Price elasticity of demand Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Price elasticity of demand - Essay Example The resulting coefficient for such is greater than 1 (Ed > 1). In addition, the result of a decrease in the price of the good is also an increase in its total revenue, otherwise, a decrease in its total revenue. ("Price Elasticity") Therefore, an increase in the prices of apples in the market will give a corresponding decrease in the total revenue of the good. This only means that if the price of apples is increased, consumers may decide not to buy the good any longer. However, if the price of apples decreases, people will tend to buy more apples. It is also possible that the consumer will just try to find an alternative fruit instead that is cheaper than apples. On the other hand, if the change in quantity demanded of the product along with its price is less than 1 (Ed < 1), the product is said to be inelastic. In this condition, the percentage change in quantity demanded is less than the percentage change in price. Unlike the elastic good, inelasticity means that a decrease in price will result in a decrease in total revenue and vice versa. ("Price Elasticity") Inelastic products are basically the products that belong to the basic needs of man. One example of an inelastic product would be the salt wherein even a large increase in its price, the demand would remain the same therefore there will be a relative increase in its total revenue.

SARS: Modern Pandemic Episode Essay -- Disease, Disorders

Throughout the ages pandemic episodes have plagued mankind. Severe acute respiratory syndrome or SARS is an example of a modern pandemic that recently affected the world. The SARS pandemic challenged world health care organizations and governments on how to confront a modern day pandemic episode. This paper will explore the origin of SARS and the steps taken to contain and treat the pandemic episode. SARS emerged mid-November 2002 in southern China, in the province of Guangdong, but was not officially reported until February 2003 to the governmental health care organization of Guangdong (Ahmad, Krumkamp, & Reintjes, 2009). The first case of SARS outside of China that was reported was on March 3, 2003 in Vietnam, with more cases reported from Hong Kong, Canada, Singapore, and Taiwan shortly afterward (Ahmad, Krumkamp, & Reintjes, 2009). By mid-summer of 2003, the World Health Organization (WHO) had been notified of 8437 cases worldwide, with 813 deaths (Zhong et al., 2003). The disease spread quickly from China to Europe, North America, and southeast Asia because of travel from where SARS first started. Patients that were infected by SARS were noted to have atypical pneumonia. They presented with high fevers and respiratory issues that quickly developed into pneumonia within a few days (Zhong et al., 2003). Through serological and nasopharyngeal aspirate testing, the coronavirus (CoV) was determined to be the cause of SARS (Zhong et al., 2003). It was also determined that the persons that were originally exposed to the virus had contact with animals, most likely to prepare food, at a produce market in the province of Guangdong (Zhong et al., 2003). The virus had started with the animals, crossed over to humans, and mutated. ... ...?. BMC Public Health, 91-8. doi:10.1186/1471-2458-9-81 N. S. Zhong, A. C., B. J. Zheng, A. C., Y. M. Li, A. C., L. L. M., A. C., Poon, Z., H. H., & ... Xu. (2003). Epidemiology and cause of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in Guangdong, People's Republic of China, in February, 2003. Lancet, 362(9393), 1353-1358. Timen, A. A., van Doornum, G. J., Schutten, M. M., Conyn-van Spaendonck, M. E., van der Meer, J. M., Osterhaus, A. E., & van Steenbergen, J. E. (2006). Public health implications of using various case definitions in The Netherlands during the worldwide SARS outbreak. Clinical Microbiology & Infection, 12(12), 1214-1220. World Health Organization (WHO). (2004, October). WHO guidelines for the global surveillance of SARS Updated recommendations, October 2004. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/csr/resources/publications/WHO_CDS_CSR_ARO_2004_1.pdf

