Cloning Dialoge :: Argumentative Persuasive Topics

Cloning Dialoge    The setting is a small college's biology class where only three students out of twenty students have come to class because it is the last day before spring break begins. The three students' names are Andy, Kristen, and Eric. Seeing only three students in the class, the professor changes his lecture material into a class discussion involving the recent scientific breakthrough in the field of cloning. During the discussion, the professor explains how the cloning of a sheep named Dolly was done. In addition, the students and the professor share their views on the advantageous and the detrimental side of cloning either humans or animals. Professor: Good morning class! I am sure that you all have heard about the recent scientific discovery in the process of cloning. If not, allow me to fill you in on this current controversial scientific discovery. Last week, a Scottish scientist named Dr. Ian Wilmut from the Roslin Institute in Edinburgh, Scotland, successfully cloned an adult sheep. I said adult sheep because scientists already have the ability to clone sheep and calves, for farming purposes, from undifferentiated embryonic cells. Is there any questions so far? Kristen: Um, yes, professor. Would you please elaborate on the term undifferentiated cell? Also, the word cloning sounds like something you would hear from science fiction movies or novels--isn't the cloning process very complicated? Professor: To answer your first question, Kristen, an undifferentiated cell is a cell that has the ability to create other specific cells, such as skin, hair, brain, and muscles, as it activates certain genes on chromosomes. For your second question, the concept of cloning is really not that complicated to understand. Allow me to explain as I split Dr. Wilmut's cloning process into three steps. During the first step, udder cells from a six-year-old Finn Dorset ewe were taken and placed into a culture dish. The culture dish, containing low levels of nutrients, starved the cells, causing them to stop their dividing and hibernate its active genes. Meanwhile, the nucleus with its DNA from an unfertilized egg--also called an oocyte--taken from a Scottish Blackface ewe, is sucked out with a hair thin pipette, leaving the empty egg with all its cellular tools needed to produce an embryo. By the way, this process is called the nuclear transfer. Okay, now onto the second step; the egg cell an d a donor cell are placed next to each other and fused together, like soap bubbles, by an electric pulse.

The Hunters: Phantom Chapter 35

Elena leaped backward as the phantom caught fire. She was so close that the heat of the flames burned her cheeks, and she could smel her own hair smoking. Shielding her face with her hands, she eased her way forward as silently and sneakily as she could, closer and closer to the phantom. Her legs shook, but she wil ed them stil and steady. She was consciously not letting herself look at or think about Stefan's body crumpled on the floor of the garage, in the same way she had kept herself from looking at Damon and Stefan's fight when she needed to think. Suddenly a burst of flames shot into the air, and for one dazzling second, Elena dared to hope that Damon had done it. The phantom was burning. Surely no creature of ice could withstand that. But then she realized that the phantom was not only burning. She was also laughing. â€Å"You fool,† the phantom said to Damon, in a soft and almost tender voice. â€Å"You think fire can hurt me? Jealousy can burn hotter than fire as wel as colder than ice. You of al people should know that, Damon.† She laughed her strange clinking laugh. â€Å"I can feel the jealousy, the anger that burns in you al the time, Damon, and it burns so hot I can smel the hatred and despair that live in you, and your little petty hurts and rages are meat and drink to me. You clutch them to you and pore over them like treasure. You may have succeeded in casting out a tiny piece of the multitudes of hurts that burden you, but you'l never be free of me.† Around the phantom's feet, tiny blue lines of flame ignited and spread quickly across the floor of the garage. Elena watched in horror: Were these burning traces of oil left by Mrs. Flowers's ancient car? Or was it simply the phantom's maliciousness made solid, spreading fire among them? It didn't real y matter. What mattered was that the garage was on fire, and while the phantom might be impervious to the flames, the rest of them weren't. Smoke fil ed the musty space, and Elena and her friends began to cough. She covered her nose and mouth with her hand. Streaking past Elena, Damon snarled and leaped for the phantom's throat. Even in their current dire situation, Elena couldn't help admiring Damon's speed and grace. He