Animal Testing Essay Example for Free

Animal Testing Essay Interest in animal welfare goes back to the 1800’s (Assem Int). â€Å"Every year tens of thousands of animals suffer and die of laboratory test of cosmetics and household products despite the fact that the test results do not help prevent or treat purposeful misuse of the products (â€Å"Quotes† Int). Every year millions of animals are poisoned, blinded and killed during experiments to evaluate the toxicity of consumer products and their ingredients (â€Å"Testing† Int.). Animal Testing is cruel and inhumane (Teasdale Int). Scientists perform experiments on animals for two reasons: Toxicity and biological research (â€Å"Fact† Int). Sufficient existing data, as well as in vitro, test tube, alternatives make animal testing unnecessary (â€Å"Animal† Int). Non-animal research methods include clinical research; epidemiology and cellular methods are more affective, accurate and less time consuming (â€Å"Facts† Int). I believe that animal testing is wrong and if there are alternatives for research then there’s no explanation for why people should hurt of kill animals. To prove my thesis I will explain the History, Laws, Beliefs, Quotes, Statistics, Types and number of animals, Types of test, Results, Alternatives, and lastly my own opinion on the whole subject! The Law states that animal testing for cosmetics has been banned in a number of European Union Countries (Int). Europe is phasing out animal testing but the U.S has thus far failed to follow suit (â€Å"Cosmetics† Int). No Law requires animal testing of cosmetics or personal care and household products, so manufactures of these products have no excuse for inflicting suffering on animals (â€Å"Testing† Int). Laws regulating federal animal welfare act does not cover animals during tests no matter how long the test may go (Int). I believe that if the U.S has not yet banned animal testing that they probably never will. I also believe that if there is no laws stating that animals have to be used why use them in tests!!!! Buss 2 People have their own opinions on many different things. Some people believe that animal testing is unnecessary, poor scientific practice, poorly regulated, and costs over weigh alleged benefits (â€Å"Animal† Int). The tests they do on animals are not reliable in determining chemical effects on humans (â€Å"Testing† Int). In addition to being cruel and unreliable animal tests tend to be more expensive than alternative methods, making them both unkind and inefficient (Int). The suffering and death of these animals is entirely unnecessary in the making of products like shampoo, eye shadow, and toilet cleaner (Int). Some Quotes spoken by important people about animal testing include: Edwards Freemans quote stating â€Å"The awful wrongs and sufferings forced upon innocent, helpless, faithful animal race form the blackest chapter in the world† (â€Å"Quotes† Int). Another quote from George Eliot states â€Å"Animals are such agreeable friends they ask no questions they pass no criticism† (Int). Mahatma Gandki says, â€Å"The greatness of the nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated (Int). As Leonardo Da Vinci once said, â€Å"The time will come when men will look upon the murder of animals as they now look at the murder of men† (Int). â€Å"He who is cruel to animal becomes hard also in his dealings with men.† We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment to animals†, says Immanuel Kant (Int). Buss 3 Some statistics include that animal testing is wrong because 65% of the animal tests that have been passed on animals have killed hundreds of people and the animals die for no reason (Teasdale Int). For example, Nicotine is lethal to humans at 0.9 mg/kg but in dogs it is a staggering 9.2 mg/kg, in pigeons 75mg/kg and in rats 53mg/kg (â€Å"Cruelty† Int). Also of the 198 drugs that went to the market in the decade ending in 1985, 102 or 51% turned out to be more dangerous than pre market items (â€Å"Fact† Int). That has caused  ¼ of the 126 U.S medical schools including Yale, Georgetown, and others have dropped all animal laboratories from their curriculum. Allot of animal testing statistics come from the types of animals used and number used per year. There had been a sharp rise in the number of farm animals used more than doubling 32,200 in 1994 to 75,100 in 2004 (â€Å"Fact† Int). The number of rats used has fallen remarkably since the use of farm animals. Although the number of animals dropped steadily from the mid 1970’s there has been a small rise from 2001-2005 (Int). Each year in the U.S an estimated 20-70 million animals from cats, dogs, rats, mice and primates suffer and die (Int). It has been an estimated that as many as 100 million mice are used in laboratories each year (â€Å"Animal† Int). In the U.S testing on vertebrates is primarily regulated by the 1966 animal welfare act (Int). I