Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Stages of Unbelief. What is Skepticism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Stages of Unbelief. What is Skepticism - Essay Example What is Skepticism? Skepticism, in philosophical terms, is the point of view, which tackles the philosophical thesis with rational thought and doubtful criticism. According to Gary Gutting in Religious Belief and Religious Skepticism (87), this action leads to thinking and thought, which is based on logic and aimed towards dispute and criticism. Under a narrow view, religious skepticism is considered as that point of view which puts every organized belief or practice, commonly understood as religion, into doubt. This is done through a rational argument on the righteousness, value and ethics of that particular organized religion. Moreover, different philosophers, for example, like Kant, have talked highly about skepticism in their works. Kant has drawn much of his analysis from the works of David Hume, who is regarded as the most formidable skeptic in the history of Western philosophy. Much of Hume’s work on skepticism is drawn from the idea that he endorsed empirical science a nd considered founding the â€Å"science of man† as a heavy project (Thompson n.p.). One, therefore, should understand that when considering skepticism, science would come into debate at a number of times. Since metaphysics is broadly considered to be associated with supernatural, much of Kant’s skepticism draws on the work of metaphysical aspect of philosophy. According to Kant, there are three types of skepticism. These broadly include â€Å"veil of perception†, which seeks legitimacy by drawing inference of the external-mind world to one’s own mental representations. Hence, this concerns metaphysics. Humean skepticism elucidates upon the concepts that are not understood by sensible impressions and knowledge of certain ideas which are not proved by logical law nor known from experience. Therefore, again this concerns much of metaphysics, because the concepts that are not understood from the mind are discussed. Pyrrhonian skepticism establishes a balance between opposing arguments, hence having understanding of both the ideas of knowledge, for example, from the ones who believe in religion, and the ones who do not believe in religion (Forster 1). However, Kant and his approach were against skepticism and his Copernican Revolution tried to fight against skepticism. Kant propagated that religion was largely practice, not theory, and not based on facts, and was something private and subjective. Religion equaled ethics, put simply (Catholic Education n.p.). Christopher Scheitle in â€Å"Religious and Spiritual Change† (59) propagates that skepticism as a whole can be understood in the light of the insight into the way religious people believe blindly in different existing religions in the world. As argued, religious people never criticize their beliefs, because they have this idea that it is a great sin, a contradiction to their religion and that predominantly, it is a sacrilege (Gutting, pp. 93). This promotes the spread of rel igious dogma which leaves no room to doubt over a certain aspect or argue over a certain thing. Hence, followers of religion attempt to blindly follow religion and adopt the ideas of a particular religion as a supreme truth of which no violation can be done. However, they disregard the verity that their beliefs can be paradoxical, confusing, disastrous, unnatural and even antiscientific. This usually occurs because these people communicate with their supernatural being in the most irrational ways which makes their religious beliefs and, hence, religion highly questionable, even to themselves and the society (Zagzebski 212). This religious dogma also gives rise to the fervor of sacrificing their lives for the

