A Character Study Of Patrick Bateman Essay Example for Free

A Character Study Of Patrick Bateman Essay This character study focuses on is Patrick Bateman, the anti-hero protagonist of American Psycho, an often misunderstood satire of the upper class American lifestyle by Bret Easton Ellis. The book is set in New York in the 1980s, and let the reader see through the eyes of the protagonist himself by using first narrative. Therefore when reading the novel it feels as if one is reading a diary, although there are no strict time intervals between each chapter. The storyline is very simple. The novel depicts the everyday life of Patrick Bateman with every minute detail. We are put right into a typical scene of Batemans life straightaway at the start when we see him and his friends at a posh dinner party. Immediately we get the idea that he is very rich and lives his life in style. The foods at the dinner party are exotic and Bateman couldnt help keep showing off his platinum American Express Card. Like his friends, he loves to mock homeless people and those less fortunate than him. One of his favourite tricks is to pretend handing a dollar note to a beggar and then taking it away in the last second whilst taking pleasure from the disappointment of his victim. He also possesses some good qualities. For example, he is extremely intelligent and shows disgust in discrimination of any kind, provided that those people are on the same level as him. He even ridiculed a colleague for his anti-Semitic comments. However these good qualities are actually a fai ade, hiding his true personality. Contrary to what appears, he is strongly homophobic, racist, anti-Semitic and unfair to women. This can be demonstrated by his opinion of rap music, describing it as too niggerish. His views on women were they are only there to help men carry on the human race. Patrick Bateman is also very health conscious. Except for an occasional cigar, he does not smoke and loathes others who do. He also imposes a strict healthy foods regime on himself. His regime is somewhat similar to a vegans. He eats mostly fruit and almost never meat, with a special emphasis on exotic foods. His favourites include kiwi fruit paste and Japanese apple-pears, costing him an inordinate amount for each. To complement his dietary regime, Bateman frequently utilizes his exclusive, private health centre named Xclusive. Furthermore, he uses a wide range of health care products and medicines. These are actually Ellis exaggeration of what happens in real life, where the social elites desperately try and keep themselves healthy, with any means possible. During the day Bateman can be seen as a normal upper class person, but during the night things are completely different. When asked about what he does during the night, he replies I have to return some video tapes. This has become the euphemism of his night-time activities. At night, he indulges himself in murdering innocents and raping unfortunate individuals. Sometimes the shock of doing these things gets to him, and he starts to have panic attacks. Its during these panic attacks we see really how weak he is. He often confesses his crimes to total strangers. However they always ignore him and think its a joke. This, combined with how characters in the book often mistakes one person for another, is Ellis way of representing how in the modern world we dont really care about who we are talking to. One thing that cannot be ignored about the novel is how explicit it is. Rapes, murders and grotesque actions are described with nothing left out. For example, in one of the scenes Patrick Bateman drinks his own urine and in another scene, he cuts out the eyes of a homeless person. To give you an idea of what the language is like, heres an extract from the book: I push the serrated blade into its [a dogs] stomach and quickly slice open its hairless belly in a squirt of brown blood, its legs kicking and clawing at me, then blue and red intestines bulge out and I drop the dog onto the sidewalk. He [the owner] just stare in horror saying oh my god oh my god as the sharpei drags itself around in a circle, its tail wagging, squealing, and it starts licking and sniffing the pile of its own intestines, spilled out in a mound on the sidewalk, some still connected to its stomach. From this you can see how graphical the book is. Unfortunately this is only a small piece of the whole story and this extract is the most weak in terms of disgust in the book. This simply enforces the idea of how demented and psychotic Patrick Bateman is. The irony of the novel is that Bateman does completely opposite things whilst insisting what he does is always right. For example, he often mocks his colleagues for making discriminatory comments, but he is secretly just as discriminatory. While he outlandishly keeps himself fit and healthy, he abuses cocaine and anti-depressants. This is the core of Ellis satire, where he makes fun of the upper class, which insists on their perfection but actually is ignorant on how imperfect they are. Also in the novel Bateman dedicates a single chapter plus many parts of other chapters detailing his material wealth. Also he tirelessly compares his belongings to those of someone else. Indeed in one scene he discovered that another persons business card was of a better quality and design than his and thus started to have intense jealousy for that person. This can be interpreted as Ellis satire directed at the greed of humans and our desperate struggle to have the best of everything. After he commits his final murder, Bateman does not feel good and high as he described it. Instead, he feels nothing. Not even killing can satisfy him now. It is astounding how he was never suspected of any of the numerous murders he committed. At the end we discover that he may have imagined all his acts of atrocity. This deliberate ambiguity is the only mercy Ellis has for this truly evil character. Despite this, I pity Patrick Bateman, for he tried to find pleasure, like we all do but in other ways, and failing to do so. In the end, he is left hollow with no emotion left whatsoever. Its pitiful how one can become mentally deranged on ones quest for personal gain.

