Factors For and Against Essay Example for Free

Factors For and Against Essay Reasons for legalization (ranked from strongest to weakest) 1. Medical benefits for terminal illnesses such as cancer. 2. Police and court resources would be freed to pursue more serious crimes. 3. The FDA could regulate the quality and safety of the drug. 4. This drug has fewer side effects that most currently legal narcotics. 5. Legalization would lower prices, thereby reducing crimes such as theft. 6. If taxed sales of this drug would help lift the U.S. economy by billions of dollars a year. Reasons against legalization (ranked from strongest to weakest) 1. Issues such as driving under the influence may increase. 2. Legalizing this drug might increase the number of juvenile users. 3. This drug may be a gateway drug to more dangerous drugs such as heroin or cocaine 4. There would be an increase in lung damage and the damage to non-users through second hand smoke. 5. Legalization of this drug could lead to legalization of â€Å"harder† drugs 6. Some consider this drug morally wrong. I have seen the effects this drug has on a terminally ill patient. My late husband, who was just 39 years old when he died of colon cancer, used Marijuana on just a couple of occasions and the difference before and after its use were abundantly clear. Tom was diagnosed with colon cancer at the age of 36, and only given 15 months to live, because of his military and ethical background he swore he would never use Marijuana unless it was legalized. As his illness got worse his thinking changed, he just wanted to feel better, and the narcotics he was prescribed by his oncologist made him weak, tired, decreased his appetite and caused nausea. He hated being on these narcotics as he didn’t feel he could enjoy the little life he had left, he could barely get out of bed let alone play with his children. During the second year of his illness we went camping with some friends, to a little cabin 2 hours off the paved road. Tom could scarcely sit up in front of the campfire, but tried his best to enjoy possibly the last camping trip of his life. After the children were asleep one of our friends began to smoke marijuana and asked if we wanted any, I declined but Tom wanted to try it, just to see how it would make him feel. Within five minutes of smoking marijuana Tom was up walking around, he ate, laughed and even began helping cut wood and attend to the fire. The difference was noticeable to us all, it was amazing. First thing in the morning he smoked some more marijuana, and was able to play with his children, go for a mile long walk and eat some more. Upon returning home Tom stated that while he would like to use the drug again, but he couldn’t bring himself to break the law, and therefore did not try the drug again. During Tom’s illness those two short days in the mountains were some of his best. The marijuana took away his nausea and pain, his appetite was increased and his pain was nowhere near the same high levels he experienced without the drug. Because I have seen the benefits of this drug in person, I have placed this as my strongest argument for the legalization of this drug. It was very difficult for me to rank the arguments for the legalization of marijuana, because I found them all to be quite beneficial, yet I had to place the fiscal benefit towards the bottom of the list. My reasoning for this is because if this drug were moved from a schedule I drug to a schedule II drug, and was only legal if prescribed, the prescription would not be taxed thereby eliminating this argument for the legalization. My strongest reason against the legalization of marijuana is the possible dangers of driving while under the influence of this drug. This is a big issue with most any drug, most notably alcohol, but this danger is not only posed to the user but those around the user as well. While many people are stopped and arrested for driving under the influence of marijuana, it would seem logical that this would only increase with legalization, much like alcohol. My weakest argument against legalization is that it is considered morally wrong by some people. The reason I placed this last is because not all people would consider this morally wrong. There are many things that people consider morally wrong, yet they are legal. For example the Mormon religion believes that alcohol, tea, coffee and caffeinated drinks are morally wrong, yet these are not made illegal. This argument seems to be the loosest of all the arguments, and therefore was placed at the bottom of the list.