Monday, October 28, 2019

International Trade Theories Essay Example for Free

International Trade Theories Essay 1. Theory of Mercantilism Introduction: Mercantilism is a trade theory holing that a country’s wealth is measured by its holdings of â€Å"treasure† which usually means its gold. The mercantilists proposed theory of mercantilism. They were a group of economists who preceded Adam Smith. The foundations of economic thought between 1500 and 1800 were based on mercantilism. Mercantilists believed that the world had a finite store of wealth; therefore, when one country got more, other countries had less. Mercantilists restricted imports and encouraged or subsidized exports as a conscious policy to make their citizens better off. Mercantilists judged the success of trade by the size of the trade balance. Mercantilism was a sixteenth-century economic philosophy that maintained that a country’s wealth was measured by its holdings of gold and silver. This required that the countries to maximize exports and minimize imports. The logic was transparent to sixteenth-century policy makers that if foreigners bought more goods from us than we bought from them, then the foreigners had to pay us the difference in gold and silver, enabling us to amass more treasure. With that treasure we could expand the nation’s global influence. Mercantilists pressed for favorable balance of trade (BOT) or balance of payments (BOP) as against the unfavorable one. In a way it is good because your currency appreciates with mounting surplus on the Fore front, and the country can attract more foreign capital infusion further strengthening the country’s economy, infrastructure, etc. Now China and Japan with enormous favorable BOT and BOP get all the benefits envisaged by mercantilists. According To Adam Smith- -Mercantilism is an economic theory popular in the 1500s and was the biggest reason for Europe’s desire to colonize new lands the theory states that there is a certain amount of wealth in the world and it is in a nations best interest to accumulate it through wealth, a nation can achieve power a country achieves wealth through producing and exporting more good then they import this theory was invented to serve the interest of the empire, not the colony Evaluation of Mercantilism Theory: Mercantilist writers have been lauded and criticized in the literature on foreign trade at least since Hume’s Political Discourses in 1752. Mercantilists have been criticized for everything from their views regarding the gains from trade to their self-promotion of the merchant’s role in society as being important. Mercantilist writers assumed that the economy will generally operate at a pace that leaves resources –land and labor – idle, but in reality the economy naturally tends to full employment. This is a â€Å"flaw† in the logical foundation of mercantilist thought. The regime of WTO has moved the world away from mercantilism by pressing for free trade with reduced protectionism. Theory of Neo-Mercantilism: Mercantilism is still in vogue. Mercantilist policies are politically attractive to some firms and their workers, as mercantilism benefits certain members of society. Modern supporters of these policies are known as neo-mercantilists, or protectionists. The neo-mercantilists want higher production through full employment and that every industry produces an exportable surplus leading to favorable BOT. Consciously or otherwise, every country is concerned about increasing export earnings. The merits of surging Fore surplus built through exports speaks well of a country’s capability to cater to world’s needs qualitatively, quantitatively and in varied product/service ranges. Every country does what is possible to meet this end. But the modern trade emphasis is ‘Export more and Import more’. Finally: The main economic system used during the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries. The main goal was to increase a nations wealth by imposing government regulation concerning all of the nations commercial interests. It was believed that national strength could be maximized by limiting imports via tariffs and maximizing exports. This approach assumes the wealth of a nation depends primarily on the possession of precious metals such as gold and silver. This type of system cannot be maintained forever, because the global economy would become stagnant if every country wanted to export and no one wanted to import. After a period of time, many people began to revolt against the idea of mercantilism and stressed the need for free trade. Mercantilism is a theory developed by the merchants; hence the name. It rests on the role of a strong state in supporting (state-granted) monopolies and protecting shipping and trading lanes. Mercantilism encourages exports and discourages imports. Gold and silver are used to keep score of the game played between nation-states, and represent the wealth of the nation. _______________________________________________________________ 2. Absolute Advantage theory Introduction: Adam Smith, in The Wealth of Nations, postulated that under free trade, each nation should specialize in producing those goods that it could produce most efficiently. Some of these would be exported to pay for the imports of goods that could be produced more efficiently elsewhere. Smith ridiculed the fear of trade comparing nations to households. Since every household finds it worthwhile to produce only some of its needs and to buy others with products it can seal, the same should apply to nations: It is the maxim of every prudent master of a family, never to attempt to make at home what it will cost him more to make than to buy. The Taylor does not attempt to make his own shoes, but buys them from shoemaker What is prudence in the conduct of every private family, can scarce be folly in that of a great kingdom. If a foreign country can supply us with some part of the product of our own industry, employed in a way in which we have some advantage. The theory of absolute advantage is based on the assumption that the nation is absolutely better (i.e., more efficient) at production of certain goods than are its trading partners. Smith showed by his example of absolute advantage that both nations would gain from trade. ADAM SMITHS TRADE THEORY OF ABSOLUTE ADVANTAGE: The first classical theory of international trade was propounded by Adam Smith, the founder of classical economics. His theory is known as the Theory of Absolute Advantage. It may be possible for all the countries to produce all the commodities they need, in spite of resource constraint. But, the cost of production of goods for which a country is deficient in its resources would be exorbitantly high. It is better to import such goods rather than produce them. Most Countries therefore tend to specialize in producing commodities in which they have absolute advantage in cost of production. Therefore, most countries export goods which they can produce at a lower cost and import what they can produce at a higher cost. This common sense logic of international division of labor suggested by Adam Smith marks the beginning of modern theories of foreign trade. The theory of absolute advantage states that the basis of trade between the nations is the absolute advantage a country has in producing a commodity over the other countries. In simple words, two countries are able to trade between them because each one of them is able to produce at least one commodity at a comparatively lower cost. Assumptions: The theory of absolute advantage was advanced to buttress Smiths argument that if there was no government involvement in trade, and if each individual was left to do what in his or her own best interest, then there would be more goods and services available, prices would be reduced, and the wealth of each nation, measured as the welfare of the citizens, would increase. Smiths theory was offered to replace mercantilism. The Theory of Absolute Advantage and the Theory of Comparative Advantage rest on very strong assumptions, as follows: Two countries, two commodities assumed in both theories. The theories are obvious for this case. The three-by-three case (and those beyond) cannot be established analytically, and it is not even clear how the principle should be formalized. (See p. 3 of Ronald Jones, The Positive Theory of International Trade, Handbook of International Economics, R. Jones and P. Kenen (eds.), 1984.) Efficiency objective The Absolute and Comparative Advantage theories assume that total world production, and therefore efficiency, is the objective. Efficiency is not always a country goal. Zero Transportation Costs both theories presume that transportation costs between and within countries are zero. Factor Mobility/Immobility both theories presume that resources are absolutely mobile within a country and absolutely immobile between countries. Full employment Both theories assume full employment in each country. Comparative Advantage versus Absolute Advantage: As we can see from the example above, a country can have a comparative advantage in producing a good even if it is absolutely less efficient at producing that good. To understand this more clearly, think of an example of a doctor in private practice: A young doctor opens her own practice, working by herself, and within a few months has developed a substantial clientele. At first, she was performing all her clerical work—filing, typing and answering the phone—by herself. With an ever-busier schedule, however, she realizes that she could spend more time seeing patients, and thus see a greater number of patients, if she hired an assistant. As it turns out, the young professional is not only a brilliant doctor, but is also lightning-fast at typing and filing. She is, in fact, better at doing both jobs than the clerical assistant she hires. In other words, she has an absolute advantage at both tasks: medical diagnosis and clerical work. Does it make sense then for the doctor and her assistant to share both tasks, each spending part of the day diagnosing patients and doing clerical work? The answer is no. By having the assistant perform all the clerical work, the doctor is able to maximize her specialization and see more patients. The patients are undoubtedly better off too. In other words, even though the assistant is worse at performing both tasks, an economist would say that he nonetheless has a comparative advantage at clerical work. As you can see, by working together – trading their services – the doctor and the assistant are able to maximize their skills, making both better off. As these examples show, trade allows countries to specialize in the production of what they do best and make the most efficient use of their resources, thereby decreasing the price of both goods. No matter how inefficiently a country produces every kind of good, it can always be said to have a comparative advantage in at least one of those goods. That is the theory of comparative and absolute advantage. It helps explain what happens in the real world of international trade, and it offers broad guidance to countries as they decide which goods and services to produce and subsequently export, and which, in turn, to import. Trade in Theory and Practice: In reality, of course, trade specialization does not work precisely the way the theory of comparative advantage might suggest, for a number of reasons: No country specializes exclusively in the production and export of a single product or service. All countries produce at least some goods and services that other countries can produce more efficiently. A lower income country might, in theory, be able to produce a particular product more efficiently than the United States can but still not be able to identify American buyers or transport the item cheaply to the United States. As a result, U.S. firms continue to manufacture the product. Finally: The Scottish economist Adam Smith developed the trade theory of absolute advantage in 1776. A country that has an absolute advantage produces greater output of a good or service than other countries using the same amount of resources. Smith stated that tariffs and quotas should not restrict international trade; it should be allowed to flow according to market forces. Contrary to mercantilism Smith argued that a country should concentrate on production of goods in which it holds an absolute advantage. No country would then need to produce all the goods it consumed. The theory of absolute advantage destroys the mercantilist idea that international trade is a zero-sum game. 3. Comparative Advantage theory Introduction: David Ricardo, in 1817, enunciated his refinement of Smiths concept by postulating the principle of comparative advantage (as opposed to Smiths concept of absolute advantage). The theory of comparative advantage states that even if a country is able to produce all its good at lower costs than another country can, trade still benefits both countries, based on comparative costs. His writings demonstrated what has become known as: the principle of comparative advantage: a nation, like a person, gains from the trade by exporting the goods or services in which it has its greatest comparative advantage in productivity and importing those in which it has the least comparative advantage. The key word is comparative, meaning relative and not necessarily absolute. There are gains from trade whenever the relative price ratios of two goods differ under international exchange for what would be under conditions of no trade. In addition, the theory of comparative advantage demonstrates that countries jointly benefit from trade (under the assumption of both goods). With the theory of absolute advantage, Ricardos theory of comparative advantage does not answer why production cost differ within each country and also no consideration is given to the possibility of producing the same goods with different combinations of factors. Assumption: A situation in which a country, individual, company or region can produce a good at a lower opportunity cost than a competitor. This theory that global efficiency gains may still result from trade if a country specializes in those products it can produce more efficiently than other products-regardless of whether other countries can produce those same products even more efficiently. It denotes gains from trade will occur even in a country that has absolute advantage in all products because the country must give up less efficient output to produce more efficient output. Assumptions underlying the concept of comparative advantage Perfect occupational mobility of factors of production resources used in one industry can be switched into another without any loss of efficiency Constant returns to scale (i.e. doubling the inputs in each country leads to a doubling of total output) No externalities arising from production and/or consumption Transportation costs are ignored comparative advantage and international trade: Comparative advantage exists when a country has a margin of superiority in the production of a good or service i.e. where the opportunity cost of production is lower. The basic theory of comparative advantage was developed by David Ricardo Ricardo’s theory of comparative advantage was further developed by Heckscher, Ohlin and Samuelson who argued that countries have different factor endowments of labor, land and capital inputs. Countries will specialize in and export those products which use intensively the factors of production which they are most endowed. If each country specializes in those goods and services where they have an advantage, then total output and economic welfare can be increased (under certain assumptions). This is true even if one nation has an absolute advantage over another country. Worked example of comparative advantage consider the data in the following table: | Pre-Specialization | CD Players | Personal Computers | | UK | 2,000 | 500 | | Japan | 4,000 | 2,000 | | Total Output | 6,000 | 2,500 | After trade has taken place, total output of goods available to consumers in both countries has grown. UKs consumption of CD players has increased by 200 and they have an extra 100 PCs. For Japan, they have an extra 200 CD players and 200 PCs. If businesses exploit increasing returns to scale (i.e. economies of scale) when they specialize, the potential gains from trade are much greater. The idea that specialization should lead to increasing returns is associated with economists such as Paul Romer and Paul Ormerod Determinants regarding comparative advantage: Comparative advantage is a dynamic concept. It can and does change over time. Some businesses find they have enjoyed a comparative advantage in one product for several years only to face increasing competition as rival producers from other countries enter their markets. For a country, the following factors are important in determining the relative costs of production: The quantity and quality of factors of production available (e.g. the size and efficiency of the available labor force and the productivity of the existing stock of capital inputs). If an economy can improve the quality of its labor force and increase the stock of capital available it can expand the productive potential in industries in which it has an advantage. Investment in research development (important in industries where patents give some firms significant market advantage) for more information on this have a look at this page Movements in the exchange rate. An appreciation of the exchange rate can cause exports from a country to increase in price. This makes them less competitive in international markets. Long-term rates of inflation compared to other countries. For example if average inflation in Country X is 4% whilst in Country B it is 8% over a number of years, the goods and services produced by Country X will become relatively more expensive over time. This worsens their competitiveness and causes a switch in comparative advantage. Import controls such as tariffs and quotas that can be used to create an artificial comparative advantage for a countrys domestic producers- although most countries agree to abide by international trade agreements. Non-price competitiveness of producers (e.g. product design, reliability, quality of after-sales support) Criticisms: However, the principle of comparative advantage can be criticized in a several ways: †¢ It may overstate the benefits of specialization by ignoring a number of costs. These costs include transport costs and any external costs associated with trade, such as air and sea pollution. †¢ The theory also assumes perfect mobility of factors without any diminishing returns. The reality may be very different. Output from factor inputs is likely to be subject to diminishing returns. This will make the PPF for each country non-linear and bowed outwards. †¢ Complete specialization might create structural unemployment as some workers cannot transfer from one sector to another. †¢ Relative prices and exchange rates are not taken into account in the simple theory of comparative advantage. For example if the price of X rises relative to Y, the benefit of increasing output of X increases. †¢ Comparative advantage is not a static concept it may change over time. For example, nonrenewable resources can slowly run out, increasing the costs of production, and reducing the gains from trade. †¢ Many countries strive for food security, meaning that even if they should specialise in non-food products, they still prefer to keep a minimum level of food production. †¢ Finally, the principle of comparative advantage is derived from a simple two good/two country model. The real world is far more complex, with countries exporting and importing many different goods and services. Finally: It seems obvious that if one country is better at producing one good and another country is better at producing a different good (assuming both countries demand both goods) that they should trade. What happens if one country is better at producing both goods? Should the two countries still trade? This question brings into play the theory of comparative advantage and opportunity costs. The everyday choices that we make are, without exception, made at the expense of pursuing one or several other choices. When you decide what to wear, what to eat for dinner, or what to do on Saturday night, you are making a choice that denies you the opportunity to explore other options. ______________________________________________________________ 4. Heckscher-Ohlin theory Introduction: the Heckscher–Ohlin theorem is one of the four critical theorems of the Heckscher–Ohlin model. It states that a country will export goods that use its abundant factors intensively, and import goods that use its scarce factors intensively. In the two-factor case, it states: A capital-abundant country will export the capital-intensive good, while the labor-abundant country will export the labor-intensive good. Definition: This theory said that differences in countries’ endowment of labor compared to their endowment of land or capital explain differences in the cost of production factors. Assumption: The critical assumption of the Heckscher–Ohlin model is that the two countries are identical, except for the difference in resource endowments. This also implies that the aggregate preferences are the same. The relative abundance in capital will cause the capital-abundant country to produce the capital-intensive good cheaper than the labor-abundant country and vice versa. Initially, when the countries are not trading: the price of capital-intensive good in capital-abundant country will be bid down relative to the price of the good in the other country, the price of labor-intensive good in labor-abundant country will be bid down relative to the price of the good in the other country.Once trade is allowed, profit-seeking firms will move their products to the markets that have (temporary) higher price. As a result: the capital-abundant country will export the capital-intensive good, the labor-abundant country will export the labor-intensive good. Features of the model: †¢ Relative endowments of the factors of production (land, labor, and capital) determine a countrys comparative advantage. Countries have comparative advantages in those goods for which the required factors of production are relatively abundant locally. This is because the profitability of goods is determined by input costs. Goods that require inputs that are locally abundant will be cheaper to produce than those goods that require inputs that are locally scarce. †¢ For example, a country where capital and land are abundant but labor is scarce will have comparative advantage in goods that require lots of capital and land, but little labor — grains. If capital and land are abundant, their prices will be low. As they are the main factors used in the production of grain, the price of grain will also be low—and thus attractive for both local consumption and export. Labor intensive goods on the other hand will be very expensive to produce since labor is scarce and its price is high. Therefore, the country is better off importing those goods. Factor Proportions Theory: Trade theory, like all of economic theory, changed drastically in the first half of the twentieth century. The factor proportions theory developed by the Swedish economist Eli Heckscher and later expanded by his former graduate student Bertil Ohlin formed the major theory of international trade that is widely is still widely accepted today. Whereas Smith and Ricardo emphasized a labor theory of value the factor proportions theory was based on a more modern concept of production that raised capital to the same level of importance as labor. Factor Intensity in Production: The factor intensity in production theory considered two factor of production, labor and capital. Technology determines the way they combine to form a product. Different products required different proportions of the two factors of production. It is easy to see how the factor proportions of how a product is produced differs substantially among groups of products. For the manufacturing of leather footwear is still a relatively labor intensive process even with the most sophisticated leather treatment and patterning machinery. Other products such as computer memory chips, however although requiring some highly skilled labor require massive quantities of capital for production and development and the manufacturing facilities needed for clean production to ensure the extremely high quality demanded in the industry. The concept of factor proportions is very useful in the comparison of the production processes of goods. According to factor proportions theory, factor intensities depend on the state of technology and the current method of manufacturing a product. The theory assumed that the same technology of production would be used for the same goods in all countries. It is not therefore differences in the efficiency of production that will determine trade between countries at it did in classical theory. Classical theory implicitly assumed that technology or the productivity of labor is different across countries. Otherwise there would be no logical explanation as to why one country requires more units of labor to produce a unit of output than another country. Factor proportions theory assumed no such productivity differences. Factor Endowments, Factor Prices, And Comparative Advantage: If there is no difference in technology or productivity of factors across countries, what then determines comparative advantage in production and export? The answer is that factor prices determine cost differences. And these prices are determined by the endowments of labor and capital the country possesses. The theory assumes that labor and capital are immobile, meaning they cannot move across country borders. Therefore the countrys endowment determines the relative costs of labor and capital as compared to other countries. Each country is defined or measured by the amount of labor and capital that it possesses. If a country has when compared with other countries more labor and less capital it would be characterized as relatively labor abundant. That which is more plentiful is cheaper; so a labor abundant country would therefore have relatively cheap labor. For a country such as China possesses a relatively large endowment of labor and a relatively smaller endowment of capital. At the same time Japan is a relatively capital abundant country with a relatively smaller endowment of labor. China possesses relatively cheaper labor and should therefore specialize in the production and export of labor intensive products. Japan possesses relatively cheap capital and should specialize in the production and export of capital intensive products. Comparative advantage is derived not from the productivity of a country, but from the relative abundance of its factors of production. Using these assumptions, factor proportions theory stated that a country should specialize in the production and export of those product that use intensively its relatively abundant factor. (i) A country that is relatively labor abundant should specialize in the production of relatively labor intensive goods. It should then export these labor intensive goods in exchange for capital intensive goods. (ii) A country that is relatively capital abundant should specialized in the production of relatively capital intensive goods. It should then export these capital intensive goods in exchange for labor intensive goods. Finally: The Heckscher-Ohlin theory states that international and interregional differences in production costs occur because of differences in the supply of production factors: Commodities requiring for their production much of [abundant factors of production] and little of [scarce factors] are exported in exchange for goods that call for factors in the opposite proportions. Thus indirectly, factors in abundant supply are exported and factors in scanty supply are imported (Ohlin, 1933).These simple statements lead to an important conclusion: under free trade, countries export the products that use their scarce factors intensively and imports the products using their scarce factors intensively.

