Medical Testing on Animals Essay Example for Free

Medical Testing on Animals Essay Animal experiments are widely used to develop new medicines and to test the safety of other products. Many of these experiments cause pain to the animals involved or reduce their quality of life in other ways. If it is morally wrong to cause animals to suffer, then experimenting on animals produces serious moral problems. Animal experimenters are very aware of this ethical problem and acknowledge that experiments should be made as humane as possible. It is also known that it is wrong to use animals if alternative testing methods would produce equally valid results. Experimenting on animals is always unacceptable because it causes suffering to animals, and the benefits to human beings are not proven. The case against animal testing is that the level of suffering and the number of animals involved are both so high that the benefits to humanity do not provide moral justification. The equivalent case for animal experiments is that they will produce such great benefits for humanity that it is morally acceptable to harm a few animals. Animal experiments are not used to show that drugs are safe and effective in human beings, as they cannot do that. Instead, they are used to help decide whether a particular drug should be tested on people. Animal experiments eliminate some potential drugs as either ineffective or too dangerous to use on human beings. If a drug passes the animal test it is then tested on a small group of humans before larger trials are done. Animal experiments only benefit human beings if their results are valid and can be applied to human beings. Another problem with animal testing is that results can be misleading. Drugs that have negative effects on animals could potentially be highly beneficial to humans and vice versa. Those in favor of animal experiments say that the benefits to human beings outweigh the harm done to the animals being tested. This is a consequentialist argument, because it looks at the consequences of the actions under consideration. It cannot be used to defend all forms of experimentation since there are some forms of suffering that are probably impossible to justify even if the benefits are exceptionally valuable to humanity. The consequentialist justification of animal experiments is done by comparing the harm the experiment will do to animals to the harm done to humans by not doing the experiment. This is not a valid way to justify the argument because this is ultimately comparing two different things. The harm that will be done to he animals is certain to happen if the experiment is carried out. The harm done to human beings by not doing the experiment is unknown because no one knows how likely the experiment is to succeed or what benefits it might produce. It is morally worse to do harm by doing something than to do harm by not doing something. Looking at it that way, it is morally worse for experimenters to harm the animals by experimenting on them than it is to harm some human beings by not doing an experiment that might find a cure for their disease. The benefits to humans does not outweigh the pain and suffering that all of the animals endure while going through experiments. The issue of animal experiments is very clear if we accept that animals have rights. If an experiment violates the rights of an animal, then it is morally wrong because it is wrong to violate rights. The possible benefits to humanity by performing these experiments are completely irrelevant to the morality of the case, because rights should never be violated.

Cloudstreet by Tim Winton :: essays research papers

Cloudstreet by Tim Winton "A texts setting and structure will normally be used by writers to develop and convey its themes." The novel Cloudstreet, by Western Australian born novelist Tim Winton is essentially a story revolving around how two rural families have come to live together at number one Cloudstreet. This novel’s themes are about finding one’s place in the world and the search for the meaning of life. As in this instance, Winton has successfully used setting and structure, crucial factors in any prosperous novel to help create a feeling of a real-life type atmosphere and perspective. This essay will demonstrate how Winton has used setting and structure to help develop and convey his themes. The story follows the lives of the Pickle family and the Lamb family and how they have come to grow, develop, love and change over a period of twenty years, while living with each other. Unfortunately, both moves coincided with different family disaster’s. For the Lamb’s, the unfortunate event takes place in the form of the near drowning of Samson, or as he is better known as Fish. While for the Pickles, it occurs with the loss of Sam’s (the father’s) fingers in a fishing accident. The reader can relate these events it to the biblical story of ‘Samson,’ and how he gained his strength through his hair. Meaning that by losing some of their strengths, (like Samson’s hair cut,) both Sam’s where able to gain new insights and opportunities. For Sam Pickles, this meant the move into the city from the outback, brought him his own home and a steady job at the mint. A rather large irony, as Sam is a compulsive gambler, more often than not short of cash. Although for Fish, losing his mental faculties and the ability to communicate to others, in his near drowning experience, gave way for his unimaginable bond with water and his abilities as a visionary. As Oriel Lamb said after Fish was rescued, "To the child who had hovered on the brink of drowning and who returned to life, though not all of Fish Lamb had come back," (found on Page 32) that other part of Fish Lamb it seems is the omniscient narrator of the novel. Spirituality is also important in Cloudstreet as it relates to the meaning of life and the exploration of community. We can see this in the opening lines of the novel "Shall we gather at the river Where bright angels feet have trod†¦.

