Law Essays Capital Punishment

Law Essays Capital Punishment Does capital punishment have a deterrent effect on crime? Analyse this question with reference to either the UK or USA. Introduction Nowadays, in most of the Western world, capital punishment is considered an unacceptable, barbaric sentence that cannot be morally or philosophically justified. In the UK, it has been abolished since 1969, while Protocol six of the European Convention on Human Rights obliged the forty six member states of the Council of Europe to scribe off the death sentence from their penal codes. However, a number of US states retain the sentence with few politicians and theorists claiming that it has a strong deterrent effect. The purpose of this essay is to critically reflect upon this argument. Is capital punishment a worthwhile deterrent? The punishment theory of deterrence – which belongs to the utilitarian philosophy – is composed of two elements. The first is called specific/individual deterrence and is directed towards convicted offenders. In broad terms it aims to discourage them for their transgressions and thereby convincing them that crime does not pay. The second is called general deterrence and is directed towards potential offenders. It seeks to persuade them by the threat of anticipated punishment from engaging in unlawful conduct by illustrating the unsavoury consequences of offending. Therefore, by definition, capital punishment cannot fulfil the first element of deterrence since after its passing, the convicted offender dies. As for the second element of passing a lesson to the rest of the society, the views are mixed; although there is evidence to suggest that the impact of capital sentence is not as great as it would justify it. For example, according to Katz et al, the so far studies on capital punishment produce erratic and contradictory results, while most of them find that there is no deterrent effect. In fact, Shepherd’s 2004 study showed that executions are as likely to increase homicides in states following execution as there are states where there seems to be a reduction. In addition, a number of research experts have heavily criticised the so far positive studies on capital punishment for being methodologically unviable. For instance, Maltz recent evaluation showed that most of US studies ignored large amounts of missing data, relying only on two sources: the Bureau of Justice Statistics of the US Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.   Even more importantly, studies that directly examine the reactions of individuals to punishment threats constituently show the limits of the assumptions of rationality that underlie deterrence. In fact, according to the Annual Statistical Report of the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, most offenders who are convicted to a capital sentence have cognitive impairments. This makes it even more unlikely that they are actually aware of executions. On the other hand, states without capital punishment such as New York enjoy declining homicide rates. The Uniform Crime Reports showed that over the last decade there was a 65.5% decrease in homicide rates. Similarly, Dugan et al showed that since the early 1970s intimate or domestic homicides have been declining at a steady pace regardless of fluctuations in the number of executions. Finally, according to the forthcoming study by Professor Berk, nearly all of the presumed deterrent effects of capital punishment are confined in one state – Texas – and only for a handful of years when there were more than 5 executions. Overall, the study proved that eliminating Texas eliminates any hint of deterrence from the relationship between execution and crime. Moving beyond the statistics However, it is not just the negative statistics that make capital punishment increasingly unfamiliar. Carter showed that offenders who are convicted to capital punishment usually come from poor backgrounds introducing an element of class discrimination in the sentencing system. Similarly, Keil and Vito’s study reported that blacks who kill whites seem to have the greater odds of receiving the death penalty than whites who kill blacks†. To conclude, the last two year research data show that capital punishment has hardly any deterrence effect, while a number of other side issues such as discrimination and selectivity reinforce the argument against its use. Berk, Richard. 2005 forthcoming. New Claims about executions and General Deterrence: D ej a vu all over again? Journal of Empirical Legal Studies. Carter, Robert. 1965. The Johny Cain Story: A Composite of Men Executed in California. Issues in Criminology 1:66. Dugan, Laura, Daniel Nagin, and Richard Rosenfeld. 1999. Explaining the Decline in Intimate Partner Homicide: The effects of Changing Domesticity, Womens Status and Domestic Violence Resources. Homicide Studies 3:187. Katz, Lawrence, Steven Levitt, and Ellen Shustorovich. 2003. Prison Conditions, Capital Punishment and Deterrence. American Law and Economics Review 5:318. Keil, Thomas and Gennaro Vito. 1989. Race, Homicide Severity and the Application of the Death Penalty. Criminology 27:511. Maltz, Michael. 2004. The Effect of NIBRS Reporting on Item Missing Data in Murder Cases. Homicide Studies 8:193. Parisi, Francisco and Vermon Smith. 2005. Introduction in the Law and Economics of Irrational Behaviour: In press. Shepherd, Joanna. 2004. Deterrence versus Brutalization: Capital Punishments Differering Impacts Among States. Working Paper, Emory University Law School.

