Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki Essay -- essays research papers

Hiroshima. Nagasaki. From the bombing of Pearl Harbor to D-day, the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki will be a triumph for the US by nuclear achievements and ending a war, but a tragedy for the all of the innocent Japanese victims. I decided to research this topic because I was interested in what happened in World War Two and wanted to learn more about this special occurrence. I believe this topic is important in history because when we need to make a decision of war, where thousands maybe millions of lives are at risk to prevent even more from being ended or even destroyed from the effects of it, we may look at this event and make a decision that will change history forever. The war in Europe soon affected Asia. Although it was not part of the European war Japan was an ally of the Nazi-Germany and Italy. The three countries had signed an agreement in 1936, called the Anti-Communist International Treaty. By 1949, the Japanese government was largely dominated by militarists, extremists in the army and navy and their supporters who wanted the armed forces to control Japan and organize Japanese society along military principles. They believed Japan had a sacred mission to conquer new territory to provide the natural resources that Japan lacked. In May 1941, the United States extended its â€Å"Lend Lease† program to China. In effect, this meant that China could buy arms and supplies from the United States on long-term credit. By doing this, the United States was confirming that it would continue to support China in its war against Japan. At the same time, talks between Japan and the United States began in Washington, D.C: they continued for months. Mo st historians agree that the negotiations never had any chance of success because ea... ...econd atom bomb, Fat Man, was sped up, and on August 9 it was ready to be dropped. Bad weather over the primary target of Kokura forced Major Charles W. Sweeney, the pilot of Bock’s Car, which was carrying the atom bomb, to divert the secondary target of Nagasaki. Clouds also obscured Nagasaki, but at the last minute, the clouds broke open and the second atom bomb known as Fat Man was dropped on Japan. Fat man exploded 1,600 feet above the city with an estimated force of 22,00 tons. The target seen through the clouds was several miles upriver from the original aiming point. Although the damage at Hiroshima, an estimated 50% of the population, died from the bomb in the next five years. Early in the morning of August 9, the Japanese was council met once again to discuss the possibility of surrender. The war council was evenly split over surrender. The war was over.4

Use of DNA in Criminal Investigations Essay examples -- DNA Forensics

Before the 1980s, courts relied on testimony and eyewitness accounts as a main source of evidence. Notoriously unreliable, these techniques have since faded away to the stunning reliability of DNA forensics. In 1984, British geneticist Alec Jeffreys of the University of Leicester discovered an interesting new marker in the human genome. Most DNA information is the same in every human, but the junk code between genes is unique to every person. Junk DNA used for investigative purposes can be found in blood, saliva, perspiration, sexual fluid, skin tissue, bone marrow, dental pulp, and hair follicles (Butler, 2011). By analyzing this junk code, Jeffreys found certain sequences of 10 to 100 base pairs repeated multiple times. These tandem repeats are also the same for all people, but the number of repetitions is highly variable. Before this discovery, a drop of blood at a crime scene could only reveal a person’s blood type, plus a few proteins unique to certain people. Now DNA for ensics can expose a person’s gender, race, susceptibility to diseases, and even propensity for high aggression or drug abuse (Butler, 2011). More importantly, the certainty of DNA evidence is extremely powerful in court. Astounded at this technology’s almost perfect accuracy, the FBI changed the name of its Serology Unit to the DNA Analysis Unit in 1988 when they began accepting requests for DNA comparisons (Using DNA to Solve Crimes, 2014). There are thirteen standard tandem repeats used in modern forensics, and together these sequences create a DNA profile. Except in the case of identical twins, the probability that two people have the same genetic code at all thirteen core loci is less than one in one trillion (Jones, 2004). Investigators compare these... ...d Beyond." Forensic Magazine. Web. 29 May 2015. http://www.forensicmag.com/article/dna-forensics-rflp-pcr-str-and-beyond (Fall 2004). "Using DNA to Solve Crimes." U.S. Department of Justice: National Institute of Justice. (September 9, 2014). Web. 29 May 2015. http://www.justice.gov/ag/advancing-justice-through-dna-technology-using-dna-solve-crimes Sachs, Jessica Snyder. DNA AND A NEW KIND OF RACIAL PROFILING. 2004 http://www.popsci.com/scitech/article/2004-06/dna-and-new-kind-racial-profiling H.M. Wallace, A.R. Jacksona, J. Gruberb, A.D. Thibedeaub. Forensic DNA databases–Ethical and legal standards, ScienceDirec, 2014. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2090536X14000239 Westphal, Sylvia Pagà ¡n. DNA profiles link dope to its source. Daily News, 2003 https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn3919-dna-profiles-link-dope-to-its-source/