Habeas Corpus and the War on Terror Essay

The law of Habeas Corpus was created to permit the guilty to present their case in court and to be tried fairly. In today’s war on terror, the amount of such enemy combatants who were detained indefinitely without any trial has raised. The courts are split up on following the law by the letter or to practically change it according to the situation’s needs. I feel it’s necessary to follow these laws in the same context in which they were written, and the pragmatic approach leaves room for reckless changes. To deny an enemy combatant his or her day in court cannot be justified as taking the pragmatic approach in dealing with war criminals. This paper is an attempt to present the state of law today towards war criminals and the implications of denying the basic right of Habeas Corpus to suspected terrorists. Ever since the onset of civilization, arguments have routinely erupted between various members, families, factions, and groups within civilizations and between civilizations. In ancient times, arguments would be resolved by crude means, means not limited to the powerful person using brute force to show he was in the right. The stronger person would always have, say for example, the first right to food, to agricultural produce, cattle and to wealth etc. The weak wouldn’t dare pick an argument over the stronger person in fear for their life. But as civilizations grew and advanced over time, a code of ethics and laws began to form. Societies began to incorporate and adapt these laws in their daily functioning. Drawing inspiration from religion, past civilization practices and their mistakes, it was only natural that basic human rights were thought about and codified. The rights were guaranteed to all human beings, irrespective of who was physically stronger. The American Revolution has beyond doubt shaped the basic structure of human rights for the entire world to follow. Among many undeniable rights to citizens, the writ of Habeas Corpus was identified and established very early on in the Revolution. In Europe, the writ of Habeas Corpus was first traced to be used around the 12th and 13th centuries during the medieval period. Habeas Corpus translates from Latin to mean â€Å"you may have the body† or you may examine the body. It is essentially a writ that requires any person detained by law enforcers to be tried in a court of law and have his detention validated (Bbc. com, 2005). The writ doesn’t decide whether the accused is guilty or not, it merely stipulates that the accused be tried and detained if only found guilty of the crime being accused for. The US inherited this law from the English and codified it in the constitution in Article 1, section 9. The UN later incorporated it in their international human rights in 1952. The point of contention with the habeas corpus right is to whom it applies. The law stipulates that this right be never be suspended or denied except in cases of rebellion, invasion or when perceived as a threat to public safety. Surprisingly, this writ has been previously suspended twice in the past for seemingly similar reasons. President Lincoln suspended the writ in 1861 to prosecute the war prisoners captured during the American Civil war. His argument was that the confederates were a threat to the union and hence issued the order (Dueholm, 2008). This law was later restored after the war ended in 1866. President Bush in 2006 issued a similar suspension of the habeas corpus writ to detain enemy combatants captured in the global war against terror. It deemed these accused terrorists as a threat to national security and denied them the right to be presented and tried in court. This paper will focus on the consequences faced by the accused and the validity of enforcing such a suspension. Just suspending the writ wouldn’t seem very harmful when looked at by itself. But consider for a moment who the government arrests. American policy makers routinely count any military age males as enemy combatants. Drone strikes assume anyone in the vicinity of a drone strike of military age to be a enemy combatant first and then when sufficient intelligence is available to the contrary, they are posthumously declared civilians (Balko, 2012). In a likewise fashion, arrests were also made based on the very broad physical description of an age group, or depending on where they are and who they interact with, were picked up after being accused of terrorism. Next, consider the location of their detention. Accused terrorists were detained at prison, run by US military personnel backed by US administration; set up in a foreign land i. . Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The single reason for maintaining such an institution away from US soil was to escape the jurisdiction of laws that govern detainees which would apply if held on US soil. Laws of detention stipulate not only the kind of treatment but also the punishment meted out to convicted terrorists. The captors were free to torture their captives in any way they saw fit to gather any amount of relevant information, regardless of whether the person accused is an actual terrorist holding any real information to share. Terms such as enhanced interrogation techniques had to be invented to pass them as legal and humane methods in congress. Add to this polarized scenario, the suspension of the one single law that could serve as the difference between life and death of an innocent civilian – the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus. The suspension took away with it the only chance an innocent civilian had to prove his innocence. In short, simply standing at the wrong place at the wrong time can get you to serve a lifetime of torture with not even a hint of a fair trial. Naturally, concern about the handling of such detainees grew and petitions filed by family and friends of detainees finally began to reach the courts. The Supreme Court finally in a landmark case of Boumediene v. Bush ruled against the suspension of habeas corpus for the detainees with a 5-4 majority. It declared that the suspension of the writ was indeed unconstitutional. Justice Kennedy who ruled with the majority supported his stand with examples from the history of the writ back in the 12th century and its recent applicability in territories outside the border of US but still falling in its control, such as Chanel Islands. His summary also compared the legality of this writ in Scotland, which is a sovereign nation and yet still under English laws. Once US jurisdiction was proved, Justice Scoter, Ginsburg and Bryer pointed out that it would have to be one that was based on the constitution or no jurisdiction at all. Justice Scalia argued that the habeas corpus law was in fact protected by the Detainee Treatment Act, and refuted the entire judicial intervention. He was supported by Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Alito and Thomas. The Justices did a fine job of evaluating the suspension of the writ. From establishing jurisdiction and what kind of jurisdiction, to an alternate mechanism to protect the habeas corpus in spirit, all avenues were thoroughly investigated. The courts also recognized the extremely difficult nature of assessing an individual in a warzone to be a combatant or a civilian in a foreign location. And yet, the writ cannot be suspended out of fear of failure in acquiring adequate proof against the detainee. Personally, I feel strongly that the writ of habeas corpus is a right so basic that it cannot be suspended in any scenario. The very least an accuser can do is to offer a fair trial to the accused. I feel that the President was wrong to remove the last ray of hope of an innocent civilian that might have been unfairly detained. The case also established the judicial soundness of our nation even at times of war, and the entire exercise in judiciary coming in between the functioning of Congress was an example to the world. Denying such a basic right makes us no different than the terrorists who accuse and punish others that broadly fit their own enemy description. Living as a part of a civilized nation for over 200 years, we owe it to ourselves to act in a dignified manner, even with our captives.