Distal Symmetrical Neuropathy (DPN)

Distal Symmetrical Neuropathy (DPN) Abstract The most common complication of diabetes, distal symmetrical neuropathy (DPN), decreases quality of life and causes disability. Therefore, it hasa significant impact on social and economic aspects. Unfortunately, the treatment of this condition remains challenging because, apart from improving glycaemic control, there are currently no pathogenetic drugs that meet the requirement set by US regulation. This is not necessarily due to a lack of therapeutic potential, but because the endpoints were not robust enough to detect the therapeutic benefit. This essay will address several acknowledged surrogate endpoints (SE) for DPN. Corneal confocal microscopy will also be reviewed as a potential SE for DPN. Introduction Neuropathy, a common long-term complication of diabetes, is associated with the progressive loss of nerve fibres affecting both the somatic and autonomic nervous systems.1 The most common type of diabetic neuropathy is DPN, of which manifestation may vary from painful sensations to foot insensitivity at risk of ulceration.2 In an attempt to treat DPN, clinicians use symptomatic drugs such as tricyclic antidepressants, anticonvulsants, opioids, and opioid-like agents that alleviate painful symptoms in the lower limbs.3 These drugs, however, do not affect the underlying cause of the disease, which is believed to be progressive loss of nerve fibres. Drugs that target putative pathogenesis of the disease, therefore, may become great alternatives. There are currently two main experimental drugs that belong to this group: namely, antioxidant ÃŽ ±-lipoic acid4 and aldose-reductase inhibitor epalrestat.5 However, although theyhave been approved in a limited number of countries, they fail to demonstrate sufficient efficacy to be approved by US regulation. This has raised a question about the reason behind this problem. Poorly designed trials, slow progression of the disease, relatively short duration of the trials, strong placebo effect, and endpoints selection are amongst the factors proposed behind this problem.6The latter factor is of particular interest because some of the current surrogate endpoints for DPN assessment may be subjective due to reliance on the patient’s response. Further discussion of SE for DPN will be reviewed below. Surrogate endpoints for DPN The endpoints used in clinical trialsare variable to evaluate the changes in patient condition after they have been given certain treatment. The ideal endpoints should be clinically meaningful and directly measure how the patients feel, function, and survive.7 However, it is difficult in some cases to apply them in clinical trials due to subjectivity or measurement difficulty. Moreover, the clinical trials have to be conducted overa very long periodto measure these ideal endpoints. To solve this problem, the researchers use the surrogate endpoints which define any laboratory measures, signs or symptomsthat are intended to be used as substitutes for clinically meaningful endpoints.7 Therefore, any changes in the surrogate endpoints induced by treatment are expected to reflect the changes in the clinically meaningful endpoints. In the case of DPN, several endpoints have been used to diagnose and evaluate progression or severity of the disease, including clinical assessment, electrophysiology, quantitative sensory testing (QST),8 sympathetic skin response (SSR),9 quantitative sudomotor axon reflex test (QSART),9, 10 autonomic testing, nerve/skin biopsy,11-13 and corneal confocal microscopy (CCM).14 Clinical assessment of DPN involves assessing the severity of the patients’ symptoms and neurological examination. Most components of this examination rely on patients’ responses and the physicians’ experiences; therefore it has poor reproducibility and marked variation in inter-observer agreement.Dyck15 tried to overcome this problem by developing composite scores that assess the symptoms and signs of DPN. The neuropathy symptom score (NSS) was developed to assess the symptoms, whereas the neuropathy disability score (NDS) was devised as a quantified neurological examination.15 Later, NDS was replaced by the neuropathy impairment score (NIS).16 However, these scores still have a certain degree of subjectivity, meaning the evaluation of disease severity may be biased. An electrophysiology study measures the electrical