John P Roche-The Founding Fathers: A Reform Caucus in Action Essay

John P. Roche published a Thesis â€Å"The Founding Fathers a Reform Caucus in Action† where managed to dwell upon the significance of the contribution made by the builders of a country. He characterizes them as great contributors. Apart from that, the author claims that the creation of the constitution was a natural and entirely democracy connected process, which equally contributed to the creation of state, economy, and politics. He calls a target reader to give the Founders acknowledgements for the big efforts they made and value their efforts, which resulted in the arising of the strong and influential country. The members of the Philadelphia convention were obliged to perform significant formation work to satisfy all the needs and fill in all the political gaps that were previously overlooked. He proves that the motive of founders was fair and aimed at the promotion of prosperity of a state. What was an essential concern for the founding fathers when drafting the articles of confederation? According to the position of P. Roche, it was a significant contribution to gather Philadelphia conference and change the social and political orders. Thanks to their bright minds and legislative competence, they managed to imply changes and implement the same political rights for all citizens. Apart from that, they defended the interests of the layman. They led to conclude that the government was not strong enough and more innovative measures were needed. Founders managed to keep the state functioning correctly by modifying the constitutional issues. The task was rather tough – they were obliged to keep everyone happy and look for the ways of satisfying the demands of all citizens. Founders managed to elaborate and structure the statute of the future state. They launched a powerful mechanism that proves to be effective for many years. Thanks to their contribution, the state’s economy is stable; the political system functions appropriately and proves to be well built.   Roche claims that the most prominent contribution of the Founders a successful convincing of men from all parts of the country that the changes are necessary in the process of creation of a strong and united nation. I support the position of Roche. According to his point of view, Founders contributed to the development of USA exceedingly being oriented on the interests of people. Their most significant achievements were that they have realized that to win respect and acknowledgment of people, it is necessary to satisfy their interests. Politicians have realized that the Articles of Confederation were a failure. They came to the conclusion that the USA would not develop. The ability to think globally and make right decisions made them successful and efficient rulers. Each of Founding Fathers made his contribution to the development of the state. B. Franklin propagated the idea of political self-determination of the North American colonies, for the first time called them states (states), advocated their confederation. Concerning general political questions, he promoted the natural equality of people. The emergence of inequality, property, and laws associated with the creation of society and state. B. Franklin advocated the legal equality of citizens, the democratic consolidation of their rights, equality of votes of states, powers of the Senate and the US Congress. He laid the democratic traditions of local constitutionalism and federalism. How does Jefferson support his major premise in the body of the declaration of independence? Jefferson still hoped for the peaceful rendering by England of independence of the American colonies. He added a list of abuses, which England made to the citizens. As the principal author of the preliminary version of the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson proceeded from a democratic and revolutionary interpretation of the natural-law doctrine and substantiated the legality of the separation of colonies from England and the formation of an independent state. The statement of natural and civil rights, the justification of people’s position in the society and the people’s right to express one’s position