feel getting the animal for the wild is a little better than getting them from a breeding facility because they aren’t usually nice and friendly. I also believe it is morally wrong to kill animals to figure out the toxicity of products when sometimes the products could kill humans. There are many questions about why they test on animals and what the names of the tests are. They test on animals to understand how humans and other animals function in the process called fundamental biological research (â€Å"Fact† Int). The toxicology tests whether substances used by humans such as drugs have the desired effect without at the same time poisoning them (Int). Many shampoos and other personal care products under go safety testing before they are made available to consumers (â€Å"Cosmetics† Int). Few useful cancer fighting therapies on animals resulted in cancer death rates to continue to climb (â€Å"Fact† Int). For example animal tests in the war on cancer have been a large failure. Some test that they do are LD50 or Lethal Dose Fifty, which refers to the lethal dose that is required to kill 50% of all animals in a test group of 40-200 (Int). Another test is the skin irritancy test. The last test they do is called the Draize Test. Those are the tests they inflict on poor animals. Buss 4 There are very shocking results that come with animal testing. Many animal tests produce results that are relevant to human health (â€Å"Fact† Int). Animals and humans differ in medically important ways, and often tests produce misleading results (Int). A product that made a test animal go blind could very well be sold to you (â€Å"Testing† Int). Animal experiments in stroke research led to false conclusion, waste of time, and research funds (Int). Animal tests are poor predictors of the efforts of other drugs as well (Int). In addition different species react differently to various substances, substances that fail to damage a rabbits and may be toxic to a human (â€Å"Cruelty† Int). Ironically these tests are rarely used in situations of actual human poisoning (Int). Even though manufactures use animals to test on there are other methods that can be used they are called alternatives. The non-animal test results have in fact proven themselves more accurate, and less expensive than those involving animal cruelty (Int). Many alternatives are classified under the three R’s: Reduction, Refinement, and replacement of animals with non animal methods (Int). In most cases non-animal methods take less time, cost only a fraction, and are not plagued with specie differences that make extrapolation difficult or impossible (â€Å"Cruelty† Int). The Avon cosmetic company has personally endorsed the Eytex system as an alternative to the powerful Draize test (â€Å"Cruelty† Int). Episkin and Epiderm have also been scientifically accepted around the world as a total replacement of animals (â€Å"Testing† Int). Instead of animal testing they could also use computer vital organs that serve as accurate models of the human body (Int). I bel ieve that if there is an alternative why not use it. I believe that if alternatives are less costly and more affective then manufactures shouldn’t choose animals as there test subjects. It is cruel and inhumane!!! Buss 5 In conclusion, I believe that animal testing is cruel, mean, and non-human like. Now I would like to point out some key facts and quotes from my paper. Scientists perform experiments for toxicology and biological research (â€Å"Facts† Int). Also that Europe is phasing out on animal testing and that the U.S has thus far failed to follow (â€Å"Cosmetics† Int). Another main point in my paper is laws regulating conditions for laboratory animals are minimal and poorly enforced (â€Å"Fact† Int). â€Å"The greatness of the nation and its moral progress can be judged b the way its animals are treated, Mahatma Gandki (Int). Every year 100 million mice are used in laboratory tests (â€Å"Animal† Int). Over 3 million animals have been tormented all in the name of research. If you really care about animals talk to your local stores and ask them if the supply necessity’s that have not undergone animal testing. Or just look for labels that say â€Å"No Animal Testing† or â€Å"Vegan† (â€Å"Cosmetics† Int). That is why I believe that animal testing is wrong and inhumane!!! What is your viewpoint on this subject! Works Cited â€Å"Animal Testing.† 2008. Animaltestingfacts. 28 March. 2008. http://www.animaltestingfacts.zoomshare.com â€Å"Animal Testing.† 2008. Answers.com.24 March.2008. http://www.answersanimaltesting.com â€Å"Animal Testing.† 2008. Api4animals.20 March. 2008. Http://www.Api4adnimals.com â€Å"Animal Testing.† CosmeticsPersonalcare.12 Oct. 2004. Grinningplanet.com.18 April.2008. www.grinningplanet,com/2004/10-12/cosmetics-animal-testing-article.htm â€Å"Assem, Louise. â€Å" Alternatives to animal testing. 14 Jan.2008. Infotrac.com. 28 March 2008.