Relationship Between Feminism And Fashion Cultural Studies Essay

Relationship Between Feminism And Fashion Cultural Studies Essay During this essay I am going to discuss fashion and feminism and the question, can you be a feminist and still be fashionable? I am going to discuss and compare different arguments on the relationship between feminism and fashion. When most people hear the word feminist they automatically draw up a conclusion of tough looking women with short hair, mannish clothes and no bra. The reality is any women can be a feminist whether a school teacher, business women, model or porn star. When feminism first came about during the nineteenth century the main focus was for equal rights for men and women. During this time feminists managed to grant the right for women to vote as well as getting more equal rights in education and the workplace. Although this wave was massively important in equal rights for women there was still a lot of issues unresolved, especially unofficial inequalities. This is where the second wave of feminism comes in. The second wave of feminism, beginning in the 1960s, was concerned with full social and economic equality. During this wave feminists encouraged women to look into aspects of their personal lives and the structure of power. The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan was and still is regarded as one of the most influential books of the 20th century paying great detail to suburban housewives and how unhappy they were, Each women thought she was alone, it was her personal guilt if she didnt have an orgasm waxing the family-room floorà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦no matter how much she had wanted that husband, those children, that split level suburban house and the appliances thereof, which were supposed to be the limits of womens dreams in those years after World War II, she sometimes felt the longing for something more. (Friedan, 1963: Chapter 2) The last wave of feminism, the third wave, which started in the 1990s and still affects us today. This wave has two cultures, the first believes all advertisement, media, photography, showing women in a sexual way should be banned. The second believes women are allowed to wear what they want and act as they please and still be highly successful both in the home and workplace. Above is a photograph taken from a collection of photographs for an advertisement campaign by the designer Tom Ford from his Spring/Summer 2008 collection. Tom ford is known for his more provocative advertisement campaigns and for this particular campaign he collaborates with photographer Terry Richardson to feature a collection of photographs featuring both male and female models partaking in different activities, the majority of these done in the nude; more often than not it is the female models that are the naked ones whilst the men are fully clothed dressed in smart, dapper suits. In Italy these advertisements were actually banned for being sexually implicit (Eswaran, 2008)and the IAA (Italian Advertising Institute) said about them that they were Deeply vulgar and went beyond bad taste to actually offend the publics sensibilityà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦it does beyond acceptable limits for advertising (Eswaran, 2008)and concluded by saying how the advertisements are an offensive gesture whic h insults women and the dignity of all.'(Eswaran, 2008) The photograph above shows a naked woman ironing a mans trousers, a typical household chore which is stereotyped as a womens job, whilst he stands around waiting for her to finish whilst reading a newspaper. When the advertisements first appeared it sparked a whole new debate on the misogynistic, hatred for women, representations of women. Feminists viewed the photographs as shocking and extremely sexist. Many a comment has also been made on how they represent the post feminism culture in which feminism acts have been weakened by popular culture such as fashion, music and the media. Figure Two. Tom Ford Advertisement S/S 2008 Above is another photograph from the same campaign in which a female model is made to look much like a blow up sex doll. It is also interesting to see how you cannot see her as a whole person, but just certain body parts, making her more to be an object than an actual human being. Now although these images were highly credited as being extremely sexist, one blogger stated how they hate the ones with the naked women being stared at by clothed menthat bothers me.'