Rape In The Us Military Criminology Essay

Rape In The Us Military Criminology Essay Cases of rape and sexual assault in the ranks of our U.S. military continue to grow, and very few proactive steps seem to be taken, by higher up to bring the offenders to justice, to try and put an end to these horrific occurrences. The military institution seems unable to end this issue on its own, and seems in need of our country to step in and make sure these crimes stop, the offenders come to justice, and the victims get the help and support they need. To get to the heart of the issue is it important to know why rape is so common in the military, why these crimes often go unreported, and what steps the military and our country can take to help prevent future rapes. It is important to look into rape cases and try to determine the causes of the rape. What are the situations in which these rapes occur? In a documentary shown in class titled The Invisible War a large number of women talked about being raped while serving in the military. None of these women did anything that would suggest their interest in sexual relations, but each one of them was forced into the act. One common element that relates all these cases together is that in each situation the woman that was violated was one of the only women in her military unit. With such a high ratio of men to women the risk of sexual assault and rape greatly increases. In one case concerning the Coast Guard the unit was all men until a new female recruit was stationed there along with them. Almost immediately she had everyones attention, and it was greatly unwanted. She immediately became a victim of verbal sexual misconduct, and as a result asked to be moved to another duty station. Her authorities denied this request. As a result a few weeks later her own brothers in arms raped her. In the military camaraderie is something that is strived after, but these men displayed nothing of the sort. With such a minority of women, and in some cases one woman on her own risk of rape greatly increases. Just because there is a minority of women doesnt really explain why men would take advantage of this. One possible answer to this mystery can be answered in a study that was conducted in the Navy that revealed a history of men coming into the service having either raped or having attempted rape at twice the rate of the civilian population. (West West, 2012) This suggests that a large amount of men in the military have a history of rape that when mixed with easy targets makes the chances of rape occurring escalate. With recruits like this being allowed into our countries military, it is obvious why so many rapes happen. Physical explanations and actual cases and studies do help give an explanation of rape in the military, but there is also a sociological perspective and ethological and psychophysiological explanations. The sociological perspective of rape helps to explain why the military as an organization is a place where rape offenders thrive. There are three aspects that are used to explain this theory. The first aspect looks into the militarys organizational structure and culture. The military is a hierarchal one that was organized to produce warriors who are taught to overcome barriers and to be manly. This culture is a very masculine one. Aaron Belkin states a commander hierarchy combined with a culture that emphasizes dominance creates a recipe for rape. Women do not fit into this type of military very well, and that ones that try often find themselves the victim of a horrible crime. The second aspect, masculinity, was just viewed in combination with the first. The final aspect is the mechan ism for redress. The fact that the whole procedure for investigation is done in-house poses a serious problem. Other countries take cases of rape outside the military and hand it over to civilian police. These three aspects make up the sociological perspective of rape. To introduce ethological and psychophysiological explanation as an understanding of human actions which we saw as primarily voluntaristic, motivated strategies manifest in competing interests, arouses, not altogether surprisingly, a sense of vertigo or indeed nausea. (Littlewood, 1997) With these perspectives on rape it does help us to understand a little better why rape occurs in the military. With rape being such a serious crime, it is a strange fact that so many rapes go unreported. Answering that question will give a better understanding of how serious rape affects the victims of the crime. Often when stats are gathered about a crime, many crimes arent reported. This dark figure of crime is credited to the fear that rape puts into victims minds. A very sad example is from The Invisible War. Kori, one of the victims, was being interviewed and during the interview she finally admitted to her husband that she was only a victim of sexual assault but that she in fact had been raped, and not only was she raped, but in one of the sexual assaults she was beaten so severely that her jaw was smashed. And the discs in her neck were damaged so badly that she required surgery, which the Coast Guard did not do-even though there was physical evidence of assault. (West West, 2012) Finding something hard to tell your own husband puts in perspective how hard it would be to tell anyone e lse, especially a member of the unit in which you were raped. In the military when subordinates are targets of a higher ranks wants and desires it makes it difficult to disobey those orders, no matter how unlawful. In the Army Times news article A Secret Sex Life, army Brig. Gen. Jeffrey A. Sinclair has engaged in a deliberate, degrading course of conduct where he targets