made the Declaration an outstanding theoretical and political document of the era. These are the essential points of the author of the Declaration of Independence of the United States. First, for Jefferson, there are apparent truths – all people are created equal, endowed with inalienable rights: to life, freedom, desire for happiness. These ideas confirmed the unacceptability of the class privileges and feudal rights, the equality of colonists with the inhabitants of the metropolis. Secondly, to ensure human rights, according to Jefferson, people are founded by states, governments. Thus, the people’s right to revolution was substantiated. Third, the author of the Declaration consistently advocated a republican form of government for the country, based on universal suffrage, equal representation in legislative institutions, the election of executive bodies and judges, the variability of judges, jurors, sheriffs, and extensive self-governance. T. Jefferson is a supporter of a clear division of the competence of the three authorities in the republic. I was convinced that state power should promote and not restrict citizens’ freedom. Fourth, the actual basis of the new country government, according to Jefferson, is the equality of â€Å"every citizen, the level of personal and property rights and the disposal of them.† In his opinion, equality is based on the will of the people and should be consistently carried out in every paragraph of the constitution. This equality must be realized primarily in the general electoral law, the right of the people to elect officials and judges. Fifth, Jefferson claimed that the right becomes the right because it is the will of the nation. However, he saw the danger of unification of legislation for all states, its threat to self-government. Sixth, Jefferson does not leave hope that humanity will soon â€Å"learn to derive the benefit of every right and authority that it owns or can take upon itself.† The ineffectiveness of unlimited power, its abuse can lead to corruption. At a certain point, Founding Fathers have realized, that arose the need for implements changes. For that reason. They gathered to reshape the structure of state and develop a new set of constitution articles allowing regulating all political and social issues. They managed to achieve nationhood. These people managed to understand that sometimes it is necessary to take control over the situation in the country and implement changes even if citizens do not see the necessity of such radical measures. The period of the struggle for independence of the United States was marked by their victory, the creation of a state confederation. Bibliography Woll, Peter. American Government: Readings and Cases. 16th ed.

Inoculating with Autism

Hearing that your child is autistic, is one of the most heart wrenching experiences a parent can face. After significant research, I was disgusted when all fingers pointed to vaccines as the culprit. Is it just a coincidence that autism greatly increased when the Center for Disease Control introduced additions to the recommended vaccination program for infants in 1988? In the 1980s, autism rates were only six in ten thousand children. Currently, the autism rate is an alarming one in eighty eight children. So, roughly one million Americans are now suffering from autism. Over twenty-four years the amount of vaccines children receive grew from less than ten vaccines to about fifty vaccines. It is not just a coincidence that as the amount of vaccines increased so did the amount of autistic children. As the autism crisis worsens, more and more parents are questioning and grasping the realizations surrounding the negative effects that vaccines are having on our children's developing immune systems. In many cases, parents should not allow vaccines to be administered to their children. The perfect example of why parents should not vaccinate their children is the story of Valentino Bocca from Italy. Valentino was given the MMR vaccine when he was fifteen months old in 2004. Valentino's family says that right after receiving the vaccine he started to show signs of serious discomfort. Consequently, Valentino's family decided to act and took the case to court. Judges and the Italian Health Ministry determined that the vaccine did cause the autism after new evidence was presented. Moreover, the Valentino case is not the first case where children have been damaged by vaccines. Actually, the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program has paid over two billion dollars to families damaged by vaccines. This story of Valentino was a result of just one vaccine. A normal child in the first six months of life receives as many as nineteen vaccines. The fact is the more vaccines children receive means more of a risk of autism. As a parent, you have the right