(Fairy glamour, 2008) and another stating that they are both tasteless and gratuitous (Edanya, 2008) they can also be looked upon in the eyes of the third wave of feminism in which women are allowed to wear what they want and act as they please and still be highly successful both in the home and workplace. Angela McRobbie backs up this idea but saying how feminist views are rather out-dated and the modern women enjoys the freedom of her sexuality and gets the joke (McRobbie, 2007: 33) seeing sexism as almost ironic. Whilst Natasha Walter author of Living Dolls: The return of sexism states that, Since the idea has taken hold that women and men are now equal throughout society, it is seen as unproblematic that women should be relentlessly encouraged to prioritise their sexual attractivenessà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦this is a free choice by women who are in all other ways equal to men. (Walter, 2010: 119) Looking at Tom Fords Spring/Summer 2010 advertisement he has done much of the same thing showing a completely naked woman alongside a fully clothed man. The bad press around the 2008 campaign could not have affected him that much if he has gone on to do much of the same thing again. Maybe they are meant to be viewed as a light hearted tongue in cheek joke rather than a misogynistic representation of women. Figure Three. Dolce and Gabbana Advertisement S/S 2010 Above is the next image I am going to discuss, taken from the Dolce Gabbana Spring/Summer 2010 campaign featuring Madonna. The images, which were shot by photographer Steven Klein, are a series of photographs of the celebrity in a domestic setting carrying out daily tasks such a cleaning. A whole article on Madonna.com is dedicated to the photographs and the inspiration behind them. They talk about the campaign and the reason behind the choice of shoot, describing it as showing the iconic depictions of strong, tender and naturally beautiful women. (Milan, 2009) The article goes on to say, The intention of Dolce Gabbana is to recapture a womens human side, showcasing through these images how a womens femininity and sensuality can be found through the simplicity of daily gestures along with a passion for life. The new Dolce Gabbana campaign encourages a woman to cast aside fears of showcasing her femininity because it is where her true beauty resides. (Milan, 2009) Comments, made by Madonna fans, after the article read such things as really sensual and hot (Maverick78, 2009) and wow Madonna looks fabulous in the photograph a rustic charm (Lumb1, 2009). No one has seemed to have picked up on the fact that Madonna is in fact carrying out chores stereotyped to be a womens work and in fact appears to be representing everything feminism is against. This is because followers of fashion, whether a feminism or not are looking at the clothes she is wearing rather than the poses she is adapting. A caption from a website reads, Beautifully dressed and following the Italian family theme of the campaign, la Donna is giving her lowdown on how to wear unique tailored clothing at all occasions even the most unexpected ones. Indeed, you never know who will ring at the door while you are tidying up the house. Always prepared, always glamorous, as shown by Madonna, femininity and sensuality do not belong to specific time slots: it is a permanent state of dressing. (swide, 2010) Therefore it could be argued that, like the Tom Ford advertisement, this Dolce Gabbana one is simply a tongue in cheek take on feminism and the modern women, even taking Betty Friedans orgasm waxing the family-room floor (Friedan, 1963: Chapter 2) comment a little too literally. I am now going to move onto even more present day and the pop stars many of us idolise. Figure Four. Lady Gaga Telephone Video 2010 Figure Four. Lady Gaga Rolling Stone Cover 2010 Both of the above photographs are of current pop star Lady Gaga. Gaga is one of the biggest selling pop stars of the moment and idolised by girls, women, boys and men.The first photograph is a still from her music videoTelephone, official music video. The video starsthe pop star dancing around in not much clothing and acting provocative; parts of the video were in fact censored for more appropriate day time viewing. Gagas police caution tape costume, if you can call it that, was designed by L.A based designer Brian Lichtenberg. Although this costume can be viewed as shocking and shows women as more an object to stare at, an object of desire even to men, than a human being this outfit could also be seen as simply a way of self-expressionism. An interview