Air Force community Essay

America is a country with diverse population groups that continue to increase every year. The medical community must keep up with the changing times and adapt their treatment practices to meet the demand of providing overall quality health care. There are many facets in which cultural differences come into play and especially during the patient provider relationship. It is important for the medical community and staff members to be prepared. In this paper, a discussion of the results from the assignment entitled the quality and culture quiz will be accomplished along with exploring and expanding on the answers that were incorrect. In areas that were answered incorrectly, responses will be proposed with situations that could improve the patient outcome in the future. (MSH, n. d. ). . The quality and culture quiz was taken twice, with an initial score of 14 and the second time was a 16 out of a total of 23 questions. Both times taking this quiz I felt I scored lower than expected. The quiz was taken twice because the initial score was so low. I was sure I could score better the second time, but the outcome was about the same before reading the correct answers. Even though I have been a medical assistant and an emergency medical technician for over 20 years it seemed to not have much of an impact when taking this quiz. In the Air Force community and further more in the medical community, diversity is touched upon but is not emphasized very much. In the clinic, we have patient rights and pamphlets available in Spanish but that is about it. I know we also have an interpreter listing for the base in case one is needed. I attribute my low score to not being exposed to many patients with diverse backgrounds and cultures and not having the training that so important in today’s society. As health care workers in the military, I believe we are sheltered to the outside happenings because we do not see or hear about community events outside of the base in our everyday work environment. (MSH, n. d. ). The areas that I did well in were: understanding that there could be cross-cultural confusion when explaining various medical information and procedures by the patient, patient’s may not report adequate health information because they cannot communicate well or the provider may misunderstand the particular symptom, as a provider being aware of personal biases and giving the proper treatment for the condition, ask direct and open-ended questions from the patient, practice creating a nonjudgmental atmosphere where the patient feels comfortable to try the medical advice of the provider, being aware that there could be underlying circumstances when not adhering to suggest medical treatment, and knowing that utilizing designated interpreters during patient encounters is ideal as compared to involving the family members because they can be often times they are too emotionally involved to tell an accurate story. (MSH, n. d. ). The areas where I need improvement and further comprehension are the impact of cultural competency on clinical outcomes, communicating and working with an interpreter, including the patient’s family during medical visits, being aware that some patient’s will seek customary healing measures before giving in to Western medicine and being aware of mannerisms from different culture groups. (MSH, n. d. ). Maintaining cultural competence in the positive and negative areas is a constant work in progress. There are changes every day that we as future health educators must work towards. It is a matter of continuing to read, research and apply what we have learned to every patient encounter and to always treat the patient as a loved one would want to be treated. It can only result in a positive result for all involved. (MSH, n. d. & MSH, 2009) References: Airhihenbuwa, C. O. (1995). Health and culture: Beyond the Western Paradigm. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, Inc. Retrieved on March 15, 2010. Management Sciences for Health. (n. d. ). The Provider’s Guide to Quality and Culture. Retrieved on March 15, 2010 from http://erc. msh. org/mainpage. cfm? file=1. 0. htm&module=provider&language=English&ggroup=&mgroup= Management Sciences for Health. (2009). Stronger health systems. Greater health impact. Retrieved March 15, 2010 from http://www. msh. org/.

An Analysis of the Poem Miss Rosie by Lucille Clifton

Clifton’s use of repetition in the poem â€Å"miss rosie† displays the narrator’s compassion for Miss Rosie, thus showing he is the only one who's been affected by her. By repeating the same phrase multiple times, emphasis is put on the fact that no one besides the narrator is compassionate for Miss Rosie. For example, when the narrator states, â€Å"when I watch you / wrapped up like garbage† (1-2), â€Å"when I watch you / in your old man’s shoes† (6-7), and â€Å"when I watch you / you wet brown bag of a woman† (12-13), Clifton indicates the narrator is the only one looking at Miss Rosie, because of her use of singular pronouns, rather than plural.If the narrator is the only one paying any attention to Miss Rosie, he must be concerned for her in some way, which further shows his compassion for her. This is a result of her affecting him and only him. Another portrayal of this compassion for Miss Rosie is demonstrated in the following quote, â€Å"I stand up / through your destruction / I stand up† (16-18). Once again, Clifton uses a singular pronoun to prove the narrator is the only one who’s been affected by Miss Rosie.Since the narrator is the only one standing up against Miss Rosie’s destruction, he proves to be the only one who shows compassion for her due to being affected by her. Repetition of these phrases helps to show how the narrator is the only one affected by Miss Rosie because they indicate no one besides the narrator is compassionate enough to do something about it.

Providing 20% of energy from renewable sources for the Potsdam,Berlin Essay

Providing 20% of energy from renewable sources for the Potsdam,Berlin Germany Project - Essay Example The endeavor to provide a percentage of the energy from renewable sources can be triumphant by putting in place, blueprint parameters that require a reduced amount of energy use. Background information The aims of designing buildings that are thermally insulated is basically maintain a contented and sanitized room temperature especially during low temperatures . Fortification against damages from cases of thermal brunt or moisture linked damage which requires very little thermal padding. Energy preservation is the principal intention for thermal insulation as it reduces heating hassle more so during winter thus the environment is also protected. Appropriate solutions or scenarios for the project Contemplation of this aims in Potsdam’s new buildings is necessary and besides renovating the aged structures to be more energy efficient. To enable the accomplishment of this aims, building materials used should be of stumpy thermal conductivity and the windows put in place of small U -values on the elevation and off-putting thermal bridges and unrestrained infiltration on the other face. In addition to declared rationale, thermal insulation offers a key responsibility, avoiding overheating of edifice during summer by minimizing the transmission of radiation from the sun, engrossed on the building’s peripheral surface, to the building’s interior. ... The altitude of the sun remains low during wintry weather as it rises in the southeast to southwest where as in summer it reaches a higher altitude. To reduce overheating during summer the roof and the west and east wall is designed with minimal glazing since the sun comes out and sets more to the north of east than west (Blij & Muller 2004). To trim down unswerving sunrays on windows to the south, the constructions can be premeditated with roof overhang on the south. This reduces heating anxiety during winter and at the same time plummeting cooling needs during summer thus minimizing energy utilization. The construction resources should also take into deliberation the thermal gathering as a constituent of solar heating. Overheating ought to be abridged throughout the day by using materials with aptitude of captivating heat during the day and releasing heat at night to circumvent temperature drop. Construction parameters of the building envelop should take into concern air tightness and leakage dealings. These can be done via blower doors technology and the principles can be used in air flow and infiltration connected modeling. Building envelop standards ought to be such that there is negligible heat trouncing due to air leakages as this would trim down energy efficiency while abode heating in winter. Conversely, during summer warm air inflow increases cooling anxiety thus more energy use (Craddock 2008). To ensure energy proficient abode, structures in both new-fangled and old Potsdam should be ventilated mechanically so as to maintain indoor air quality. Systems of whole-house aeration using mechanical means include: exhaust, balanced, supply and heat recovery. System choice depends on climate, skilled personnel availability,

International Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 4

International Business - Essay Example who pointed to the small current-trade between Canada and Mexico, Mexican competition with Canadian goods in US markets and the supposed failure of the then existing Canadian-US trade agreement. Today, after sixteen years does the Canadian experience confirm the fears of the critics or did NAFTA live up to the expectations? For Canada, the NAFTA is an improvement on its previous trade agreement with the United States – the Canada-US Free Trade Agreement (CUFTA) - in a number of respects. Canada now has an extension of duty drawbacks and greater discipline over standards, which should reduce border conflicts with the US. I would like to underscore, as well that the best part of the agreement in my opinion is that Canada, along with the US and Mexico have the same low or zero most favored nation tariff on imports such as computers. This old custom union model has huge advantages because rules of origin are not required for trade in that product within the union. In addition, Canada also reaps some benefits in the area of agriculture. Between 1991 and 2002, Canadian exports absorbed by the United States rose from 39 to 67 percent. (Volrath 2004) The Canadian oil is also gobbled up exclusively by the United States along with its underlying strategic political mileage for the country. On the economic side, investments also poured in, particularly those from foreign companies who want to access the NAFTA market. In a way, this fact provides an argument against those NAFTA critics who argue that investment is lost to Mexico due to cheap labor. As it is, there are countries and firms who prefer Canada over Mexico because the country’s labor pool is skilled and educated; and over the US, because of the appeal of lower costs and a moderate tax regime. This is underscored by the tremendous rise in the foreign direct investment in the country. Annual figures during the first seven years of NAFTA reflected an average of $21.4 billion investment s for the country, almost

International Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 11

International Business - Essay Example For example, the author states, â€Å"Lina Pedraza Rodrà ­guez, Minister of Finance and Prices of Cuba, said that the country urgently needs to modernize its economy so as to protect the achievements of the Cuban Revolution. For that it requires foreign investment, including from the United States† (Knight, 2015). This quote captures the minister’s comments on Cuba and its needs for foreign direct investment. This was a remark meant to woo countries such as the U.S to come and invest in Cuba. The countries about which the article was written include Cuba, the United States of America and Mexico. The article directly focuses on Cuba as a country that is advertising itself for foreign direct investment. USA and Mexico are referred to in the article as two countries that can possibly invest in Cuba. To make this possible, Cuba’s officials laid bare the environment and regulatory frameworks put in place in the country to ensure that foreign investment in the country would be a smooth process and a mutually beneficial endeavor for both parties. The information contained in the article might influence my decision to invest in the country in the sense that knowing the business environment, the regulatory and legal frameworks in Cuba will help me make appropriate decisions on whether it is a safe and beneficial place to invest in. For instance, Lina Pedraza Rodrà ­guez states, â€Å"Cuba is open to investment from the United States. It has never been closed† (Knight, 2015). She also added that the Cuban government had stabilized the microeconomic indicators to ensure that private and foreign companies operate with secure property rights. Deborah Rivas, the General Director of Foreign Investment in the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment also stated that appropriate laws are established to protect foreign investment. These facts positively influence me to invest in the country

Is the cost of college too high Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Is the cost of college too high - Essay Example Since the economy is going down and that too at a considerable rate, there are many problems that need to be faced by the parents when it comes to giving in their best with regards to their kids’ study domains. The reason why the cost of college is too high is because the college expenses have increased in the recent years. There are the fiscal elements involved with college as well, whereby the books, stationery and all other student related affairs and connected with curricula has become expensive. This has meant that the students are being properly kept a check upon both by their parents as well as the college authorities who are bringing in more problems with each passing day. There are definitive problems that have come about with the passage of time, and all of these have basically brought about quite a level of distress within the minds of the parents as they have to pay for their children at the end of the day (Baptist, 2001). What is even more distressing is the fact that the cost of college has entailed within it the unexpected costs as well, which has included the entertainment fees, the different taxes and so on and so forth. All of these problems have come about within the worst possible times because now is the era where people are running after saving more and more money, yet what happens here is a totally different matter altogether. The cost of college has become a real problem as the tuition is a necessity in the times much like today since education demands quintessential significance. The uneducated and illiterate individuals cannot make it within the different life domains as has been proven time and again. The wealthy are self-sufficient and thus have no problems with the rising college tuition costs but it is the poor who are finding it hard to make both ends meet. It is a fact that something constructive within these ranks needs to be brought about and that too quickly. Probably the right thing would be to make college tuition fre e for all the kids or it could also be a possibility that the primary level education is targeted as being available at a nominal cost all over the country. Being rich must not help; being able to survive the tenacity which comes with attaining education is what is deemed more pertinent. College tuition brings a sense of understanding within the student that he can always find a support system within education. He can ask his teachers for that extra help which he is in dire need of (Redmon, 1999). The college tuition thus builds the much needed corrective system whereby once he fails within the educational domains, he can always stand up with the encouragement drawn from the education attained at the hands of the college tuition realms. Now if these regimes are expensive, your guess is as good as mine. The students would eventually back off from the college tuition measures and look to narrow down their educational facets. They would rather stick to all-day college at the end of the day as one can decipher that this would not help them much. Thus what can be deemed here as appropriate is that they should be given a proper chance to understand the basics of education by going through the rigors of the tuition system and for that the cost issues need to be adequately addressed in entirety. Having high prices of textbooks means that a college or a university is limiting the

How and Why Did Korean Immigration Begin to the US, Southeast Research Paper

How and Why Did Korean Immigration Begin to the US, Southeast Immigrants as Refugees - Research Paper Example During the first wave, Koreans immigrated to Hawaii because of national problems in Korea, specifically, famine, heavy taxes, the epidemic of cholera, and government corruption. Some of the hardships they experienced as immigrants were poverty, racial discrimination, and social alienation. In order to adjust in Hawaii, these first-wave Korean immigrants resisted integration and assimilation through 1) creating Korean language schools in 1945, 2) establishing churches and patriotic organizations, and 3) following a government-in-exile model. Second-wave Korean immigrants were mostly Korean War brides, orphans, and students who immigrated to the U.S. because of the Korean War. Several hardships that they experienced were: 1) for the Korean brides, culture shock, language and cultural differences, isolation, and alienation; 2) for the Korean orphans, some concerns for dual identity; and 3) alienation for Korean students. Korean brides coped through connecting with fellow Koreans when su ch friendships were accessible and integrating and assimilating for the Korean orphans and students. Third-wave Korean immigrants went to the U.S. because they are searching for better economic and educational opportunities since the Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1965 made it easier for them to immigrate too. Some of the problems they experienced were: 1) cultural and language differences, 2) changes in gender roles, 3) conflicts in norms and values, 4)   attaining a healthy identity in white mainstream culture, and 4) preserving local values, beliefs, and practices (121). To ease their adjustment, some of the things that the Koreans did were: 1) create ethnic communities where ethnic and language differences can be erased because of the preservation of local values and language; 2) establish Christian churches that retain local norms and values; 3) preserve family and kinship ties by decreasing multiracial contacts; 4) participate in non-ethnic organizations; and 5) use h ard work ethics in attaining success.  

