life. He goes ahead to argue that if we dream that our hands and bodies exist then they actually do. Even if certain objects do not exist, the basic colors that compose them exist. He trusts his percep tions of the existence of self-evident truths such as shapes and numbers because he believes in an omnipotent God who created these things. It can be argued that when we are asleep we could feel things similar to when we are awake because we cannot tell whether we a dreaming or not. It leads one to wonder whether we could just be constantly dreaming instead of being awake. Questions continue to flow in the human brain whether the knowledge we are gaining at any given time is true. He further states that, he does not have a body, instead, it is a brain filled with information and illusions by a powerful being. Similarly, to justify that our senses deceive us, a person will have to recognize an error has occurred. In simple terms, one has to distinguish between being mistaken and being correct. It means one has to see the deceptions and avoid being deceived. Ironically, therefore, in the presentation of examples of how senses can deceive, one is also justifying that they can see throu gh deceptions. This undercuts the very claim argued. Therefore, when Descartes argues that he is deceived by his senses, he is indirectly arguing that he has seen through these deceptions. From Descartes’ explanations we can state that the difference between understanding and imagining is that, when we understand, the mind turns towards itself and inspects its ideas, but with imagining, the mind creates something in the physical world that matches with the thing in mind. We can say that imagination only exists due to the presence of the body. The thinker claims that it is impossible for us to tell whether we are dreaming or not. However, dreaming differs from being awake in many respects. He does not mean this literally though, he is merely trying to demonstrate that senses can be deceiving. First, the continuity available when one is awake does not exist in the dreamland. Things in the waking world remain the same daily unlike the dream world where things can change. Similar ly, the dream world and the waking world have different rules. For instance, in the dream world the dead can walk and humans can fly among other strange things. As such, Descartes’ arguments do not warrant the amount and degree of skepticism that he holds. Various key exceptions for Descartes’ arguments include, first, he does not consider even the existence of the external reality. Descartes’

Friday, August 23, 2019

Dog Bite Law - The Diane Whipple Case Research Paper

Dog Bite Law - The Diane Whipple Case - Research Paper Example No one else was seen in the immediate area. The victim was Diane Whipple, a lacrosse coach, who lived in an apartment a short distance from the apartment where the dogs lived. San Francisco General Hospital pronounced Diane Whipple dead at 8:55 p.m. that night. Bane and Hera, the Presa Canario dogs that savagely killed Whipple were originally bred for fighting, guarding and herding in the Canary Islands. The breed, being almost extinct in the 1950s, was mixed with mastiffs and others and reintroduced in the US in the 90s. The dogs were obtained through a website called â€Å"Dog-o’-War.† The dogs lived inside the apartment of Robert Edward Noel, Attorney-at-law and Marjorie F. Knoller, Attorney-at-Law, his wife. The Suit: Sharon Smith, Diane Whipple’s life partner, filed a wrongful death suite against the dogs’ owners on March 12, 2001. The criminal law applicable to the case against Noel was Death caused by a mischievous animal and involuntary manslaughte r. And the criminal law applicable to Knoller was death caused by mischievous animal, involuntary manslaughter, and second-degree murder. The basis for the charges and recovery against Noel and Knoller were formed from three theories of California law. In the state of California the owner of the dog is liable for dog bit injuries unless the victim was a trespasser on the property or provoked the dog. Noel and Knoller claimed that they were not owners of the dogs but â€Å"trustees.† This indicated they intended to defend themselves against a civil suit on the grounds that they were not the owners. They were also subject to either one or both of the defendants being negligent in handling of the dogs. The final basis of recovery was common law and liability for keeping a dog that has dangerous tendencies. If Noel and Knoller had known that the dogs Bane and Hera had dangerous traits to kill and attack a person, then both could be held accountable. In any dog bite case, possible civil defendants can include owners and caretakers of the dog, the landlord and property manager where the dogs resided, the breeder, trainers and even others. The legal basis for all civil claims is negligence. In order for landlords and property managers to be held accountable, they would need to have actual knowledge that the dogs had bitten another person or exhibited dangerous tendencies. Since Whipple died the legal coarse of action is for â€Å"wrongful death.† Whoever can inherit your property if you die without a will can also sue for your wrongful death. Sharon Smith and Edythe Pamela Whipple-Kelly filed wrongful death suits against the dog’s owners and against the owner and property manager of the apartment building where the dogs lived. The value of the case is based on the value of the person’s life and their relation to the person suing. Therefore, it is very hard to establish a rule on potential damages. The Prosecutor’s Case: The belief t hat the breed Presa Canario dogs are dangerous was the basis for the prosecutions case. Noel and Knoller were fully aware that these particular dogs had bitten people and animals, but neither took precautions to protect someone like Whipple. A witness, Neil Bardack, testified that Knoller knew she could not control the dogs, as he had seen the dogs dragging her down the street in the past. There were other witnesses that testified the dogs had previously attacked them or shown extreme aggression. It was determined that Noel and Knoller