between an editor of online Britannica encyclopedia and Philosopher Nancy Bauer talks about whether Gaga is in fact seen as a feminist figure. Bauer says of Gaga that, Lady Gaga strikes her fans as a liberating force: she seems to be able to transform what people ordinarily find oppressive into an opportunity for self-expression. You might say shes a specialist in the art of rack focus: she knows how to get a viewer to look at very familiar things in new and sometimes surprising ways. An obvious example is her outfitting herself in nothing but carefully placed police tape in the Telephone video. (Bauer 2010) Bauer also conducted an interview with Gaga herself who calls herself a bit of a feminist'(Bauer 2010) viewing feminists as a woman who is strong and powerful and has high self-esteem (Bauer 2010). The other photograph is from the cover of Rolling Stone magazine. This cover was shot by Terry Richardson, the man behind the Tom Ford 2008 advertisement campaign. Yet again she is dressed in next to nothing, looking very provocative. In the interview that accompanied the front cover she said in answer to one question that she considers herself to be a full on feminist. Bauer interpreted this as Gaga believing that one of being a feminist is to be a strong and powerful woman with high self-esteem is to talk brazenly and dress scantily, or at least in the way she does. (Bauer 2010) So in conclusion to my essay can you be a feminist and still be fashionable? I believe that you can. After all feminism is all about equal rights and women being able to be how they like and do as they please, being an individual. Fashion is an expression of individuality; it is the best way to show case to everyone around you that you are in fact an individual person. The models of the Tom Ford campaign, Madonna and Lady Gaga have not been told to act or dress that way they have chosen to do it, free will. After all fashion is a pleasure, and, I agree with Natasha Walter when she said that, Adult women were now free to choose to embrace aspects of femininity that second wave feminists had once seen as coercive, such as high heels and make-up (Walter, 2010: 129)

Doris Lessing :: Biography Biographies Essays

Doris Lessing Doris Lessing is considered a South African writer, although Africa is not the place of her birth. She was, in fact, born in Persia (now Iran) to British parents in 1919. As a child, she and her parents moved to Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), where she lived until 1949 (Sage, 15). White colonists had not previously settled in the part of Africa to which her family moved (Charters 894). In 1949 she moved to London where she still, apparently, resides. Lessing's life appears characterized by displacement. Charters tells us that "Lessing left school at the age of fourteen in rebellion against her mother" (894). Although neither Charters nor Lessing tell us for certain, it seems she may have been pushing against a representative of the colonialist mindset and way of life that she fought as an adult. Her unease with her status as a British national in Africa can be clearly seen in an event related by her biographer Lorna Sage in a quote from Lessing's "Being Prohibited," a piece written for The New Statesman. At the age of 16, Lessing was waiting in a train at a border crossing between Southern Rhodesia and South Africa. The forms she had been given to fill out at the border required her to declare nationality, birthplace, and other information. In this quotation, Lessing relates her discomfort at being one of the "Herrenvolk" (Sage 16): I had written on the form: Nationality, British, Race, European; and it was the first time in my life I had to claim myself as a member of one race and deny the others . . . The immigration man . . . looked suspiciously at my form for a long time before saying that I was in the wrong part of the train. I did not understand him. (I forgot to mention that where the form asked, Where were you born?, I had written, Persia.) "Asiatics," said he, "have to go to the back of the train†¦" "But," I said, "I am not an Asiatic." (Sage 16) For Lessing, this incident seemed to display her lack of a secure "place" in the world. Insecure in the role of British national, unable to be a "real" national of her adopted homeland, she is further separated by the place in which she was born. According to Sage, in the same piece Lessing investigates the idea that maybe "it was her Persian birth rather than her 'red' anti-racist politics that made her a prohibited alien" (16).