America Must Censor Internet Pornography :: Pornography Censorship

Since their founding, computers and the Internet have become a tool that nearly every man, woman, and child in the World have been able to use. E-mail has become one of the Worlds fastest growing ways of communication and the Internet has become one, if not the largest source of information available today. You can find just about everything you wanted to know about anything with the stroke of a few keys on the keyboard. However, along with these positive aspects of the Internet, there lies much negativity surrounding the internet and its use. Access to teenage pornography, bestiality, brutal murder pictures, XXX stories, and other un-ethical sites is extremely easy. In fact, the pornography industry has grown 63% since the Internet was first available for use.(Bishop 91) It is one of the leading industries on the Internet and has become quite a controversy in the United States. Censorship of such sites has done very little due to the fact that most parents feel that these sit es are not accessed by their children. We have currently found no solution that has worked and many government officials see the problem only getting worse. Pornography on the Internet though should not be banned, but rather better controlled and censored due to its availability and graphic nature. Pornography on the Internet is available in different formats. These range from pictures and short animated movies, to sound files and stories. Most of this kind of pornographic content is available through World Wide Web pages. The Internet also makes it possible to discuss sex, see live sex acts, and arrange sexual activities from computer screens. There are also sex related discussions on the Internet Relay Chat channels where users in small groups or in private channels exchange messages and files.(Akdenis, 1997) There are millions of different pornographic sites on the internet, so there is almost no way of regulating every site unless there was some type of a universal censorship required for every site. Nearly every one of these millions and millions of sites is accessed daily. Men, women, and children of every age and race are on the Internet looking at inappropriate sites every day. Over 2/3 of Americans who have access to the Internet have accessed pornographic or o ther un-ethical sites, and the numbers are only growing.