conduction along the nerve fibres to evaluate their function. As a surrogate endpoint, it has been criticised due to the need for special equipment and a trained examiner.17 Moreover, there is evidence that it only assesses the function of large fibres,18 yet the earliest fibres affected by diabetes aresmall unmyelinated fibres.12 QST, on the other hand, evaluates both large (A-beta) and small (A-delta and C) nerve fibres. It measures sensory response after the application of accurately calibrated sensory (mechanical and thermal) stimuli.8 However, it has been criticised because it is subjective (based on patient response) and thus cannot differentiate between fake or real response. Due to this reason, QST results are not recommended to be the sole criteria to diagnose DPN. The combination of composite score, electrophysiology, and QST offers a relatively robust tool to define neuropathic severity but fails to detect the earliest sta ge of nerve damage that happens in small unmyelinated fibres.19 The somatic nerve disturbances due to diabetes are usually accompanied by vasomotor or sudomotor changes that suggest autonomic involvement. QSART examines the sudomotor changes in neuropathic patients by measuring sweat volume produced by skin after chemical10 or electrical stimulation.20 QSART is considered as a robust endpoint for DPN because it is quite sensitive, objective, and reproducible.9, 20 It has been shown to be able to detect C-fibres involvement in DPN patients who have otherwise normal neurological examinations and nerve-conduction studies.10 However, it requires special equipment and needs a relatively long time to be carried out. These drawbacks limit the application of QSART in clinical trials, especially if a large number of subjects are required. Sural-nerve biopsies and skin biopsies directly assess the damage and repair of small nerve fibres and have been proposed to be surrogate endpoints in clinical trials.11, 12Both of these methods have been shown to be very sensitive in detecting regeneration or abnormality insmall nerve fibres. The quantification of intra-epidermal nerve-fibre density (IENFD) from a skin biopsy, for example, is shown to be more sensitive than QSART and QST in diagnosing DPN.13 Nevertheless, the invasive nature of these procedures may become a problem, especially for diabetic patients. To solve this problem, anon-invasive measurement needs to be developed. CCM offers a new approach to directly measure the severity of DPN through visualisation of the subbasal nerve plexus in Bowman’s layer of the cornea. The cornea is a highly innervated organ which contains dense A-delta and C-unmyelinated fibres. The question remains whether corneal innervation has a connection with neuropathy caused by diabetes. Recent evidence, however, shows that corneal sensation is impaired in both diabetic21 and galactose-fed rats.22Moreover, in diabetic patients the subclinical abnormalities of corneal innervations23 and corneal ulceration24 are commonly recognised. This is due to the progressive loss of corneal nerve fibres which in turn reduces the neurotrophic stimuli required to develop a healthy and thick corneal epithelium. In 2000, Rosenberg et al.25 found that corneal sensation and nerve-fibre number werereduced in patients with type I diabetes. Later, the degree of corneal-n erve-fibre loss was shown to correlate with the degree of DPN assessed by a combination of NDS, electrophysiology and QST.26 These suggest that diabetes may affect the corneal innervations and therefore it is possible to assess neuropathy through corneal-nerve-fibre evaluation. CCM assesses corneal nerve morphology by quantifying three different parameters: namely, corneal-nerve-fibre density (NFD), the total number of major fibres per square millimetre; nerve-branch density (NBD), the number of branches emanating from major nerve trunks per square millimetre; and nerve-fibre length (NFL), the total length of nerve fibres and branches per square millimetre.26Quattrini et al.14 provided further evidence that CCM parameters can be used to assess small-fibre damage in humans. Moreover, they found that CCM results correlated with IEFND, which was considered a robust tool to assess small-fibre damage. Later, a study in patients who underwent simultaneous kidney-and-pancreas transplantation showed that CCM was, in fact, more sensitive than IEFND to detect early nerve