Architecture - Project Management - Exam Research Paper - 2

Architecture - Project Management - Exam - Research Paper Example Extra materials, damages which have been done, problems with labour and employment and other values can be estimated but the true value isn’t known until the project takes place. - Project Initiation: This consists of setting the vision and definition for a project. The end goal and achievements are set, such as financial changes, expectations and growth within the company. This stage includes both the inception and the feasibility. - Project Planning: This includes goals of how the visions will be used to achieve the end results with detailed planning. Resources that are needed and planning of various stages, milestones and other concepts are used at the planning phase. This includes strategy and pre – construction. - Project Execution: The goals and milestones are presented to employees and workers to build the project and to work through specific steps. The detailed planning is put into action, monitored and controlled so the project can be completed. - Project Closure: If the project didn’t work, it is evaluated for future prospects. If it is closed and completed successfully, then evaluations of what worked and what didn’t are stated. At this point, those working on the project can look at potential and future opportunities as well as growth through the project which has taken place. - Project managers can use the life cycle to monitor and assist employees at each stage. The most important phases for a manager are inclusive of the planning and execution, where goals can be communicated to the employees and monitoring of how the goals are reached can be looked at. This allows the managers to evaluate the end product while looking at future options. Group Collaboration: Organization of the employees and labour options for those working on the project. Vision of what needs to be done, daily maintenance assistance and overviews for organized collaboration. - Collaborative Programming and Scheduling: Engages main

Voluntary Unemployment Essay Example for Free

Voluntary Unemployment Essay Throughout the history of the United States immigration has played a big role. In fact, the birth of the US came about because of Europeans that immigrated here for religious freedom. From those small settlements came towns and cities, built by immigrants. But not all migrated here for religious freedom. Many came on wishes for a better life or to pursue business deals. As early as 1610, Italian craftsmen were brought here to by the Virginia Colony to start the glass trade. So regardless of their drive, people have immigrated here since the beginning of the history of the United States and still continue to. Americans encouraged relatively free and open immigration during the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, and did not think anything of that policy until the middle 1900s. After some states passed immigration laws following the Civil War, the Supreme Court ruled in 1875 that the regulation of immigrants is a federal responsibility. As the number of immigrants rose in the 1880s and economic conditions in certain areas worsened, Congress started to use immigration legislation. The Chinese Exclusion Act was one such example. Under this act, passed on 6 MAY 1882, states the coming of Chinese laborers to this country endangers the good order of certain localities within the territory thereof. As a result, Angel Island was set up to detain and question Chinese Immigrants. Between this act and the Alien Contract Labor laws of 1885 and 1887, certain laborers were prohibited from immigrating to the United States. Also in used was the more general Immigration Act of 1882, which charged a head tax of fifty cents on each immigrant, and bar the entry of idiots, lunatics, convicts, and persons likely to become a public charge. Also passed were the Alien Acts of 1885, 1887, 1888 and 1891, prohibiting the immigration to the U.S. of persons entering the country to work under contracts made before their arrival. In 1888 provisions were adopted to provide the expulsion for aliens. All these immigration laws soon created the need for a Federal enforcement agency. In the 1880s, state board or commissions enforced immigration law with direction from U.S. Treasury Department officials. At the federal level,  U.S. Customs Collectors at each port of entry collected the head from immigrants, while Chinese Inspectors enforced the Chinese Exclusion Act (at Angel Island). Congress soon expanded the list of excludable classes, and as a result when the Immigration Act of 1891 barred polygamists, persons convicted of crimes of moral turpitude, and those suffering loathsome of contagious diseases from immigration, it also created the Office of the Superintendent of Immigration, located in the Treasury Department. Under the 1891 law, the Federal Government assumed the task of inspecting, admitting, rejecting, and processing all immigrants seeking to the United States. The Immigration Services (IS) first task was to collect arrival manifests (passenger lists) from each incoming ship, a responsibility of the Customs Service since 1820. Also enforcing immigration law was a new Federal function, and the 1890s witnessed the Services first attempts to implement national immigration policy. Operations began in New York Harbor at a new federal immigration station on Ellis Island, which opened 2 JAN 1892. The largest and busiest station for decades, Ellis Island housed inspection facilities, hearing and detention rooms, hospitals, cafeterias, administrative offices, and representatives of many immigrant aid societies. The station also employed 119 of the Services entire staff 180 in 1893. During its first decade at Ellis Island and other ports, the Service formalized basic immigration procedures. Inspectors questioned arrivals about their admissibility and noted their admission or rejection on manifest records. Detention guards and matrons cared for those people detained pending decisions in their cases, or those awaiting deportation. Often, aliens were excluded because they lacked funds o had no friends or relatives nearby. Congress continued to exert Federal control over immigration with the Act of 2 March 1895, which upgraded the Office of Immigration to the Bureau of Immigration and changed the agency heads title from Superintendent to Commissioner-General of Immigration. The Act of 6 June 1900, further merged immigration enforcement by assigning both Alien Contract Labor law and Chinese Exclusion responsibilities to the Commissioner-General. (In 1902, the Chinese Exclusion Act was extended for and indefinite amount of time.)  Also, since most immigration laws sought to protect American workers and wages, and Act of 14 February 1903, transferred the Bureau of Immigration from the Treasury Department to the newly created Department of Commerce and Labor. Attention then turned to naturalization; a duty assigned to Congress by the constitution but carried out by any court of record since 1802. A commission charged with investigating naturalization practice and procedure reported in 1905 that were was little or no uniformity among the nations more than 5, 000 naturalization courts. Congress responded with the Basic Naturalization Act of 1906, which framed the rules for naturalization in effect today. The 1906 law also proscribed standard naturalization forms, encouraged state and local courts to relinquish their naturalization jurisdiction to Federal Courts, and expanded the Bureau of Immigration into the Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization (INS). After the creation of the INS, a few more Immigration Acts or revisions were passed (1906-1910). Procedural safeguards for naturalization were enacted in 1906, in which knowledge of English was a requirement. Also the Immigration Act of 1907 extended the restrictions of earlier acts by using synonyms for criminals and the insane. Section One of the act was aimed at keeping Japanese and Koreans out of the Gentlemens Act between the U.S and Japan. While the Congress continued to strengthen national immigration with this act, a Presidential Commission investigated the causes of massive emigration out of Southern and Eastern Europe and a Congressional Commission reports later influenced the writing and passing of future acts, such as the Immigration Act of 1917, which required that immigrants be able to read and write in their native language. Although the United States of America is referred to as the melting pot, which it is, it did not achieve that name without numerous acts and laws restricting or containing immigration. Despite what people may think, with out some of these acts, the U.S. could have been subject to extreme over-population. However, it can be argued that the time during 1875 and 1910, there where an excess of acts passed which now would be considered  extremely discriminative and racist. The final word is that immigration continues to this day with restrictions to keep it over control, and they are needed.