col ided with the phantom and knocked it to the floor, then recoiled, protecting his face with his leather-clad arm. Fire, Elena remembered with a frisson of terror. Fire is one of the few things that can kill a vampire. Her eyes watered from the smoke, but she forced them to stay open as she moved closer, circling around behind the phantom, who was back on its feet. She could hear her friends shouting, but she concentrated on the fight. The phantom was moving more awkwardly than it had been earlier, and did not immediately attack Damon. Through the flames, Elena could see that thick greenish fluid was stil trickling down its solid torso from the wound Meredith had given it. Where the liquid touched the flames, they flickered with a greenish blue tint. Damon lunged for the phantom again, and it flung him off with a shrug. Snarling, they circled each other warily. Elena skittered around behind them, trying to stay out of Damon's way, trying to see how she could help. A crackling from across the room distracted Elena for a second, and she glanced back to see fire climbing the far wal , reaching for the wooden shelves set around the room. She missed seeing what exactly happened next, but suddenly Damon was skidding across the floor on his back, an angry red burn glowing on his cheek. He was up again in a second and prowling back toward the phantom, but his eyes had a slightly wild glint to them that made Elena nervous. Even injured, the phantom was stronger than Damon, and, after his long fight with Stefan, Damon's reserves must be waning. He was growing reckless. Elena gathered her courage and moved closer to the phantom again, as close to the flames as she could stand. The phantom glanced back at her for a second and then away, focusing on the stronger threat. It sprang forward to meet Damon, its fiery arms spread wide and a savagely joyous smile on its face. And suddenly Meredith was there beside Damon. She looked solemn and pale as a young martyr, her lips tight and her eyes wary, but she moved as fast as lightning. Her stave sliced through the air almost too quickly to see, leaving another long cut across the phantom's stomach. The phantom howled, and the flames on its torso hissed as more greenish fluid gushed from the wound. But the phantom remained upright. It snarled and reached for Meredith, who danced rapidly backward, just out of range. Meredith and Damon exchanged a wordless look and moved to flank the phantom, one on either side, so that it couldn't watch both of them at once. Damon cuffed Jealousy, a short, intense blow, and pul ed back a reddish, blistering hand. Meredith swung her stave again, nearly catching the phantom on the arm but instead cleaving only a wisp of smoke. There was a crash as a burning shelf col apsed onto the floor. The smoke grew thicker. Away from the fight, Elena could hear Bonnie and Matt coughing. Elena moved closer stil , again coming toward the phantom from behind, safely out of Meredith and Damon's way. The phantom's heat was like a bonfire. Meredith and Damon were moving in tandem now, as smoothly as if they had rehearsed, dancing in and back, sometimes catching the phantom with a blow, more often passing through a curl of smoke or mist as the phantom transformed its parts from solid to airy shapes. A voice rang out. â€Å"Impera te desistere.† Mrs. Flowers leaned against the supporting arms of Matt and Alaric. But her eyes were clear and her voice was steady. Power crackled in the air around her. The phantom slowed only slightly in its fight, perhaps no more than a half second behind in its thrusts and transformations. But this was enough to make at least a little difference. More of Damon's and Meredith's blows landed, and they were able to dodge a few more of the phantom's. Was it enough, though? The phantom flinched when a punch hit home, and it bled horrible green goo where the stave cut it, but it was stil steady on its feet as Meredith and Damon hacked and choked in the smoke and stumbled away from the flames. The rose in Jealousy's chest pulsed a steady dark red. Elena exhaled in frustration and immediately began to cough again. The phantom wasn't staying in one place long enough for Elena to get a good shot at grabbing the rose-heart. Meredith sliced at it with her fighting stave, and this time the stave slid through smoke, and the phantom grabbed the stave in one hand, swinging Meredith toward Damon. Col iding, they both fel heavily to the ground, and the phantom, stil slightly hobbled by Mrs. Flowers's spel , strained toward them. â€Å"I've envied Meredith for her brains!† shouted Bonnie. Her face was smudged with smoke and tears, and she looked incredibly smal and fragile, but she was standing straight-backed and proud, yel ing at the top of her lungs. â€Å"I know I'l never be as good at school as she is, but that's okay. I cast my jealousy out!