Sunday, January 26, 2020

Second Punic War Could Have Been Avoided History Essay

Second Punic War Could Have Been Avoided History Essay I was born as Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus, I am also known as Scipio Africanus, otherwise referred to as Scipio the Elder. I was the statesman of the Roman Republic and later a general during the Second Punic War. I defeated Hannibal during the final battle of the Second Punic War which took place at Zama. The victory at Zama earned me the name the Roman Hannibal, the agnomen Africanus; I am as well recognized as the best commander-in-chief in military history. The Second Punic War took place from 218 BCE to 201 BCE. The second Punic war could have been avoided, but since Carthage felt that the First Punic War was concluded on harsh terms, they ensure that another war followed in 218BC, approximately twenty three years after the end of the First Punic War. I believe that the treaty was fair, but since Hannibal hated Rome he believed that the treaty was complicated, and had several political results. Since Carthage violated the treaty, we asked them to totally relinquish Sicily and the Aegadian Islands, which was positioned on west of it, in addition to the tiny islands that located between Sicily and Africa. The most instant political consequence of the First Punic War was the collapse of Carthages naval authority.   They as well had to return all our prisoners of war without ransom to Rome; nevertheless they had to make a huge payment for the Carthaginians. The Carthaginians were not allowed to hit Syracuse and her associates, and the as sociates of both Rome and Carthage were not permitted to have conficts on each other. An undersized group of Islands, Aeolian Islands which is north of Sicily as well as Ustica that had earlier belonged to Carthage were to be reassigned to Romes control (Tim, Boris and Philip, 10).    We equally had great powers of the Mediterranean; we had friendly agreements with each other that is, Rome and. Nevertheless, tensions increased as the economic interests of every party commenced to leave no space for the other. Whereas Carthage was larger and better-off with an excellent Navy, we had a strong government supported by inexhaustible land mass of citizens. I believe that conflicts particularly took place because of a clash of economic interests between Carthage and our country Rome. The Sicilian War as well referred to as the First Punic War started in 264BC because of both Rome and Carthage wanted to have exclusive power over Sicily. We became victorious in the Aegates Islands following twenty three years of war, by struggling to match Carthages tough naval power.   We decided the terms of the treaty ensuring that there was peace between Rome and Carthage (Howard, 16). Hannibal Barcas father imposed hatred in him when he was still young which made him dislike Rome. When Hannibal felt that Rome violated an accord which his brother-in-law, Hasdrubal the Fair of Carthage signed with the Romans at the end of the First Punic War, he decided to plot a Romans attack. Hannibal initiated the war, which could have been avoided through negotiations and understanding, between us the Romans and Carthage (Richard, 64). We both upheld the Ebro Treaty shortly after the Romans defeated Hamilcar Barca of Carthage in the First Punic War. This treaty signed at the end of the First Punic War enabled carthage to patrol and build up any land towards the south River Ebro, near the northeast of Barcelona, nevertheless the treaty did not allow the Carthaginians to cross River Ebro. As a roman leader, I suggested I wanted the treaty to stop land acquisition in southern Ebro, and thought it was generous to grant Carthage the right to use any region at all not previously under Carthaginian control. Hannibal felt that the Ebro treaty restricted his right to use north of the Ebro which he believed was amongst the unconquered territories. We could have settled this matter without any fighting but Hannibal detested Rome so much that he was not ready to have any peace talks (Tim, Boris and Philip, 27). As Romans we were afraid that Carthage was on the limit of breaking the Ebro treaty and as a result Hannibal would gain control of Carthages Iberian venture, that is why we chose to violate the Ebro Treaty first and united with Saguntum, a city which is south of the Ebro, I afterward expelled Carthaginian representatives from the city. Consequently the young Carthaginian leader Hannibal laid barricade to the town, which collapsed after eight months. Even though Saguntum was located in a good position in south of the Ebro, we still thought that by Hannibal attacking the town, which had sensitive relations with our country, was Carthages part of violating the Ebro Treaty, that is why we sent various officials to Carthage, commanding reparations. Carthaginian senate backed Hannibal this time despite having had many differences. Carthage sent back my roman people with the message that they supported their young commander Hannibal, and they felt that the treaty was totally voided. Hannibal had previously been in command of Carthages Iberian efforts, nevertheless he had been setting up a military invasion of the Mediterranean for approximately two years before his ultimate siege of Saguntum, and consequently he twisted that Iberian coastal town into a Carthaginian base, and chose to set his implement his plans (Richard, 36). Carthages prime foundation in Europe at the era, was New Carthage which was west of Saguntum inside Iberia, moreover, after the disbanding of the Ebro Treaty as well as the siege of Saguntum, this is where Hannibal Barca assembled his men and prepared to protest through Gaul , and downward through the Alps to attack us. Even though he was militarily very skilled, and was competent to secure major conquests, for instance at the Battles of Trebia as well as Cannae we were just too strong for Carthage. Hannibal returned to Carthage defeated, furthermore the citys control of Iberia in addition to many other countries was handed us. In conclusion, I believe that the Second Punic War could have been avoided, as the Rome general, I was ready to hold peace talks with Hannibal but he was not willing. Under the circumstances negotiation could not have occurred and as a consequence, there was no mutual understanding between us. The nullification of the Ebro Treaty between Rome and Carthage was the main cause of The Second Punic War. Carthage pushed us to first violate the Ebro Treaty they could have chose to communicate to us but instead the reacted violently, the Second Punic War could not have occurred.