damage and regeneration.27 The role of CCM is not limited to evaluating the progression of disease;it can also be used to diagnose DPN and identify at-risk patients due to high sensitivity.28 These s uggest that CCM may be used as a tool to diagnose, identify at-risk patients, and evaluate nerve-fibre damage or repair. Recently, CCM has successfully detected corneal nerve damage which correlates with neuropathic measurements in several diseases other than diabetes, such as idiopathic small-fibre neuropathy,29 Fabry disease,30 and Charcott-Marie-Tooth type 1A disease.31The evidence so far shows that CCM may have the potential to be an ideal surrogate endpoint for DPN. It is sensitive, quantitative, highly reproducible, and noninvasive.32, 33However, more research is needed to establish a connection between CCM measurement and clinically meaningful endpoints which, in the case of DPN, are pain, disability, and the curtailment of quality of life. Conclusion Apart from the possibility that the tested drug may not yield the intended outcome, the failure to detect the effectiveness of experimental drugsmay, in case of DPN, be caused by improper selection of surrogate endpoints in clinical trials. There are currently several acknowledged surrogate endpoints for DPN, such as clinical assessment, electrophysiology, QST, QSART, SSR, monofilament test, nerve/skin biopsy, and autonomic testing.However, they have several drawbacks, such as being time consuming, subjective, and difficult to practice. Recently, CCM has emerged as a potential surrogate endpoint for DPN because it is non-invasive, highly reproducible, quantitative, and sensitive. However, more research is needed to establish its position as a game changer in neuropathy-outcome assessment.

Hypnotherapy: Can it Stop Cigarette Addiction? Essay examples -- Hypno

Hypnotherapy: Can it Stop Cigarette Addiction? â€Å"And now, when I snap my fingers, you will never smoke again! †Could there be something more useful to hypnosis than just magical entertainment? Are there applications for hypnosis in the medical realm? Hypnotherapists now advocate hypnosis as a near panacea, claiming it can help one lose weight, stop smoking, improve memory, improve athletic ability, reduce stress, build self-confidence, overcome phobias, find lost articles, and even manage chronic pain (http://sageways. com/sageline/0196/hah. html). It has been estimated that some 390,000 Americans die prematurely from cigarette smoking each year. Smoking has been linked as a major risk factor to lung cancer (and many other forms of cancer), heart disease, chronic lung diseases, stroke, and respiratory illness. However quitting smoking can decreases the risk of these chronic illnesses and those who quit smoking generally live longer and healthier than those who do not. As scientific evidence revealing the harmful eff ects of smoking has accumulated to the of point universal acceptance, smokers are now seeking heavily (even desperately) to terminate their potentially fatal habit. Furthermore, smokers usually must make multiple attempts to quit their habit before reaching the point of abstinence. In such despair, an unorthodox treatment such as hypnosis can arise as a tantalizing option. But can a hypnotherapist really use hypnosis to end such an ingrained habit, or are the seemingly magic powers of hypnosis being used to swindle money from the gullible and the desperate? Who Advocates Hypnosis? In general hypnotherapists and other alternative therapists endorse hypnosis. Many of these advocates do not possess a... ...ly Physician, 42(5Suppl), 70S-73S. Schwartz, J. L. (1992). Methods of Smoking Cessation. Medical Clinics of North America, 76(2), 451-76. Schubert, D. K. (1983). Comparison of Hypnotherapy with Systematic Relaxation in the Treatment of Cigarette Habituation. Journal of Clinical Psychology. 39(2), 198-202. Spiegel, D. , Frischhlz, E. J. , Fleiss, J. L. , & Spiegel, H. (1993). Predictors of Smoking Abstinence Following a Single-Session Restructuring Intervention With Self-Hypnosis. American Journal of Psychiatry, 150(7), 1090-7. Sorensen, G. , Beder, B. Prible, C. R. , & Pinney, J. (1995). Reducing Smoking at the Workplace: Implementing a Smoking Ban and Hypnotherapy. Journal of Occupational Medicine, 37(4), 453-60. Van Dyck, R. & Hoogduin, K. (1990). Hypnosis: Placebo or Nonplacebo?American Journal of Psychotherapy, 44(3), 396-404.