to choose whether or not to vaccinate your child. Some may argue vaccinations are safe and even one of the greatest health developments of the twentieth century. Moreover, some research may say that autism and vaccines are not linked at all. It is true that immunizations have protected millions of kids from potentially deadly diseases. Also, that the vaccines probably saved thousands of lives over the years. Proponents of vaccinations argue that the health benefits can outweigh the risks. In addition, some believe that without immunizations there is greater risk of catching some preventable diseases. Also, it is believed that a child who is not immunized could be susceptible to dangerous and deadly diseases. Furthermore, fighting some of these diseases can be painful, taxing on the body, include mandatory isolation, and be expensive. It is now common knowledge that autism is a catastrophic epidemic. In addition, we now know that the primary cause of autism stems from vaccines. There is substantial evidence that the vaccines are brimming with toxins according to fact sheets by the Centers for Disease Control and the Food and Drug Administration. The toxins that are in the vaccines we are injecting into our young children include; dozens of chemicals, heavy metals and allergens. In addition, they include several other repulsing ingredients, such as monkey kidney cells and aborted fetal tissue. American children are now the most vaccinated population in the world. However, instead of being the most healthiest, we have the highest statistics of children suffering from autism. Our children do not need to be inject4ed with toxins and aborted fetal tissue, they are born with their mother’s immunities. Most children’s immune systems can deal with most infections naturally. The vaccines themselves cause the body to be in an unnatural state and set you up for major disease. Overall, the possible side effects of vaccination, mainly autism, are just not worth the risk of being safeguarding. Every year more and more children are being diagnosed with autism. There are so many anguished parents who have had to watch their children completely regress after receiving a vaccine. When one listens to these parents, it is hard to not think that where there is smoke there may be fire. All parents should be doubting the safety and effectiveness of vaccines. Parents must keep in mind that a significant amount of the research that is being done about autism and vaccines is by the drug companies themselves. With so many vaccines being forced upon our children, healthy skepticism could go a long way toward raising a vibrant healthy child. By not vaccinating your children, it simply means that you are an informed and caring parent with healthy kids that do not need to rely on high risk medicines. Ultimately, it is you that is in charge of your child’s health. Remember, educate before you vaccinate.

Descriptive Writing – Ayer’s Rock

As the cramped, stuffy minibus approached our destination, I could see the first rays of morning sun sparkle over the horizon. Against this blinding inferno an ominous shadow appeared. It grew as we drew nearer, the true size of it becoming clearer. Looking away briefly to swat at a fly, as I turned back I was hit by a surge of warmth as the sun rose higher. Transfixed I stared at the task before me; the other occupants of the bus seemed sombre and lifeless compared to the scenery. Glancing at my watch (5.00am) I slipped my hat over my eyes and attempted to sleep. A sudden jolt awoke me; a speed bump signalling our arrival at the monolith. The shade confused my dozing mind briefly as I looked left. Waking quickly I saw a vast expanse of orange-brown rock rising to the sky, ugly at a glance but beautiful in detail. Awe-struck, my eyes slowly surveyed the rock; tracking up I saw faint smears of colour moving towards the summit, and eventually clicked that these were people, dwarfed immensely by this foreboding thing. I managed to pull myself from my seat, grab my camera and head for this blister rising from the outback. My view had been that I was at the base of the rock already, and that my walk would be a short one, but the weathered lump continued to grow as I approached. More and more detail was becoming visible; small bushes surrounding the base from a distance were actually small trees, small cracks in the rock were the size of a block of flats, creating huge weathered tentacles reaching into the desert dust. I eventually reached the base, continually staring upwards and trying to take in the full magnitude of this place. Our groups guide appeared and gave us the go ahead to begin the climb to the summit of this red mountain. I began the climb optimistic; seeing the sloping pathway from the base made it seem an ascent of no more than 150 metres, and the help of