his subordinates to satisfy his abhorrent desires. (Gould, 2012) This follows up on the previous point, because the victims are for the most part helpless when the offender has power over them both physically and with rank. When the person who commits the rape is also the person who gives you your daily orders and commands it makes it very difficult to accuse that person. One reason it is so difficult is that to achieve these higher ranks an individual has to demonstrate loyal dedication to the military and they are viewed as the best examples in the ranks. So when this person is accused of a crime by an insubordinate that has been in the military for less than a year it becom es a matter of whose word has more swaying power. Rather than suffer the embarrassment of the rape, and still not find justice, victims choose the alternate route, keeping silent. In the article A Secret Sex Life an unnamed female captain said she repeatedly tried to end the relationship andà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦she asked Sinclair to transfer her out of his command. (Gould, 2012) Although this didnt start out as actual rape, just fraternization, it escalated into a sexual relationship in which the female officer felt trapped and was exposed to sexual assault. The women even threatened suicide at one point to try and get her point across to the general, and to prevent having to suffer the embarrassment of everyone knowing the truth about her and the general. All these unreported cases of rape are known as the dark figure of crime. This dark figure of crime is that portion of the total crimes committed each year that never comes to light. (Hemmens Walsh, 2011) Rapes in the military are definitely underreported, an issue, which desperately needs to be addressed, and a solution needs to be made. If more rapes were reported it would give investigators a better idea of why they happen, where the majority of them take place, and how to best help eliminate future rapes from occurring. With the above information on why rapes occur and why so many go unreported what steps can the military take to prevent future rape? Being a member of the United States Marine Corps I know first hand quite a few of the steps that the Department of Defense, DoD, is taking to try and prevent future rapes. The main tactic they use is to try and educate us, the members of the military, is to show us how rape destroys both the life of the offender and the victim. They make it very clear the strict punishment that will be imposed on the offender if he or she chooses to commit this heinous crime. One problem with these educational videos is that they often come across as comical and poorly done. The lack of seriousness and maturity that many military members show during the viewing of these films really shows me how serious the issue must be. Knowing that the punishments dont usually fit the crime makes me very pessimistic while watching these films too. The truth of the matter shows that a round 87% of sexual crimes remain a secret and do not ever attract the attention that they need to go to trial. The DoD does have aims to better protect the rights of rape defendants. We see this with the Pentagonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦finalizing changes to the militarys rape law that experts say will shore up the rights of troops accused of sexual assault. (Tilghman, 2012) So instead of trying to protect the victims the DoD is taking the opposite approach in trying to protect the offenders who are on the defensive. One good change that the DoD is going to take is that they will allow civilian agencies access to victims and offenders records, and military personnel wont only use them. This will at least allow the victims the use of their own attorneys. The military does use the Uniformed Victim Advocate, UVA. The UVA is a member of the chain of command whose main role is to help victims of a military crime. This is a method that helps the victim deal with his or her issues, and know how best to address the crime committed, but it doesnt help prevent the actual crime from happening. In order to put an end to rape happening in the military the chain of command needs to make it clear that there is a zero tolerance policy when rape is committed, and they need to stand behind this rule. One of the main steps that the military needs to take in order to help prevent rape is to have a better screening process for those interested in joining. As we saw before with the Navy recruits being allowed to join, this cannot be allowed. The last and most important step that the military needs to take is to address the sociological perspective of rape and the three aspects that go along with it. They need to either ban women from the military altogether, a path that I feel would be the most appropriate, or they can take measures to give the females in the military more protection. I feel women in the military will always be vulnerable to attacks, and even though all rapes dont involve women a majority of them do. Rape, in the military, needs to stop. The DoD needs to put its fist down and make punishment for offenders and the protection of victims of the utmost importance. It affects too many people, and if it isnt tolerated in the civilian world then the same should hold true for the military lifestyle as well. Rape is too common in the military, too often it goes unreported, and more safety nets and precautions need to be put in place if women are to be a productive part of our military. Following simple guidelines for insuring these issues being resolved would go a long way for our country and would help produce a positive view on the U.S. military.