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Sun and Stone Fountain Essay Example for Free

Sun and Stone Fountain Essay ‘Another typical day,’ I said to myself when I woke up this morning; but I could never have been so wrong in my entire life! It was a Tuesday morning and the moon was still out. I didn’t think anything of it at the time. I bathed and got ready to get out my house since my bus was due in 10mins. As soon as I got out the moon became the colour of pure red blood. It intrigued me. So I got on the yellow knocked up bus and got out my little ‘Blue Note’ and started surfing the web and finding information and jotting down ideas about ‘The Blood Moon,’ or so it was called according to the web, but there was no information I could attain. I looked out the stained window on my right and I saw a red bright beam of light coming from the graveyard. I found it intriguing, so I got off and went to where my curiosity had led me – the darkest corner of the graveyard. And there it was†¦ â€Å"Is what I see before me actually there or is it a hallucination of what I desire? † I whispered to myself with caution. I got closer and closer to the shimmering light and when I got to the source of the light, there was a stone fountain with a ruby in the center of it, with some hieroglyphics carved on the edges of the circle shaped stone. What do these ancient letters mean? The colour of the ruby was the same colour as the Blood Mo † I said out before I got disturbed by a voice from the shadows. â€Å"Yes laddie well spotted son the colour of the ruby is exactly the same as Blood Moon! † Said a Scottish accent coming from the bushes. â€Å"Who goes there? Why are you lurking behind the bushes? † I questioned the man! As he stepped out the shadows, breaking branches every step he takes, first thing I noticed was the black glistening shoes and the fresh dry cleaned suite. My name is Scott Lander. I’m an archaeologist, I Specialize in Egyptian hieroglyphics. † He said mysteriously. â€Å"Well then Lander since you Specialize in hieroglyphics. Then translate what’s on the stone fountain? † â€Å"When the ruby lusters red as blood, the moon will fall, the sun will rise, and like the story of the phoenix rising from the ashes, when the dawn is near, the world will burn in flames, but it will not seek to rise. He said getting quitter and quitter till there was nothing left to say. We looked at each other and Lander and I knew that there was nothing we could do to stop the havoc that was to fall upon us. He took a bottle of whisky out his blue timeworn bag then brought to glasses out and filled a quarter of the glass. At that point the sun was about to rise the sky was turning bright orange so we sat on the fountain and clinked our glasses as we watched the world end before our eyes.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Origins Of Our Economic Worldview Essay Example for Free

Origins Of Our Economic Worldview Essay Nature is a wonderful tool that heals all by itself and it is a very well known fact. It is said that if nature is provided with enough time she would heal herself and that includes the affects of human activities too. But the basic question to this argument is the time duration or in other words what is the time taken to heal such wounds? It has been estimated that the unknown civilization that was wiped out of the Easter Island was due to deforestation. Human interventions devastated the ecology and subsequently themselves and still after about 1000 years the island is still grassland with little foliage. This is the point that was instrumental in developing the factors of ecological economics. Ecological economics is regarded as a subfield of economics that deals with issues that are, broadly speaking, related to the ecological concerns. The main purpose of Ecological economics is to use the universal methods of economics, mainly and mostly neo classical, to achieve its goal. According to Davis Lamb the ecological economics’ focal point is to centralize on the perception of externality of environment. In other word some or more of the outcomes of a commotion are not evaluated in accordance to its fiscal result. As an example he states that when the pollution level of a given state reaches its optimum level the price of the producer of this pollution subject should be taken into consideration otherwise the balance would be in the brink of commotion. Therefore it is encouraged to formulate the outcome of a polluting medium in respect of utility oriented price format. According to the Coase Theorem the assigning property rights is based on a fact that there is all probability that this application would lead to an optimal solution of ecological policies