Economic Reform in Russia Essay -- Economics History USSR Essays

Economic Reform in Russia Formerly the preeminent republic of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, Russia has been an independent nation since the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. Because of its great size, its natural resources, and its political domination, the Russian Federation played a leading role in the economy of the Soviet Union. In the years preceding the disintegration of the union in 1991, the economy of Russia and the union as a whole was in decline. In 1992, immediately after the separation, the Russian government implemented a series of radical reforms. Price controls were abolished as the beginning of a transition from a centrally controlled economy to a market economy. An immediate series of sharp price increases caused extreme hardships for the Russian people. Inventor of the fictional five-year plan, the fake harvest, Russia introduced another novel economic concept in 1996. It was a society modeled after the capitalist society. High expectations of economic growth even with â€Å"shock therapy†--unemployment, social discontent and opportunities for corruption; influence of western politicians and the U.S. policy; and failing to completely reform the communistic system were some factors to why some became rich but led many to misery and an early death. Despite the huge infusions of Western money, millions of ordinary Russians struggled to survive in an economy neither capitalist nor communist, but something brand new and strange, which ultimately led to the failure of economic reform in Russia. In the fall of 1996, Boris Yeltsin won the presidential election in Russia. He was viewed as the personification of reform in Russia.... who had vanquished the Communist dragon during the hard-line coup attempt of August 1991 -- and the leader best placed to introduce democratic, market-oriented reforms. In the same year Yeltsin became the President of Russia, the U.S. ambassador to Russia, Thomas R. Pickering, predicted by the fall of 1999, Russia would be one of America’s top trading partners. But in fact, three years after Pickering addressed his farewell speech to the American Chamber of commerce in Moscow, Russia ranked thirtieth in the list of American trading partners. In 1998, Russia’s gross national product plummeted by nearly fifty percent over the last decade. More than sixty million Russians, which is nearly half... ...d the International Monetary Fund assistance but the attempt at capitalist society was not successful. To the beleaguered people of Russia, certainties of old-style communism seemed attractive. A joke on the streets of Moscow, according to World Bank staffer John Nellis, was: "Everything the Communists told us about communism was a complete and utter lie. Unfortunately, everything the Communists told us about capitalism turned out to be true." The establishment of a free-market may require decades to accomplish since this quick attempt was not successful. The economy of Russia did not improve as speculated. Due to years of practicing communism, the Russian people experienced â€Å"shock therapy† when a free-market was in action. Another explanation was: because of constant U.S. influence, Russia was never at a state where they decided on the major decisions until the end. And finally, capitalism never worked in Russia because they did not fully let go of communism. After experiencing many hardships, the Russian people are confused as to what will work in their country full of resources yet lack of economic stability. Maybe the answer is a return to state controlled industries.