Saturday, October 26, 2019

Coming Full Circle in Anna Karenina Essay -- Literary Analysis

What happens when you cut yourself off from society, or are cut off by it? This is the main question that Leo Tolstoy explores in Anna Karenina. Isolated from society, Anna is destroyed by a conflict of wills. The desire of the individual is forced to give way to society’s restrictions and requirements, represented in the image of the railroad. Those who do not conform to society will ultimately face death, a fate, that both Anna and Vronsky will not be able to outrun as a consequence of their illegitimate relationship. Besides personifying the necessity of living within society’s realm of expectations, the railroad serves a central role in the organizational plan of the novel. The major railway scenes can be interpreted as pillars supporting the structure of the novel by connecting the Anna/Vronsky storyline. It is at a railway station where Anna is introduced to Vronsky, where he admits his love to her and where Anna makes her first and last appearance. The recurrence of motifs and the final return to initial associations within Anna Karenina serve to create the symmetrical architecture of the work. The first mention of the railroad is in context of children and their games, which serves as a premonition of the events to come. The children who are aware of the current distraught household are playing with a box, representing a train. Stiva’s eldest girl is heard telling off her younger sibling, telling him that â€Å"[she] told [him] not to put the passengers on the roof†, instructing him to â€Å"[pick them up !† (Anna Karenina p.7). The children’s games foreshadow not only the accident at the station but Anna’s suicide at the conclusion of the novel. ... ... As a result of Anna’s willingness to abandon her home and husband to build her happiness on other human being’s suffering. Anna’s action causes Kitty to suffer heartbreak as she loses Vronsky, the man she loved, to Anna. In addition, Anna and Vronsky’s relationship breaks up Anna and Karenin’s marriage and causes Serezha to grow up without his mother’s presence. The wrath of society punishes Anna for her sin by crushing her, metaphorically as well as literally. Bibliography Tolstoy, Leo. Anna Karenina. Translated by Yuri Corrigan. London: Genius Translators Press, 1999. Bayley, John. Tolstoy and the Novel. London, 1966. Gustafson, Richard. Leo Tolstoy: Resident and Stranger. Princeton, 1986. Jahn, Gary. The Image of the Railroad in Anna Karenina. The Slavic and East European Journal Vol. 25, No. 2 (Summer, 1981), pp. 1-10

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Jean-Paul Sartre Essay

Existentialism focuses on the idea that life has no meaning and is considered absurd. Existential philosophers believe that humans create their own values and determine a meaning for their lives because, from the start, the human being does not possess any inherent value or identity. â€Å"Existence precedes essence† is one of the most well-known existential statements and describes how our concrete being is more important than its purpose. The existentialism movement introduced a new way of perceiving life and was illustrated through poetry, visual art and lecturing. Using these methods poets, artists and philosophers were able to convey the understanding that searching for a meaning to life is futile, and pursuing it can lead to the brink of complete comprehension about one’s purpose for existing, and in turn can cause one to recognize that life is only as meaningful as one makes it out to be. In â€Å"Freedom vs. Determinism† by Tom Greening, the poet rhetorically questions how the universe works in order to show the reader the impossibility of knowing why things happen. Greening uses the line â€Å"While we argue, life goes by† to illustrate the point that no matter how much time and effort is put into fighting over why things happen, life will continuously move forward. He is arguing that if we waste time attempting to understand the meaning of life, we will only reach the edge of understanding. Through the struggle to achieve this â€Å"understanding,† our personal lives can begin to elude us. In â€Å"Untitled† by Jackson Pollock, the artist uses abstract paint dripping and brush strokes to express the idea that life is not meant to be understood. With the painting, Pollock is showing how life is abstract at times, especially when its meaning is pursued. This is similar to the idea in the unifying thematic statement of the futility of searching for the meaning of life. Life’s conceivable meaning is not meant to be understood, much like the painting. In â€Å"Existentialism is a Humanism† by Jean-Paul Sartre, the lecturer defends existentialism from criticisms of being pessimistic and gloomy. He explains that man materializes at birth, and only after this occurs can he make something of himself, creating his own life without any outside force pushing him. He states that man is what he conceives himself to be, and nothing else. Sartre says â€Å"man is nothing other than what he makes of himself,† to convey the idea similar to the one in the unifying thematic statement, that life is only as significant as an individual makes it out to be. All three existentialists used their mediums to come to the conclusion that there is not one concrete meaning to life. Each individual puts meaning to their own lives. Through understanding this principle meaning of existentialism, Greening, Pollock and Sartre exhibited the fact that one should realize the mere existence of life is the only thing that matters, and should not be wasted on vain attempts to understand its meaning.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Nursing and Nurse Practitioner

My Career goal Tiffanie Brown My all time career goal is to become a Nurse Practitioner. I will have a lot of hoops to Jump through in order to get there but I am determine to achieve my goal so I no I will Succeed in this process. Currently I am working as an LPN at a long term care facility which I enjoy very much I attended almost 2 years of school to be able to sit for my license board for my LPN It was not easy at all I had a lot of long nights studying and early clinical mornings I first started out in a computer class to make sure I had general computer knowledge. Then I currently moved to pharmacology and my basic nursing classes.Each class was A month long and focused solely on that specific class. After 6 months of nursing classes I currently moved on to my clinical piece of nursing School. Which were sometimes all day and night. We had to pass each portion of our Clinical rotation in order to be able to move on to the next clinical. It was not easy but I made it through my clinical rotation, it took a lot of focusing on my certain tasks but I took my time and proceeded to pass all subjects, after my clinical portion was complete I had to take an exit exam so I was able to sit for my boards, I studied days and nights andIt paid off I passed my exit exam and was able to sit for my state boards. I took them And passed on my first try, I received my license and been practicing for the last two years. Currently I am at U. C Raymond Walters College taking my necessary pre-reqs so I can Get into the LPN-RN bridge program they offer. I will have to take a year almost Of my pre-req classes in order to qualify for the program, I have to take several Math classes, English comp 1,2,3 I have to take bio-organic chemistry, global Community, anatomy 1,2,3 I will have to take pharmacology, pediatrics, med surgeAnd my year of clinical so I am ready to take my exit exam in order to sit for my RN Exam. Once I take my RN exam and pass that I will be able to get accepted into the Bachelors program, to complete that program I will gave a lot of papers to complete On history as well as the clinical aspects of nursing, I will have to do a few week Internship In order for me to qualify to be able to receive my bachelors. It will Take about a year for Me to receive my bachelors from my associates degree give or take a little more or little Less time. After that is complete I will move onto my process of being accepted toThe masters program. Once I am officially accepted into my masters program I will have Almost a year of classes such as advanced pediatrics, advanced acute care, advanced Family practice, advanced women’s health and a basic nurse practitioner course, also Primary care on the adults and the aged. My instructor will have to make sure I pass Every course with a 3. 5 or better GPA in order for me to pass the program. I will Have several hands on clinicals with live patients as well as dummies. I will also have Several research papers I will have to do in order to complete my program . This processWill take quite a few years to complete, considering I am doing this process in a step By step manner. But I like to learn all aspects of this field and what the limits of practice Are for each title, I would also like to learn the acute care versus the trauma care, Surgical care, pediatrics care, and OB care before I move into the full blown Nurse practitioner care when I am not working fully one on one with a certain patient At all times, that is why I want to take this process slow and learn all aspects before I focus solely on one thing. And that is what it will take me to receive my all time goal Of a Nurse Practitioner.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Outline of the U.S. Economy