grendelbeo Epic of Beowulf Essay - The Evil of Grendel -- Epic Beowul

The Evil of Grendel in Beowulf The story of Beowulf, written during Anglo-Saxon times, is a classic epic tale between good versus evil.   It is a story that gives us insight into the values of the Anglo-Saxon people.   The Anglo-Saxons glorified heroism and the conquering of evil.   In the Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf, the character of Grendel symbolically represents evil through his setting and heritage, his hateful attitude toward men, and his vicious acts of murder. Grendel's heritage and setting are two things that attribute to Grendel's evilness.   In the story the author tells us that Grendel was a descendant of Cain(the son of Adam and Eve, who was cursed by God for killing his brother Abel).   The poet writes, "Conceived by a pair of those monsters born of Cain"(line 42-43).   The author makes the connection between the murderous Cain and the evil Grendel.   Even Grendel's lair is a pit of slime and filth.   "Grendel, who haunted the moors, the wild marshes, and made his home in a hell not hell but Earth.   He was spawned in that slime"(lines 39-41).   When the author uses lines like, "in a hell not hell but Earth"(line 40), it really helps to create this vivid image in your mind of this terrible lair that Grendel lives in.   He not only lives in the swamp, but also thrives in the darkness of the night.   "Out from the marsh, from the foot of misty hills and bogs, bearing God's hatred, Grendel came, ...He moved quickly through the cloudy night, ...his eyes gleamed in the darkness, burned with a gruesome light"(lines 363-367;378-380).   The poet shows how Grendel travels in the darkness of the night.   The night is used to symbolically represent evil.   The poet's descriptions of Grendel's evil and dark enviro... ...out legends, and that is why the story has survived through the ages.   It tells us of a powerful, terribly evil monster.   The descriptions of Grendel are so scary and evil that we can all draw our own vivid picture of him in our mind.   This monster represents all of the evil in the world, and the hero of the story represents everything good in the world. The story has survived because it is a story about good versus evil.   It is a story that we can relate to even now in modern times. Sources Clark, George. Beowulf. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1990. Fry, Donald K. "Introduction: The Artistry of Beowulf." In TheBeowulf Poet, edited by Donald K. fry. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1968. Robinson, Fred C. "Grendel's Evil." In Beowulf - Modern Critical Interpretations, edited by Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1987.

The Immortal Artist :: essays research papers

The immortal Artist Throughout the history of the world humans have been intrigued by a condition referred to as immortality. Immortality is the state in which one defies death, thus conquering the realm of being a mortal. Scientists have searched for ways to create this phenomenon. With there over thought out and complex ideas they had managed to overlook the obvious. People had been achieving immortality for years. The key is not in physical exesistance but in your actions, creations, and reputation which will live on long after you die. T.L. Lange, a reputable artist from Atlanta Georgia, once said "Music and art play the dominant roles in life. In the liberation from the self, the ripples which are left to be remembered. It is in this moment that we achieve immortality and imagine what goes well with corn flakes†¦." The visual Arts students at The North Carolina School of the Arts have utilized this knowledge in such a way so that their class has remained immortal. As a class, the class of 1986, the students composed a mural. Dr. Chaplin created the mural and gave each student a representation. He managed to re-create an image of each student through regenerating his or her image from a photograph. The canvas is divided into eighteen individual and distinct sections. Each section is devoted to one student picture or figure, and their mood or feelings in which they wanted to portray. The designer, Chaplin, gave the work a sense of unity by using all pure hue colors and geometric construction with illustrative organic shapes to create the students. The use of repetition in color and general shapes gives the piece an intimate since of unity that also pulls the students together in a metaphoric sense. The work is residing in the student commons. The commons is designed as a place for students to dine, relax and visit with their friends. Therefor this is an appropriate place for the painting because it helps create the feeling that they are relaxing with the students of today. The work is not at all accented by architectural lighting or by any frame, and is not put on a pedestal to be observed.