Effects of Child Abuse Essay Example for Free

Effects of Child Abuse Essay Child abuse is a prevailing problem in society that must be addressed at the soonest possible time. However, it is one of the most difficult problems to address as well since there are only certain ways by which it can be monitored. What makes it even harder is the fact that the parents themselves are sometimes the abusers. Thus, it sometimes difficult to help the child since his primary guardian is the abuser himself. Child abuse by parents can be extremely detrimental to children. The effects of such abuse may become evident during their childhood or when the child grows up and enters adulthood. The long-term consequences of child abuse are sometimes grave enough that they ruin the life of the adult. Experiences of child abuse as a child affect not just the personality of the adult but his relationship with his parents as well. For obvious reasons, when parents abuse their children, they strain their relationship with the children. One cannot expect an adult, who was abused by his parent as a child, to maintain a close relationship with them. Child abuse has psychological effects that may hinder the development of the person’s character and identity. This is especially true the abuser is the parent. For instance, the abused child is expected to have low self-esteem that stems from the fact that his own parents do not love him. Abusing him is a clear sign to him that they do not love him. Thus, without his parents’ love, the individual may lack the self confidence and self esteem to function in society.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The abuse causes the child to distance himself from the parent. Later on, as he grows up, this often translates to difficulty in forming attachments with other adults and his peers. The child’s insecurity and lack of self-esteem can extend to his adult life. Thus, when the child becomes an adult, he does not feel secured and more importantly, he lives a restrained life.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   These consequences and effects of child abuse do not only affect the individual’s life. These consequences challenge the very ideals upon which the American way of life is built upon. Americans believe that they have the right to have a family who enjoys security and freedom. However, the mere fact that the children are abused within the confines of their very own homes and within their own families, the idea of being secure is greatly eroded. Moreover, the abuse hinders the freedom of the child. As the child grows up, he does so with such American ideals left in ruins. In a way, the abuse he experienced as a child may reflect on how he treats his own children as he forms a family of his own.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The effects of parental child abuse of any kind exhibit themselves as the child becomes an adult. It is an experience that the individual bears with him long after the acts were committed. Not only does the abuse mold his personality, it affects his ideals in life as well. His ideals on family, society, and relationships are changed and may transfer to his own family. Such transfer may become chain reaction which will be to the detriment of society in general. It is for this reason that the problem must be acted on and must be prevented as much as possible.