of economics whereby in accordance to regardless of who receives them, the basic cost of transaction would reveal an inconsequential state where the stake holders of the negotiating parties would be minimized. In other words, if there is a factory operating over a substantial period of time and polluting the surrounding area all along the way and the local population is suffering for that reason then a negotiation committee should be set up to find a perfect formulation that would help either way. One of the most logical conclusion could be the factory would be held responsible for the pollution and the suffering of the local population as the factory is polluting and banishing the local population’s right to proper and healthy environment. For this the factory should pay the local population as a price for a better living surrounding. Ecological economics in today’s world is one of the most relevant issues concerned. It should be remembered that the perception of Ecological economics is directly included into the peripheral view of the subject economics and is inseparable in nature. It is also believed that Ecological economics is in actuality three-fifths of ecology as per economist Mike Nickerson. Ecological economics is often regarded as a consolidation of conventional economics and political economy. Ecological finance and theories of natural capitalism are also highly influenced by the variables of Ecological economics. According to the DETR, government policies will strive to ensure that the countryside is environmentally protected while at the same time maintaining its working nature, thereby contributing to national prosperity as part of a competitive economy. The government stresses the need for social, economic and environmental concerns all to be considered together. Whether though the current legislation is in fact meeting such objectives is debatable. The most substantial protection for the habitat in the UK from the point of vie of Ecological economics is to be found in the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 which specifically provides for the designation of certain areas, known under the Act as ‘sites of special scientific interest’ or SSSI’s, for protection. The Act (Section 28(1) WCA 1981) provides for guidelines on designation criteria with the effect that designation will be likely if the area is ‘of special interest by reason of any of its flora, fauna, or geological or physiographical features’. (McEldowney, 1999) In fact, if the area in question satisfies these criteria, then the Nature Conservancy Council must deem the areas to be under strict regulation. This ruling was most notably exemplified by the case of R v Nature Conservancy Council, ex parte London Brick Property Ltd. In conclusion it could be stated that despite the first glance opinions by the scientific and economic communities Ecological economics and habitat protection suggests that equal importance is in fact proffered to the environment than it is to the economic interests of those bound by the laws, in practice the laws have been implemented in such a fashion as to, in the main, permit an acceptable level of a balancing of interests of all concerned, a result which is not easily reached and is therefore to be applauded.

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Wireless Network Security

Wireless Network Security There is a growing need to find lasting solutions on how to deal with security issues involving with wireless networks, in order to make them as secure as possible. The growth of the Internet has been an explosive since inception, and this has lead to a great increase in the number of portable/mobile computing and communication devices such as notebook computers and mobile phones, in recent years. As manufacturers constantly improve on the features, and general capabilities of mobile devices, the Internet also continues to get bigger and to improve, even at a faster rate than these mobile devices. In fact, the market for mobile computing and telecommunications is likely to overtake the market for fixed (conventional) computing and telecommunications, in the near future. This is because there has been a consistent growth in the demand for mobile devices for computing and telecommunications. [1] Without a doubt, wireless technology was has been a very relevant and vital breakthrough in the computer and telecommunications world, and the Wireless third generation (3G) network is proving to be increasingly beneficial to many users of various networks. The main advantages of the 3G networks are that they provide a lot more interconnectivity and, a better and wider reach. Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) has also been advantageous. Some of the advantages of WLAN include the use of Broadband service with low costs and wide-reaching technology. Therefore, integrating 3G wireless networks with wireless local area network was invented, naturally, so as to get the best of both words of3G wireless network and WLAN. [1] http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/nistpubs/800-48/NIST_SP_800-48.pdf Background. WLAN and 3G are two key mobile/wireless technologies, which have been identified to have great potential in terms of value to the customer. While 3G is a standard that defines technology that can provide high bandwidth wireless access over a large area and supports various services such as roaming, WLAN is a disruptive technology that provides higher bandwidth within small areas. With WLAN getting integrated to 3G networks, there are several security threats that need to be considered. These are threats that are unique to such an integrated network as well as threats due to the vulnerabilities inherent in each network. The 3rd Generation Partnership Program (3GPP) has defined the standards for the integrated WLAN-3G network. The organisation takes into consideration several security issues, as part of its standardisation efforts. However, there are still some gaps in the security that can adversely affect service delivery and vulnerability. From the security point of view, the network architectures are defined for both Roaming and Non-Roaming inter-working scenario. Additional components are specified to the 3GPP network architecture to facilitate inter-working such as Packet Data Gateway (PDG) and WLAN Access Gateway (WAG). The inter-working is based on UMTS Authentication and Key Agreement (AKA) authentication method. This requires a user equipment to run the USIM application. This means that WLAN user equipment is equipped with capability to use UICC smart cards. The inter-working mechanism enables a 3G mobile network subscriber to access WLAN networks operated by different service providers. This also supports roaming scenarios. Wireless local area network (WLAN) and 3-G devices enable users to carry their computers and communication devices around within their offices and homes, without having to handle any wires and without having to disconnect from the network when moving around. There is greater flexibility with these devices, due to less wiring, thereby increasing overall efficiency, and also reduced wiring costs. For instance, networks that use Bluetooth technology can be used for synchronization of data with network systems, and enable the sharing between of computer applications between devices. With Bluetooth functionality, there is no need for printer cables and some other connection equipment for peripheral devices. 3G network based security threats. The key threats for 3G networks in perspective of integration of networks are: Wireless LAN customer who does not have access to 3G networks get access to 3G services without subscription. WLAN user gains access to 3G network and creates issues such as Denial of Service WLAN user gains access to 3G network and uses impersonation for using the service but charging other customers. Manipulation of charging when services like calls are transferred from one network to another. Application and Data related threats. Collection of login details and personal details that are transmitted over the network by using sniffing tools and mechanisms, especially when sufficient transport security is not set. Manipulation of information used for user authentication or service access to gain access to unauthorised services or manipulation of billing. Extracts personal information that are used at other places such as credit card information. Obtain information about user such as permanent identity in the network. Virus attacks from WLAN devices to other devices in the network Trojans and malicious software passed from one end-device to another. For volume based charging model, a rogue partner can flood the user with garbage packets to increase the invoiced amount. Malicious programs on the user terminal that increases the traffic to certain sites or content to illegally increase the traffic. Security Considerations for 3G-WLAN Integrated Networks. The security framework for 3G-WLAN integrated networks consists of various layers. Each security layer is independent of the other layers. However, there needs to be an overall security scheme that connects all the security requirements together. Also, since some of the vulnerabilities can happen at multiple layers, a holistic approach and framework is required to address all the risks of the special network. Authentication security at the user terminal. The authentication scheme in the case of 3G-WLAN should be based on a challenge response protocol similar to the existing mobile communication authentication scheme. This requires that the authentication details in the user terminal to be stored securely on UICC or SIM card. This should support mutual authentication and security mechanisms such EAP. Signalling and User Data Security. The subscriber needs to have the same level of security as the mobile access that is specified for the 3G networks. This means that the WLAN authentication and re-authentication mechanisms must be at the same levels as for 3G USIM based access. It needs to support the maintaining session key verification and maintenance. Also the 3G systems should provide the required keys with sufficient length and levels of entropy that are required by the WLAN subsystem. WLAN key agreement, distribution and authentication mechanism should be secure against any attacks by middlemen. The WLAN access technology between the user equipment and the access point/ network should be able to utilise the generated session keying material to ensure the integrity of the connection for authentication. Privacy of User Identity. The keys used by 3G AAA function that are used for the generation of temporary identities that is used for the communication between the network element and the user terminal should not be possible to recover. If it is possible to retrieve the keys, the permanent identity