Saturday, January 18, 2020

Sex Industry and Prostitution

PATTS COLLEGE OF AERONAUTICS| Prostitution| Advantage and Disadvantage| | Brian Angelo A. Ong Lo| 07-Mar-13| A business or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute or sex worker. | Prostitution is the business or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute or sex worker, and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms.Prostitution is one of the branches of the sex industry. The legal status of prostitution varies from country to country, from being permissible but unregulated, to a punishable crime or to a regulated profession. Estimates place the annual revenue generated from the global prostitution industry to be over $100 billion. Prostitution is sometimes referred to as â€Å"the world's oldest profession†. Prostitution occurs in a variety of forms. Brothels are establishments specifically dedicated to prostitution.In escort prostitution, the act may take place at the customer's residence or hotel room (referred to as out-call), or at the escort's residence or in a hotel room rented for the occasion by the escort (called in-call). Another form is street prostitution. Sex tourism refers to travelling, typically from developed to underdeveloped nations, to engage in sexual activity with prostitutes. Etymology and terminology â€Å"Prostitute† is derived from the Latin prostituta. Some sources cite the verb as a composition of â€Å"pro† meaning â€Å"up front† or â€Å"forward† and â€Å"situere†, defined as â€Å"to offer up for sale†.Another explanation is that â€Å"prostituta† is a composition of pro and statuere (to cause to stand, to station, place erect). A literal translation therefore is: â€Å"to put up front for sale† or â€Å"to place forw ard†. The online Etymology Dictionary states, â€Å"The notion of ‘sex for hire' is not inherent in the etymology, which rather suggests one ‘exposed to lust' or sex â€Å"indiscriminately offered. † The word â€Å"prostitute† was then carried down through various languages to the present-day Western society.Most sex worker activists groups reject the word â€Å"prostitute† and since the late 1970s have used the term â€Å"sex worker† instead. However, a â€Å"sex worker† can also mean anyone who works within the sex industry or whose work is of a sexual nature and is not limited solely to prostitutes. Other meanings The word â€Å"prostitution† can also be used metaphorically to mean debasing oneself or working towards an unworthy cause or â€Å"selling out†. [9] In this sense, â€Å"prostituting oneself† or â€Å"whoring oneself† the services or acts performed are typically not sexual.History of pros titution The history of prostitution extends to all ancient and modern cultures. It has been described as â€Å"the world's oldest profession†. Advantage Well, it pays vastly more than other jobs that requires no formal qualifications, skills or previous work experience. Disadvantage Some of the disadvantages of prostitution are that it is dangerous. Disease can be transmitted this way. Some participants are taken advantage. Advantages of prostitution would be the ability for those involved in this activity to make money.

Friday, January 10, 2020

Humana Case Essay

The purpose of this memo is to analyze Humana’s business model and its spin-off solution. We think Humana’s problems were severe enough to implement restructuring plans within the company. First of all, Humana’s administrative cost ratio was 16.1% and medical loss ratio stood at 85.9% (increased from 84.4% in 1991). The stock price was declining from $34.5/share in May 1991 to $21.63 in May 1992. In addition, the entire hospital industry is suffering losses in the long-term because of increases in operating costs, decreases in average hospital stays (occupancy rate declining to 47%, national average occupancy rate was 69%), and growing competition. The margin is diminishing and the PE ratio is lower in both industry averages. Spin-off is ideal since the hospital industry is shrinking and Humana’s profit from hospital starting to decline. A decision made early will still allow Humana a higher valuation on hospital business. The separate income statement is listed below. As presented, the after-tax net income of Humana Hospital and Health Plan are $314M and $ 41M. After we compare the asset sizes of comparable companies, we decided that the PE ratio for the Hospital business should be 13.0x, equal to that of National Medical Enterprises, as they are closer on the asset size. The PE ratio for Health Plan business should be 17.0x, equal to the average of United Healthcare and U.S. Healthcare, for the same reason. Thus, the value of these two businesses separate will be $4,087M and $694M. The Market value using current PE ratio for the whole Humana Company is $3,550M. Therefore, a spin-off of these two segments (assuming tax rate is 36%) will create an extra value of approximately $1,231M. Humana should assign most of its debt to the hospital business and keep sufficient cash in the health plan segment. According to the exhibits, the proportion of debt distributed to hospital and health plan is 5:1. Health Plan business could expand itself and enjoy further profit and growth, while the hospital business could start eliminating parts that are not profitable or carries much capacity. Kaiser has 6.5 million members and 7700 beds. This means feeding more people into the hospitals and a higher occupancy ratio. Humana has 1.7 million members and 17829 beds, significantly less occupancy. Both of the hospital and health plan industries enjoy higher PE valuation ratio than Humana as a company does, which indicates that this integrating strategy doesn’t fulfill the fullest of their respective potential. There is no other option that’s more sensible since they all have their respective flaws. New price structure compensates their margin to sell more services, yet their hospital’s occupancy ratio will not increase and they will lose on the Medicare deals. Selling off hospitals may help gain profit and independence. However, it will be extremely undervalued (6.0x EBITDA ratio). Leverage buyout is not feasible either because Humana’s marketable securities are occupied, thus no sufficient fund. Stock buyback will not help Humana to deal with hospital section’s occupancy and profitability problem. Finally, the feasibility of ESOP remains uncertain, as it didn’t measure whether employees have the ability to purchase and whether synergy has been compensated.