Flu Season :: essays research papers

Each year the winter seasons brings with it cold, snow, holidays, and to a lucky few a break from work or school. To many, however, winter brings the dreaded Influenza virus, a virus which, if left to it’s own devices, can bring death, especially to the young, the old, and the infirm. This year winter also brought with it a shortage of the Influenza vaccine, which was due to a contamination of one manufacturer’s supply. (Flaherty A02) The resulting decrease in supply caused a dramatic increase in the price demanded by suppliers (and the price paid by consumers). (Flaherty A02) Flu Vaccine for the United States was produced solely by two foreign manufacturers this year, Aventis Pasteur and Chiron Corp. These two manufacturers sell their vaccine to U.S. distributors like Stat Pharmaceuticals Inc. of El Cajon, CA and Meds-Stat based in Ft. Lauderdale, FL who will go on to sell to hospitals, pharmacies, and health care clinics (Flaherty A02). On October fifth the Chiron Corp. announced that their entire supply of Flu vaccine destined for U.S. markets was unfit for use due to a contamination problem at their British manufacturing plant (Flaherty A02). This contamination effectively reduced the U.S. supply of flu vaccine by half (Flaherty A02). Unfortunately for consumers, though profitable to the distributors the drop in supply did not diminish the demand for the vaccine. The quantity of Flu vaccine demanded in the U.S. was greater than the original supply let alone the reduced supply. The market price for the vaccine was between eight and nine dollars prior to the October announcement by Chiron, that it’s vaccine was contaminated, and soon afterwards doubled in price (Flaherty A02). By the eighth of October the vaccine was being offered to pharmacies at prices approaching ninety dollars per-dose a tenfold increase over the original price (Flaherty A02). The demand for the Flu vaccine is shown to be inelastic (the quantity demanded before the discovery of contamination was the entire supply (X) and after the announcement was the remaining quantity (X/2), while the price jumped from nine to ninety dollars { or Ed = .41}). According to the Washington Post â€Å"the higher prices simply reflect[ed] the heightened demand for a scarce item†, though this is not the case, demand did not shift at all, only supply shifted. Not all distributors took advantage of the supply shift as in the case of Stat Pharmaceuticals, which sold its vaccine for fifteen to thirty dollars per-dose.

Conformity in Fahrenheit 451 Essay

Mindless and Obeying Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 features a fictional and futuristic firefighter named Guy Montag. As a firefighter, Montag does not put out fires. Instead, he starts them in order to burn books and, basically, knowledge to the human race. He does not have any second thoughts about his responsibility until he meets seventeen-year-old Clarisse McClellan. She reveals many wonders of the world to Montag and causes him to rethink what he is doing in burning books. After his talks with her, the society’s obedience to the law that bans knowledge, thinking, and creativity also increasingly distresses him. In Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury shows conformity in the futuristic America through schooling, leisure, and fright. The children in the society are never actually taught during school hours. Captain Beatty, another firefighter, tells Montag that the schools † Cram them full of non-combustible data, chock them so damned full of â€Å"facts† they feel stuffed, but absolutely â€Å"brilliant† with information† (61). The â€Å"teachers† (actually film) stuff the students with â€Å"knowledge†, making them feel smart, but they are never taught to question any of the information or form their own opinion on matters. Clarisse says, â€Å"Do you know, we never ask questions, or at least most don’t; they just run the answers at you, bing, bing, bing, and us sitting there for four more hours of film-teacher† (29). In being taught not to question anything, including the law, education supports conformity. In a similar way, entertainment encourages obedience as well. In the culture that Montag lives in, it is expected in everyone to participate in the civilization’s entertainment sources: mindless television, the â€Å"shell†, and violent games. Television (a.k.a. parlor walls) are made up of a flat screen on a wall; sometimes it fills all of the walls instead of just one, and is made up of fast-moving, mindless flashing images of people known as the â€Å"family†. Every second they are on, they are screaming nonsense. Faber, Montag’s mentor, says, â€Å"The televisor is â€Å"real†. It is immediate, it as dimension. It tells you what to think and blasts it in. It must be right, it seems to be right. It rushes you on so quickly to its own conclusions your mind hasn’t time to protest† (109).The residents  are provided with too much â€Å"excitement† at one time and do not have enough time or space in their minds to think. The walls are addicting. Therefore, more people take more time to sit down and watch the â€Å"family† rather than focusing on developing their own creativity and thinking. Whenever citizens are off the parlor walls, they listen to the â€Å"shell† which is based on the same concept of the parlor walls: to limit thoughts. The only difference between the two is that the shell is far more compact. Otherwise, the two are similar. In limiting access to time for feelings, television and the â€Å"shell† promotes conformity to the law. Games in the society work in a comparable way as the parlor walls and the â€Å"shell†. They show aggression and gore in every single one of them; whether or not it is a real life game or a video game. Seeing so much violence numbs their minds to all of the happenings around them. Clarisse mentions, â€Å"I’m afraid of children my own age. They kill each other. Did it always used to be that way? My uncle says no. Six of my friends have been shot in the last year alone. Ten of them died in car wrecks† (30). Even if mass genocide were happening around them, they would brush it away like shooing away fly. Being apathetic, they would not question anything happening around them, which encourages conformity to the government. Reinforcing entertainment and education, fear produces a foolproof obedience in the society. Even though most citizens are brainwashed by their schooling and leisure, some, like Montag, Faber, and Clarisse still rebel against the law. Therefore, the government creates severe punishments to be dealt out to generate fear in the rebels so that rebellions would not be staged. One of these punishments is to burn down the rebel’s house and put the resident in a crazy asylum. Another, the one Montag fears most, is the mechanical hound. It is made to force support from the citizens using the fear that the mechanical hound produces. Conformity is depicted in Fahrenheit 451 through tutelage, entertainment, and terror. The people should have access to knowledge and should think with their own minds. The book shows that having creativity and opinions, like Clarisse, is better than just being, quite literally, a robot. Fahrenheit  451 shows the citizens in the fictional society being controlled by foolish teachings, mind-jumbling amusement, and forced fear. Being mindless and obeying is not a choice. Everybody has to have a viewpoint of his or her own in life.