can be derived from any of the temporary identities. Also it should be possible to mask the different temporary identities corresponding to the permanent identity. Security of the access interface. The access interface between the user equipment and the network element should be protected against eavesdropping and all attacks on the security-relevant information. Sufficient cryptographic mechanisms should be employed to ensure adequate security, and at least 128 bit encryption keys should be used for the security system. The interaction between the different endpoints of the local interface should be properly authenticated and authorised. Also the keys used for the security should not be shared across the local interface links and each interface should use unique keys. Access of the user terminal and SIM remotely should be monitored such that the user can choose to allow or disallow the connection. Displaying of the information should be provided to the user to enable the user to take the decision. Further, the USIM information should be secured when it is transferred across different networks such as 3G core network, WLAN network or any other networks involved. Link Level Security. Wireless link can be classified as the most vulnerable interface among all the interfaces in the 3G-WLAN integrated network. The link layer security provided by the WLAN network should be used for ensuring security at this layer. At this layer, the confidentiality and integrity of user data should be protected. In addition, any signalling information between the user equipment and the access point should also be secured. Another area of vulnerability is the key distribution, key validation, key freshness and key ageing. Security of any Tunnelling. UE can tunnel information to other devices in the Visited PLMN or the Home PLMN. When such tunnelling is employed, the data origin should be authenticated and integrity checks should be supported. Also the confidentiality mechanisms should be in place between the systems. As the 3G systems have defined security roles in tunnelling, the decision on allowing tunnelling is a function of the 3G network. It is essential to implement the right decision parameters such as level of trust in the WLAN access network or the Visited PLMN involved, capabilities supported in the WLAN user equipment in terms of security in tunnelling and whether the user is authorised for such services. Privacy of User Identity. User identity privacy ensures that none of the permanent subscriber identification information is send across the network in clear. This is based on temporary identities such as pseudonyms or re-authentication identities. Sufficient security procedures should be followed in generating, distributing, using and updating these identities. Also the period of maintaining a temporary identity is also important to prevent tracing of the identity. Various scenarios need to be considered for design of such a system such as: WLAN UE receiving more than one temporary identity from the AAA server Tunnel establishment If the identity privacy support is not activated by the home network Confidentiality Protection. The confidentiality protection should consider different scenarios and network access options. The key scenarios are: In WLAN direct IP access: Here the function is implemented using the WLAN access network link layer. In WLAN 3GPP IP access: Here the integrity of IP packets that is sent through the tunnel between the user equipment and the network should be protected. Research Points. Authentication, Authorisation and Accounting are the most important factors in ensuring network security. There are various techniques available in various types of network available for AAA. One example is UMTS-AKA in 3G network and EPA in wireless networks. Each of these techniques are suitable for the respective types of networks and considering the security requirements. With the integration of networks, the characteristics expected of the integrated network are a combination of both networks. The integrated network is expected to work with the same simplicity and efficiency as a WLAN network but with the security implementations of a 3G network. However a 3G-network security introduces overhead on the network resources that are not desirable in the integrated network. Also when there is an access from one network to another, the overall security profile of the integrated network is that of the weaker part of the network, in this case, the WLAN network. There is a need for the use of the AAA method, which is simple in operation in terms of the message handshakes required and delay introduced and at the same time secure enough to match the 3G network security requirements. The objective of this research is to: Evaluate the current AAA mechanisms available in terms of its capability, Recommend the best option for WLAN-3G network in terms of the efficiency and the security effectiveness. Methodology The methodology for identification of suitable AAA function involves the following: Evaluation of the currently selected methodologies used UMTA-AKA, WLAN-EAP These protocols are evaluated in terms of the overhead required to handle the mechanism and strength of the method infrastructure required to support the system in terms of network elements. Identification of other methodologies used in other technologies and networks Profiling of the different technologies in terms of the