Outline of the U.S. Economy This free online textbook is an adaptation of the book Outline of the U.S. Economy by Conte and Carr and has been adapted with permission from the U.S. Department of State. CHAPTER 1: Continuity and Change The American Economy at the End of the 20th CenturyFree Enterprise and the Role of Government in America CHAPTER 2: How the U.S. Economy Works Americas Capitalist EconomyBasic Ingredients of the U.S. EconomyManagers in the American WorkforceA Mixed Economy: The Role of the MarketGovernments Role in the EconomyRegulation and Control in the U.S. EconomyDirect Services and Direct Assistance in the U.S. EconomyPoverty and Inequality in the United StatesThe Growth of Government in the United States CHAPTER 3: The U.S. Economy - A Brief History The Early Years of the United StatesColonization of the United StatesThe Birth of the United States: The New Nations EconomyAmerican Economic Growth: Movement South and WestwardAmerican Industrial GrowthEconomic Growth: Inventions, Development, and TycoonsAmerican Economic Growth in the 20th CenturyGovernment Involvement in the American EconomyThe Post War Economy: 1945-1960Years of Change: The 1960s and 1970sStagflation in the 1970sThe Economy in the 1980sEconomic Recovery in the 1980sThe 1990s and BeyondGlobal Economic Integration CHAPTER 4: Small Business and the Corporation The History of Small BusinessSmall Business in the United StatesSmall Business Structure in the United StatesFranchisingCorporations in the United StatesOwnership of CorporationsHow Corporations Raise CapitalMonopolies, Mergers, and RestructuringMergers in the 1980s and 1990sThe Use of Joint Ventures CHAPTER 5: Stocks, Commodities, and Markets Introduction to Capital MarketsThe Stock ExchangesA Nation of InvestorsHow Stock Prices Are DeterminedMarket StrategiesCommodities and Other FuturesThe Regulators of Security MarketsBlack Monday and the Long Bull Market CHAPTER 6: The Role of Government in the Economy Government and the EconomyLaissez-faire Versus Government InterventionGrowth of Government Intervention in the EconomyFederal Efforts to Control MonopolyAntitrust Cases Since World War IIDeregulating TransportationDeregulating TelecommunicationsDeregulation: The Special Case of BankingBanking and the New DealSavings and Loan BailoutsLessons Learned From The Savings and Loan CrisisProtecting the EnvironmentGovernment Regulation: Whats Next? CHAPTER 7: Monetary and Fiscal Policy Introduction to Monetary and Fiscal PolicyFiscal Policy: Budget and TaxesThe Income TaxHow High Should Taxes Be?Fiscal Policy and Economic StabilizationFiscal Policy in the 1960s and 1970sFiscal Policy in the 1980s and 1990sMoney in the U.S. EconomyBank Reserves and the Discount RateMonetary Policy and Fiscal StabilizationThe Growing Importance of Monetary PolicyA New Economy?New Technologies in the New EconomyAn Aging Workforce CHAPTER 8: American Agriculture: Its Changing Significance Agriculture and the EconomyEarly Farm Policy in the United StatesFarm Policy of the 20th CenturyFarming Post World-War IIFarming in the 1980s and 1990sFarm Policies and World TradeFarming As Big Business CHAPTER 9: Labor in America: The Workers Role American Labor HistoryLabor Standards in AmericaPensions in the United StatesUnemployment Insurance in the United StatesThe Labor Movements Early YearsThe Great Depression and LaborPost-War Victories for LaborThe 1980s and 1990s: The End of Paternalism in LaborThe New American Work ForceDiversity in the WorkplaceLabor Cost-Cutting in the 1990sThe Decline of Union Power CHAPTER 10: Foreign Trade and Global Economic Policies An Introduction to Foreign TradeMounting Trade Deficits in the United StatesFrom Protectionism to Liberalized TradeAmerican Trade Principles and PracticeTrade Under the Clinton AdministrationMultilateralism, Regionalism, and BilateralismCurrent U.S. Trade AgendaTrade with Canada, Mexico, and ChinaThe U.S. Trade DeficitHistory of the U.S. Trade DeficitThe American Dollar and the World EconomyThe Bretton Woods SystemThe Global EconomyDevelopment Assistance CHAPTER 11: Beyond Economics Reviewing the American Economic SystemHow Fast Should the Economy Grow?

Monday, October 21, 2019

The Failure of Communism In Eastern Europe essays

The Failure of Communism In Eastern Europe essays The Failure of Communism in Eastern Europe Communism in the Eastern Europe was a tragedy. It did do well in the Eastern Europe for quite a while; however, it doomed to failure. Communism was condemned due to lack of support from other nations, condemned due to the lack of efficient solution to the economical failure, and condemned due to the reformation of Gorbachev. Communism in Eastern Europe was only a theory that did not work in reality. Originally, Karl Marx invented the theory of Communism. According to the Columbia Encyclopedia, Communism is applied to the movement that aims to overthrow the capitalist order by revolutionary means and to establish a classless society in which all goods will be socially owned. Marxs idea of communism was to create a state that was ruled by workers. Marx thought that under the Tsar, the government would eventually spoil the workers, and revolution would take place soon or later. This would lead to the birth of Communism. Ideally, the society provided equal sharing of work, according to ability, and all benefits, according to need. Coercive government would be unnecessary and therefore the society was ruled without ruler. The private property was abolished. However, Lenin and Stalin modified the theory of Communism, which altered the actually meaning of the theory. This modification led to the collapse of Communism. The reformation of Gorbachev was an excellent example to prove thi s. Under the rule of Lenin, he claimed that there could be only one party, which was the Communist party, ran the government. Opposition parties were abolished. This was different from Marxs originally intention to have a state rule without ruler. Dictatorship might be established. The Communist parties had the total power. People were not allowed to criticize the government publicly, and freedom of speech was being striped. Censorship and propaganda was flourished among the society. There was no allo...

Sunday, October 20, 2019

5 simple job search tips you’re probably forgetting -TheJobNetwork

5 simple job search tips you’re probably forgetting -TheJobNetwork There’s a lot to keep straight when you’re looking for a job. Things you need to put on your resume or else. How to build your brand so that you don’t seem hopelessly out of date. The nuances of interview questions you’re likely to face when you get through the door. And because you’re human, you might be forgetting some painfully obvious things that need to be checked off as well. Let’s look at some of the most commonly forgotten job search to-dos. 1. Go offline sometimes.Yes, most companies have some form of online application submission these days. Yes, you want to maximize your resume and cover letter for the keyword bots. But don’t make those your entire focus. We can get so mired in the online application machine that we forget to look up and see what else might be available. Don’t forget to work your network to see if they know of any openings, or reach out to recruiters to see what they may have as well.2. It’s ok ay to let your personality shine.As a rule, it’s good to be a little wary of your full everyday self- warts and all- becoming part of the job search process. You want to be evaluated on your professional merits, not your Facebook timeline. But don’t be afraid to make (appropriate) jokes in an interview, or show some personality in a cover letter. Your interviewers and readers are people too, and they would appreciate getting to see who you are, in addition to the points on your resume.3. Tailor your resume for the specific job.Going back to the online application engines, it can be easy to forget that you’re not just uploading a PDF to a portal. You’re not just a jumble of keywords; you’re trying to show that you’re a great and obvious fit for the job opening. That means taking the specific job description and making sure your application materials line up with it. If the hiring manager has to work to make a connection between you and the jo b, that usually means a fast track to the â€Å"no thanks† pile.4. Treat your LinkedIn profile as a living resume.Let’s face it: anyone who’s thinking of bringing you in for an interview is also likely to do a little internet sleuthing. And one of the first internet stops is likely to be your LinkedIn profile. That means you need to invest in your profile’s upkeep. Make sure it at least matches your current resume, but don’t hesitate to add things as they come up so that anyone who’s looking for you can see that you’re not only evolving all the time, you’re also on it with your online presence.5. Manners always matter.Sure, sending a handwritten thank you note on fancy paper has fallen out of favor in our fast-paced, everything-digital-always society. That doesn’t mean you’re off the hook for basic courtesy like thank you notes.Again, there’s a lot going on in your job search, but if you pay attention to so me of the smaller details along the way, you’re increasing your chances of success.