† The phantom's rose dimmed to a dark pink for a moment, and it staggered ever so slightly. It glanced at Bonnie and hissed. It was only a tiny pause in the phantom's advance, but it was enough for Damon to spring to his feet. He stepped in front of Meredith, shielding her as she clambered up. Without even looking at each other, Meredith and Damon began circling in opposite directions again. â€Å"I've been jealous that my friends have more money than I do!† Matt shouted, â€Å"but I cast the jealousy out!† â€Å"I envy the way Alaric truly believed in something unproven, and turned out to be right!† Celia yel ed. â€Å"But I cast it out!† â€Å"I've envied Elena's clothes!† Bonnie cried. â€Å"I'm too short to look good in lots of things! But I cast that out!† Damon kicked at the phantom, pul ing his smoldering leg back quickly. Meredith swung her stave. Mrs. Flowers chanted in Latin, and Alaric joined her, his low voice in counterpoint to hers, reinforcing her spel . Bonnie, Celia, and Matt kept shouting: dredging up smal jealousies and hurts that they were probably usual y hardly aware of, casting them out to pepper the phantom with tiny blows. And for the first time, the phantom looked†¦ baffled. It swung its head slowly from one to another of its opponents: Damon stalking toward it, fists raised; Meredith, her stave swinging surely as she watched the phantom with a cool and considering gaze; Alaric and Mrs. Flowers reciting strings of Latin words, hands lifted; Bonnie, Matt, and Celia shouting confessions as if they were throwing rocks at it. Jealousy's glassy eyes passed over Elena without real y seeming to notice her: Standing stil and quiet among the entire hubbub, she was not a threat. This was the best chance Elena was going to get. She nerved herself to move forward, then froze as the phantom turned toward her. Then, miraculously, Stefan was there. He grappled at the phantom's back, throwing one arm around its neck as the flames licked at him. His shirt caught fire. The phantom, briefly, was pul ed backward past Elena, its torso toward her, unprotected. Without hesitation, Elena plunged her hand into the fire. For a moment, she barely felt the flames, just a gentle, almost cool touch against her hand as the flames flickered around her. Not so bad, she had a moment to think, and then she felt the pain. It was pure and agonizing, and dark fireworks of shock went off behind her eyes. She had to fight to overcome the almost irresistible instinct to pul her hand back out of the fire. Instead, she groped at the phantom's torso, searching for the cut Meredith had made just above its rose. It was slippery and smooth, and her hand fumbled. Where is it? Where is it? Damon had thrown himself into the flames alongside Stefan, yanking at the phantom's arms and neck, keeping its torso clear for Elena, preventing the phantom from ripping free and throwing her across the room. Meredith beat at Jealousy's side with her stave. Behind her, her friends' voices rose in a babble of confessions and spel s as they did their part to keep the phantom off balance and disoriented. At last Elena's hand found the cut and she pushed inside. It was icy cold in the phantom's chest, and Elena yelped at the contrast – the cold was excruciating after the heat, and the flames stil licked at her wrist and arm. The freezing liquid inside the phantom's chest was so thick, it was like feeling through gelatin. Elena shoved and reached, and the phantom screamed with pain. It was a horrible sound and, despite al that the phantom had done to her and her friends, Elena could not help flinching in sympathy. A moment later, Elena's hand closed on the rose's stem and a thousand thorns pierced her burned flesh. Ignoring the pain, she pul ed the rose out of the freezing liquid, out of the fire, and staggered backward, away from the phantom. She didn't know what she'd expected to happen, exactly. For the phantom to melt like the Wicked Witch of the West, perhaps, leaving nothing but a puddle of vile greenish water. Instead, the phantom stared at her, its mouth open, its pointed, shining teeth on ful display. The tear in its chest had expanded, and fluid oozed rapidly, like an untended faucet. The flames burned low and green where the liquid tracked down its body and dripped to the floor. â€Å"Give it to me,† Stefan said, appearing at Elena's side. He took the rose from her hand and ripped at its petals, now fading to a lighter pink, and scattered the petals into the fire burning up the sides of the garage. The phantom watched with a stunned expression, and gradual y its blazing fire thinned to smoke, its solid form slowly vaporizing. For a moment, a smoky, malevolent image hung in the air before them, its eyes fixed sul enly upon Elena. And then it was gone.