a chain near the floor would make it short work. But as I climbed higher, I saw more pathways stretching off over the wasteland of the zenith. Already somewhat tired, I suddenly had a surge of energy and decided to press on fast. I motored up the remaining chained slope, ignoring the floods of Japanese tourists sliding slowly down. Reaching the barren plain, I saw it was not the flat desert I had imagined but was covered in deep furrows and potholes created by the millennia of exposure to the harsh outback elements. I groaned, but could now see the apex another 200 metres or so higher. The prospect of seeing the already magnificent view from that windswept pinnacle strengthened my resolve, and I set over this other worldly landscape As I continued to climb, and could see more of the pristine wilderness around me, I realised just how far from the hustle and bustle of the civilized world I was. No sound could be heard apart from the constant warm breeze whipping through the channels in the rock; after my push towards the top I had left the rest of the people heading up behind somewhat, and no other tourists had ventured this far. I had the pleasure of being completely alone to fully appreciate the beauty of my surroundings, and how disconnected from life I felt. I realised that in my mental wanderings, I had also wandered quite far, almost to the roof of this red world. The final chasm in the rock before my goal seemed nothing more than a ditch and the last few steps would be done in minutes. Rising over the final hill and out of the shadow, into the fierce morning sun was fantastic. Seeing the earth stretch out into infinity below me filled me with life. It was quite odd. Weary from the climb, I sat down to rest, still feeling this wonder that places this untouched still existed in the world. The inspiration to explore and find more of these areas of solitude was suddenly kindled in me, and started some ambitions flowing in my brain. Rested, I decided to use this short period of isolation to examine where I was. Although at a glance the summit seemed empty, on closer inspection there was life. In the pools of rainwater dotting the surface were ancient creatures, species of crustacean, with strange shrimps and strange prehistoric things I later found out were called triops; similar to the trilobites of the Mesozoic, yet still alive after the isolation on this rock. It was quite incredible; a glimpse into a life cycle that has been carrying in a single puddle for millions of years, completely ignorant of the rest of the world and completely unchanged. In the time I had been staring into the pool, my mum and sister had arrived and were admiring the view. I approached and told them about what I had seen and my amazement at this place. We explored some more, took some photos to remember what we had seen, and found the remains of a fire from an aboriginal fire, possibly hundreds of years old but preserved on this time stopping rock. Thinking of the ages that had been and gone while this single rock had stood frozen continued to amaze me. It was seen by some of the first human cultures hundreds of thousands of years ago, before dinosaurs would of swum around it during its time submerged in an ancient sea, before that who knows what might of seen it? If it could speak, what stories would it tell? Hours had passed since I first set off, and it was time to head back to the confines of the minibus. Coming back down, I didn't mind leaving as I felt as though no matter how much we are told about the world, no matter how much information we are fed through the media, television and how much our governments try to shrink our perception of the world, it is still a truly vast place that should be appreciated for its wonders and the ones it may still hold. Reaching the base again, and looking back at where I had been, I decided that I wanted to see these wonders in my lifetime.

As Dianne Skafte Essay

As Dianne Skafte stated in her book, â€Å"All the lives form the body of the Earth, and to that body all shall return†. The earth is viewed as the source of life with all the agricultural crops it gives to sustain the living. However, this very earth is also the home of the dead. People in different parts of the world plant their dead in the earth just like the seeds of their crops with the belief that their loved one will be born again as a new person, live in the body of an animal, or stay in the underworld. Otherwise, our ancients believed that the spirits who were returned to the earth become wise and that they gain the ability to turn into clairvoyants who can see the future and thus give guidance to those who are still living (Skafte 2000). This is the primary reason why necromancy was constantly used in the classical world. If a person decides to contact the dead, he or she will have