Bald Eagle Facts

For centuries, the bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) was a spiritual symbol for the native people who lived in the United States. In 1782, it was nominated as the national emblem of the U.S., but it nearly became extinct during the 1970s due to illegal hunting and the effects of DDT poisoning. Recovery efforts and stronger federal protection helped ensure that this large raptor is no longer endangered and continues to make a strong comeback. Fast Facts: The Bald Eagle Scientific Name: Haliaeetus leucocephalusCommon Names: Bald Eagle, Eagle, American Bald EagleBasic Animal Group: BirdSize: 35–42 inches longWingspan:  5.9–7.5 feetWeight: 6.6–14  poundsLifespan: 20 years (in the wild)Diet: CarnivoreHabitat: large, open lakes and rivers in the United States and Canada, particularly in  Florida, Alaska and  the MidwestPopulation: 700,000Conservation Status:  Least Concern Description The bald eagles head may appear bald, but its actually covered in white feathers. Indeed, its name is actually derived  from an older name and meaning of white-headed. The bald heads of mature bald eagles contrast sharply with their chocolate brown bodies. They have a very large, yellow, thick bill with an upper  mandible  that is strongly hooked. The bird is generally 35 to 42 inches long with a wingspan that can grow to 7 feet or more. The head, neck, and tail of bald eagles are bright, plain white, but younger birds may show spotting. Their eyes, bill, legs, and feet are yellow, and their black  talons  are thick and powerful. Buck Shreck/Getty Images Habitat and Range The bald eagles range spans from Mexico to most of Canada and it includes all of the continental U.S. They can be found in all kinds of habitats, from the bayous of Louisiana to the deserts of California to the deciduous forests of New England. It is the only sea eagle that is endemic (native) to North America. Diet and Behavior Bald eagles eat fish—and anything and everything else—but fish make up the majority of their diet. The birds have also been known to eat other water birds such as grebes, herons, ducks, coots, geese, and egrets, as well as mammals such as rabbits, squirrels, raccoons, muskrats, and even deer fawns. Turtles, terrapins, snakes, and crabs as make for tasty bald eagle snacks as well. Bald eagles have also been known to steal prey from other predators (a practice known as kleptoparasitism), to scavenge carcasses of other animals, and to steal food from landfills or campsites.  In other words, if a bald eagle can grab it in its talons, it will eat it. Reproduction and Offspring Bald eagles mate from late September to early April, depending on the region. The female lays her first egg five to 10 days after mating and incubates the eggs for about 35 days. They produce one to three eggs, which is called the clutch size. When first hatched, bald eagle chicks are covered with fluffy white down but quickly grow larger and develop mature feathers. Juvenile birds have mottled brown and white  plumage  and do not get the distinctive white head and tail until they are 4 to 5 years old when they are sexually mature and able to mate. Marcia Straub/Getty Images Threats Bald eagles today are threatened by poaching and accidental or deliberate shootings, as well as other risks to  raptors  including pollution, collisions with wind turbines or power lines, contamination of their food supplies and habitat loss.  Lead poisoning  from fishing lures and discarded bullet casings is also a grave threat to bald eagles and other large raptors. Conservation Status The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists the bald eagles conservation status as least concern and says its population is increasing. However, bald eagles were severely affected by pesticides, especially DDT, which was widely used after World War II. The once-touted pesticide poisoned bald eagles and caused their eggshells to become thin, resulting in many failed nesting attempts, according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. As a result of their dwindling numbers, the bald eagle was placed on the federal list of endangered species in 1967 and the California endangered species list in 1971. However, after the use of DDT was banned in the United States in 1972, strong efforts to restore these birds were successful and the bald eagle was removed from the endangered species list in 2007. Sources â€Å"Bald Eagle Overview, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology.†Ã‚  Overview, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology.â€Å"Bald Eagle.†Ã‚  National Geographic, 21 Sept. 2018.â€Å"Bald Eagles in California. California Department of Fish and Wildlife.â€Å"Basic Facts About Bald Eagles.†Ã‚  Defenders of Wildlife, 10 Jan. 2019.â€Å"The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.†Ã‚  IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.