Airtread Case Writeup Essay

1. Ms. Zhang wanted to keep things simple by assuming a stock purchase using the maximum amount of leverage available to conduct the merger, and she assumed that the acquisition debt could consist of a single tranche amortizing monthly over 10 years, but with bullet payment to bring AirThread’s leverage ratios in line with those of the industry. So from 2008 to 2012, the D/E ratio of AirThread would change continuously until the bullet payment is paid, so we expect to use APV valutation method from 2008 to 2012, since it is more efficient to adjust the PV of FCF than to figure out the annual WACC. From 2013, the D/E ratio of AirThread would be in line with the industry, indicating the company will rebalance its D/E ratio, so we expect to use WACC method from then on to value AirThread. 2. Before we calculate the discount rate, we need to make the following assumptions: a. Since Ms. Zhang wanted to keep things simple by assuming a stock purchase using the maximum amount of leverage available and a debt to value ratio not exceeding 50%, so we calculate the initial D/E=100% which is the maximum leverage for AirThread under this scenario. b. AirThread neither rebalanced its capital structure during 2008 and 2012, nor did it keep its debt at a fixed level. It repays its debt monthly. However, the amount of debt repaid before the end of 2012 is small compared with the total amount of debt and the total bullet payment. So when we calculate debt cost of capital from 2008 to 2012, we assume that the debt maintains at a fixed amount till the end of 2012 and the periodic payments will not have effect on the debt cost of capital. In order to use APV method to value the company from 2008 to 2012, we need to figure out the unlevered cost of asset-R(U) and cost of debt at initialization-R(D08-12) to discount the FCF back to 2007. According to Rubinstein & Ross the interest rate of the bond should be 5.5% at the initial leverage, so RD08-12=5.5%. And we expect to use the market multiples to estimate RU. We can calculate Beta(D08-12) at the initial leverage by using CAPM model. So Beta(D08-12)=1.25%/5%=0.25, at D/E=100%. However, when the capital structure of AirThread is in line with the industry, the D/E ratio is approximately 40.1%, which is less than 100%, indicating less risk in debt after 2012 when the company was in line with the industry leverage. So we assume that AirThread’s debt beta after 2012-Beta(D12-)=0.125, also we can get equity beta-Beta(E12-)=1.00 from the market multiples. Since the D/E=40.1% in market multiples, we can get Beta(U)= 0.125*40.1%/(1+40.1%)+1*1/(1+40.1%)=0.75, R(U)=(5.5%-1.25%)+0.75*5%=8%. Finally we can use R(U) to discount the FCF and use R(D08-12) to discount the interest tax shield. A detail list of inputs can be found in Sheet1. In terms of the terminal value, the discount rate=WACC-G. G is the growth rate in perpetuity, which cannot exceed the long term growth rate of US economy. The WACC is the weighted cost of capital when AirThreat keeps rebalancing the capital structure in line with the industry, the assumptions are very different from what we have made when calculating the discount rate from 2008 to 2012. So we cannot use the same discount rate to value the terminal value. 3. Compute the unlevered free cash flow and the interest tax shields from 2008 to 2012 based on estimates provided in Exhibit 1 and Exhibit 6. Based on the data provided by the case we can calculate estimated FCF which can be found in Sheet2. In calculating the ITS, we think only the interest payment can be used to calculate the ITS instead of the total payment each year. The calculation of ITS can be found in Sheet3. Free Cash Flow = EBITÃâ€"(1-tax rate) + Depreciation & Amortization – change in Net Working Capital – Capital Expenditure EBIT = Revenue – Operating Expense – COGS – SG&A – Depreciation & Amortization Among the inputs listed above, only changes in Net Working Capital is not projected with explicit figures, and assumptions concerning net working capital accounts and important related notes are listed in Sheet4.Based on our above sheets can calculation, we can arrive at the results. (in million dollar) | 2008| 2009| 2010| 2011| 2012| Free Cash Flow| 227.07| 347.38| 319.73| 326.04| 322.24| Interest Tax Shield| 80| 73| 66| 59| 56| 4. A company’s long-term growth rate is a function of return on capital and reinvestment rate, and should not exceed long-term macro economy growth rate. The return on capital represents the investment return and the reinvestment rate represents the proportional amount of capital