The Cloning War Moral Or Immoral Essays - Cloning, Genetics

The Cloning War: Moral Or Immoral? The Cloning War: Moral or Immoral? Outside the lab where the cloning had actually taken place, most of us thought it could never happen. Oh we would say that perhaps at some point in the distant future, cloning might become feasible through the use of sophisticated biotechnologies far beyond those available to us now. But what we really believed, deep in our hearts, was that this was one biological feat we could never master. -Dr. Lee M. Silver, 1997 With every revolution, there must be conflict. When the great thinkers of the past decided the earth was round, or that the planets revolved around the sun, their revolution caused excommunication. When Americans rebelled against the mother country, their revolution caused a war. However, if not for the great thinkers, the revolutionists, and the science explorers, everyone would be sailing off the edge of the planet, believing to be scientific fact that Earth was the center of the universe, and America would be under steady oppression from Europe. On February 23, 1997, Doctor Ian Wilmut successfully cloned the world's first mammal, giving the world a harsh wake-up call to the state of its technology. The implications of an effective somatic cell nuclear transfer in mammals are tremendous. The use of cloning for research purposes could yield fixes for aging and heart problems; new organs for patients in need of transplants; increased reliability of plastic, reconstructive, and cosmetic surgery; the extinction of Down's syndrome and Tay-Sachs disease; and the cure for cancer (Human). The applications of the research of cell development are already witnessed in the invention of fabricated skin, cartilage, bone, and ligament and tendons. In fact, cloning is only a result of many years of research. In 1965, Dr. Marshall R. Urist of the University of California discovered that powdered bone, when combined with the isolated bone morphogenetic proteins and DNA sequences, would create new bone when placed in a bone fracture (?Tissue?, 47). However, fears of this new procedure are certainly well justified. A cloned child, for instance, would lose all sense of individuality, and the potential harm (which first must be downsized to an acceptable degree before full production could commence), at this point, greatly outweighs the beneficial yields (United, 66,65). Plus, given the option to choose features in a prospective clone child, or ?designer child?, procreating would be more feasibly compared with car shopping than reproduction (Silver, 227). These factors contribute to the controversial issue of morality. A broad subject filled with gray matter, the decision of whether or not something is moral is spawned from religious thought, ethical concerns, and the comparison of the gains of a procedure to the costs. Facts must be gathered from the word of God, from logical reasoning, and from scientific inquiry. When all the data is gathered, the question of morality is answered with a definitively negative response. Cloning is a procedure that is definitely not moral due to its possible harm to child and parents; its religious implications; and its unfavorable ratio of harm to good. It is important to realize that the process of cloning that produced Dolly the sheep is a brand-new science that has only been successfully performed a small number of times. The actual process involves removing the nucleus of an ovum and replacing it with an epithelial cell, or a cell with the basic number of chromosomes doubled (?Cloning?, 677). However, this nuclear transfer has the potential for serious physical and psychological harms to all involved in the procedure, and when such harms exist, rarely are any procedures performed on humans without extensive animal research. In all actuality, even if there were a convincing reason to perform this procedure on human beings, it would have to fall under one strict criteria that morals and medical ethics alike consider to be impenetrable: the slogan ?to first do no harm? (United, 65). It should be noted that the somatic cell nuclear transfer that produced Dolly was successful in only one out of 277 attempts. If the same procedure was endeavored in humans, the requirements could be devastating to the potential mother. To start, the doctor would have to provide much hormonal manipulation in order to allow the procedure