Four Seasons Hotels Essay

The Four Seasons Company, as per current financial, seems very profitable and the earnings per share are increasing each year. From 1997 to 1998 EPS increased by 66% and from 1998 to 1999 it increased by 22%, actually from 1997 to 1999, the value has more than doubled. The main reason for the increase seems to be a total net earnings increase of 112% in two years. (See Exhibit # 1 for figures). This is a result of increase in revenues and also because costs increased less than revenues. This indicates that in addition to higher sales, efficiency improvements have been effective as yearly costs for operating items dropped 68% and the interest costs also have decreased by 105%, making it interest income. Based on this information, the company is recommended to continue their emphasis on high personal service and quality for their hotels as the customer base are not price sensitive but concerned about service and luxury. It is important to have non-complaining, satisfied customers as this  group is more satisfied than those where service recovery is needed, even when service recovery is performed at a high level. Also, satisfied customers are more loyal and a key to continue having a financially strong company. A key to this development is to continue to focus on employee satisfaction and employment procedures as this is resulting in low turnover (compared to the industry average), highly experienced and motivated staff and consequently excellent service. Also, the strong financials support FSH’s (costly) growth strategy, and would further indicate that the company has the ‘back-bone’ to support such a strategy. 3.0 Leverage the website for marketing purposes The Four Season Hotel (â€Å"FSH†) should further leverage their impressive website. First, they should maximize the site for mass – marketing purposes. For example, the site would allow customers to appreciate all FSH properties, and a customer who has never seen a FSH can view rooms, conference halls, restaurants etc. The website can further provide up-to-date information on vacancies, promotions, city tours etc. This same information could be updated at any time to reflect specials across respective FSH. For instance, the Milan hotel might anticipate low vacancy one week, and could attempt to fill some vacancies by listing a Milan resident special on the site e.g. with a two night stay and get a free dinner in the restaurant. Internal marketing is another great possibility for the FSH, as long as the â€Å"high – tech† is followed by â€Å"high – touch†, and the system is not used to replace the human element. The intranet site should focus on cost-saving promotions, healthy competition between across respective FSH’s, employee feedback pages etc. Management should use the intranet as an additional medium to disseminate information to employees and as a means to obtain information from employees. An easy to use e-commerce site for the hotel would be interesting for select  Four Season’s customers. Again, this should not replace the â€Å"high – touch† that the FSH brand is identified with, but rather add another convenience for its customers. For example, some customers like making their reservation via the Internet and having an additional option with regards to making a hotel booking could turn out positively. 4.0 Establish and manage a common customer awareness database The hotel should change the existing database containing guest preferences into a centralized database available to all FHS properties. This should be deemed a high priority. It would be a typical one-time fix to enhance customer satisfaction and for implementation it could leverage FSH’s existing intranet platform. The main driver for a change of this sort would be its potential to further improve the FSH’s customer service. For example, as existing FSH customers are highly concerned about time there should be no need for them to fill in forms with preferences for each new hotel they arrive at. Also, it would be perceived as impressive for the customer arriving at a new hotel where the personnel would already know their preferences. This would increase the feeling of intimacy and personal touch during the hotel stay and consequently enhance customer loyalty and satisfaction. Additionally, the fact that only 9% of Four Season’s hotel guests are using multiple properties should not lower the importance of making such a change. In fact, 9% of their customer base means that approximately 400.000 customers each year use multiple Four Seasons Hotels. (See Exhibit #1) Also, the positive word-of-mouth this change would bring will most likely increase the number of guests staying at multiple properties. Furthermore, as the hotel has a growth strategy, the number of hotels and rooms will continue to increase and as such enhance the need for the common database. Also, in addition to customer satisfaction, having one database for all hotels would decrease costs for the chain in the long run as it will not have to maintain 50+ different databases. 