reinvested to fulfill future growth of the company. So a better to estimate the long term growth rate is to return on capital multiplied by reinvestment rate. So, g=return on capitalÃâ€"reinvestment rate. A detailed disaggregation of this function can be fond in Function 1 in appendix. We need the long term growth rate of AirThread when its capital structure is in line with the industry and reflect the most recent performance after the merger event. So it is better to estimate the long term growth rate by using the 2012 year end projected financial statements. As we have computed the Δ NWC in Q3 and got other necessary inputs from the exhibits in case material, the only unknown data is the Total Assets of 2012. To project this number in 2012, we need to use the formula of Asset Turnover ratio. Asset Turnover ratio = Total revenue/ Total asset The total revenue of 2012, combining the Service Revenue and Equipment Revenue of 2012 in Exhibit 1, should be 6806.50. Then we compute the average growth rate of the Asset Turnover Ratio based on Table 2 and use the result to estimate the Asset Turnover Ratio of 2012, which is 1.58. Now we can estimate the total asset of 2012 with the Asset Turnover Ratio of 1.58. Total asset= 6806.50/ 1.58≈4311.1(in million). With the total asset of 2012, we can calculate the long-term growth rate=2.61%. The inputs and detailed result is list in Sheet5. Based on the 30-year GDP data of U.S (Dec.1976-Dec 2007), average nominal GDP growth rate is 7.3%, average real GDP growth rate is 3.3%, and inflation growth rate is 0.9%, so projected Future Growth Rate of AirThread should be between 0.9% and 7.3%, which support our estimate result of 2.61%. 5. A company’s total assets can be expressed as the sum of operating assets and interest tax shield assets. Under the assumptions that from 2008 to 2012 the total debt is fixed and in perpetuity the company keeps rebalancing the leverage ratio to be in line with the industry, we should use unlevered discount rate (Ru) to discount the FCF back to 2007. Terminal Value of FCF in perpetuity is estimated with the long-term growth rate calculated in Q4 and unlevered discount rate calculated in Q3: Terminal Value at 2012=FCF2012Ãâ€"(1+g)Ru=322.24Ãâ€"(1+2.61%)8%-2.61%=6,134.52 (million dollar) Value of operating assets=15FCFt(1+Ru)t+Terminal Value(1+Ru)5=5,176.58 (million dollar)

Forced Sterilization

Markeisha A. Knott History of Medicine in the U. S. – Class 421 Forced Sterilization Throughout history there have always been circumstances where the government has required citizens to undergo some sort of medical procedure. Even though some of these procedures were commonplace in the past, they are now considered ethically wrong. Forced sterilization is an example of this, because it denies a woman of the ability to bare children, and denies a man the ability to inseminate.Sterilization is defined as ‘the act of making an organism barren or infertile (unable to reproduce)’. When most people hear the words ‘forced sterilization’ the first thing that often comes to mind are the Nazis. In the 1930’s the Nazis introduced a massive, compulsory sterilization of a large segment of the German population (Rosenberg, Jennifer). The government believed that the Germans with the best genes had been killed off in the Second World War, while those with th e worse genes stayed behind and didn’t fight, and were then free to procreate more of their ‘bad genes’.Believing that that the preservation of the optimal German genes were more important that an individual’s rights, the government had the authority to do whatever it took to preserve these optimal genes. However, Germany was not the first country to perform forced sterilization (Rosenberg, Jennifer). Even though in the United States we tend to overlook this as something that did not happen, it did. It is part of our past, and will always be part of American history.During the 1900’s the United States had a eugenics program in which the purpose was to attempt to perfect the gene pool, with the idea that if society’s degenerates, like criminals and the mentally ill were barred from having children then society’s problems would disappear (Webster University). American biologists like Charles B. Davenport and Harry H. Laughlin supported t he idea of keeping the Anglo-American race pure. Their belief was that most ailments and social problems were hereditary, like poverty and criminality (Piotrowski, Crista). Therefore, people with ‘good enes’ should be encouraged to pass on their genes by having more children, while those with ‘bad genes’ should be