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Find a newpaper article on wine industry and draw a link to a Assignment

Find a newpaper article on wine industry and draw a link to a macroecnomic concept - Assignment Example The key concept the article deals with is the demand and supply side of the wine industry. In order to gain an in depth understanding of these two mechanisms, aggregate demand and supply analysis needs to be made. This is necessary because the article highlights that other industries such as tourism and manufacturing have also suffered losses in the recent past. The aggregate demand (AD) is the total amount of goods and services that are demanded by the domestic householders, government, private businesses and the foreign consumers at a certain price level. The aggregate supply (AS) is the real output of an economy at a certain price level. AD and AS will change as price level changes and the mechanism that AD, AS varies at different price level in turn indicated the equilibrium real output and the equilibrium price level of an economy taking into account the equilibrium of product, monetary and labor (employment) markets. The article focuses on the macro-economic and micro-economic factors that are troubling the Australian wine industry. The article explores the reason for Australian company Foster’s parting away with its wine business. First, it highlights the many macro-economic factors such as global economic slowdown and strengthening of Australian currency to be responsible for weak sales figures. But the major argument of the article is that the domestic consumption of Australian wines has decreased. The reason is said to be ‘conservative consumerism’ emerging among the Australians. To highlight this new phenomenon the article mentions the rise in sales of cheaper French wine. The figure below depicts change in Pricing and Aggregate supply with shift in Aggregate demand. In the news article the writer supports the decision of Foster’s to dissociate itself with its wine business. As mentioned earlier, there are many reasons given for this step. The reasons

Friday, October 18, 2019

Read Article and watch four hour home Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Read Article and watch four hour home - Essay Example In a very fast paced world and society, individuals have the tendency to become more independently especially when achieving their goals. However, it is still a tested fact that more often a team’s goal is more feasible rather than an individual goal. Like in the example that was given in by those people who participated in the 4-Hour House in San Diego. It is not easy to build a house. There are instances that even if the house has been meticulously built, there are bits and pieces of errors that might cause an accident during the building process. Yet in the event that occurred in San Diego, it just proved that nothing is impossible when people unite and work as one towards a common goal. For teams to be united there should be no barriers as to the extent how an individual will cooperate to achieve the goal. According to DAndrea-OBrien and Buono (4-6), the output should not be based on an individual’s contribution to the whole task. It is still the team who should be given the credit as all of the people involved have exhausted their energy and collaborated with their peers to achieve the success of the common goal. It is the team’s goal that is put into consideration and not the heroic stands of just one individual. Still looking at the example of the 4-Hour House, nobody was a superhero. The success of the whole record-breaking event was credited to each and every individual who put their hearts, souls and mind to the whole project. The development of learning teams, however, requires managers to rethink their role, achieving a balance between status as the "expert" and a coach facilitator. They must encourage team members to build a psychological contract among the team members. This contract states team members’ strengths and skills, expectations both for the results and the process they will follow, as well as a set of norms

Taoism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Taoism - Essay Example without trying to preach what he found bad, and returned with some pages written for characters for developing humanity and titled as ‘Tao Te Ching’. He was back there for just three days and left again. This is an inspiring part of his figure as he was not back to earn fame, but to deliver well; he had, to the people. The Taoism ultimately describes characters provided by Lao Tzu regarding the art by which nature is driving changes and the paths/ways through which one can find peace within himslef and be content and happy. Combining the reality, the nature and the human ways, Taoism deals with domains of philosophy and religion in order to portray a prosperous and contended life. The philosophical Taoism based on the attitude towards life drag one to live life wisely and at the same time, Taoist ‘adepts’ entail one towards practises/exercieses to gain vital energy and boost life. Taoism also covers the effects of religion on one’s life to an extent which crosses mysterious/magical limits and ensures trust on high powers for the maintaince of health or end of

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Script ( the Vassals) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Script ( the Vassals) - Essay Example The boy stopped, as Mary is taking her rest. She  started to shake and utterly whispers her prayers as she saw a black shadow in front of her. I cannot believe that Nicholas and Melanie Woods are now dead. What a sorrowful experience. Life is very short and everyone lives for a total of time destined to them by fate. It is very unfortunate that there is nothing we can do about it. Once life has become that way, we only need to live to the fullest, but when the right time comes, we even go to glory without notice. With them in place, you cannot be a worried child at all. Most importantly, I was very much happy with the way they took the initiative to educate meant offer me the best they could. This is something that not all parents can do. Instead, it can only be done by just a few focused ones like my parents who knew that life is all about sacrifices. Anne my daughter! Be strong. We, as human beings, live in borrowed times. Everything that happens to us had been planned by God. The only thing we need to do is to thank the Almighty for whatever happens whether it is good or bad. After all, as a believer, you should not doubt that any unpleasant thing that happens to you has a purpose. It is meant to make you be stronger. Even Jesus Christ was tempted by Satan before He eventually emerged victorious over death. When I hear such utterances, I become the saddest on earth. Losing one’s parents to a murder is an experience which should not be taken lightly. No one can endure it. Neither can I. so, we need to react and show the world that we are discontent about this. Anne, you need not to plan evil. Two wrongs don’t make one right. I understand your pain, but you need to take heart. Planning to bad things against someone who has offended you is not the best thing to do. No anger should overcome you. Just be patient and humble. Know that life must continue regardless of

How do cultural factors influence a Multi National Company's decisions Essay

How do cultural factors influence a Multi National Company's decisions on location selection and organizational structure for it - Essay Example Transformation firms that differ significantly from national and international firms are making the later firms, are making them accountable to global markets and economic settings. Because of globalization effect, the state ability to regulate its economic activities is declining rapidly, while global markets increase in their dominance over national economic policies. These policies have to be aligned in a way that guarantees multinational companies and competitive advantage. Globalization has created ways for opportunities for increasing number of businesses to cross their countrywide borders and enlarge their market share, lessen expenses, as well as improve proficiency. Multinational companies are going global mainly because, of market saturation in the parent country; they look for new markets to bit competition. The multinational companies take advantage of the economies of scale in the targeted country to increase their business by gaining more stable profits. This as a resul t has led to increased growth of international movement of products and services rapidly. Cultural factors influence a Multi-National Company's decisions on location selection Cultural factors affect both the brand appearance and affect the structural organization of the company ranging from the management of workers, the sales of the product and the gratification of the consumers. Organizational structure has to be adjustable so that it can meet the cultural aspects in areas with varied cultures. According to research, culture comprises of a set of dogmas, moral principles, language, customs as well as laws apprehended in mutual by a country, a society, or other distinct group of individuals (Haleblian, McNamara and Davison, 2009). Currently, with many refugees in various nations worldwide, there is a wide range of cultural diversity, religious views, traditions as well as ethics, reflecting the dispersed basis of the people. Organizational culture is referred to as a pattern of mu tual understanding s around which action is organized. Alternatively, it can be taken to imply a scheme of knowledge, of standards for remarking, considering, appraising, and acting that serve to associate human societies to their environmental settings. From statistics, there has been an increase in developments in the area of transport and communications, which have made the universe a global community. Accordingly, there has been a reduction of trade barriers because of the presence free trade zones in a significant number of nations (Beamish and Lupton, 2009). However, despite the fact that there has been the lessening in trade blockades to entering new global markets, there are still various complications. Managers who deal with multinational organizations currently encounter an exterior setting that is rapidly altering multilayered, unreliable and dynamically competitive. Multinational organizations can help in the creation of competitive benefits; although only under particul ar conditions. It is of great significance to note that, issues that relate to diverse groups within the workforce are complex and delicate to handle. Therefore, this means that without substantial understanding of the diverse organizational and socioeconomic as well as cultural factors, multinational corporations may not flourish in taking full benefit of the existing resources and chances (Porter, 1998). Therefore, the practices of

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Script ( the Vassals) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Script ( the Vassals) - Essay Example The boy stopped, as Mary is taking her rest. She  started to shake and utterly whispers her prayers as she saw a black shadow in front of her. I cannot believe that Nicholas and Melanie Woods are now dead. What a sorrowful experience. Life is very short and everyone lives for a total of time destined to them by fate. It is very unfortunate that there is nothing we can do about it. Once life has become that way, we only need to live to the fullest, but when the right time comes, we even go to glory without notice. With them in place, you cannot be a worried child at all. Most importantly, I was very much happy with the way they took the initiative to educate meant offer me the best they could. This is something that not all parents can do. Instead, it can only be done by just a few focused ones like my parents who knew that life is all about sacrifices. Anne my daughter! Be strong. We, as human beings, live in borrowed times. Everything that happens to us had been planned by God. The only thing we need to do is to thank the Almighty for whatever happens whether it is good or bad. After all, as a believer, you should not doubt that any unpleasant thing that happens to you has a purpose. It is meant to make you be stronger. Even Jesus Christ was tempted by Satan before He eventually emerged victorious over death. When I hear such utterances, I become the saddest on earth. Losing one’s parents to a murder is an experience which should not be taken lightly. No one can endure it. Neither can I. so, we need to react and show the world that we are discontent about this. Anne, you need not to plan evil. Two wrongs don’t make one right. I understand your pain, but you need to take heart. Planning to bad things against someone who has offended you is not the best thing to do. No anger should overcome you. Just be patient and humble. Know that life must continue regardless of

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Bringing Minds To Gods Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Bringing Minds To Gods - Research Paper Example One famous symbolic anthropologist by the name of Clifford Geertz even defined religion as â€Å"(1) a system of symbols which acts to (2) establish powerful, pervasive, and long-lasting moods and motivations in men by (3) formulating conceptions of a general order of existence and (4) clothing these conceptions with such an aura of factuality that (5) the moods and motivations seem uniquely realistic" (Geertz 1966). An integral part in the system of religion is the belief of sin. In a general and more modern sense, sin is anything that violates a certain moral standard or code of conduct. Anything that is offensive, an avoidance of good, or the act of doing wrong is considered a â€Å"sin†. In Christianity, sin does not only mean those actions that are tangible but it also encompasses feelings of enmity, internal thoughts, and other motivations that lead to ill-doing, shame, or immorality. In a religious perspective, when a person commits sins, his relationship with his supe rnatural being is tainted and he therefore must do sacrificial acts to restore the connection. This act of achieving a certain kind of spiritual cleansing, more commonly understood as the concepts of expiation and/or the atonement of sins have since become so interrelated hand in hand with the notion of sin. And religions have, to a good extent, institutionalized certain practices and ritual to ensure the reparation of relationship between man and his deity. Among the many established religions in the world today, this paper shall focus on the discussion of the similarities and differences of the concept of atonement and/or spiritual cleansing between Hinduism and Confucianism. To define, atonement is the process by which a person removes obstacles to his reconciliation with God. In doing so, he â€Å"re-establishes or strengthens his relations to the holy divine†. As the etymology of the name suggests, to â€Å"atone† is to â€Å"set at one† (Encyclopedia Brita nnica, May 2011). Hinduism Present among the various religions in the world in the act of expiation of sins are prayer, repentance, fasting, and offering (animal or crops). In Hinduism, the ultimate goal in life is to be in union with the Brahman, the supreme and absolute universal Spirit of the universe. To be one with the Brahman, one must constantly purify himself through the practice of atonement or â€Å"Prayaschitta†, a ritual performed to eliminate the effects of bad deeds. In the Hindu lexicon, â€Å"praya† means austerity and â€Å"chitta† means a firm resolution. Hence, to do prayschitta, one must undergo or render a certain form of sacrifice to cleanse him from the wrong doings he has committed. This includes extreme fasting which could last as long as a month, chanting of Mantras, or giving away of gifts or going away on a pilgrimage. History has it that the act of prayaschitta among Hindus is not necessarily according to the Brahmans but it goes bac k to law books of Sanskrit. The severity of the penance is said to be dependent upon the weight of the violation committed. In some documented acts of atonement, there were instances of drinking boiled liquor for the sin committed in drinking too much of the same intoxicating beverage. This kind of ritual is considered to be light as the sin committed is not severe. Severe ones are those that include murder,