Statistics for Public Administration: Practical Uses for Better

Maureen BernerAs a public administrator, you need to be able to analyze and evaluate policies, and understand analysis and evaluations done by others. This means having a solid working knowledge of how to apply statistics to the types of data used in local government so that you make good decisions. Statistics for Public Administration: Practical Uses for Better Decision Making, a completely updated edition of Statistics Unraveled, focuses on demonstrating how statistics can help you do your job better, rather than on a mastery of statistics.The goal of this book is to make you, as a public administrator, an educated consumer of statistical information—and an effective translator of statistical information. You get the tools you need to design an analysis, gather, analyze and interpret data, present results, and make recommendations. This book is a hands-on, practical, and easy-to-understand introduction to the basic concepts and methods used to analyze data in local governmen t. Vignettes at the beginning and end of each chapter illustrate the concepts through the dialogue of fictional local government employees as they attempt to identify and solve problems. Packed with tables, charts, figures, and review questions to reinforce the concepts, the author’s conversational tone and casual style will set you at ease and make you forget any math phobia you might have! With this book, you’ll be able to understand the general approaches and problems with public sector research and data measurement, conduct basic statistical analysis of raw data using a variety of methods, and evaluate the validity of statistical research performed by others. No other publication is aimed at explaining statistics specifically to the local government audience. There are other books with the purpose of simplifying statistics for a broad audience, but Statistics for Public Administration: Practical Uses for Better Decision Making, uses specific government examples and problems to make the concepts in the book both concrete and applied for local government readers. You get a solid understanding of how data and data analysis can make you more effective in your role in local government. And you’ll see how the sometimes theoretical sounding concepts in analysis can be used to create concrete solutions to everyday problems. About the Author Maureen Berner first joined the School of Government in 1998, teaching program evaluation, statistics, and budgeting. Between 2003 and 2005 she directed efforts to provide new outreach activities for local governments based on the UNC model at the University of Northern Iowa. In 2005 she returned to teaching and writing for MPA students and public officials at the School of Government. Berner has been active in research and teaching in both academia and in government, and her publications include a variety of books, textbooks, and journal articles. She worked for four years with the Budget Issues Group at the U. S. General Accounting Office, including a rotation to the U. S. House of Representatives Budget Committee while serving as a Presidential Management Intern. Berner received an MPP from Georgetown University and PhD in public policy from the LBJ School of Public Affairs, University of Texas at Austin.

Alcoholism Is Not A Lifestyle Choice For Alcoholics

Alcoholism is a disease, like cancer. Alcoholism is not a lifestyle choice for alcoholics. It is a disease, like cancer, where intervention, treatment, and follow up are needed to recover. As with cancer, remission and a cure cannot be guaranteed. Alcohol causes a wide range of negative effects in the lives of alcoholics and those who know and love them. Insurance companies need to be aware of this disease and provide coverage and ongoing support for treatment. We need to find a way for those in need to more easily access the help they need and make it easier to work with insurance for coverage. As a society, we need to more to prevent the marketing of alcohol to our youth that are underage. By looking at how our youth are targeted by alcohol marketing and working to reduce this, maybe we can help to reduce the number of young people that start drinking and then become alcoholics. According to Barton Schmitt, one drink of alcohol is considered 5 ounces of wine, 12 ounces of beer, or 1.5 ounces of 80 proof distilled spirits such as vodka or whiskey (Schmitt). What is considered an alcoholic differs between men and women. Alcoholism tends to affect women more than men (Oscar-Berman, Marinkovic). â€Å"If you are a man under age 65, you may be at risk for abusing alcohol if you have more than 14 drinks per week, or more than 4 drinks per day† (Schmitt). Schmitt also states that â€Å"If you are older than 65, or you are a woman, you may be at risk for abusing alcohol if you have moreShow MoreRelatedAlcoholism Is Not A Lifestyle Choice For Alcoholics1047 Words   |  5 PagesAlcoholism is not a lifestyle choice for alcoholics. It is a disease, like cancer, where intervention, treatment, and follow up are needed to recover. As with cancer, remission and a cure cannot be guaranteed. 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In American society today many people think that being an alcoholic simply stems from laziness and the lack of will to â€Å"simply stop.† There is much more to this disorder thanRead MoreThe Effects Of Heavy Alcohol Consumption On Heart Disease1729 Words   |  7 Pagesobservations that favor the moderate drinkers to appear to have a lower risk of coronary heart disease. Factors that influence this biasness include the underrepresentation of alcoholics in the moderate drinker group, the possibility of abstainers forgoing alcohol consumption due to illness and medication, and differing life-style choices and socio-economic demographics. This review analyzes the results of studies that controlled for these factors. Since these controlled studies observed a similar relationshipRead MoreAlcoholism: Disease or Choice?1778 Words   |  8 PagesAlcoholism: Disease or Choice? Danielle M Ellis WVNCC Abstract Webster’s New World Dictionary defines alcoholism as a chronic condition which is mainly characterized by excessive and compulsive consumption of and dependence on alcohol as well as nutritional and mental disorders. This definition depicts alcoholism as a disease that is beyond one’s control. It has however been argued in some circles that alcoholism is a choice and the idea of alcoholism as a disease is a myth. Since it is an individual