Corporate Governance and Country Governance

Corporate Governance and Country Governance The four common elements of corporate governance and country governance are â€Å"fairness, accountability, transparency and responsibility† (Boyd and Stephen 5; Fernando 45). Fairness refers to equitable treatment and protection against misappropriation of assets.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Corporate Governance and Country Governance specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Accountability refers to effective monitoring of the board and accountability of the board to the company and shareholders. Transparency refers to the timely and accurate disclosure on finances, performance and ownership. Lastly, responsibility refers to ethical behaviors and complying with national laws. Specific elements of corporate governance include â€Å"equity holders, markets (capital markets and product market), debt providers (public debt and private debt), employees, business practices, legal system and public opinionâ₠¬  (Boyd and Stephen 5). On the other hand, specific elements of country governance include â€Å"political stability, voice and accountability, government effectiveness, absence of violence, control of corruption, regulatory quality and rule of law† (DjiteÃŒ  205). Indicators of Country governance include â€Å"Democracy Index (DI), Corruption Perception Index (CPI), Global corruption Barometer (GCB) and Bribe Payer’s Index (BPI)† (HaÃŒ k et al. 377). The use of DI is based on the assumption that public participation in the political practices may control government corruption. On the other hand, the CPI is a survey of surveys, mirroring the views of investors, scholars and risk analysts, both citizens and foreigners. First established in 1995, the CPI builds on seventeen studies from thirteen sovereign bodies. The CPI is a result of systematic survey of polls offered to Transparency International between 2001 and 2003 (HaÃŒ k et al. 377). While the CPI aim s at evaluating heights of corruption among countries, the Global corruption Barometer (GCB) focuses on positions of the public concerning these heights of corruption (HaÃŒ k et al. 377). The GCB interviews respondents on the effects of corruption on their private and family life.Advertising Looking for research paper on government? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Respondents from developing countries may be able to live with high heights of corruption, while respondents in developed countries cannot tolerate even low levels of corruption. The BPI complements the GCB and CPI, since it deals with the tendency of corporations from top exporting nations to bribe in developing markets (HaÃŒ k et al. 377). Similarly, indicators of corporate governance include ownership concentration, equity share and value of shares traded. Ownership concentration as an indicator allows comparison of states in relation to the ownership arrangement of their corporate sectors. High levels of ownership concentration denote that block holders control corporations. Conversely, low levels of ownership denote that block holders are minor economic factors. Equity share implies that there is more inclination towards external minority shareholders. Conversely, a high proportion of equity in GDP denotes that corporations have been successful in orienting their governance to the needs of outsider capital and minority stakeholders. The value of shares traded is defined as â€Å"the total value of shares traded on national stock divided by GDP† (DjiteÃŒ  77). Normally, this data progression acts as an indicator of the activity of equity markets. It shows the level at which the tenure of listed companies shifts between different equity market players, but not the general value of ownership stakes. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act is not the only law that deals with corporate governance since we also have company laws, securities r egulation, accounting and auditing standards, insolvency law, labor law and tax law. All these laws protect investors from corporate inefficiencies, malfeasances and misleading financial information. Good governance is essential both at corporate level, and at national level. Countries should come up with more policies and exercise reforms that support good governance at all levels. Policy objectives should focus on reducing the reliance of corporations on bank financing. Banks should refrain from loaning projects, which are appropriate just for venture capital, with reference to risk-return profile.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Corporate Governance and Country Governance specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Equally, open restrictions should be applied on bank borrowing by corporations. Such a condensed association between lenders and borrowers forms a central objective of prudential banking laws. Nonetheles s, reinforcement is required, if the general reliance of corporate borrowers and bank lenders is to reduce. Apparently, such a condensed association is only feasible if substitute-financing sources (a more buoyant capital market) are accessible. Debt-equity-ratio should be fixed at a definite multiple, for example at two. Limit must as well be applied on bank debt as a multiple of equity, or as a proportion of total debt. What requires close supervision is not the association between a corporation and all banks, but the relation with entity banks. The share of an individual borrower in overall bank loaning may also be limited. Surpassing this limit should be restricted on public listing. Large-scale bank borrowing should be left to borrowers who conform to the standards and regulations of good corporate governance. On their part, banks should liberate themselves from the control by majority shareholders holders. Commercial banks should all ensure that they are public listed in the s tock market. Banks that may face limitation due to size should combine with larger banks. A limit should be fixed on the number of shares that an individual entity can hold (for example, twelve percent). Boyd, Gavin, and Stephen Cohen. Corporate Governance and Globalization: Long Range Planning Issues, Washington, DC: Elgar, 2000. Print. DjiteÃŒ , Paulin. The Language Difference: Language and Development in the Greater Mekong Sub-Region, Bristol, U.K: Multilingual Matters, 2011. Print. Fernando, Arthur. Corporate Governance: Principles, Policies and Practices, New Delhi: Pearson Education, 2009. Print.Advertising Looking for research paper on government? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More HaÃŒ k, TomasÃŒÅ', BedrÃŒÅ'ich Moldan and Arthur Dahl. Sustainability Indicators: A Scientific Assessment, Washington, DC: Island Press, 2007. Print.