Growth of life insurance in India

Growth of life insurance in India Abstract The paper examines the relationship between economic growth and life insurance. In this context, we study contributions made by some authors across international and Indian domains. The literature review begins with examining the work done in the international context by Arena (2008) and Zheng (2008). Arena (2008) examines the causal effect of insurance on economic growth in a cross-country study. Zheng (2008) attempt to develop comprehensive paradigms for an international insurance comparison. In the Indian context, we examine the work done by Sadhak (2008) and Sinha (2005). Sadhak (2008) analyses the relationship between insurance and the macroeconomy. Sinha (2005) gives a crisp account of insurance in India since pre-independence times. The paper wraps up with an examination of the Malhotra Committee report. The effect of liberalization on the growth of life insurance in India It is a commonly held belief that there is a strong interrelationship between insurance and the macroeconomy. Thus the objective of this review paper is to understand the factors that contribute to growth of life insurance. Skipper (1997) highlights how insurance aids economic development in seven ways: First, it promotes financial stability. Second, it substitutes for government security programs. Third, it facilitates trade and commerce. Fourth, it mobilizes national savings. Fifth, it enables risk to be managed more efficiently. Sixth, insurers and reinsurers have economic incentives to help insureds reduce losses. Seventh, it fosters a more efficient allocation of a countrys capital. Literature Review This literature review consists of four sections: I. Cross country study and a new paradigm. II. Insurance and the Macroeconomy in India. III. Progress of Insurance in India. IV. The Malhotra Committee report. I. Cross country study and a new paradigm Economic theory suggests that there is an interaction between insurance and the macroeconomy: growth in insurance promotes economic growth by giving support to savings that can be funnelled into the capital market. On the other hand, high economic growth will lead to demand for insurance. †¢ Arena (2008) Objective The objective of Arenas paper is to study the effect of insurance on economic growth. Hypothesis Considering the increased activity in insurance markets, in the recent decades, Arena hypothesizes that there is going to be an effect of insurance markets on economic growth. He expects to find a causal relationship between insurance market activity and economic growth; further there should be evidence of complementarity between insurance and banking as well as insurance and the stock market activity. Methodology Arena uses the generalized method of moments (GMM) for dynamic models of panel data that were developed by Arellano and Bond (1991) and Arellano and Bover (1995). The general regression equation to be estimated is: Yi,t = ÃŽ ²Xi,t + ÃŽ ¼ t + ÃŽ ·i + ÃŽ ¾i,t where subscripts i and t are country and time period; Y is the dependent variable representing economic growth; X is a set of time and country-varying explanatory variables, proxies of banking, stock market and insurance market development and interaction terms; ÃŽ ² is the vector of coefficients to be estimated; ÃŽ ¼t is an unobserved time-specific effect; ÃŽ ·i is an unobserved country specific effect, and ÃŽ ¾ is the error term. Control variables include average rate of secondary school enrolment for human capital investment; average inflation rate to account for monetary discipline; average growth of the terms of trade ratio and the average ratio of government consumption to GDP as a measure of government burden. papers.ssrn.com/sol3/Delivery.cfm/4098.pdf? Banking sector development is observed by using the ratio of bank claims on the private sector divided by the GDP. Stock market development is observed by taking the turnover ratio. For explanatory variables of insurance market development, life and non-life insurance premiums are used as proxies. This was done given the absence of consistent time series data for the ratio of financial investments to GDP, that captures their role as institutional investors. Data He takes a pooled data set consisting of 56 countries grouped under the World Bank classification of High income, Middle income and Low income categories. There are 6 non overlapping five year periods over 1976-2004. The data was taken from the Swiss Re database. Results a) The Linear effects For exposition, we take one of the equations for a linear effect. The equation is framed below: Y = 0.162*** 0.015X1*** -0.003X2 + 0.025X3*** + 0.138X4 ***+ 0.501X5 * 2.206X6*** 0.003X7*** + 0.043X8 ***+ 0.055X9*** *** significance at 1% ** significance at 5% * significance at 10% Here, Y is the dependent variable representing average rate of real per capita GDP growth. The equation is dynamic as it includes the initial level of per capita GDP as an explanatory variable. The equation has various explanatory variables and various control variables. X1 represents the log of initial GDP per capita; X2 represents private credit to GDP; X3 represents stock market turnover; X 4 represents life and non life insurance to GDP; X 5 represents the degree of openness; X 6 represents government consumption; X 7 represents inflation; X 8 represents the terms of trade; X 9 represents school enrolment. Source? Coefficient for initial level of per capita GDP is negative as expected growth rates are inversely related to initial levels of GDP per capita. Coefficient of private credit to GDP is negative. However, the result is not significant. The coefficient of stock market activity is positive. This is because liquid equity markets make investment less risky and more attractive, by allowing savers to acquire an asset (equity) and to sell it quickly and cheaply if they need access to their savings. The coefficient of government spending is negative. This gives support to studies that show that beyond a certain level, government spending does not have a positive effect on the economy. The coefficient of inflation is negative. This is expected, since inflation leads to uncertainty about future profitability of investment projects, reduces international competitiveness and distorts borrowing and lending. The coefficient of degree of openness is positive. This is because trade promotes a competitive environment which leads to efficient resource allocation; this promotes growth. The coefficient of degree of terms of trade is positive. This is because a high terms of trade increases returns to producers. This in turn raises investment, promoting economic growth. The coefficient for human capital is positive. This is because economic development depends on advances in technological and scientific knowledge. Further, the author analyses in terms of income group of the countries. He finds that in case of life insurance, the conclusions for the linear effect of insurance on economic growth would hold good only for high income countries. This is because he finds the coefficient on life insurance for developing countries as not significant. In case of non life insurance, the author finds that his conclusion for linear effect of insurance on economic growth hold good for both high income and developing countries. b) Non Linear effects. For life insurance, the coefficients of the linear and quadratic term are positive but not significant; for non-life, the coefficient for the linear term is negative but not significant while the coefficient for the quadratic term is positive but not significant. c) Complementarities In case of interaction between insurance variables and private credit the coefficient of interaction term is negative and significant. This suggests that banking sector and insurance (life and non-life premiums to GDP) are substitutes than complements. In case of interaction between stock market turnover and insurance variables, the coefficient of interaction term is negative. This suggests that stock market and insurance ( life and non-life premiums to GDP) are substitutes than complements. However, the author notes that the results are contradictory and exist due to collinearity issues. Findings The important finding of the paper is that both life and non-life insurance have a positive and significant causal effect on economic growth. Further, high income countries drive the results in case of life insurance. On the other hand, both high income and developing countries drive the results in case of non-life insurance. †¢ Zheng (2008) The objective of this paper is to build a new paradigm for international insurance comparison. The paper has two parts : a) Constructing the Benchmark Ratio of insurance penetration. b) Decomposing growth rates by a ‘Trichotomy. a) The Benchmark Ratio of Insurance Penetration (B.R.I.P) Zheng (2008) consider the insurance industry as one of economic segments whose growth is related to the level of economic development. Just as insurance ‘density is an adjustment to premium income by considering the population factor, and just as insurance ‘penetration is adjustment of insurance density by the GDP per capita, the BRIP is an adjustment of penetration by a ‘benchmark level of world average penetration at that countrys economic development stage. Thus, the Benchmark Ratio of Insurance Penetration (B.R.I.P) gives the penetration level of the country, in relation to the world average insurance penetration at a countrys economic level : The numerator is the penetration level of the country. The denominator comprises of the logistic function. The logistic model for insurance penetration was given by Enz (2000), who described that insurance penetration and GDP per capita are related by an S shaped curve. Zheng (2008) term it as the ‘ordinary growth model. Note that the S curve is a logistic function represented by Y= 1/(C1+C2.C3x) , where, C1 C2 and C3 are the three parameters and X is growth rate. Zheng (2008) describes the benchmark penetration as premiums divided by GDP: Y = premium / G.D.P.= 1 / (C1+C2.C3x), where, Y is insurance penetration, X is the independent variable real GDP per capita. C1 ,C2 and C3 are the three parameters of the logistic function. The normal case of penetration increasing as real GDP per capita increases, is when C3 A pooled dataset comprising of 95 countries and regions over the last 27 years (1980-2008) was taken from the Sigma database of Swiss Re. On this basis, the estimates of the BRIP for world life insurance, non-life insurance and the insurance industry aggregate are got by plotting the regression curves for life, non-life and insurance industry aggregate. As seen in the diagram above, the regression curves resemble the shape of the letter ‘S, S-curve model. The insurance penetration rises with the GDP per capita. Further, various levels of GDP per capita have different growth rates of insurance penetration: at low levels of GDP per capita, the growth rate of insurance penetration is relatively slow. However, as the GDP per capita rises, the growth rate of insurance penetration also increases. However, after a certain level, the insurance penetration tends to plateau. Thus, if BRIP =1, it means that countrys actual penetration is equal to the world average penetration at that economic development stage. If BRIP 1, the actual penetration is greater than world average level. The world average level of penetration is given by the relevant S curve. Zheng (2008) find that rankings of the insurance industries of developed countries under B.R.I.P descend compared to the ranks got by using traditional indicators; similarly, the rankings of emerging countries under B.R.I.P rise compared to the ranks got by using traditional indicators. b). Decomposing growth rates by ‘Trichotomy The authors now modify the ‘ordinary growth model by a ‘Trichotomy of decomposing growth. For attempting the Trichotomy, the ordinary growth model has to be modified to bring out the effects of the economic and institutional factors. This is done by modifying the ordinary model by including country specific dummies which include like the legal system, culture, religion, social security on the insurance growth. Growth is decomposed into ‘Regular growth, ‘Deepening growth and ‘Institutional growth. ‘Regular growth measures the insurance growth that happens while keeping the insurance penetration unchanged, i.e., premiums/GDP are increasing at the same pace. This arises out of economic factors. ‘Deepening growth caused by the increase of insurance penetration induced by economic growth. This also arises out of economic factors. ‘Institutional Growth is the residual that remains after the economic factors of growth, (represented by the Regular and Deepening growth) are deducted from deducted from the overall aggregate growth. It is caused by institutional factors that are country specific such as legal system, culture, religion etc. After performing the decomposition by using the ‘adjusted growth model, the authors show that insurance