5.0 Four Season’s management should solicit select feedback from customers. The idea here is quite simple and essentially comes down to ensuring that the hotel maintains its brand. The FSH has done very well by establishing a strong brand and enjoys a high % of repeat customers. Management and employees alike know what the Four Seasons stands for and the experience they aim to offer the customer. That said, and as technology races forward it is important for businesses to leverage it where possible and ‘profitable’. The key for the Four Seasons is to leverage it in a way that does not negatively impact their brand i.e. detract from the overall customer experience offered by Four Season’s employees, which is highly personal, intimate and customer oriented. For example, management could solicit feedback from customers as to whether they would use an automated (electronic) checkout service and whether customers view this as something consistent with the Four Season’s brand. This selective feedback could be centralized at first in that it is sponsored by the corporate office (so as to solicit feedback that could be leveraged across all properties) and then ‘tweaked’ per location to take into consideration cultural specifics etc. Findings could be leveraged across properties and stored in the central database to eventually maintain, reinforce and ultimately improve the Four Season’s brand, customer experience and ultimate profitability. 6.0 Implement a â€Å"Seasons Pass Loyalty Program† Enhancing Customer Loyalty. Implementing a Loyalty program contributes to making guests feeling special, which undoubtedly makes a difference in his or her experience. A loyalty program could even extend to other value chain partners, thereby, allowing for further tracking of guest preferences. Without a loyalty program, FSH loses out on building strong relationships with its guests. As switching costs are minimal, loyalty is low unless a competitor differentiates and thereby increases its odds of attracting return guests. In order to compete successfully within this tier, a reputable brand name is imperative, which also represents a significant barrier to entry for potential new entrants. The common database will undoubtedly enhance the relationships because clients enjoy the sense of community that is established when being part of a loyalty club. Therefore it is important to have mechanisms in place to ensure guests to remain loyal to FSH and choose the company as his or her accommodation provider. To facilitate this, the hotel should introduce a frequent guest card, the ‘Seasons Pass’, which will serve two functions: 1. Track guest activities within FSH so that their preferences can be recorded. 2. Allow guests to collect points every time they stay at a Four Seasons property and use them towards service companies affiliated with Four Seasons, creating loyalty as a result. It will also aid individual FSH locations to better understand which facilities within the hotel or resort are the most sought after and will be able to segment the information based on the region of the world or type of consumer (leisure or business). Through partnering with external companies such as high-end car rental companies, airlines, and travel agencies, FSH will be able to offer guests a solution to every decision they may encounter during their stay. Thus the Seasons Pass and the networked database will ultimately be the bridge to building and maintaining positive guest relationships. Exhibit 1: Financial data for the Four Seasons Hotels – EOY 1997 to EOY 1999: Exhibit # 2: Number of customers using multiple Four Season Hotels each year * Assumed average coverage rate through the year is based on information in case, â€Å"The Roccoco New York Hotel† by Anna S. Mattila. Using the rate accomplished by the Roccoco New York boutique hotel. ** As no information of number of customers per room is provided, one per room is assumed.

Children Are Becoming Extremely Spoiled - 965 Words

Children are being babied way too much. Children are becoming extremely spoiled; to the point of no return. An end needs to be put to this before an inevitable catastrophe occurs! If ever given the chance, it is quite frightening to think about where this generations kids will stand a few years from now, is it not? Something needs to be done. Our world cannot afford more spoiled children. â€Å"A spoiled child is undisciplined, manipulative, and unpleasant to be with much of the time† (Schmitt). With the way our society is now, kids are becoming very spoiled which is forming them to be narcissistic children. Do we really want more people like Donald Trump? For goodness sake, the man believes a loan of one million dollars to be small! Is that what we want? Well if parenting continues the way it is, that’s what society will get. Spoiling will form youngsters into becoming selfish little pampered brats, and pampered children are problematic for parents; as well as for future children, adults, or others they will encounter along the path of their everyday lives in the future. â€Å"Spoiled children run into trouble by the time they reach school age. Other children do not like them because they are too bossy and selfish. Adults do not like them because they are rude and make excessive demands. Eventually spoiled children become hard for even parents to love because of their behavior† (Schmitt). This is why it is crucial for our society to make future parents aware of the need of parentingShow MoreRelatedSpoiled Rotten By Elizabeth Kolbert817 Words   |  4 PagesSpoiled and rotten, words that in most people minds describe a trust fund no good brat that never did hard day work due to their parents doing everything for them, and giving them everything they ever wanted. 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