Mechanism Of Vulnerable Investors Protection Finance Essay - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 8 Words: 2315 Downloads: 7 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Finance Essay Type Argumentative essay Did you like this example? Since the financial crisis in 2008, the Chinese securities market turns out to be bleak. Specifically, the Shanghai Composite Index declines from over 6000 to 2200, which makes the medium and small investors suffer heavy losses. Consequently, people from all walks of life criticize the current securities market and claim perfection of the protection mechanism of vulnerable investors, which will lead the market to develop on a sound track. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Mechanism Of Vulnerable Investors Protection Finance Essay" essay for you Create order With the establishment of the Shanghai Stock exchange taking the example of America on 19th December 1990, China started to make great efforts to build a legal system for regulating the securities market(Yan Gao,2003).However, the illegal behaviors in the securities market continue to be a severe issue. For example, insider trading and market manipulation. Compared to the Chinese securities market, the vulnerable investors rights and interests are protected effectively in the US securities. Thus, this essay will firstly analyze the definition of vulnerable investors in securities market and the significance of protecting them. Secondly, it will show the current status of the mechanism of protection vulnerable investors in securities market in China. Lastly, based on the USA securities market, the essay conducts an analysis of education and legislation in securities market of China. Mechanism of vulnerable investors protection Definition of vulnerable investors Relative to institutional investors, the vulnerable investors are more vulnerable to the capital, the information, effect of psychological biases and grab essential events, for example, market return shocks (Kaniel et al., 2008; Barber and Odean, 2008).However, it doesnt means that every vulnerable investor is vulnerable to all fields. One may be vulnerable to one or more parts. In summary, our vulnerable investors are vulnerable to main three points, as follows. 2.1.1 Asymmetric information Vulnerable investors are poor indicators of future stock returns because of limited information, at least in the short-run (Brown Cliff, 2011), while some institutional investors or large shareholders possess any superior or above-average information to indicate future market developments. 2.1.2 Lack of capital On 8th February 2012, Chinese Stock Paper and Sina  [1]  Finance and Economics jointly promulgated the result of investors survey in Chinese securities market (https://survey.finance.sina.com.cn/result/64210.html),which shows that the percentages of individual investors lunar income which are under 2000 RMB and 2000-5000 RMB are 15.8% and 50.3%, respectively, that the percentages of investors capital scale in securities market are under 100000 RMB and 100000-300000 RMB account for 36.9% and 31.7% respectively. Therefore, both income level and capital scale of some individual investors are significantly lower than that of institutional investors or large shareholders. 2.1.3 Lack of knowledge of securities Some individual investors lack the knowledge of securities, which mainly presents the ability of risk analysis and acquiring information from financial statement. Specifically, the percentage of our vulnerable investors who make decisions based on the recommendation of stock analysts, introduction of relatives and friends and grapevine shows 62.3% (Yin Haiyuan Li Zhongmin,2011).Compared to individual investors, institutional investors invest a great amount of human, financial and material resources in the securities market. 2.2 The significance of protecting our vulnerable investors Referring to the USA, it is an economically developed country. However, why do people think that? This is because the country obtains sustainable economy development, to some degree, which benefits from steady development in securities market in several decades. As for the stable development of the securities market, it profits from vulnerable investor protection. As for China, on 14th February 2011, Japan government claimed that Japanese nominal GDP for 5.4742 trillion dollars in 2010, which is less than China (https://finance.sina.com.cn/j/20110214/08519369574.shtml).Therefore, China became the second largest economy in the world, to some degree, which may benefit from the prosperity of securities market from 1990 to 2008.Moreover, in 2011, China Securities Regulatory Commission Investor Protection Agency claimed that it is essential and necessary to protect vulnerable investors in order to stabilize the securities and boost the development of economy. Therefore, referring to historical experience, perfecting the mechanism of protection vulnerable investors could prevent vulnerable investors interests and rights from violating to a great extent, maintain the stability of the securities market and boost steady development of national economy. The current mechanism of vulnerable investors protection With the development of securities market within 21 years in China, vulnerable investor protection is beneficial from three aspects, as follows. 