Monday, October 14, 2019

The War Room Essay Example for Free

The War Room Essay The documentary by D.A.Pennebaker and C.Hedgus investigates two sides of the medal associated with the presidential campaign of Bill Clinton. It gives an overview of pipe laying and backstreet intrigues performed by the representatives of Bill Clinton’s campaign. The chief person of the backstage side is James Carville. He is imposing and respectable manager of the campaign who stresses his logical ability to solve problems and emotional potential to override his followers. His persuasive way of speaking and charismatic personality outshines pale character of his partner George Stephanopoulos with whom they are responsible for the success of Bill Clinton’s political campaign of 1992. George Stephanopoulos is intelligent, dignified, mature person, who, however, lacks emotionality and public energy necessary to make electorate fall in love with him. Although perceived as inexperienced and excessively quiet person, George Stephanopoulos gives an impression of stability due to his belief that Bill Clinton will change the economic and political situation in the country for better. James Carville has enormous magnetism and wins over millions of people throughout the USA not only because of his inexhaustible intellect, but also because of his ability to logically prove his case. His speeches are characterized with pure genuineness and desire to explain difficult things and find common language with his listeners. The movie describes the efforts and decision-making of the two men with respect to Bill Clinton and his transformation from unpopular stranger to the American President. Improving the prestige of the future president among population, James Carville and George Stephanopoulos deal with numerous accusations of draft-dodging and adultery. To protect the authority of their leader, through the movie they compose professional and effective ads based on moral values and stereotypes of the American culture. During brief breaks they sometimes get a chance to have a snack as well as take a short nap at night. Actually, a big part of the movie grabs audience’s attention by depicting the professional activity of James Carville while he tries to smooth the situation with Gennifer Flowers, works on TV commercial, and carries on dialogs with the Republicans. Showing Carville’s girlfriend Mary Matalin who works as a strategist during Bush’s campaign, the director of the movie arouses interest among the audience. Pennebaker and Hedgus succeeded in their attempt to portray politicians as ordinary people who eat, drink, sleep, and hesitate discussing everyday problems common to people all over the world. Unlike news summary, the directors did not add voice to movie giving audience a chance to critically analyze what they see and independently form their own opinions. Contrary to general point of view regarding the cynicism and dishonesty of politicians the movie gives an insight into the whole process of political campaign intertwined with morality, warmth, and belief in future. Regardless of the fact whether the audience sticks to the Democrats, Republicans, or finds itself somewhere in between, the movie The War Room grabs attention of people highlighting human aspects of politics breaking down stereotypes about total mud and pessimism inside political circles. The directors have emphasized the role of people and their attitudes rather than the consequences of their actions, selfish ends, or lucrative impulses. Works Cited The War Room. Dir. D.A.Pennebaker C.Hedgus. Universal, 1992.