growth in developed countries is mainly driven by economic factors (i.e., regular and deepening), while institutional factors act as the major driving power for the insurance growth in emerging countries. The authors remark that institutional aspects facilitate growth of the private insurance industry especially in case of developing countries. However, as the economy develops, the contribution of the institutional factors to the insurance growth gradually decreases; the economic factors begin to play a more active role in driving the insurance growth. Finally, in case of developed countries, the social security system is well developed. This acts as a substitute for insurance. As such, insurance growth is hindered. The authors conclude the following: Firstly, there should be recognition of insurance growth level of each country or region, relative to their own stage of development, as given by BRIP; Secondly, insurance growth in developed countries is driven by economic factors while in emerging countries is driven by institutional factors. Thirdly, as an economy develops, the contribution of institutional factors would gradually decrease and economic factors play a greater role. Consequently the emerging countries should upgrade its growth strategy to attain sustainable development. II. Insurance and the Macroeconomy in India †¢ Sadhak (2006) Sadhaks paper is on the relationship between demand for life insurance and macroeconomic variables of growth. These are GDP, domestic savings, household financial savings and disposable income. Sadhak expects to find a continued preference for insurance, given the strong economic performance of the Indian economy in the post liberalization period. He remarks that although the savings are increasing (Table I) there is a decline in life insurance savings in India as a proportion of savings (Table II). (Table I): (Table II) The author finds a decline in the overall savings as a percentage of personal disposable income from a high of 14.5% in 1950-51 to a low of 3.6% in 2002-03. However, it must be mentioned here that the author does not cite the source of data which he used to arrive at this conclusion; he merely says that personal disposable income can be arrived at after deduction of payment of direct taxes and other miscellaneous receipts of the government. A detailed examination of how Sadhak (2006) got this result is required. This increased diversion of funds leaves a small amount to be saved and consequently affects the growth of life insurance funds. Hence, life insurance funds have failed to keep pace with PDY. Sadhak (2006) opines that the opening of the market has not provided much momentum to growth of the industry. He sums up the article by remarking that a spread of financial literacy, awareness of financial risk management, and customer focused service management could help create the required demand for the Indian life insurance industry. III. The progress of insurance in India The objective of Sinha (2005) is to examine the Indian insurance industry. He structures his article into evolution of insurance in the pre nationalization era and the nationalized era. †¢ Evolution under the pre nationalization era Sinha (2005) feels that the pre independence time is of importance, as developments of the period culminated in the landmark Insurance Act of 1938. During the pre-independence period, the pioneering European companies did not initially ensure the lives of Indians; when they did, it was done at rates that were nearly 20% more, compared to the European rates! He notes that such discrimination was practiced by European companies even in other markets like Latin America. The initial period was marked by an absence of regulation on the insurance companies, except for compliance to Companies Act (1866). The Swadeshi Movement from 1905 lead to emergence of many indigenous companies. This necessitated a need for legislations specific to the Indian companies. Legislative controls were extended on foreign companies much later. The Insurance Act of 1938 was a comprehensive legislation the covered life and non life business. It covered deposits, supervision of insurance companies, investments, commissions of agents. Unfortunately, the act lost its importance in the post independence nationalization wave of the country. The act was reinstated only after the opening up of the markets in 1999. However, necessary modifications were done. Non revision of Mortality tables was a hallmark of this era. Sinha (2005) notes that tables based on the British experience during 1863-1893 were used. To further worsen the situation, the ratings were increased by seven years for Indians! Indian tables emerged much later, based on the experience of 1905-25. The Life Insurance Corporation revised these in the 70s! †¢ Evolution during nationalized era Sinha (2005) asks two very important questions to bring out rationale for nationalization: First, why did the Government nationalize life insurance in 1956? Further, why was general insurance not nationalized at the same time? Regarding the first question, he gives interesting insight that comes out of a document given by H.D. Malaviya of the Congress that justifies nationalization on the following grounds: First, that it is by nature, a ‘cooperative enterprise; thus the government should run it on behalf of the people. Secondly, the Indian companies were claimed to be excessively expensive. Third, private competition could not improve the sales to the public. Fourth, the lapse rates were said to be high, leading to national waste. He then analyses the speech made by finance minister C.D. Deshmukh. Its examination leads the Sinha (2005) to conclude that the main rationale for nationalization of insurance was to bring out a social orientation of resources and also to increase market penetration. For the second question, concerning delay in nationalization of non life insurance, Sinha (2005) examines the speech made by finance minister C. D. Deshmukh. He saw ‘general insurance as a part and parcel of the private sector not affecting the individual citizen It seems to as if the government emphasized the elimination of uncertainty through insurance as a relatively minor benefit! Moving forward, Sinha (2005) touches on rural insurance. The Government had specific hopes from rural insurance. Specifically, it was reaching into hitherto neglected rural areas. Sinha (2005) mentions that to promote rural insurance, the Life Insurance Corporation followed a segmented approach for marketing. It involved targeting the rural wealthy with regular policies and offering group policies to people who could not afford individual policies. Sinha (2005) takes the rural insurance drive to be a success for three reasons. Firstly, from 1980 onwards the proportion of policies sold in rural areas stated to increase, i.e., headcount for rural areas has gone up; Secondly, in terms of value of policies sold, the total value of all policies sold in rural areas has not gone up beyond 40%. This fact along with declining headcount implies that more policies were sold in the rural areas with a smaller average value. The author gives reasons for nationalization of general insurance business. First, the subsidiary companies were expected to â€Å"set up standards of conduct and sound practices† Second, the General Insurance Corporation was to help with ‘controlling their expenses. Third, it was to help with the investment of funds. Fourth, it was to bring in general insurance in the rural areas of the country. Fifth, the General Insurance Corporation was also designated the National Reinsurer. By law, all domestic insurers were to cede 20% of the gross direct premium in India to the General Insurance Corporation. The idea was to retain as much risk as possible domestically to minimize the expenditure on foreign exchange. Sixth, all the four subsidiaries were supposed to compete with one another. Sinha (2005) observes that the above goals were scarcely met. For instance, though various schemes were introduced in rural areas, like crop insurance and cattle insurance, they could not expa nd their business. Coming to the analysis of General insurance business, Sinha (2005) finds that general insurance business in India is a much smaller. Even in this, fire insurance (in terms of premium earned) accounted for about a quarter of all business. Marine insurance has shrunk to under 10% by 2001. Interestingly, the ‘miscellaneous component is 68% of the general insurance market. This is the unfortunate outcome of the Insurance Act of 1938 which stipulated whatever cannot be classed as life insurance or fire insurance or marine insurance is put as ‘miscellaneous. Thus, the biggest component of general insurance motor insurance is lumped with a range of other general insurance such as aviation, engineering and crop insurance! Even the profitability of General insurance business is lesser in terms of premium, motor insurance accounts for around 54% of premium income. The Tariff Advisory Committee has been unwilling to revise motor premium upward for political reasons. This leads to mounting loss in motor insurance for general insurance companies. The article concludes with a detailed discussion of the current state of the market. Sinha (2005) feels that India is a very important emerging insurance market. He identifies the major drivers to be a sound economic base, a rising middle-income class, an improving regulatory framework and rising risk awareness. The changes in regulation shall be crucial to ensure future growth. IV. The Malhotra Committee Report In 1993, the first step towards insurance sector reforms was initiated with the formation of the Malhotra Committee, headed by former RBI Governor R.N. Malhotra. The committee was formed to evaluate the Indian insurance industry and recommend its future direction with the objective of complementing the reforms initiated in the financial sector. The resolution highlights how the committee was formed for â€Å"creating an efficient and competitive financial system† and how the government saw â€Å"insurance as an important part of the overall financial system and felt the needs for similar reforms in this sector†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The other members of the committee were R Narayanan, former chairman, LIC; R.K. Daruwala, the former chairman of GIC; S.K. Dave, the chairman of UTI R. Ramakrishna, President, Actuarial Society of India; Deepak Parekh and M.P. Modi, Special Secretary, Insurance. Indeed, the committee was well represented by eminent personalities from the financial sector. The principal terms of reference for the committee were quite comprehensive: to examine the institutional structure for creating an efficient and viable insurance industry; suggesting changes in the structure of the industry; review of the regulatory framework and to give specific suggestions for the LIC and GIC. The methodology for working of the committee was through constitution of working groups from senior executives of the LIC and GIC to analyze the practice of insurance in India. The committee met various interest groups and opinion leaders, which was preceded by circulation of questionnaire. Lastly, there was engagement of Market research agency to elicit popular perceptions about insurance. The committee made all effort to understand what an average Indian wanted from this process of liberalization. For instance, the objective of the Market Action Research Group survey was to get the perceptions of the population. It did so by means of a questionnaire which consisted of two parts life and General Insurance. In life insurance, there were 14 questions relating to the operations and future growth areas. It was circulated to 412 renowned persons and organizations that comprised of chairmen of industrial and cooperative organizations, academicians, businessmen, union leaders from all par ts of India for eliciting their views. Questions ranging from ‘What have been the achievements of LIC? to ‘Should there be private insurance companies? were asked. We analyse the report in three parts a) Life insurance b) Non-life insurance c) Regulatory issues a) Life Insurance: The findings that emerged from consultations of the working groups and survey committees revealed that Life Insurance coverage was expensive. The returns were significantly lower due to excessive dictated investments. The committee prescribed that the LIC should move on from conservative portfolio management and take advantage of market returns. The committee remarked that emphasis should be shifted from `security of capital to maximising the yield on the total investment. The investment regulations suggested by the committee are given below: Life insurance Type of Investment Percentage I. Government Securities 25% II. Government Securities or other approved securities (including I) above Not less than 50% III. Approved Investments as specified in Schedule I Infrastructure and Social Sector Not less than 15% Others to be governed by Exposure / Prudential Norms