Effects of Climate Change on Human Health

Effects of Climate Change on Human Health Climate change has become a hot issue lately. 21st century has to face a new crisis that could have long term effects on the world as well as on human health. Climate change becomes a hot topic now because of things that human have been doing for the last 100 years have been increasing and can change the Earth climate. If there is no preventions, climate change could happen very fast than any in the last 1000 years. Climate change in many ways. Climate changes dramatic and rapid, some the result of the impacts from comets or asteroids (New England Aquarium, 2012). But today, human activities have become the main force causing climate to change rapidly. Climate change is not only about change to the weather. It could affects the environment that people, plants, and animals depend on. This means that climate change is not affect human only but it is about plants, animal, and all the other living and non-living things such as soil, rocks, oceans, and lakes. The melting of polar ice caps shows that human being needs to be concerned about climate change. The rising of sea level could damage the land and if it is occurs without any attention to stop it, human could lose their homes. The effects of climate change that have occurred could wake the people up about the importance to preserve the Earth. Scientists believe that climate change could increase the spreading of disease. Dissemination of diseases could lead to heat-related illnesses and even death. Extreme weather such as storms, could increase the risk of high winds, dangerous flooding, and direct threats to human being and property (United State Environmental Protection Agency, 2012). The number of people facing health problems caused by climate change will rise. Climate change not only causes damage to the Earth, it could also affect human health. Climate change can lead to mental health problems and stress-related disorders, asthma, respiratory allergies and airway diseases, and foodborne diseases and malnu trition. Climate change could bring mental health problems and stress-related disorders. Mental health is a point of well-being in individual when he or she realizes his or her abilities, can work productively, can cope with the normal stresses of life, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community. In certain cases, many mental health disorders can also lead to other chronic diseases and even death. Stress- related disorders comes from abnormal responses to acute or prolonged anxiety, and included diseases such as obsessive-compulsive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder. It is been reported that 26.2 per cent of Americans over the age of 18 suffer from a diagnosable mental health disorder in a given year, 9.5 per cent suffer from mood disorders, and 6 per cent undergo serious mental illness (Environmental Health Perspectives and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, 2010). In 2008, a boy is depressed and is admitted to the psychiatric unit at the Royal Childrens Hospital in Melbourne as he refusing to drink water because worrying about millions of people would die if he drink the water (Anthes, 2009). This situation shows that even climate change could lead to mental health problems and stress-related disorders. Some children also having terrible nightmares about global-warming-related natural disasters. Responsible persons should know their roles to prevent mental health problem on children before it is too late as they are too young to face climate change. Family members loss is also one of the cause that lead to mental health problems and stress-related disorders. Tornadoes and wildfires, floods, and droughts have caused mental suffering to people since time eternal (Ferris, 2012). Extreme events cause damage or loss of property, death or injury of loved ones, and last but not least the recovery efforts could also lead to stress. Besides, climate change also could cause asthma, respiratory allergies, and airway diseases. A group of doctors said that climate change can lead to the variety of respiratory diseases (Koebler, 2012). Asthma is a chronic disease in which the airways of the lungs become inflamed or narrowed resulting in disruptions to normal breathing pattern. Asthma has become the second main cause of other chronic diseases affecting children. Asthma affects mostly five years old children. However, the frequency of asthma is highest among adults. This disease is dangerous as it could block the airways and end in death if action is not taken fast. Climate change threatens asthma in many ways. Higher temperatures caused by climate change increase certain greenhouse gases such as ozone, sulphur dioxide, and nitric oxide. Smog caused by minute particles from smoke stack emissions and diesel exhaust particles from vehicles create