3.1 The supervision of China government to securities market At present, China Securities Regulatory Commission is responsible for supervising securities market, which includes the work of investor protection, organizational guidance, supervision and inspection, establishing and improving regulatory policy system of investor protection, coordination of various sectors, education services. Although China government makes an effort to protect vulnerable investors, the result is not positive as it thought. Specifically, on the one hand, some regulators dont perform their duties, while on the other hand, there is the rent-seeking space makes some offenders implement bribery successfully. Thus, vulnerable investors rights and interests are violated. 3.2 Vulnerable investors protection in legislation aspect Since the establishment of securities market in China, the legal system construction has made great efforts to protect vulnerable investors, such as Company Act and Securities Act. However, some drawbacks exist in the securities market. For instance, rules are not fine, penalty is too low and the execution is inefficient, which is equivalent to encourage potentially illegal behaviors. So, China should make more efforts to perfect its law system. 3.3 Protecting vulnerable investors from some agencies In 2005, in order to protect vulnerable investors, China government established a wholly state-owned protection fund company. Furthermore, in the end of 2011, China Securities Regulatory Commission Investor Protection Agency was established, which claims its next direction is to establish investors dispute regulation and arbitration mechanism. It can be seen that relative to institutional investors vulnerable investors have a significant number of disadvantages so that we should perfect investor protection mechanism to give all investors fair trade opportunities. Analyzing both educational and legal aspects of mechanism of vulnerable investors protection As above analyzed, vulnerable investor protection mechanism is insufficient. However, some drawbacks could not be improved because they are inborn issues. For example, asymmetric information caused by impersonal reasons which are channels of acquiring information and busy jobs. Therefore, this essay analyzes two aspects, including investor education and legislation, in order to improve the quality of vulnerable investors, the efficiency of law enforcement and the punishment level of illegal behaviors. 4.1 Analyzing educational aspect There is a survey about investors culture in 2011 (Yin Haiyuan and Li Zhongmin, 2011). See the Figure 1. Figure 1 the distribution of investor culture by research According to the above figure 1, it shows that the percentage of investors with bachelor degree or above is the least one of the total, accounting for only 11.7%, the percentage of investors with junior college degree represents 21.9%, the percentage of investors with below junior high school degree makes up 16.6% and the percentage of investors with junior high school degree presents almost 50%.Furthermore, In China, individuals who are little understanding of financial knowledge, represent 60% to 80% of trading in the securities market (James, 2007). Therefore, the percentage of individuals who are with junior high school or lack financial knowledge is very large, which suggests that it is urgent to improve investor education. At present, Chinese investor education led by Securities Association of China is a top-d own leading education mode. Although this kind of mode plays an essential role in early, with the development of securities market and an increasing number of individual investor there are various problems, which are caused by the activities of securities agencies investor education related to economic benefits that reduce the activities objectivity, accuracy and fairness and finally reduce the effect of the investor education (Zhang Yi, 2010). Therefore, we need a new way to make up the deficiency of the dominant mode. China could take an example from the USA securities market. It is the third party education that is an organization which is not related to securities regulatory, transaction settlement department, securities business institutions and investors so that the organization is not related to the interests of investors (Zhang Yi, 2010). The third party education may be education institutions, research institutions or professional third party educational agencies so that it is able to teach vulnerable investors actual and beneficial knowledge. Importantly, investor education may be dominated freely by market in the future (Zhang Yi, 2010). See the Figure 2. Supervision Agency Securities Third Agency Party Investors Securities Third Agency Party Investors Supervision Agency Securities Agency Investors The Future The Current The Improved Figure 2 the changes of investor education 4.2 Analyzing legislation aspect Although investor education could improve the securities knowledge of vulnerable investors in personal aspect, we ought to perfect the impersonal environment of securities market, especially legislation in the securities market. Because if we dont build a rational and specific regulatory framework in order to ensure good governance and prudent management of the institutions that will serve investor, both microeconomic and macroeconomic objectives could not be achieved (Yongbeom, 2003). Therefore, the following part will analyze the legislation in securities from the four aspects in order to improve the legal system to ensure that the securities market gets a healthy and long development. 