Lecture Fm

Vietnam National University – HCMC International University SCHOOL OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION COURSE SYLLABUS BA016IU Fundamentals of Financial Management 1. COURSE STAFF Lecturer: Ms. Phan Ng? c Anh, MBA Room: #205 E-mail: [email  protected] edu. vn Consultation hours: Thursday OR by appointment (preferred) Teaching Assistant: TBA Should the students wish to meet the staff outside the consultation hours, they are advised to make appointment in advance. 2. COURSE INFORMATION Prerequisite courses: Principles of Accounting 1 2. 1 Teaching times and LocationsLecture: Saturday, 13:00 – 16:00 Venue: C102 1 2 2. 2 Units of Credit: 3 credits 2. 3 Parallel teaching in the course: N/A 2. 4 Relationship of this course to others BA207U – Fundamentals of Financial Management provides students with basic concepts of financial management. The course is provided based on foundation knowledge of financial accounting and economics. This course may fulfill requirements of curric ulum for students majoring in business administration in general; however is the foundation for students majoring in finance and accounting.For those students that major in finance and accounting, they can take higher level of courses in finance after this course, to count for some, Corporate Finance, Financial Institutions and Market, Investment and Portfolio Management, International Finance, etc. 2. 5 Approach to learning and teaching Employing the interactive learning and problem-based teaching approach, this course emphasizes the interaction between lecturers and students. The lecture materials will be uploaded in Blackboard to help the students to preview the materials and to concentrate on listening and critical thinking during the lecture.This will help students to interact with the lecturer during the classroom. The sessions for presentations and discussions comprise company case studies as well as answering some theoretical and conceptual questions, which help the students to see how the concepts are applied in the real international business context. Students will present the case to the class and discuss with the peers. 3. COURSE AIMS AND OUTCOMES 3. 1 Course Aims The aim of this course is to expose students to and familiarize them with the theoretical frameworks and practical matters of financial management..The learning experience will include: an introduction to financial management; time value of money; techniques of pricing of financial instruments such as bonds and stocks; evaluation of major projects; the relationship between risk and return; an introduction to Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) and Portfolio theory; and cost of capital and capital structuring. 3. 2 Student Learning Outcomes After completing the course, students should be able to: * Explain the purpose, goals, and importance of financial management; * Understand the relationship between risk and return; Understand time value of money and possess skills to convert financial t ime values; * Make basic valuation of bonds, stocks, and investment projects; * Evaluate capital budgeting alternatives, using the firm’s cost of capital in conjunction with internal rate of return and net present value techniques; * Compute cost of capital and capital structure. 3. 3 Teaching Strategies The learning system in this course consists of lectures and discussions. Lectures elaborate the appropriate theoretical content in the textbook and readings.Classes provide a more detailed and refined analysis of both concepts and applied materials. Classes are strongly oriented towards interactive discussion of the text and cases. 4. STUDENT RESPONSIBILITIES AND CONDUCT 4. 1 Workload It is expected that the students will spend at least eight hours per week studying this course. This time should be made up of reading, research, working on exercises and problems, and attending classes. In periods where they need to complete assignments or prepare for examinations, the workload may be greater. 4. 2 AttendanceClass Attendance is Mandatory. Roll will be taken by random quizzes’ submissions at times of classes. University regulations indicate that if students attend less than eighty per cent of scheduled classes they may be refused final assessment. Exemptions may only be made on medical grounds. 4. 3 General Conduct and Behavior Beepers, cell phones, and pagers need to be turned off before entering the classroom. The students are expected to conduct themselves with consideration and respect for the needs of the fellow students and teaching staff.Conduct which unduly disrupts or interferes with a class, such as ringing or talking on mobile phones, is not acceptable and students will be asked to leave the class. 4. 4 Keeping informed The students should take note of all announcements made in lectures or on the course’s Blackboard. From time to time, the university will send important announcements to their university e-mail addresses without pro viding a paper copy. The students will be deemed to have received this information. 5. LEARNING ASSESSMENT 5. 1 Formal RequirementsIn order to pass this course, the students must: * achieve a composite mark of at least 50; and * make a satisfactory attempt at all assessment tasks (see below). 5. 2 Assessment Details Two Class tests 30% Mid-Term Exam 30% Final Exam 40% Total 100% Mid-term Exam and Final Exam: Mid-term and final test will be a combination of short answer questions, application problems and multiple-choice questions and will cover all the reading, homework, and lectures associated with the topics noted on the reading list. 5. 4 Class participationStudents are expected to attend class regularly, and are responsible for materials covered during their absences. Although it is the responsibility of the student for non-attendance, the lecturer has full authority to drop a student for excessive absences. 5. 5 Special Consideration Request for special consideration (for final examination only) must be made to the Office of Academic Affairs within one week after the examination. General policy and information on special consideration can be found at the Office of Academic Affairs. 6. ACADEMIC HONESTY AND PLAGIARISMPlagiarism is the presentation of the thoughts or work of another as one’s own (definition proposed by the University of Newcastle). Students are also reminded that careful time management is an important part of study and one of the identified causes of plagiarism is poor time management. Students should allow sufficient time for research, drafting, and the proper referencing of sources in preparing all assessment items. The university regards plagiarism as a form of academic misconduct, and has very strict rules regarding plagiarism. 7. STUDENT RESOURCES 7. Course Resources Required textbook: Brealey, R. A. , Myers, S. C. and Marcus, A. J. , Fundamentals of Corporate Finance, 5th ed, McGraw Hill 2007 Note: the course will cover Chapter 1 – 12 Recommended readings: Recommended website: http://highered. mcgraw-hill. com/sites/007353062x/information_center_view0/ http://www. mhhe. com/business/finance/corpfinonline/. Choose â€Å"Finance Tutor Series†. www. finance. yahoo. com www. bloomberge. com www. reuters. com www. vneconomy. com www. efinance. com. vn Other recommended books: Brigham, E. F. and Houston, J. F. 2007), Fundamentals of Financial Management, 11th edn, South-Western. Ross, S. A. , Westerfield, R. W. , and Jordan, B. D. (2010) Fundamentals of Corporate Finance – 7th ed, McGraw Hill. Additional materials provided in Blackboard The lecturer will attempt to make lecture notes and additional reading available on Blackboard. However this is not an automatic entitlement for students doing this subject. Note that this is not a distance learning course, and you are expected to attend lectures and take notes. This way, you will get the additional benefit of class interaction and demonstra tion. 7. Other Resources, Support and Information 1 Additional learning assistance is available for students in this course and will be made available in Blackboard. Academic journal articles are available through connections via the VNU – Central Library. Recommended articles will be duly informed to the students. 8. COURSE SCHEDULE: Week| Topic| Learning materials| 1| Introduction to corporate financeIntroduction CorporationGoals of the corporationAgency problemsFinancial DecisionInvestment DecisionFinancing DecisionDividend PolicyRoles of Financial ManagerWhy corporations need financial markets?Functions of financial markets and intermedias| Textbook, Chapter 1| 2| Time Value of MoneyBasic conceptsTime line/ Future values (FV)/ Present values (PV)Simple interest rate (SR)/ Compound interest rate(CR)Multiple cash flowsFuture value of Multiple Cash FlowsPresent value of Multiple Cash FlowsPerpetuity cash flowsPresent Value of a PerpetuityOrdinary annuity cash flow/ Annuity d ue cash flow Future Value of an AnnuityPresent Value of an Annuity| Textbook, Chapter 4| 3| Time Value of Money (Cont. Growing ordinary annuity cash flow/ Growing annuity due cash flow Future Value of an growing annuityPresent Value of an growing annuityMortgate loansInflation and time value of moneyReal versus nominal cash flowsEffective annual interest ratesQuiz 1| Textbook, Chapter 4| 4| Bonds and their evaluationBond characteristicsBond evaluationCoupon bonds, semi-annual coupon bondsZero-coupon bondsBond yieldCurrent yieldYield to maturity (YTM)Rate of returnRelationship between market interest rate and bond priceBond premiums and bond discounts| Textbook, Chapter 5| 5| Stock and their evaluationEquity versus debtCommon stocks Preferred stocksBook values, Liquidation values, and Market valuesStock valuation: Dividend Discount Model (DDM)Zero growth common stocksConstant growth common stocksDifferential growth common stocksPreferred stocksGrowth stocks and Income stocksMid-Term| Textbook, Chapter 6| 6| Project Investment Criteria and Capital Budgeting DecisionCapital budgeting decisionCapital budgeting processProject classificationsNet Present Value (NPV) methodInternal Rate of Return (IRR) methodPayback Period (PP)/ Discount Payback period (DPP) methodProfitability Index (PI)| Textbook, Chapters 7| 7| Project Investment Criteria and Capital Budgeting (Cont. Principles of identifying cash flowsCalculating Cash Flows Capital investmentOperating cash flowsInvestment in working capitalTerminal-year incremental cash flowMinicaseQuiz 2| Textbook, Chapter 8| 8| Introduction to Risk, Return and Opportunity Cost of CapitalIntroduction relationship between Risk and ReturnHistorical overview of risk and returnRates of returnMeasuring riskVariance and standard deviation Risk and diversificationDiversificationAsset versus portfolio riskVariance and standard deviation of returns for a two-asset portfolioUnique risk versus market risk | Textbook, Chapters 10| 9| Risk, R eturn and capital budgetingMeasuring market riskConcept of betaPortfolio betasRisk and returnCapital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM)Security Market Line (SML)Capital budgeting and Project Risk| Textbook, Chapter 11| 10| Capital Structure and Cost of CapitalMeasuring capital structureMarket versus book weightCost of capital Cost of debtCost of preferred stocksCost of equityCost of retained earningWeighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC)WACC and business evaluation| Textbook, Chapter 12| 11| Revision| | ——————————————– [ 1 ]. This is adapted with kind permission from the University of New South Wales.