the ability to know many hidden things. The act of necromancy falls under the umbrella of many different occult divination practices. The term was rooted from the ancient Greek language with the word ‘nekros’ meaning ‘corpse’ and ‘manteia’ or ‘prophesy’. Necromancy evolved through time and developed many different forms. Even though the Greeks may seem to be the civilization that is always connected to the act, summoning the dead was well-practiced by different civilizations around the world during these classical times like the Romans, Asians, Medieval Europeans, and Egyptians (Helium. com). The people living in the classical times look highly into their ‘necromaneias’ or the oracles of the dead. One famous act of necromancy was the one that happened in a hillside cave in Epiris where the famous legendary hero Odysseus was said to have summoned the dead at the place in order to get some guidance and information for his dangerous journey to home. Even though the Odyssey is only a fictional tale, Homer was able to base his writings from the actual practices of the many Greek necromancers that operate during their time (Donald Tyson’s Supernatural World. com). The place was also often connected to the worshipping of the goddess of the underworld, Persephone and the god of the dead, Hades. During the periods of medieval and renaissance times in ancient European history, the act of necromancy is considered as a normal part of the life of the people. There are other reasons why conjuring the dead is used. Wise-men ask for help from the spirits of the departed in order to seek for help in diagnosing the illnesses and giving cures to their patients. When it comes to families, they often seek for guidance from their dead loved ones and ask them to appear in their dreams. It was also believed that the souls of those who had already ‘crossed over to the other side’ have the rare ability in finding missing persons or even treasures that have long been lost. Spirits also help unearth some secret crimes that have been committed but were never given justice. The act of necromancy was so popularly used and believed in the ancient times that Catholic priests were even believed to have practiced the art centuries ago even though it was not openly discussed in their history books of their churches. Classical engravings also document some of the necromancy acts of famous philosophers and scholars of the time. Example of this is the one depicting John Dee, a 16th century mathematician with a famous necromancer. In the picture, the two were enveloped by a magic circle with signs of the zodiac and other symbols with a corpse in front of them. Another illustration was that of the Edward Kelly, an Elizabethan alchemist, and Paul Waring who are also protected by a magic circle while facing a corpse that has risen from the ground. All of these depictions were not fiction and were actual events. The use of the magical circle that shrouds both pictures mentioned serves as the protection of the humans from the forces of the spirit they have called that is mostly unhappy and unwilling to cooperate (Donald Tyson’s Supernatural World. com). During these times, scholars asking for the guidance and knowledge of the dead were not considered as an uncommon phenomenon. During the classical times, Nobilities or the Christian clergy were the literate members that compose high society. It is believed that either or both of these two groups were responsible for the spreading and practicing of the necromancy despite of the fact that is was strictly forbidden in Christianity. Access to necromancy is a kind of act that can only be accessible to those who belong to the scholars of Europe mainly because of reasons of accessibility, knowledge, and the procedures it use. Evidence to this fact is the number of confessions that a couple of Nobles and Clergy members expressed regarding their experience with the act. A closer look at the practices of necromancy also showed that the procedures are closely similar to Christian rites. In exorcism cases in Christianity, the spirits or demons were forces away through the use of the name of God, the Holy Spirit, or Jesus. This can be compared to the spells of necromancy which are similar to these rites in complete opposition (Necromancy. com). There are also examples of necromancy written in the Holy Bible. One of these is that on Samuel, chapters 28 and 31 that tell the story of King Saul and his abhorrence to David. In the story, he began doubting his decision of bringing David into his court because of the latter’s charisma in people and good skills of being a warrior. The King regretted letting David enter his kingdom when he started to notice that the people were already choosing the young man’s side instead of his. During that time, the Philistines were also preparing to