danger for people with respiratory illnesses such as chronic obstructive pu lmonary disease and cystic fibrosis, as well as asthmatics (Scott, 2012). Ground level ozone which is a toxic component of smog causes asthma attacks and makes existing asthma become worse. Dust, soot, fly ash, and exhaust particles can become lodged in the lungs and also could trigger asthma attacks. Research have been made and shown that the number of hospitalisations for asthma has increases as the level of particulate matter rise (Natural Resources Defense Council, 2005). Air pollution also could lead to asthma, respiratory allergies, and airway diseases. Air pollution includes greenhouse gases that could cause global warming by trapping heat from the Sun in the Earths atmosphere. Climate change could cause foodborne diseases and malnutrition. Foodborne disease is a disease caused by consuming contaminated food or drink (MedicineNet.com, 2012). There are more than 250 known as foodborne diseases and most of them are caused by bacteria, parasites, and also viruses. Foodborne diseases spreading in many ways. First symptoms effect in gastrointestinal tract as all foodborne microbes and toxins enter the body (MedicineNet.com, 2012). High air temperature can boost cases of Salmonella and bacteria-related food poisoning as bacteria tends to grow rapidly in warm environments (United States Environmental Protection Agency, 2012). These kind of diseases are dangerous as it could cause gastrointestinal distress and death. Heavy rainfall also can spread foodborne diseases by the overflows from sewage treatment plants into fresh water sources and finally effect certain food crops with pathogen-containing feces. Other diseases related with foodborne are Campylobacter, E. C oli, and Calcivirus. Malnutrition is the insufficient, excessive or imbalanced consumption of nutrients (Medical News Today, 2010). Climate change causes insufficient in food all over the world. Depletion of nutritionals food causing many mineral deficiency among people and in certain cases it could lead to death. Poor diet could lead to a vitamin or mineral deficiency and sometimes causing in scurvy, a disease where an individual has a vitamin C deficiency (Medical News Today, 2012). Scurvy still occur although it is a very rare disease. It affects elderly people, alcoholics, or people who live on a diet devoid of fresh fruits and vegetables. Beriberi is caused by lack of vitamin B1. This disease affects the nervous system (Elizabeth Quinn, 2008). Pellagra is also a disease related to malnutrition. It is caused by a deficiency of Vitamin B3. Rickets are caused by the deficiency of vitamin D, phosphorus, or calcium in body. People who are infected with this disease suffer from fragi le bones, delayed growth, pain in bones, and muscle weakness (Elizabeth Quinn, 2008). Climate change has many consequences and effects to the Earth and to humans. Climate change can lead to mental health problems and stress-related disorders. mental health problems not only effect adult but also among children. They tend to have nightmares about global-warming-related natural disasters. Family loss also one of the causes of mental health problems and stress-related disorders. Climate change leads to asthma, respiratory allergies, and airway diseases. Asthma is dangerous as it could block the airways and will lead to death if action is not taken fast. Dust, soot, fly ash, and exhaust particles are dangerous as they become lodged in the lungs and also could trigger asthma attacks. Asthma could attack anytime and anywhere. Precautions are needed for people who already suffer from asthma. Climate change decreases the production of foods on Earth. This situation could lead to foodborne diseases and malnutrition. Foodborne disease is a disease caused by consuming contaminat ed food or drink while malnutrition is the insufficient, excessive of imbalanced consumption of nutrients. Foodborne diseases mostly caused by bacteria, parasites, and viruses. Diseases related to malnutrition are scurvy, Pellagra, and rickets. There are many ways to prevent climate change. Prevention is needed to save the Earth and secure a better place for human being. Human should walk, bike, take mass transit, or carpooling to reduce gas consumption that could lead to asthma. Recycle can saved up to 2,400 pounds of carbon dioxide each year if people recycle half of his or her household waste (Earth911.com, 2007). Replacing a compact fluorescent from a regular light bulb could saves 150 pounds of carbon dioxide each year. Turn off your television, computer, and other electronic devices when are not in use as it could save each household thousand of carbon dioxide every year. People can plant trees. Trees can absorb one tone of carbon dioxide over its lifetime. The most important way is by stay informed about the environmental issues (Earth911.com, 2007).