Budget Deficit & National Debt :: essays research papers

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the short- and long-term effects of current budget deficits and the nation debt. In order to do this; I first had to find out exactly what they were. I will also discuss whether I think the government should operate with a balanced budget. Budget deficit is the amount by which total government spending is more than government income during a specified period; the amount of money which the government has to raise by borrowing or currency emission in order to make up for the shortfall in tax revenues. National debt denotes the total sum of the outstanding debt obligations of a country's central government. I discovered that many people use the term somewhat more broadly to refer to the total indebtedness of all levels of government, including regional and local governments and sometimes also the indebtedness of government owned business entities such as local transit and communications systems or nationalized industries as well. The national debt represents the accumulated total of all the government budget deficits of past years, less the accumulated total of all the government budget surpluses of past years. In the United States, the national debt consists almost entirely of interest-bearing "IOU" instruments that are usually re-sellable on organized financial markets such as, for example, U.S. bonds, U.S. treasury notes, and U.S. treasury bills. These IOUs are originally purchased from the Treasury by private individuals, private corporations, insurance companies, pen sion funds and banks (both inside the United States and outside its borders), and the Treasury then uses the money it raised to bridge its spending gap when its budget is in deficit. The Treasury also sells IOUs to other Federal agencies that operate so-called trust funds -- primarily the Social Security Administration and other Federal retirement programs. The complication here is that since this is money that the government "owes to itself," it is not counted as part of the national debt in any realistic system of accounting. I find this to be really strange. Money to pay the annual interest owed to the owners of the government's debt instruments has to be provided through appropriations in every year's Federal budget. These interest payments on the national debt constitute as one of the largest spending categories in the budget. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is an estimate of the total money value of the entire final goods and services produced in a given one-year period using the factors of production located within a particular country's borders.

Harmful Effects of the Ornish Diet Essay -- Health Nutrition Diet Exer

Harmful Effects of the Ornish Diet The Ornish diet, a meal plan that emphasizes the consumption of carbohydrates over fats, is an unsafe plan despite its claims to being a safe and effective way to prevent heart disease1 – a claim only a balanced diet can make. Because the Ornish diet cuts out a large number of foods from a person’s meal, many beneficial nutrients are missing that would normally be in a balanced diet. In addition, recent studies have found that diets containing a larger than recommended amount of carbohydrates may actually increase a person’s chances of developing intestinal and breast cancers2. These findings show that despite any benefits the Ornish diet may provide to the heart, the complications of maintaining a high carbohydrate diet make it not nearly as safe as a balanced diet. Because the Ornish diet restricts participants to a strictly vegetarian meal plan, people who follow the diet often become deficient in beneficial nutrients such as vitamin B12, iron, and omega-3 fatty acids1. Vitamin B12 and iron are nutrients often found in animal products such as meat, while omega-3 fatty acids are most common fish – the foods present in a balanced diet, but absent in the Ornish diet. Deficiencies of these chemicals can often lead to conditions such as anemia, or prevent beneficial effects that are imparted by omega-3 fatty acids such as mood stabilization and improved cardiovascular health. Because the body needs iron to produce hemoglobin – a vital part in a red blood cell’s ability to transport oxygen to other cells, a lack of the substance would cause a large decrease in the effectiveness and number of red blood cells. In addition, due to vitamin B12’s regulation of blood cell production, a decreas... ...s incorrect. People on this diet often do not obtain enough of the essential vitamins and minerals that they need in order to maintain healthy bodies. Because of this, they run the risk of developing serious illnesses such as anemia. People on the Ornish diet also will not enjoy the possible benefits other nutrients such as the omega-3 fatty acids. Dieters who take in such large amounts of carbohydrates also increase their risk of developing cancers due to the elevated insulin responses their bodies put up to digest the food that they eat. In the end, a balanced diet is much safer than, and just as effective – if followed correctly – In maintaining a healthy body as the Ornish diet is. Sources 1. http://www.moscowfoodcoop.com/archive/ornish.html 2. http://www.scienceblog.com/community/article3530.html 3. http://www.bipolarchild.com/newsletters/0501.html