Analysis of the Main Strengths and Weaknesses of Marx’s...

Analysis of the Main Strengths and Weaknesses of Marx’s Sociological Thought â€Å"The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles† Marx and Engels (1967, p.67) Born in 1818, Karl Marx, using his philosophical and socialist ideas, attempted to show how conflict and struggle in social development were important in the development of a society. The works of Marx were influenced by three distinct intellectual traditions: German idealist philosophy, French socialism and British political economy. German idealist philosophy is an approach based on the thesis that only the mind and its content really exist. This philosophy maintains that it is through the advance of†¦show more content†¦land, animals, tools etc which are a necessary means of survival in order to produce food, shelter and clothing. These are called the forces of production. Together with the relations of production between the workers and those who owned the forces of production, this resulted in the mode of production. All human beings must employ the forces of production in order to meet basic economic needs. However, there has always been one class of persons who ha ve owned the means of production. Marx argued that it is this ownership which leads to the most essential fact of materialist theory of history which is the division of society into economic classes.[1](Morrison, 1995). Marx saw societies as social systems which could be divided into two parts: the economic base and the superstructure. The economic base contained a particular mode of production as well as the economy and class relations. It is also the foundation upon which superstructures of political, legal, and social institutions are built. The economic base is also the basis of various forms of consciousness and knowledge. 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