Sunday, October 13, 2019

International Political Systems: Sumerian City-States

International Political Systems: Sumerian City-States Why do I believe that there is an International Political System? First, I will discuss the interaction between Sumerian city-states that is divided by the river of Tigris and Euphrates, that now forms a modern Iraq[1], why these Sumerian city-states? Because I want to prove that there is an International Political Systems during that time, don’t get me wrong in this subject, I want you to feel you’re in these said ages to be in their position, hence this will be your roots, because if you will compare it with the International Political Systems nowadays a huge confusion may subdue. Second, because of the thirty years of war north western Germany think of a treaty that will stop this war and this is the Treaty of Westphalia. The last but not the least, the current situation of International Political System in this era and I will pick United Nations or (U.N) to be the based model of these current International Political Systems. I will cover different laws from the United Nations to prove my claim, these are United Nations Convention on the Law Of the Seas or (UNCLOS), second the Human Rights were play a huge role with the countries under the United Nations. Different theories has been made, different mainstream state have earned the title ‘where does International Political System began’ but we all know already that the legitimate birth of International Political System is the time that the treaty of Westphalia began[2], but here in my argument, I shall say that it’s the interaction between Sumerian city-states where International Political System was really born. They don’t know it yet that they are doing such thing, but I in my research, I will prove that what they are doing is International Political System which is use until now. â€Å"Interaction between Sumerian City-States† Tigris and Euphrates are much known because of the river that separates them but it connects these Sumerian City-States. These are considered to have been a fully-fledged International System, because these Sumerian city-states have already an existing religion, trade, interaction, language, educational system, laws and leaders. They look up to their God as the Supreme leader and by that all of his or her people are subject to follow what their God wants, meaning being the Supreme (God and Goddesses) leader they must follow what laws He or She has made, for example their Gods or Goddesses are represented by natural entities such as the Sun interconnected with Justice and considered as the God Sun, He is God called ‘UTU’, Moon interconnected to Wisdom and their God Moon, She is called God ‘Nanna’ or ‘Suen’, and Earth connected to Life Force, several centuries before Hammurabi, Ur-Engur of the Ur dynasty (c. 2600 BC) declared that he rendered decisions according to the just laws of Shamash.[3] This reference of their Gods and Goddesses only makes my claim more evident. Even their God Ur-Engur has a law for the people to abide with, and by abiding such rule a state will be more powerful in terms of the law that is implemented to the people, and the people who happens to ob ey it diligently or faithfully from generation to generation which made the law effective and refrain the citizenry to do whatever they want if it was not in accordance to the existing laws that had been created by their Gods and Goddesses they believe in long before they were born. The law their Gods and Goddesses has created, local laws have been extended to other city-states they dealt with, unconsciously they are already leading to an international law practice which were recognized, obeyed, respected and put into practice by both parties or city-states involved. These sectors of analysis are ingredient of an international system, hence this is international political system, because in those times, they’re knowledge about the world is their only city-state and treating other people outside their city-state as barbarians or inferior as compared to themselves, (ex. The Greek city-states even if they know that different states exist, they consider them as barbarians and these barbarians don’t contribute in the human populace much worst are even considered as uncivilized or unworthy people) so what I’m saying is that this exist as an International Political System using their own norm or gauge. Hence in this era International Political Syst em in the Sumerian city-state for them is the best and the only one known to be followed by their citizenry and if they want to deal with the Sumerians it is mandatory for them to follow what the existing rules the Sumerians are using or following faithfully. In this case we could vividly see the influence of a very strong centralized government. Whatever the central government or the city-state of Sumerian is practicing, it has to be followed by the others having that principle that these laws were created by a Supreme Being (God or Goddesses) which includes issues regarding policies in their political, military, societal, and economic norms and other areas. These standards already exist in this city-states, but as time goes by, these norms changes, because ‘change is nature’ hence if the nature is to change, when the modern times comes, these norms became more complex hence adds more norms to become an International Political System. Change in environment such as geographical features which includes boundaries, natural and manmade, resources which needs to be modified or altered to be able to catch up to the new ideas and development of new trends in the International Political Systems. That’s why I add this Sumerian city-states because this is the real cycle that goes with the ever changing and ever growing International Political System. Because of the mainstream approach of Westphalia in the same context the title was given to them, and gave the title that the year Westphalia created was the real birth of International Political System which is a big fallacy. Why did I conclude so? It is because the treaty of Westphalia happened not just long ago it was exactly on October 24th 1648[4]. When the treaty of Westphalia was ratified or take into effect as a law so many events or major happenings had been recorded to had happened +which paved the way for the creation of a treaty that will not gave a birth but modified to adapt with the current needs and issues to be resolve even if the title was given for the Sumerian city-state was a ‘Pre-international System’ I will consider them an international political system, as part in my introduction said, the perspective point of view must be only in the Sumerian age, that’s why I arranged them according to the years where they exist so there will be a smooth flow of ideas, and one goal to justify if we had an international political system. In these Sumerian city-states trade is also present, because of the creation of first calendar, which they adjusted to the phases of the moon. The lunar calendar helped the Greeks, Semites and Egyptians, because of this, it helped a lot of Sumerian City-States to interact with each other thus helping their economy to boost up leading to the growth of merchant class[5], did you know that they are very good navigators because of the calendar they made. They know exactly where they are going because of the stars in the sky, were that star will serve as a guide for every people of the city that will trade from other cities, that’s why when they created the first ever calendar which adjusted the phases of the moon it helped them a lot.[6][7] Talking about trade, it helped to increase the interaction between these Sumerian city-states by simple talking to each other, of course the need of language is in need, and the language these times are divided into four: first is Archaic Sumerian, second is Old or Classical Sumerian, third is New Sumerian, last but not the least Post-Sumerian. These language had their own time at the existence of Sumerian city-states, Archaic Sumerian covered the period from 3100 B.C, when the first Sumerian wrote their very first documentary or records, down to about 2500 B.C, the content of writings in this time include business and administrative character, there is still school texts that form simple exercises in writing because this age of language was poorly understood because of the meagerness sources. Second the Old or Classical Sumerian lasted from 2500 to 2300 B.C, represented by the record of Lagash like in the first there is business, administrative texts here, but an addition is a legal text, in here the grammar of Sumerian improved and their vocabulary.[8] It is very evident that once trade exists in between any country or countries, influx not only of money but most of all ideas, culture, laws, and even intermarriage will follow. So I strongly believe that International Political System has long been existing and put into practice even before the idea of the said system was said to be introduced. â€Å"Treaty of Westphalia† This said to be the legitimate year were International Political System was created the birth year of International Political System, why is it that this the legitimate one? Why is it that the interaction of Tigris and Euphrates was not the legitimate one? Because as said by Richard Little and Barry Buzan the point of being a western country we cannot accept the fact that they are the ones who are the elitist and they’re mind set of being Ethnocentrism, meaning they are the only ones who had think of these ideas that can be seen it the modern and early ages, being the elitist they are the ones who got the title of the work done, and by telling the story of their forefathers other early International Political System is discarded on the list, hence giving the title of the first legitimate International Political System to the Treaty of Westphalia. Treaty of Westphalia was created for the Europeans, because of the thirty years war that was motivated by religious and political control all over Europe. And because of this thirty years of war countless man, child and women had died, it even overcome the deaths that has been made in World War I and World War II, it said to believe that one-third of the population died in result of the war, because of these people dying every day for the past thirty years. And because of the Treaty of Westphalia it was ratified with the concurrence of the state’s present whom to themselves considered as the elite and civilized one, which all must follow. This treaty is the first manifestation that they are creating an International Political System, this law is the law of war a doctrine concerning when it is permissible to go to war and what means of conducting war are (and are not) permissible, meaning that they cannot go to war anymore because of this said treaty, hence they already know th at this war has been going for the past thirty years. If this will continue all that will be left to them are bones of their fallen comrades, which is not healthy to a state because man is the integral part and without man a state cannot exist. As history has proven the root cause of the thirty years of war was the tug of war in between the protestants and Catholics who both claims that their religion is the best and the truth. The influence of these leaders namely the clergies or priests in the catholic side and ministers or pastors on the protestant side greatly affected the citizenry because their decisions and allegiance is determined by the religion they belong too. Much of these situation political leaders also relies and asks for the nod or approval of the strong religious leader for them to get the majority back-up of the nations or states. So you could clearly see how it did affect the whole state. The unimaginable result of the thirty years of war paved the way for the birth of Treaty of Westphalia but definitely not the birth of International Political System. ‘Current Situations of the World’s Systems’ United Nations (UN) is an example of current International Political Systems, which facilitates all its constituents, for example: Philippines, China, Japan, United States, and many more different states. This serve as an international political system because first, it is recognize globally by member countries. Leaders of the different department of the United Nations such as World Health Organization (WHO), United Nation International Children Emergency Fund (UNICEF), International Labor Organization (ILO)[9] and other departments are selected from the most respectable and able man whose integrity are doubtless. Military or (peace keeping forces), Political, Economic, Societal and Environmental, which are commonly known as sectors of analysis are all present in the United Nation. At far it is concern with the peace among the states, development, human rights, and International Law. Because member states are the ones who will judge if the merit of claims of one state to another if t here is a conflict, United Nations will make a resolution against these conflicts, that’s why they are present when there is a war problem inside state for example Libya, they send peace keeping forces or military forces that got from its constituent states, even in Environmental disaster, they are there to help the people of their constituent states. Human Rights a philosophical foundation[10], (covered societal interaction), as stated they are simply by virtue of human being against war that’s why peace is more rampant, ironically Human Rights were made after World War II in connection with the Holocaust, the experience of Nuremberg tribunal convinced leaders of the need to set forth international standards to prevent genocide from ever occurring again. Human rights is where they create laws that will served as a shield by every single person of a state and it will at most prevent wars and unhumanitarian acts whether it’s a girl, children or man, moreover this human right law is by far the greatest law the United Nation has made. United Nation’s goal of developing existing laws to cope with changes and prevention of possible war, talking about state to state wars, why say that? Because after the human right law has been implemented, the rights of the people were seen nowadays, they cannot kill people because they just want it to, hence they cannot kill because of their opposite religious beliefs, and lastly you cannot kill people anymore regardless what nationality they are, or else great consequences will be used against you if ever you will do such crime. Racism is vehemently trashed. But a rebuttal here is Libya, Iraq, and Syria in this time is in a great war against, Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), as we can see this is not a state to state war because war is present inside the state. Ironically the above mentioned states are all members of the United Nations but they do not adhere to the principle of peace, humanity and unity among member states. Even though they have violated international rules still the United Nations tries its best to pacify the situation. As a proof of this our very own Philippines, as a member of the United Nations send troops to this country therefore in this context military is present in United Nations, because as a member of this organization we must share our resources, help in any possible means such as medical aid, medical force and even peace keeping forces. Just like other countries doing to the Philippines when it comes to natural calamities and disaster, even the People’s Republic of China disregarded the conflict in West Philippine Sea they still send troops here to help, foods and other things which they think may help a lot the typhoon victim which happened to be the strongest recorded typhoon in the world. It is a manifestation that China recognizes his membership in the United Nation and since the Philippines is a member state of the United Nation it is a good sign that China has the initiative and good intention to help us in spite of all the odds that they are having with the Philippines. Second best example I can give is the Philippines and China in connection with the West Philippine Sea, United Nations Convention on the Law Of the Seas (UNCLOS) this is a compulsory procedures for dispute resolution among state parties, this process have the right to choose either they’re case is going to International Tribunal for the Law Of the Sea (ITLOS), International Court of Justice (ICJ), Arbitral Tribunal, and last but not the least special technical arbitral tribunal. Why apply the provisions of UNCLOS and United Nations If there is still conflict? Because United Nation was established for peace and to avoid World War I or World War II or such things to happened again. Because in a war nobody wins, yes they might say that they win, but literally in war, millions of lives is lost. The United Nations’ ultimate goal is to prevent wars; hence with the help of human rights, it serves to be an important term to prevent World War III because when World War I and Wor ld War II happened, there is still no concrete data on human rights. Nowadays member states or nonmember states think of the consequences if they will violate human right laws. They know that even after the incident they will be persecuted by the international community through economic sanction, persona non grata and other international recognized