Who Is Free To Choose :: essays research papers

Who Is Free To Choose?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Internet started out as a tool for transmitting information to learn and study. Free expression on the Internet is one of the things that makes the Internet so great. People can get information on a subject from many different areas. This gives the chance for people to see an issue form other points of view. The Internet has developed into a vast medium of knowledge with many users contributing to its growth. With the growth of the Internet, many people have seen it as a source to express their ideas to the public. Some would even view the Internet as a virtual community, and say it is a democracy. People argue that with such freedom, the Internet should be censored to protect children form pornography, and others from sites that may concern 'objectionable'; material. There are people who live under the 1st Amendment and they use the Internet as an outlet to express their ideas and to incorporate ideas from others. Censorship of the Internet is wrong because it obstructs other pe ople from accessing what they want to see and it inhabits people's free speech. Censorship on the Internet has been a growing concern for the past three years. The wide range of information available has made it a tempting target for those who want to control what a person can see and read. The Random House Webster's School and Office Dictionary defines censorship as, 'An official who examines books, films etc., to suppress anything objectionable';. (CD ROM) The next question is who is going to decide for the millions of users on the Internet what is objectionable for them to see and read. The Internet has developed into a vast medium of knowledge with many users contributing to its growth. In this country, many activists for censorship on the Internet mainly have one thing on their minds. They want to protect children from pornography. Although I view this as big concern, there is a grater issue at hand. Since censorship involves all forms of expression, censoring the Internet woul d hurt many people. The Internet is an international community; we must view it as pertaining to other countries, not just the United States. Not all countries have the privilege of living in a democracy and under the Bill of Rights. As a result, the Internet has brought a new sense of freedom to most people who oppressed by tyrannical governments, or those that disagree with a government but are not allowed to express it.

Is Religion Just a Joke? Essay -- Religion Religious Essays

Is Religion Just a Joke? Driving with my friend to the movies one evening last winter we discovered a group of people bundled up and picketing by The Safari movie theatre in Moorhead.à  My friend and I didn’t know what movie we wanted to watch, but these protesters made up our mind.à  We decided to see the movie â€Å"Dogma† because that was the very movie these outraged people were boycotting.à  Sometimes people carry their religion to the point where it has an adverse effect on people.à  This was the case that evening. As we watched â€Å"Dogma,† my friend and I laughed hysterically.à  It wasn’t nearly as bad as the protestors suggested.à  The view the â€Å"outraged Christians† and I seemed to disagree on was they took the movie literally, whereas I personally took it as mere fiction.à  In my opinion, it was just another religious comedy to bring the sometimes-scary topic of â€Å"religion† down to a point that seems more human in the eyes of the average American today. By making the topic of religion humorous, we as a society can take a look at the different aspects of this complicated and controversial issue.à  What is ethically right or wrong has been seen in many issues such as cloning, euthanasia, and abortion.à  Religion, along with these other issues, is often hard to confront.à  With the aid of movies, such as â€Å"Dogma† and â€Å"Keeping the Faith,† we are able to delve into the issue of religion more easily.à  Let us now take a look at these two movies.à  â€Å"Keeping the Faith† starts with a priest, Brian Finn, played by Edward Norton, telling his complicated story to the local bartender in New York who thinks he’s heard it all already.à  Brian tells of a childhood friendship between himself, Jake Schram, and a girl named Anna Reilly.à  The three... ...ck Jesus, a thirteenth apostle played by Chris Rock who was written out of the bible because he was black (having a black savior is okay, but not a black apostle), Mary not being a virgin, after all, â€Å"Do you think Joseph would stay around if he wasn’t getting any?,† and God being a woman.à  Anyone who would take these humorous and outrageous suggestions literally is more of a joke than this movie.à  In my opinion, a movie is just a movie and nothing more, other than to bring into focus a difficult subject matter.à  Therefore, funny movies about religion actually help viewers think critically about religion.à  The protestors seemed to want to make the religious comedy genre be blasphemy on God, where that is not what the movie was trying to do.à  Which brings out the question: Who is making religion a joke?à  -The movies? -Or the people carrying their religion too far?