cold war :: essays research papers

In 1949 the cold war spread from Europe to Asia, affecting everyone in its path. China, Japan, and Vietnam were three countries affected by the Cold War. Out of these three countries China was the countries that was affected the most.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The reason why China was affected the most is because its government, economy, and society were all affected by the Cold War. Chinas government was effected because it changed from a Nationalist government, that was supported by the United States, to a communist government, know as the Peoples Republic Of China. Thanks to the help of the Soviet Union China was able to expand its economy to take advantage of the countries natural rescores. China nationalized all industry and set up a five-year plan to increase the output of coal and steel. To help increase agriculture China took control of land out of the hands of landlords and into the hands of peasants, the Chinese government also encouraged peasants to join their land and form cooperatives. Probably the biggest effect of the Cold War was equal rights for women, this meant that women were expected to work alongside men, the country even went as far as to set up nurseries to take care of the children who were now without an stay at home mother. The Japanese government also gave equality to women.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the 1950’s Japan and the United States of America became not enemies, but allies. Japan actually flourished during the period of time, which it was occupied by the USA; during this time period Japan modernized an enormous amount. The main way that Japan became more modern was the fact that the USA helped Japan build modern manufacturing plants. Since these plants were extremely modern they were able to out produce the factories of the west. In Japan women were also give legal equality. Legal equality is different than actual equality because in Japan women were often in charge of the family finances but very few ever got a collage education or high-level jobs.

Bridge to Terabithia Summaries :: essays research papers

Chapter summaries In chapter fiveMay Belle's dad gives her some Twinkies. On the bus Janice Avery (the school bully) hears May Belle telling Billy Jean (May Belle's best friend) about the Twinkies. At recess time May Belle comes to Jess saying that Janice stole them. May Belle says, "Kill her!" and calls Jess yeller. Jess and Leslie get back at Janice Avery by writing a love letter and signing it Willard Hughes. It told her to meet him outside after school. The hard part was getting the note inside her desk. When she found it she waited outside the school for nothing. When she came back to school the next day she was really mad. Chapter 6 " The Coming Of Prince Terrien" By: Desiree Jackson -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jesse's family was already obsessed with Christmas, and it was a month away. He was disturbed about what he was going to get Leslie for Christmas. He didn't have a clue, because his Father only gave him enough money to get his sisters something. He was on the school bus and saw a box that said "Puppies 4 Sale". He asked the bus driver to let him get off , at first the bus driver said no, but then Jesse told him that he was running errands for his mother. Then the driver told him if he gets in any trouble his mother was going to know it. Jess surprised Leslie. She loved the puppy. They called him Prince Terrien of Terabithia. Ch 7 In this chapter Leslie, her dad and Jess started doing up the old Perkin’s place. They favored one room the most. They called it â€Å"The Golden Room† because it was painted gold. Jess gets to meet and know more about Leslie's family. One day Janice Avery fell down on the bus and she blamed it on Jess. She kicked up so much noise, the bus driver told Jess to walk home. She also ate May Belle's Twinkies. Jess and Leslie met at Terabithia one evening and they talked about a way to trick Janice. So they write a note that said, Dear Janice, I love you. Lets meet at the scool playground and I will walk you home. Yours Truly, Willard Hughes. Ch 8 In Chapter Eight Leslie goes to church with Jess. Jesse's mother didn't want Leslie to go with them. But Jess insisted that Leslie should go. At church Leslie didn't sing the songs that they sang in church.