form of disconformity. Another good example is the International Labor Organization (ILO)[11]. Because of the creation of the International Law Organization member states are very keen in implementing rules regarding labor practices. International accredited systems regarding the way they treat local and foreign laborers are always given importance. The major role of an employee, laborer or any manpower is always given top priority in any countries. The welfare, salary and other related activities or benefits of the working force are in compliance with accepted rules and systems. International Political System as I viewed it is almost the same with any other system. It was made and pursued by respectable men whose goal is to have an orderly, respectful and effective way of life. We may be different in language, physical attributes, values, culture, religion, educational background and other things that makes a human different from an animal but for sure we the majority of the people would like to live in an atmosphere of peace, unity and love. I would like to thank people who intimated these systems, for they had helped a lot the succeeding generations on what they have done. Not only the philosophical leaders but most especially the unwritten leaders of the past who may not have been mentioned in any document or book but for sure contributed a lot on who and where we are now. They may have made mistakes or imperfections but that’s the reality of life no one is perfect. Our life is a continuous trial and error with the guiding principle of being of help to his people and committed to make this world a better life and place to live with. Bibliography Buzan, B., Little , R. (2000). International Systems in World History. New York: Oxford University Press. DAnieri, P. (2014). International Politics: Power and Purpose in Global Affairs. canada: Cenage learning. Guisepi, R. A. (1980 and 2003). The History of Ancient Sumeria. Retrieved September 1, 2014, from The History of Ancient Sumeria: http://history-world.org/sumeria.htm Kritzer, H. M. (2002). LEGAL SYSTEMS OF THE WORLD A POLITICAL, SOCIAL, AND CULTURAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. Cape Verde: ABC-CLIO, Inc. Sumerian Gods. (n.d.). Retrieved September 1, 2014, from Sumerian Gods: http://www.crystalinks.com/sumergods.html 3 Pol 32012047692 [1] Barry Buzan and Richard Little, International Systems in World History, (New York; Oxford University Press, 2000), 1. [2] Barry Buzan and Richard Little, International Systems in World History, (New York; Oxford University Press, 2000), 1. [3] â€Å"Sumerian Gods†, Crystalinks.com, http://www.crystalinks.com/sumergods.html, [4] The Peace of Westphalia.HistoryLearningSite.co.uk.2006. Web, http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/peace_of_westphalia.htm. [5] Robert A. Guisepi, The History of Ancient Sumeria (Sumer) including its cities, kings, religions culture and contributions or civilization, (University of California, 1980 and 2003), http://history-world.org/sumeria.htm. [6] Robert A. Guisepi, The History of Ancient Sumeria (Sumer) including its cities, kings, religions culture and contributions or civilization, (University of California, 1980 and 2003), http://history-world.org/sumeria.htm. [7] Walter Baucum, Sumerians who were they? The Sudden Civilization, http://www.uhcg.org/Lost-10-Tribes/walt1-Sumerians.html. [8] Robert A. Guisepi, The History of Ancient Sumeria (Sumer) including its cities, kings, religions culture and contributions or civilization, (University of California, 1980 and 2003), http://history-world.org/sumerian_language.htm. [9] United Nations http://www.un.org/en/ [10] United Nations http://www.un.org/en/. [11] United Nations http://www.un.org/en/. Lombroso and Beccaria: Theories of Crime Lombroso and Beccaria: Theories of Crime Criminology is the study of crime, from what causes crime to what could or does prevent it. The ideas which form the topic of criminology come from key thinkers in the area who come up with theories and carry out research to try to find evidence to support their claims. These thinkers can be influential in bringing about changes in areas such as the legal or prison systems. Two hugely influential thinkers in the area of criminology are Cesare Beccaria and Cesare Lombroso who have expressed views and formulated many theories which come under the category of criminology, from ideas on offenders to how they should be punished. Cesare Beccaria (1738-1794) belonged to the classical school of criminology which refers to the work carried out in the 18th century enlightenment period which would have followed utilitarian and social contract philosophy. Beccaria was part of an aristocratic Milanese family in Lombardy and went on to complete a law degree at the University of Pavia in 1758. Although Beccaria was an Italian economist and not a criminologist as criminology as we know it today was not ‘invented’ until the 19th century (Hayward, Maruna Mooney, 2010). Cesare Lombroso (1853-1909) came along after Beccaria and is often considered the ‘father’ of criminology and ,unlike Beccaria he belonged to a different type of criminological ‘school’, the positivist school of criminology which uses more scientific approach to studying the social science, using methods from the natural science such as systematic observation, accumulation of evidence, objective facts and deductive framework. Lombroso trained as a physician in Northern Italy and severed 4 years in the Army where he started his observations of individuals, he later went on to become the director of different asylums in regions of Northern Italy where he went on to further observe individuals becoming specifically interested in what he referred to as ‘primitive peoples (Hayward, Maruna Mooney, 2010). In the 18th Century Beccaria was the first to offer an explanation for crime and criminal behaviour. Strongly influenced by the philosopher Thomas Hobbes, Beccaria believed that we are hedonistic beings that look out for our own self-interest, by calculating the pleasure or pain that will result from an action to decide whether to do it or not (Hayward, Maruna Mooney, 2010), which could lead an individual to commit crime if they believe that the resulting pleasure will outweigh any pain that may arise from the action. Due to this Beccaria also suggested that offending is a choice made out of free will from rational individuals just like those who choose not to take part in criminal behaviour. However, Lombroso offers a different opinion on offenders. Lombroso was strongly influenced by Charles Darwin and his theory of evolution and believed that offenders were throwbacks to earlier forms of humans. Lombroso believed that those who commit crime were atavistic, a term he developed for those who were not fully evolved and more ‘primitive’ than non-offenders (Hayward, Maruna Mooney, 2010). It was the atavistic nature of the individual which Lombroso believed was the reason the individual became a criminal. Lombroso even believed that if these these individuals were throwbacks of from previous stages of evolution then they should have differing physical and physiological characteristics from ‘normal’ individuals which he referred to as a stigmata, Lombroso suggested that characteristics such as supernumerary fingers or toes, larger jaws or ears, an insensitivity to pain, etc were indicative of an atavistic individual (Mazzarello, 2011). Lombroso exam ined and documented many criminals and suggested that he found these characteristics in each of them including Giuseppe Villella, an Italian criminal said to be similar to the notorious English serial killer Jack the Ripper, who Lombroso performed an autopsy on and upon examination of his skull and brain found similarities between it and that of less evolved primates, which for him supported his theory that criminality is the result of being less evolved than the ‘normal’ individual (Lombroso, 1872-1944.). Thus instead of criminal behaviour being the result of free will like Beccaria proposed, Lombroso believed that criminal behaviour has a deterministic element. While this theory was met with some scepticism in Europe, Lombroso was hugely influential in America, but this also had a negative side to it as suggesting that criminals can be identified by physical characteristics could lead to certain individual with such characteristics to be singled out even if they have not committed a criminal offence or been found guilty of a crime. Lombroso went on to develop his ideas and proposed that there are different types of criminals. Some examples of the types of criminal Lombroso suggested there are, are the born criminal, the insane criminal, criminaloids and criminals of passion. Firstly, born criminals, a term which was actually first used by a student of Lombroso’s Enrico Ferri, this type of criminal only makes up about a third of the criminal population but often commit the more serious crimes (Lombroso, 1872-1944.) and as outlined above is categorised presented with characteristics indicating an atavistic nature but Lombroso also believed that this type of criminal presented with epilepsy and was not morally intelligent. Secondly, the insane criminal, Lombroso suggested that this type of criminal was not a criminal since birth like the previous type but had become a criminal due to some kind of physiological change which affects their morality making them unable to â€Å"discriminate between right and wr ong† (Lombroso, 1872-1944., p 75). Examples of criminals in this category include those who are kleptomaniacs, nymphomaniacs, habitual drunks and child abusers. Another type of criminal outlined by Lombroso are criminaloids which have few of the atavistic characteristics or stigmata even though they are a form of born criminal they are not as threatening as those who fall into the category of the born criminal. However, they do present with different stigmata that born criminals do not such as early baldness or greyness. Although the real difference between born criminals and criminaloids is there differing psychological traits. The main difference being that the criminaloid individual starts offending later on in life and will always have a reason behind the offence (Lombroso, 1872-1944). The last example, criminals of passion, categorises those who commit crimes because they are â€Å"urged to violate laws by a pure spirit of altruism† (Lombroso, 1872-1944., p118) the y are not at all like the other types of criminals as they only commit crimes out of the best intention and are characteristically good. The physical characteristics of the criminals of passion are often attractive and gentle while their psychological traits are that of an excessively good, holy individual (Lombroso, 1872-1944). Another negative with the work of Lombroso is that he may have â€Å"detected potential Hydes in distinguished Jekylls† (Saturday Review of Politics,Literature, Science and Art, 1909) by over emphasising finding certain characteristics in individuals and generating the hypothesis that everyone with such a characteristic will be or is a criminal. Beccaria differing belief, that an individual chooses to commit crime, lead him to believe that for society to be sustainable such a choice should be met with a punishment and so in 1866 Beccaria published an essay entitled ‘on crimes and punishments’. Within this essay he expressed his ideas on criminal behaviour and what should happen to those found to have broken the law. Briefly put Beccaria believed that punishment of crime should be inevitable, consistent, proportionate and swift if it is to deter an individual from committing crime. By inevitable Beccaria means that if an individual is found to have committed a crime there should be no question as to whether they should or will receive a punishment as Beccaria believed that the certainty of a punishment had a deterrent effect regardless of the severity of the punishment (Newburn, 2009.). By consistent he means that everybody regardless of class, ethnicity or gender should be given the same punishment for the same crime, so that certain individuals dont believe that they can†count upon arbitrary leniency from judges† (Hayward, Maruna Mooney, 2010, p. 5). By proportionate Beccaria believed that the punishment should fit the crime, this means that punishment should not be too excessive just for the sake of revenge as the â€Å"severity of the punishment should only be sufficient to as a deterrent† (Tierney, 2009., p.46). In order to be a deterrent of criminal behaviour Beccaria also believed that punishment should be swift, this means that the punishment should be delivered quickly and not be delayed. Beccaria also expressed his ideas on judicial torture and the use of the death penalty as a punishment for criminal behaviour. Beccaria believed that both were wrong as they went against natural rights theory. In regards to torture, he believed that it is wrong because if the individual who is being tortured is physically or mentally weaker they are more likely to confess to something they didn’t do and may implicate another individual who is also innocent. This lead Beccaria to proposition that if torture is the way of determining an individuals guilt or innocence then a mathematician would be better at deciding this than a judge due to them being able to predict or theories the amount of torture a certain individual may be able to cope with before confessing (Hostettler, 2011.). In regards to the death penalty, Beccaria was the first person of that time to publicly criticise the killing of an individual as a means of punishment for a crime. He believed that the state had no right to take anothers life because while Beccaria believed in social contract theory (that we give up certain freedoms to an authority in return for some kind of protection) he believed that no person would hand over the right to live for the protection offered. Beccaria also believed that the death penalty was not a sufficient deterrent to stop other people from committing crime, which for him was the primary role of a punishment leading him to the opinion that the punishment of death for a crime â€Å"is not only immoral, it is useless† (Hostettler, 2011., p. 55). However, although Beccaria held this belief he did allow for an exception to be made due to one of two reasons, either the individual still poses a risk to the outside world while imprisoned, or when the death penalty is seen as the only means by which to deter others from committing such a crime (Beccaria, 1764.). Lombroso also held a differing view on punishment and the death penalty to that of Beccaria’s. Lombroso believed that when an atavistic individual commits a crime â€Å"society has the right to defend itself from this kind of delinquent† (Mazzarello, 2001., p. 983) this includes a belief in the death penalty which Beccaria was strongly against,even though Lombroso believed that criminality was not a choice but determined as individuals were born criminals due to the argument that â€Å"man defends himself from wild animals without blaming them for not having been born lambs† (Mazzarello,2001., p.983). However, Lombroso and his theory of the insane criminal was influential in changing how those deemed ‘insane’ were dealt with in the Italian justice system as â€Å"measures were developed for the mentally incompetent dangerous offender† (Ramsland, 2009). Although Beccaria and Lombroso have many differing views and theories in the study of criminology and belonged to different schools, they were and still are strongly influential in reforming the justice and penal system. For example Beccaria ‘s ideas from ‘On Crimes and Punishments’ have been â€Å"incorporated into the United States constitution† (Hayward, Maruna Mooney, 2010., p. 7) and Lombroso’s idea that we have free will to choose whether to take part in criminal behaviour can still be seen in more recent free will versus determinism debates (Hayward, Maruna Mooney, 2010). References Beccaria, C., (1995) [1764], On Crimes and Punishment and Other Writings, Edited by Bellamy, R., Cambridge, Cambridge University Press Hayward, K., Maruna, S., Mooney, J., (2010). Fifty Key Thinkers in Criminology. United Kingdom: Routledge. Hostettler, J., (2011). Cesare Beccaria: The Genius of ‘On Crimes and Punishment’. United Kingdom: Waterside Press. Lombroso, G., (1872-1944). Criminal Man According to the Classification of Cesare Lombroso, New York and London, G. P. Putnam Mazzarello, P. (2001). Lombroso and tolstoy. Nature, 409(6823), 983. Retrieved from:http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/35059175 Mazzarello, P., (2011). Cesare Beccaria:An anthropologist between evolution and degeneration. Functional Neurology, 26(2), 97-101. Retrieved from: http://search.proquest.com/docview/947561454?accountid=17074 Newburn, T., (2009). Key Readings in Criminology. United Kingdom: Willan Publishing Ramsland, Katherine,PhD., C.M.I.-V. (2009). THE MEASURE OF A MAN: CESARE LOMBROSO AND THE CRIMINAL TYPE. Forensic Examiner, 18(4), 70-72. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/347552105?accountid=17074 The Labours of Lombroso. (1909). Saturday Review of Politics, Literature, Science and Art, 108 (2817), 495-496. Retrieved from: http://search.proquest.com/docview/876885570?accountid=17074 Tierney, J., (2009). Key Perspectives in Criminology. United Kingdom: Open University Press.