Hawthornes Young Goodman Brown and History Essay

â€Å"Young Goodman Brown† and History Q. D. Leavis states that â€Å"perhaps the persecuting aspect of their way of life was peculiarly present to Hawthorne because of the witch-hanging judge and the Quaker-whipping Major among his ancestors† (30). This is a reference to one instance of historical allusion in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s â€Å"Young Goodman Brown.† This essay will explore a variety of historical incidences referred to in this short story. Clarice Swisher in â€Å"Nathaniel Hawthorne: a Biography† states: William Hathorne was a colonial magistrate involved in the persecution of Quakers, another Protestant religious group. Hawthorne later described him as â€Å"grave, bearded, sable-cloaked, and†¦show more content†¦And it was I that brought your father a pitch-pine knot, kindled at my own hearth, to set fire to an Indian village, in King Philips War. They were my good friends, both; and many a pleasant walk have we had along this path, and returned merrily after midnight. Notice the allusion to the historical episode from Hawthorne’s life mentioned by Leavis and Swisher above. In addition to the Quaker incident from the author’s past, there is also the tragedy of the witch-hanging judge in his past, also mentioned by Leavis and Swisher above. Wagenknecht states in Nathaniel Hawthorne that, of the three Salem women mentioned in â€Å"Young Goodman Brown,† two of these were hanged; all three were accused in 1692 (60). Wagenknecht continues: â€Å"When the devil speaks of his intimacy with Brown’s ancestors and of their cruelty toward Quakers and Indians, Hawthorne is clearly thinking of his own forbears† (60). Thus it is seen that the historicity of these short story episodes is well established. A proper, accurate interpretation of â€Å"Young Goodman Brown† depends on the reader’s knowledge of an historical occurrence from June of 1692, when a group of important Boston clergymen issued a statement which declared that it was â€Å"an undoubted and notorious thing, that a demon may, by God’s permission, appear, even to ill purposes, in the shape of an innocent, yea, and a virtuous man† (60). The parallel to this historic declaration is found inShow MoreRelated Morality and Hawthornes Young Goodman Brown Essay1146 Words   |  5 PagesYoung Goodman Brown was published in 1835, when Nathaniel Hawthorne was 31 years old. Hawthorne was born and reared in Salem, Massachusetts, a village still permeated by its 17th century Puritanism. When he was four, Hawthornes father   died, and from that point on he was surrounded mostly by females: two sisters, a maiden aunt, and a retiring mother who was not close to her children. 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There is a psychological aspect of the story in that the man’s fall is unavoidable. The narration contains metaphoric and literal journey of the newlywed male character. However, he is making the treacherous journey with the devil himself therefore creating a spiritual crisis. Goodman Brown’s decision is ambiguous to his audience becauseRead MoreYoung Goodman Brown: The Evils of Puritanism Essay1728 Words   |  7 PagesPuritanism dominated 17th century history and literature. Nathaniel Hawthorne born in 1804 was an American writer who sought to resolve his conflicts with Puritanism through hi s writing. Hawthorne wrote several stories showing the world the horrors of the Puritan faith and the isolation of individuals who failed to uphold the faith. For Hawthorne, Young Goodman Brown illustrates the difference between Puritan teaching and practicing and reflects his own guilt about the mistreatment of men at theRead MoreNathaniel Hawthorne s Young Goodman Brown1492 Words   |  6 PagesIn Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story of Young Goodman Brown, the author uses symbolism and allegories in order to showcase the Puritan faith as well as man’s conflict between good and evil. This analysis will breakdown the techniques that the author uses to critique the puritan society, and to show the difference between how people appear to be in society and the true colors that they are hidden inside of them. There has been a lot of great authors in our time, but none more interesting than NathanielRead More Ambiguity in Hawthornes Young Goodman Brown Essay1743 Words   |  7 PagesAmbiguity in â€Å"Young Goodman Brown†Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚         There is no end to the ambiguity in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s â€Å"Young Goodman Brown†; this essay hopes to explore this problem.    Peter Conn in â€Å"Finding a Voice in an New Nation† makes a statement regarding Hawthorne’s ambiguity:      Almost all of Hawthorne’s finest stories are remote in time or place. The glare of contemporary reality immobillized his imagination. He required shadows and half-light, and he sought a nervous equilibriumRead MoreAnalysis Of Hawthorne s The Forest 1013 Words   |  5 Pages Another aspect of Hawthorne’s ancestors is that they were Puritans. The Puritan belief is finely interwoven in his story. According to Michael E. McCabe, â€Å"Puritan doctrine taught that all men are totally depraved and require constant self – examination to see that they are sinners and unworthy of God’s Grace† (1). Brown’s experience in the forest, is, in a sense, not a dream. Instead, Brown is looking deep into his soul in search of the inner evilness and whether he is worthy of â€Å"God’s Grace.† The