One Hundred Years of Solitude and The Woman in the Dunes Essay

Solitude can exist in many ways and can be present in any form in human beings. Each person is eventually alone deep inside themselves, which is why communication and connections are essential in life. In the novel One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Kobo Abe's The Woman in the Dunes, solitude is one of the main dilemmas that the main characters in the novels encounter. In the novels, the main characters are perpetually looking for a way to defeat their loneliness in the world and in many cases try to find it through sexual intercourse. The patriarch Jose Arcadio Buendia, in One Hundred Years of Solitude, is the founder of Macondo. The location of Mocondo is significant as it sits on an isolated place which gives the sense of the Buendia family being surrounded by solitude. It also seems as if solitude is an inherited trait of the Buendia family leading to a pattern of incest, which was started by Jose Arcadio Buendia and his wife, who is also his first cousin, Ursula Iguaran. Sex is probably used in the novel as a way to somehow bond the family together. Sex can be used as a tool to make connections to one another and can create body language which can also be a way of communicating. We see this especially in the second generation of the family, when Colonel Aureliano Buendia has sex during the wars with seventeen different women (which he shows no sign of predilection towards). You can also deduce that he went on a journey to free himself from solitude and overall was unsuccessful as it was shown when he m ade an attempt to get with the adolescent "mulatto" girl enslaved by her grandmother. This shows an effort by one of the Buendia men to try to have a loving relationship with another char... ...here was no particular need to hurry about escaping." (239). Realizing his situation, he becomes one with the dunes and is able to live a purposeful life with the woman he once opposed living with. Without any type of sexual relationship, none of the characters in the novels One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Kobo Abe's The Woman in the Dunes would have been explored thoroughly. Sex usually exposes a hidden hope or apprehension, desire and lust for something. In this case the characters of the novels lust, desire for identity and companionship, and is something they strive to acquire. In order to attain this, they attempt to use sex as a tool to triumph over solitude and gain communication and connection to reach one another. This is why sex is essential in providing two crucial things that are necessary in life to avoid solitude.

Theory of Absolute Advantage

â€Å"If a foreign country can supply us with a commodity cheaper than we ourselves can make it, [we had] better buy it of them with some part of our own industry, employed in a way in which we have some advantage.†-Adam Smith (WN, IV.ii.12)This means that a nation produces and exports those commodities which it can produce more cheaply than other nations, and imports those which it cannot. A nation will not produce a good that is produced more expensively at home than abroad –be it â€Å"a thirtieth, or even a three hundredth part more† (WN, IV.ii.15) In economics, absolute advantage refers to the ability of a party (an individual, or firm, or country) to produce more of a good or service than competitors, using the same amount of resources.Adam Smith first described the principle of absolute advantage in the context of international trade, using labor as the only input. Since absolute advantage is determined by a simple comparison of labor productivities, it is possible for a party to have no absolute advantage in anything; in that case, according to the theory of absolute advantage, no trade will occur with the other party. It can be contrasted with the concept of comparative advantage which refers to the ability to produce a particular good at a lower opportunity cost.Origin of the theoryDuring the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries the dominant economic philosophy was mercantilism, which advocated severe restrictions on import and aggressive efforts to increase export. The resulting export surplus was supposed to enrich the nation through the inflow of precious metals. Adam Smith (1776), who regarded as the father of modern economics, countered mercantilist ideas in his famous book, The Wealth of Nations, by developing the concept of absolute advantage.He argued that it was impossible for all nations to become rich simultaneously by following mercantilist prescriptions because the export of one nation is another nation’s impor t. However, all nations would gain simultaneously if they practiced free trade and specialized in accordance with their absolute advantage. This international specialization of factors in production would produce increase  in world output. The theory of absolute advantage itself is normally presented with an example of two countries and two commodities (2Ãâ€"2 model). Each nation can produce