Draft a Definition: Family Essay

Our ever-changing environment has impacted everything that it has even resulted to people having their own definition of words such as the word â€Å"family†. People now make their own definition of the said word based on their own personal and domestic experiences and circumstances. Gone are the old days of having one specific formal definition for the word â€Å"family† where it was also universally applied. The word family before was simply defined as a social unit â€Å"consists of a male wage earner, a non-working wife, and kids† (Lewin). It was considered as the simplest form of social organization where each member occupies a position, like being a father or mother to one’s children, husband or wife, the eldest or the youngest child. However, today there is more to the said definition. A family is defined as not only inclusive of the presence of a father or a mother with children but could also be any two or more persons living together regardless of sex orientation and preference but have commitment with each other, share the same values, and pursue the same goals. This definition may not have a legal standing in our society but various social groups asserted for its acceptance. These social groups would like to liberate the definition of the word family to pave the way for society’s acceptance as well as legal recognition especially for those who are involved in homosexual partnership where a relationship anchored on a long and deep commitment between partners was already established yet are not legally recognized. I still recognize family as a social unit but I hold a deeper meaning for it. For me a family is one that molds the character and personality of its member and in his contribution to the society. It is the building block of any society. The strength and durability of any society stems from the cohesiveness of this social unit called a family. As such I viewed family as the main link between the individual and the society. This is where the person or the child first gains experiences in love, affection, kindness, sympathy, and the like. The child gets oriented into the culture of the group, its norms, goals and types of consensus and sanctions. Indeed, the family is that social unit which has a pervasive influence on the individual’s behavior, even up to adulthood. It acts as the social laboratory which prepares the child for life in the bigger society, and that it is the family which is the first, the closest, and the most influential social group in the child’s life. Also, a family being a social system makes each member, from the youngest to the oldest, regardless of other personal circumstances essential to the working of the said system. Further, a family is one that provides a child with a fertile ground to build a solid foundation of who he will become in the future. It prepares the child to the outside world and also to the next life cycle. A family is something that is always there for its member no matter what and no matter when. Indeed, a healthy family may not necessarily have a father or a mother or both but it can bring people out of themselves as they recognize others. They heal, bind, and foster intimacy. They bring the sense of belonging, of feeling worthwhile, and develop a sense of individuality. Members of the family realize their unique dignity. These virtues are often overlooked in families, or are considered secondary or only expressed to friends, when they truly are the foundation of a healthy, functioning family. Reference List Lewin, Tamara. Suit Over Death Benefits Asks, What is a Family? Retrieved March 10, 2007 from http://www. cs. cmu. edu/afs/cs. cmu. edu/user/scotts/domestic-partners/family. html.