attack. Out of desperation, King Saul disguised and went to see a ‘seeress’ to help him contact the dead. It shall be noted that the king has given an order to persecute all seers, wizards, and others that deal with the supernatural thus the need for his disguise as a common man. After the woman was convinced that she never have punishment for the request, she went onto a trance and related a vision to King Saul. According to the vision, she saw gods ascending from the earth which all gathered to form a man who is covered by a long mantle. As Saul bowed to the ground, he then recognized the spirit that possessed the woman as his deceased prophet, Samuel. But the vision was not the end of it. Samuel chastised the king for his evil attacks of David and said the because of King Saul’s violation of his covenant with the Lord, he will die the next day. The following die, King Saul’s soldiers were slaughtered and he mortally wounded. Knowing his coming fate, he decided to fall upon his own sword (Skafte 2000). Another example of necromancy mentioned in the bible was in Aeschylus’ Persians. In here, the necromancy procedure consisted of Queen Atossa asking the Persian elders to call Darius from his grave. The Queen brought some garlands of milk and different offerings like milk, honey, water, and unmixed wine and oil. The elders followed the queen’s request and called upon the deceased King asking for powerful death gods like Hades to send his soul in the face of earth. When King Darius was successfully summoned, he narrated the beating of the ground and the effect of the cries of the ‘necromantic cries’ on dead people like him (Bremmer 2002). This literary description supports the ancient beliefs about the two questions that are usually mentioned by the souls called through necromancy. The first is about the experiences and unknown secrets of the deceased while they are still living and the second, who is depicted by this story, are the relating of the souls of the ephemeral and magical things they’ve learned upon ‘crossing over’. There are many risks in calling the dead. One of these is through the perspective of Christians who condemn the use of the act. According to this side, the acquiring of knowledge from the dead is prohibited because it was not information that God prohibited to be released. According Christianity laws, there are only two legitimate sources of information that the living can use. These are the things that are revealed by the Lord and those that gleaned through a natural kind of revelation. Simply said, using necromancy to know secrets from the dead is also equivalent to stealing forbidden information. Second, spirits are not beings that people can simply call and command. The art of necromancy is divided into two different phases, the first of which is the calling of the spirit and the second is compelling it to do the bid of the necromancer. Since the spirits of the dead aren’t actually always willing to be called and ordered, there is a great risk for the necromancer and his assistant to be attacked by the former if they’re magical barrier is not that strong (Necromancy 101. com). Moreover, acts of necromancy should have well-defined motives because otherwise it will be considered as works of darkness, simply for the selfish whims of the person who wants to ‘call’ and can also turn out to be dangerous for the health and reason of the necromancer and his assistant. In necromancy procedures of classical times, necromancers are forced to inflict pain on the spirits they call just to force the latter to follow them. As a result of these, the souls are usually very unhappy towards the individuals, heightening the probability of them to become violent.Thus, there is a great risk that comes along with the valuable secrets a spirit may expose (Spence 1960). Bibliography: Bremmer, Jan N. 2002. The rise and fall of the afterlife: The 1995 Read-Tuckwell Lectures at the University of Bristol. Routledge. DeWaay, Bob. 2006. The Dangers of Divination. http://www. deceptioninthechurch. com/dangersofdivination. html (accessed June 14, 2009). Necromancy. 2009. Necromancy in History. Necromancy: Encyclopedia II. http://www. experiencefestival. com/a/Necromancy_-Necromancy_in_history/id/1575928 (accessed June 14, 2009). Skafte, Dianne. 2000. When Oracles Speak. Quest Books. Spence, Lewis. 1960. Encyclopaedia of Occultism. New York: University Books. Townbridge, B. 2009. Necromancy explained. Helium. com. http://www. helium. com/items/246248-necromancy-explained (accessed June 14, 2009). Tyson, Donald. 2007. The Truth About Necromancy. Donald Tyson’s Supernatural World. http://www. donaldtyson. com/necro. html (accessed June 14, 2009). Wendell, Leilah. 1997. Necromancy 101. The Occult Library. http://www. realmagick. com/articles/17/1817. html (accessed June 14, 2009).