capabilities, limitations and characteristics Establishment of minimum requirements of 3G-WLAN network Comparison of profile to the minimum requirements established and selection of methodologies Recommendation of modifications required in the methodologies to suit to WLAN-3G environment. Research Tools. Various tools and resources will be employed during the course of this research, including: Reference implementations of AAA functions. Simulation software for evaluation of the robustness and strength of the AAA functions. Standardisation documents that provide evaluation of the AAA methodologies. Commercial products that employ AAA functions; such as WLAN access points and WLAN user equipments. Software protocol analysers for checking the message flow and function. Expected Results. This research will aim at providing guidance to operators and vendors, on the use of AAA functions for 3G-WLAN networks. Specifically, the following results expected at the end of this research: Identification of suitable AAA function for use in integrated WLAN-3G networks Recommendations of modifications required for the current implementation of the AAA function. References. A Guide to Wireless Network Security: White Paper. http://techlibrary.networkcomputing.com/rlist/920045790_12/sort_by/doc_type/IP- Networks.html Wireless Networks Evolution, Vijay Garg, 2002, Prentice Hall. http://www.cs.columbia.edu/~charles/publication/ft-concept.pdf http://fiddle.visc.vt.edu/courses/ecpe6504-wireless/projects_spring2000/report_sathyamoorthy.pdf http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/nistpubs/800-48/NIST_SP_800-48.pdf http://compnetworking.about.com/od/wirelesssecurity/tp/wifisecurity.htm http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=1489 http://www.practicallynetworked.com/support/wireless_secure.htm http://www.windowsecurity.com/articles/Wireless-Network-Security-Home.html http://computer.howstuffworks.com/wireless-network.htm http://netsecurity.about.com/od/hackertools/a/aa072004b.htm http://netsecurity.about.com/cs/wireless/a/aa112203_2.htm http://www.networkworld.com/topics/wireless-security.html Home 3GPP TSG Services and System Aspects, 3G Security: Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) Interworking Security (release 6), Technical Report, 3GPP TS 33.234 V6.5.1, (2005-6), December 2005. 3GPP TSG Services and System Aspects, 3G Security: Security Architecture (release 6), Technical Report, 3GPP TS 33.102 V7.0.0, December 2005. 3G and WLAN Interworking Security: Current Status and Key Issues, International Journal of Network Security, Jan 20063GPP TSG Service and System Aspects, Feasibility Study on 3GPP System to Wireless Local Area (WLAN) Interworking (release 6), Technical Report, 3G TS 22.934 v. 6.2.0 (2003-09), Sept. 2003.

Stem Cell Research is an Assault on Life Essay -- Argumentative Persua

  Ã‚   Throughout the history of the cloning debate, no Administration of either party funded a research project that relies on destroying live human embryos - until President Bush in 2001 authorized limited funding for such. The Clinton Administration's plans to do so were delayed by public opposition, then halted for good reason by the Bush Administration. The federal government has now decided to partially implement the National Institutes of Health's guidelines for embryonic stem cell research. This has opened the door to broader assaults on innocent human life in the name of research. Congress and this Administration in a limited way endorse the principle that alleged research benefits outweigh the inviolable dignity of innocent human life. Attempts to prevent further abuses will likely be futile, as researchers demand more and more freedom to set aside restrictions that prevent them from realizing their dreams of conquering disease. We applauded the Administration's initial a nnouncement that it supported a complete ban on human cloning.    Most Christians have grave concerns on this critically important issue of embryonic stem cell research. In our view, conducting research that relies on deliberate destruction of human embryos for their stem cells is illegal, immoral and unnecessary.    It is illegal because it violates an appropriations rider (the Dickey amendment) passed every year since 1995 by Congress. That provision forbids funding "research in which" human embryos (whether initially created for research purposes or not) are harmed or destroyed outside the womb.(1) National Institutes of Health guidelines approved by the Clinton Administration nonetheless give researchers detailed instructions on how to ... ...eficiency (SCID)-X1 Disease," 288 Science 669-72 (28 April 2000).    16. K. Foss, "Paraplegic regains movement after cell procedure," The Globe and Mail (Toronto), June 15, 2001 at A1.    17. E. Ryan et al., "Glycemic Outcome Post Islet Transplantation," Abstract #33-LB, Annual Meeting of the American Diabetes Association, June 24, 2001. See: http://38.204.37.95/am01/AnnualMeeting/Abstracts/NumberResults.asp?idAbs=33-LB.    18. M. McCullough, "Islet transplants offer hope that diabetes can be cured," Philadelphia Inquirer, June 22, 2001 at A1.    19. D. Woodbury et al., "Adult Rat and Human Bone Marrow Stromal Cells Differentiate Into Neurons," 61 J. of Neuroscience Research 364-70 (2000) at 364 (emphasis added).    20. D. Prockop, "Stem Cell Research Has Only Just Begun" (Letter), 293 Science 211-2 (13 July 2001)(citations omitted).