Hart Venture Capital Essay

Case study 1 Better Fitness, Inc. (BFI), manufactures exercise equipment at its plant in Freeport, Long Island. It recently designed two universal weight machines for the home exercise market. Both machines use BFI-patented technology that provides the user with an extremely wide range of motion capability for each type of exercise performed. Until now, such capabilities have been available only on expensive weight machines used primarily by physical therapists. At a recent trade show, demonstrations of the machines resulted in significant dealer interest. In fact, the number of orders that BFI received at the trade show far exceeded its manufacturing capabilities for the current production period. As a result, management decided to begin production of the two machines. The two machines, which BFI named the BodyPlus 100 and the BodyPlus 200, require different amounts of resources to produce. The BodyPlus 100 consists of a frame unit, a press station, and a pec-dec station. Each frame produced uses 4 hours of machining and welding time and 2 hours of painting and finishing time. Each press station requires 2 hours of machining and welding time and 1 hour of painting and finishing time, and each pec-dec station uses 2 hours of machining and welding time and 2 hours of painting and finishing time. In addition, 2 hours are spent assembling, testing, and packaging each BodyPlus 100. The raw material costs are $450 for each frame, $300 for each press station, and $250 for each pec-dec station; packaging costs are estimated to be $50 per unit. The BodyPlus 200 consists of a frame unit, a press station, a pec-dec station, and a legpress station. Each frame produced uses 5 hours of machining and welding time and 4 hours of painting and finishing time. Each press station requires 3 hours machining and welding time and 2 hours of painting and finishing time, each pec-dec station uses 2 hours of machining and welding time and 2 hours of painting and finishing time, and each legpress station requires 2 hours of machining and welding time and 2 hours of painting and finishing time. In addition, 2 hours are spent assembling, testing, and packaging each Body-Plus 200. The raw material costs are $650 for each frame, $400 for each press station, $250 for each pec-dec station, and $200 for each leg-press station; packaging costs are estimated to be $75 per unit. For the next production period, management estimates that 600 hours of machining and welding time, 450 hours of painting and finishing time, and 140 hours of assembly, testing, and packaging time will be available. Current labor costs are $20 per hour for machining and welding time, $15 per hour for painting and finishing time, and $12 per hour for assembly, testing, and packaging time. The market in which the two machines must compete suggests a retail price of $2400 for the BodyPlus 100 and $3500 for the BodyPlus 200, although some flexibility may be available to BFI because of the unique capabilities of the new machines. Authorized BFI dealers can purchase machines for 70% of the suggested retail price. BFI’s president believes that the unique capabilities of the BodyPlus 200 can help position BFI as one of the leaders in high-end exercise equipment. Consequently, he has stated that the number of units of the BodyPlus 200 produced must be at least 25% of the total production. Managerial Report Analyze the production problem at Better Fitness, Inc. , and prepare a report for BFI’s president presenting your findings and recommendations. Include (but do not limit your discussion to) a consideration of the following items: 1. What is the recommended number of BodyPlus 100 and BodyPlus 200 machines to produce? 2. How does the requirement that the number of units of the BodyPlus 200 produced be at least 25% of the total production affect profits? 3. Where should efforts be expended in order to increase profits?  Include a copy of your linear programming model and graphical solution in an appendix to your report. Case study 2 Hart Venture Capital (HVC) specializes in providing venture capital for software development and Internet applications. Currently HVC has two investment opportunities: (1) Security Systems, a firm that needs additional capital to develop an Internet security software package, and (2) Market Analysis, a market research company that needs additional capital to develop a software package for conducting customer satisfaction surveys. In exchange for Security Systems stock, the firm has asked HVC to provide $600,000 in year 1, $600,000 in year 2, and $250,000 in year 3 over the coming three-year period. In exchange for their stock, Market Analysis has asked HVC to provide $500,000 in year 1, $350,000 in year 2, and $400,000 in year 3 over the same three-year period. HVC believes that both investment opportunities are worth pursuing. However, because of other investments, they are willing to commit at most $800,000 for both projects in the first year, at most $700,000 in the second year, and $500,000 in the third year. HVC’s financial analysis team reviewed both