A Study on the Supply and Demand for Hatchimals

A Study on the Supply and Demand for Hatchimals Supply and Demand: The Case for Hatchimals â€Å"Supply and demand† are two of the most well-known words in the subject of economics. Simply put, â€Å"supply† is the amount of something that is available, or can be made available, to consumers. â€Å"Demand† is how much consumers want or need a product. When there is more supply than demand, prices drop to get consumers to purchase the excess supply. When there is more demand for something than there is supply available, prices increase. There are two reasons for this – one, there could be a shortage of the product, and the retailer will likely need to pay a lot to re-stock it; and/or two, the retailer can simply increase their profit margins by increasing the price, as people are willing to pay for it. On the flip side, if the price of the product increases too much, demand will decrease, which will once again put the supply and demand at an equilibrium (Rittenberg Tregarthen, 2009). A popular time of year where we often see supply and demand come into play is the holiday season, starting with Black Friday and continuing all the way through after-Christmas gift returns and exchanges until approximately New Year’s Eve. Every year, there seems to be some new â€Å"must have† item. Often, it’s a toy. Kids learn about it at school or from television, they talk about it with their friends, and then they pressure their parents into getting it for them. (Sometimes, the parents can be just as guilty as the kids when it comes to consumerism, however – a parent might decide that their child must keep up with the Joneses, and have the latest and greatest toy or electronic device.) This sends the parents into a tizzy trying to track down the item in time for the holidays, while thousands – if not millions – of other parents around the country are doing the same thing. Consequently, the demand for this product becomes very high, and as stores begin to sell out frequently, the supply is very low. We saw an example of this recently, in December of 2016, when the phenomenon of â€Å"Hatchimals† began to make its’ way across North America – and even some other parts of the world! â€Å"Hatchimals† are furry, robotic, interactive animals that hatch from an egg that the owner must rub to facilitate the hatching process. Additionally, the creatures continue to â€Å"grow up† and increase in size as time passes. These are truly revolutionary in the world of children’s toys, and as such they come with quite a revolutionary price tag at approximately $60 each! That didn’t stop many parents from hunting this toy down and snatching it up – but many opportunists began finding and buying Hatchimals in bulk, and turning around to sell them on sites such as eBay for triple the price. Elasticity began to come into play here, as many parents were not willing to pay the inflated prices for the toy, and consequently stopped searching for them altogether. The after-market demand from sites like eBay and Amazon decreased greatly as a result; However, the demand to buy the toy at retail-value from stores like Target and Walmart remained on t he rise (Peachman, 2016). Spin Master, the creator of the Hatchimal toy, claimed that they knew the toy would be popular – especially around the holidays. They produced extra Hatchimals to meet this expected demand. However, they stated that they didn’t expect the response to be so overwhelming, and consequently, they struggled to keep up with consumer demand. Business cost increased for Spin Master, as they had to use airfreight to rush deliver the remaining Hatchimals from China so that they could be distributed to retail stores before the Christmas holiday. While part of the reason for the increased demand was sensationalism, there was another issue: the toy was appealing to a demographic larger than Spin Master anticipated. They had assumed the toy would appeal to children in the 5-10 year-old range, but once Hatchimals hit the market, the appeal stretched from children 3-12 years old (Peachman, 2016). The demand and price point of these toys did not seem to deter most parents from at least trying to obtain one for their child, however. This is where consumer choice and opportunity cost came into play. Some parents chose to forgo the hassle of driving hundreds of miles collectively, checking all of the stores within a certain radius, in exchange for paying three times the price on a second-hand retailer website, such as eBay. Other parents refused to pay that high of a price point in exchange for continuing to fight for the toy at big-box stores, and the article I chose even talks about a group of parents standing outside of the Target store entrance for several hours in the 20 degree cold weather in order to obtain one on delivery day. Some parents took a chance and entered raffles for the Hatchimals on Facebook by pitching in $10 with approximately a dozen other parents. Most were unsuccessful (Peachman, 2016). Fast forward to Christmas season, 2017: Hatchimals were a word barely uttered, and now, most children approaching five or six years of age would likely only have a vague idea of what I was talking about if I asked them if they like Hatchimals. The craze has worn off, and the supply of Hatchimals seems to have reached an equilibrium with the price point – most are retailing for between $45 and $50 at Target, Walmart and online. By the time the holiday season rolls around again this year, this entire process will repeat with a new â€Å"must have† item.