4.2.1 The influence of government China is the public ownership playing a dominant role and diverse forms of ownership developing side by side country so that the proportion of the state-controlled enterprises in the stock market is high. But numerous state-owned listed enterprises largest shareholders are market regulators (Zhang Yi, 2010). Moreover, the level of securities market supervision system in an enterprise closing to the government in China is weak while the supervision level in a company which is not close to government presents effectively (Berkman et al., 2008).Therefore, China government ought to perfect the law to separate government functions from enterprise management to protect vulnerable investors. 4.2.2 The relationship between securities market and law Perfecting legislation ought to follow the changes of the securities market. In China, the reason why numerous securities market cases could not be accepted directly is incomplete law, including unspecific content of law in securities market and unable to keep up with the changes of the market. For example, listed and delisted supervision. On March 3, 2012 ¼Ãƒâ€¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢according to the Jiu San Society  [2]  central datum(https://www.93.gov.cn/news/index.shtml), it shows that the percentage of listed companies in the NASDAQ  [3]  stock market in the USA reduced by 13.08% within three years while the percentage of delisted company within 21 years in China accounted for only 1.82% of the total number of listed companies. However, people may question why financial crisis happened in the USA where the legal system for protecting investors is effective? Because it is difficult for the lawmakers of a country to foresee all possible events in the future so that current law may not be accurate and detailed to prevent investors from potentially illegal behaviors, to fully reflect the social and economic changes in the environment (Berkowitz, 2003). Therefore, China government ought to perfect in time its law in securities market when the new illegal behaviors happen. 4.2.3 The punishment level for illegal behaviors In 2003, the case of YinGuangXia  [4]  erupted, the result of the case was major parties were imprisoned for three years and fined up to 100000 RMB. On July 3, 2010, the case of Zijin mining  [5]  pollution exposed, the punishment result was the listed company was fined up to 9.56313 million RMB. It is obvious that violated investors didnt get compensation instead of paying for the enterprise pollution. Therefore, such punishment to the parties of illegal cases is not important, but to the vulnerable investors is really hurting. As for the USA securities market, the punishment for illegal behaviors is strong. In 2005, the SEC  [6]  opened $1.8 billion tickets to the market illegal offenders (Liu Bailan, 2011). Therefore, relying on such a strict supervision, the USA securities market is active. Learning experience from the USA securities market, China government may reinforce the punishment level of illegal behaviors in order to deter the potentially illegal criminal s to commit crimes. 4.2.4 The efficiency and strength of law enforcement personnel Chinas law enforcement level is far lower than the world level (Ball, 2005). Importantly, China is in the economic transformation period so that enhancing the efficiency and strength of law enforcement for protecting vulnerable investors is particularly essential. At present, the law enforcement level in China is inefficient. For example, the case of PT Red  [7]  about listed fraud was ultimately rejected by the court because of the pressure from local government. In the United States, although ENRON  [8]  has a strong relationship with the Bush administration, it still cannot escape the fate of the legal sanction. Moreover, on July 16, 2010, the United States Senate passed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, one part of which sets a time limit in order to improve the efficiency and strength of law enforcement personnel. More precisely, once the SEC law enforcement officials announce to implement a law enforcement action, execution should be imple mented in 180 days. Besides that, once the SEC inspectors and law enforcement personnel complete the assessment and examination, the executive law personnel will correct action or release processing results in 180 days (Public Law 111-203, 2010). Therefore, China government could limit the time of law enforcement personnel dealing with cases for protecting vulnerable investors to be successful. In conclusion Based on the above analysis, we can come to the conclusion that the vulnerable investors actually exist in the securities market in China and the percentage of them is very high. Particularly important, relative to institutional investors and large shareholders, vulnerable investors are so weak in impersonal and personal reasons. Then, based on analyzing investor education and legislation in securities market ,although illegal cases in securities market in China still emerge after financial crisis, we believe that investor protection mechanism could be enhanced by strengthening investors investment ideas, setting up correct investment attitude, pushing to reduce administrative intervention, making legislation keep up with market and strengthening the law punishment and law enforcement efficiency so as to establish to the effective mechanism of vulnerable investor protection. Surely, further research into the mechanism of vulnerable investor protection is needed. (Words count: 23 76)