one good with less expenditure of human labor than the other and thus more cheaply. As a result, each nation has an absolute advantage in the production of one good. ExampleConsider the table below, which shows that Nation A has an absolute advantage over Nation B in terms of producing sugar, while Nation B has an absolute advantage over Nation A in producing rice. If Nation A will concentrate in the production of sugar and Nation B will focus on the production of rice, the combined production of rice and sugar of both countries would be greater, and these two countries would share in this in crease from exchange, and both will benefit from the higher output of both commodities.If both nations start trading with each other, each nation will specialize in the production of the good it has an absolute advantage in and obtain the other commodity through international trade. More units of both commodities can be produced overall because the given resources are utilized more efficiently. Through trade, both nations are able to consume more units of at least one commodity. In our example above, Nation A would specialize completely in sugar and Nation B in rice.There are no further gains from international trade beside this one-off increase in the overall production and thus consumption. Nothing more happens. Though Smith successfully established the case for free trade, he did not develop the concept of  comparative advantage. Because absolute advantage is determined by a simple comparison of labor productivities, it is possible for a nation to have absolute advantage in not hing. Smith stressed the importance of division of laborSmith’s thoughts on the division of labor constitute the basis for his theory. For him, it is the division of labor that leads to â€Å"the greatest improvement in the productive powers of labor† (WN, I.i.1). As a result of a more advanced division of labor, more output can be produced with the same amount of labor. The division of labor leads to quantitative and qualitative production improvements. This means that output is increased, technological development is stimulated, and workers’ skills and productivity are enhanced. As a result, economic growth is promoted and national wealth increases. This can be summarized as â€Å"the more specialization, the more growth† (Staley 1989, 43)Criticisms on Smith’s theorySubsequent economists did not pay attention to Smith’s theory of absolute advantage. In general, it is not seen as relevant because of the predominance of the theory of compara tive advantage, which â€Å"has been the bedrock on which all subsequent developments in the theory of international trade have rested† (Maneschi 1998, 10). As a result, Smith’s theory was barely noticed and not developed any further. Nonetheless, many of today’s textbooks deal briefly with the theory of absolute advantage, which is ascribed to Smith. They portray Smith’s theory as â€Å"a stepping-stone to a more sophisticated theory† (Staley 1989, 52), namely the theory of comparative advantage that is attributed to David Ricardo.The presentation of Smith’s international trade theory in textbooks is essentially standardized and does not vary significantly. Textbooks emphasize that the theory of absolute advantage â€Å"can explain only a small part of world trade† (Salvatore 2011, 37). Thus, it is seen as a special case of the theory of comparative advantage and both theories are seen as complementary (Dieckheuer 2001, 50). Smith is often criticized for not being able to come up with the more sophisticated theory of comparative advantage (Zhang 2008, 3). In comparison to Ricardo, Smith is described as a â€Å"poor trade theorist† and his theory as a â€Å"naà ¯ve theory† (Mehmet, 1999, 47).

Mercury Athletic Case Essay

West Coast Fashions, Inc. (WCF), a large designer and marketer of men’s and women’s branded apparel recently announced plans for a strategic reorganization. Active Gear, Inc. (AG), a privately held footwear company, was contemplating an acquisition opportunity. John Liedtke, the head of business development for AG, was interested in a WCF subsidiary. The subsidiary that Liedtke and AG intended to acquire was Mercury Athletic (MA), a footwear company. Liedtke thought acquiring Mercury would roughly double AG’s revenue, increase its leverage with contract manufacturers and expand its presence with key retailers and distributors. In order to provide a solid recommendation to Liedtke, further analysis must be performed. Market Overview The apparel or footwear industry is highly competitive with low growth. The market is influenced by fashion trends, price, quality and style. Companies can reduce risk factors by not following fashion trends which equates to efficient and effective inventory management and missed profit opportunities. Active Gear AG is a relatively small athletic and casual footwear company. It has annual revenues of $470.3M (42% of revenues came from athletic shoes), and $60.4M of operating income. Casting a shadow over these numbers are AG’s typical competitors. AG’s typical