barred from reproducing. There were many types of people who fell under the label of being genetically inferior. This included epileptics, manic-depressives, prostitutes, alcoholics, the homeless, and criminals. People who fell under any one of these categories or who caught the negative attention of authorities were deemed ‘feeble-minded’ by the court, and were legally forced to undergo sterilization (Piotrowski, Crista). Several other countries used forced sterilization as well, though for different reasons.Peru, for example, was faced with a large population jump and not enough resources to support all the people. So they came up w ith a solution: making a target number of the amount of people to e sterilized every year, which would effectively lower the population if the plan worked. n 1996, it was 100,000. It was not met that year, but the target for the next year was increased to 130,000 and in that year, the quota was met. Even though sterilization can be performed on both men and women, it is mostly women who are victims of forced sterilization since they are the one who actually have babies (Webster University).About 40 years ago in North Carolina, it wasn’t uncommon that a single mother on welfare, or a mental patient in a hospital to be forcibly and unknowingly sterilized against their will. Of course at the time, over half of all the states in the U. S. had eugenics laws well into the 1970’s (Rose, Julie). North Carolina is currently thinking of compensating the victims of forced sterilization, most of whom were poor and uneducated, blacks and whites alike. One woman, Elaine Riddick, now 57, was sterilized at age fourteen because the state deemed her promiscuous and a trouble maker.Riddick was actually a young girl living in poverty and hunger, and was a victim of rape. While giving birth through C-section to her only son, the product of said rape, the doctors also sterilized her. There was consent form on which Riddick’s illiterate grandmother signed the go-ahead for the procedure with an ‘X’. What’s worse is that Riddick didn’t find about her being sterile until she was married, 19, and trying to have more children. Riddick is just one of the many sharing the same story. Nearly 7,600 men and women as young as 10 have been sterilized in North Carolina.Social workers would coerce women to have the operation under threat of losing their public assistance, because sterilization was viewed as a way to cut spending on public welfare (Julie Rose). Forced sterilization is a procedure that violates several medical ethics, which is defined as a system of moral principles that apply values and judgments to the practice of  medicine (Wikipedia). This procedure violates three medical ethics: autonomy, beneficence, and non-maleficence. Every patient is given the right to choose or refuse treatment: the right of autonomy.However, forced sterilization doesn’t give the patient the chance or ability to make the decision themselves, because the government chooses for them. Beneficence explains that a doctor must always act on a treatment or procedure that is in the best interest of the patient. Sterilization wasn’t in any way in the best interest of the patients it was performed on. It was only in the best, selfish, interests of the government who wanted to keep the Anglo-American race ‘pure’ and eradicate social problems. Forced sterilization also violates non-maleficence, which simply translates to three words: Do No Harm.Many of the patients that were sterilized underwent the procedure without their own knowledge, not knowing of their barren status until years after when they began to question their failed attempts at having children. I am completely against this concept of the government forcing its citizens to do a medical procedure against their will, or performing it while the patient is unaware of it is beyond inconsiderate. It’s cruel, and plainly said, it’s downright shady. Works Cited â€Å"Medical Ethics. † Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Dec. 2010. Web. 22 Nov. 011. . Piotrowski, Crista. â€Å"Dark Chapter of American History: U. S. Court Battle Over Forced Sterilization. † Home | Common Dreams. Common Dreams, 21 July 2000. Web. 22 Nov. 2011. . Rosenberg, Jennifer. â€Å"Sterilization. † 20th Century History. About. Web. 19 Nov. 2011. . Rosenberg, Julie. â€Å"North Carolina Considers Compensating Forced Sterilization Victims : NPR. † NPR : National Public Radio : News & Analysis, World, US, Music & Arts : NPR. 22 June 2011. Web. 19 Nov. 2011. . â€Å"Women and Global Human Rights. † Webster University. Web. 19 Nov. 2011. .