projects and recommended that the company’s objective should be to maximize the net present value of the total investment in Security Systems and Market Analysis. The net present value takes into account the estimated value of the stock at the end of the three-year period as well as the capital outflows that are necessary during each of the three years. Using an 8% rate of return, HVC’s financial analysis team estimates that 100% funding of the Security Systems project has a net present value of $1,800,000, and 100% funding of the Market Analysis project has a net present value of $1,600,000. HVC has the option to fund any percentage of the Security Systems and Market Analysis projects. For example, if HVC decides to fund 40% of the Security Systems project, investments of 0. 40($600,000) _ $240,000 would be required in year 1, 0. 40($600,000) _ $240,000 would be required in year 2, and 0. 40($250,000) _ $100,000 would be required in year 3. In this case, the net present value of the Security Systems project would be 0. 40($1,800,000) _ $720,000. The investment amounts and the net present value for partial funding of the Market Analysis project would be computed in the same manner. Managerial Report Perform an analysis of HVC’s investment problem and prepare a report that presents your findings and recommendations. Include (but do not limit your discussion to) a consideration of the following items: 1. What is the recommended percentage of each project that HVC should fund and the net present value of the total investment? 2. What capital allocation plan for Security Systems and Market Analysis for the coming three-year period and the total HVC investment each year would you recommend? . What effect, if any, would HVC’s willingness to commit an additional $100,000 during the first year have on the recommended percentage of each project that HVC should fund? 4. What would the capital allocation plan look like if an additional $100,000 is made available? 5. What is your recommendation as to whether HVC should commit the additional $100,000 in the first year? Provide model details Case study 3 Digital Imaging (DI) produces photo printers for both the professional and consumer markets. The DI consumer division recently introduced two photo printers that provide color prints rivaling those produced by a professional processing lab. The DI-910 model can produce a 4†³ _ 6†³ borderless print in approximately 37 seconds. The more sophisticated and faster DI-950 can even produce a 13†³ _ 19†³ borderless print. Financial projections show profit contributions of $42 for each DI-910 and $87 for each DI-950. The printers are assembled, tested, and packaged at DI’s plant located in New Bern, North Carolina. This plant is highly automated and uses two manufacturing lines to produce the printers. Line 1 performs the assembly operation with times of 3 minutes per DI-910 printer and 6 minutes per DI-950 printer. Line 2 performs both the testing and packaging operations. Times are 4 minutes per DI-910 printer and 2 minutes per DI-950 printer. The shorter time for the DI-950 printer is a result of its faster print speed. Both manufacturing lines are in operation one 8-hour shift per day. Managerial Report Perform an analysis for Digital Imaging in order to determine how many units of each printer to produce. Prepare a report to DI’s president presenting your findings and recommendations. Include (but do not limit your discussion to) a consideration of the following: 1. The recommended number of units of each printer to produce to maximize the total contribution to profit for an 8-hour shift. What reasons might management have for not implementing your recommendation? 2. Suppose that management also states that the number of DI-910 printers produced must be at least as great as the number of DI-950 units produced. Assuming that the objective is to maximize the total contribution to profit for an 8-hour shift, how many units of each printer should be produced? 3.  Does the solution you developed in part (2) balance the total time spent on line 1 and the total time spent on line 2? Why might this balance or lack of it be a concern to management? 4. Management requested an expansion of the model in part (2) that would provide a better balance between the total time on line 1 and the total time on line 2. Management wants to limit the difference between the total time on line 1 and the total time on line 2 to 30 minutes or less. If the objective is still to maximize the total contribution to profit, how many units of each printer should be produced? What effect does this workload balancing have on total profit in part (2)? 5. Suppose that in part (1) management specified the objective of maximizing the total number of printers produced each shift rather than total profit contribution. With this objective, how many units of each printer should be produced per shift? What effect does this objective have on total profit and workload balancing? For each solution that you develop, include a copy of your linear programming model and graphical solution in the appendix to your report.