competitor has annual sales over $1.0B. Because of Chinese manufacturing contract consolidations, AG’s size was becoming a disadvantage due to low buying power vs. competitors. AG’s initial focus was to produce and market high-quality specialty shoes for golf and tennis players. AG was among the first companies to offer fashionable, walking, hiking and boating footwear. Over the years, the firm’s athletic shoes had evolved from high-performance footwear to athletic fashion wear with a  classic image. The firm’s traditional casual shoes also offered classic styling, but were aimed at a broader, more mainstream market. AG’s target demographic was urban and suburbanites, ranging from 25-45 in age. AG’s distribution channels consisted of independent retailers, departmental stores, and wholesalers. AG excluded big box retailers and discount stores. AG focused on products that didn’t follow fashion trends, resulting in a lengthened product lifecycle. This business model led to more efficient and effective supply chain and operating management. However, because they opted for the safe route it halted the company’s sales and growth opportunity. Mercury Athletic Mercury Athletic was purchased by WCF from its founder Daniel Fiore. Fiore was forced to sell the company after running it for over 35 years, due to health problems. Due to a strategic reorganization, the plan called for the divestiture of MA and other â€Å"non-core† WCF assets. MA had revenues of $431.1M and an EBITDA of $51.8M Products were distributed to departmental and discount stores It had two product lines- athletic and casual footwear Target market of both men and women Shoes popularity grew in the extreme sports market MA developed an operating infrastructure, allowing management to quickly adapt to changes in customer tastes with product specifications. 1. Is Mercury an appropriate target for AG? Why or why not? Let me walk you through some qualitative considerations before making my recommendation. Strategic considerations: AG and MA are both competing in the athletic and casual footwear industry. Acquiring MA could lead to economies of scale and scope through manufacturing and distribution networks, respectively. Acquiring MA- AG would be less affected by the Chinese manufacturing contract consolidation, due to increased buying powers. AG could potentially revive and profit from acquiring Mercury’s women’s product line. Acquiring MA will double AG’s  annual revenue. Counter arguments- AG and MA target demographics could not produce company synergies MA is fashion trendy, therefore prone to risks outside of AG’s steady business model Company cultures could not match 2. Review the projections by Liedtke. Are they appropriate? How would you recommend modifying them? In order to find if the projections are reasonable, you need a starting point. Using projected growth rates and EBIT should indicate if Liedtke’s data is solid. Referencing the Free Cash Flow and Terminal Value tables (found below), I will be able to generate an opinion of Liedtke’s projections. Year to year growth rates are extremely volatile, normalizing in 2010. The negative rate could signify that in 2007 they are projecting to discontinue a product line. The swing back to a positive growth rate could be indication of AG leveraging its economies of scale and scope, while distributing their product lines through big box retailers. EBIT has been projected to gradually increase, which looks to be on par with industry norms. It is reasonable to say that Liedtke’s projections properly reflect AG’s business model, post-acquisition. 3. See tables and calculations below 4. Do you regard the value you obtained as conservative or aggressive? Why? From my analysis, the value I obtained seemed to be aggressive against the information provided. Referencing the tables below: Terminal or Enterprise Value is High Synergies are excluded from financial analysis Declining revenue growth 5. How would you analyze possible synergies or other sources of value not reflected in Liedtke’s base assumption? In order to analyze possible synergies, I would look at both companies’ operations. Starting from where they source their materials to distributing their final product are all possibilities of operational synergies (buying power, distribution channels, inventory management, etc†¦). Financial synergies would include combining revenues and cost benefits, which translate to increasing bottom line. Company culture matching could also become problematic. Quantitative Analysis Net Working Capital Free Cash Flow WACC Terminal Value Valuation NPV, IRR and Payback Period Conclusion Net present value of future cash flows equates to a positive $0.2M. Internal rate of return or IRR is the interest rate at which the net present value of all the cash flows from a project or investment equal zero. The IRR of this acquisition is 28%. Having a positive NPV and an IRR that considerably outweighs the discount and risk free rate- suggests that this acquisition should be pursued. In conclusion, AG should acquire MA.