Carroll’s pyramid of Corporate social responsibility Essay

For the past 27 years, Carroll’s corporate social responsibility pyramid (CSR) has been widely used by top management and journals to better define and explore CSR. The different components in the pyramid help managers see the different types of obligations that society expects of businesses. It is easily understandable and simple. However, the new challenges faced by corporations in the 21st century have warranted a re-examination of Carroll’s pyramid. Carroll’s CSR PyramidCarroll’s four part CSR pyramid depicts the economic, legal, ethical and discretionary responsibilities that society expects of organizations. Carroll has integrated concepts of stakeholders and corporate citizenship into his pyramid. The base of the pyramid is economic responsibility and it gives top priority to economic performance. A business has to be profitable; maximising profits, minimizing costs, plan for the future and provide shareholders with sufficient and attractive returns. The stakeholders affected most in this group are its employees and shareholders. The legal responsibility is second in the hierarchy. Businesses are expected to pursue profits within the framework of the law. Society expects businesses to adhere to all regulations and laws, honour its contracts, warranties and guarantees. Third is ethical responsibility and it involves avoiding questionable practices. It includes all activities which have not been anticipated or legislated by society. Organizations must accept emerging values and norms of society. Businesses are to operate above mere compliance of the law. Ethical responsibilities are more difficult to deal with as they tend to be new, ill-defined or continually under public debate. At the top of the pyramid is philanthropic responsibility. It involves giving back to the community and being a good corporate citizen through donations and active participation in charities or other community welfare programs. Such responsibility is desired but may not be necessarily performed and  hence is separate from other responsibilities. (Carroll and Buchholtz, 2006:22-42)Descriptive accuracyThere have been four surveys conducted on Carroll’s pyramid from 1985 to 2000. Statistical analysis has shown that the relative importance assigned to each responsibility in the pyramid reflects the empirical importance of the four categories. It also confirms that the four responsibilities are empirically interrelated but mutually exclusive. In the survey conducted by Burton, Farh and Hegarthy in 2000 on 165 Hong Kong and 157 U.S. students, they gave equal or greater value to ethical responsibility than legal responsibility. Similarly, in a 1999 survey conducted by Edmondson and Carroll on 503 black-owned businesses in U.S, ethical responsibility was ranked higher than legal responsibility. Burton, Farh & Hegarty (2000)Mean valuesEconomic orientationsLegal orientationsEthical orientationsPhilanthropic orientations-Hong Kong3.112.322.321.84-USA2.812.422.511.99Edmondson & Carroll (1999)3.162.122.192.04(Adapted from http://www.csrquest.net/default.aspx?articleID=12770&heading)These events are noteworthy. It questions whether corporate ethical responsibility has increased and if these ethical responsibilities outweigh its legal obligations. The changing social contractThe notion of CSR implies the existence of a â€Å"social contract† between a society and the corporation. (Crowther, 2004)†The social contract between business and society is to a large extent formulated from shared understandings that exist in each area in the pyramid.† (Carroll and Buchholtz, 2006: 19)If society’s preferences change, there would be a redefining and thus renegotiation of the social contract. Corporations in the 21st century are experiencing significant challenges in this relationship. The increased power of business, technological advancement, and society’s heightened awareness towards moral ethical behaviour has caused a rise in the ethical responsibility in business. Increased power of CorporationsCorporations are primary agents for advancement in technology innovation, industrialism and capitalism.  (Hopkins, 2006) Multi-national companies (MNC) such as Wal-Mart have revenues which exceed the gross domestic product of nations. MNCs dominate the global marketplace. Businesses need to expand internationally to remain competitive. Globalization has come to encompass everything from â€Å"factories shifting around† to â€Å"international bodies that set the rules for the global economy.† It has resulted in the outsourcing of jobs to less-developed nations. In the United States, jobs in manufacturing are being outsourced to China and India. In a USA Today poll in 2004, 68 percent of Americans felt outsourcing of jobs was bad for the economy. (Carroll and Buchholtz, 2006:293)Companies from banks to pharmaceuticals operate and compete in a global environment. When MNCs start work in another country, they must fulfil their social responsibilities in order to be perceived as legitimate. MNCs are caught in dilemmas. For example, if it were to repatriate a large part of its profits, it would be seen as depriving the host country of wealth. If it were to invest profits locally, it may be perceived to be tightening its control on the host cou ntry’s economy. Pay is another sensitive issue. MNCs seem to be exploiting labour with its low wages. However, if it were to pay more to its employees, local businesses would be hurt in the long run. (Carroll and Buchholtz, 2006: 297-300)MNCs may also be assailed for not adhering to standards from their home country. Two classic ethical issues are human rights abuses in â€Å"sweatshops† and questionable marketing and plant safety practices. Plant safety issues have been on-going since the Union Carbide Bhopal crisis in 1984. More recently, Mattel found lead in its toys made in China. In both cases, companies broke no laws in its host countries. (Carroll and Buchholtz, 2006: 306-311) Coating toys with lead paint is legal in China! However, it has to ensure the quality and safety of its products and employees. Society has also grown more distrustful of corporations after a spike in corporate scandals in 2001. Accounting and securities fraud have led to the demise of Enron, Arthur Andersen and WorldCom. The Sarbanes-Oxley act was created to restore public confidence in accounting and reporting practices. Society today requires not only business financial transparency but also  social and environmental transparency. This is to address a broader spectrum of stakeholders. Many multinational companies including Coca-cola, Shell and Starbucks have the adopted the triple-bottom line approach to corporate reporting. ISO 26000, launching in 2009, aims to develop an international standard in accessing social responsibility. Google was criticized by Privacy International for potentially storing data on individuals using its search engines. It went a step further in ethical behaviour by calling for new international laws to be set up to protect personal information online and is now working with UNESCO and OECD to draw up guidelines. This has shown businesses are seriously considering its ethical responsibilities to society although it is not required to do so by law. (Palmer 2007 )With the increased power that corporations are yielding, there are companies like The Body Shop who use this power and profits to raise awareness to their social causes. Other businesses have been giving large amounts to philanthropy. Japanese MNC firms such as Sony, Canon and Toyota practise kyosei. US firms gave $400 million in the few weeks after the 2004 tsunami disaster. (Hopkins, 2006) Thus corporations are setting a benchmark in society and causing a revolution of rising expectations. Future organisations must attempt to exceed these expectations. Another dimension to the increased power and scope business wields come from the privatization of government companies. It is estimated that $700 billion dollars worth of assets have been privatised worldwide (Carroll and Buchholtz, 2006:344). Governments usually provide a service for society. There is conflict of interest between maximising shareholder returns and maintaining a low cost service to the public. In Singapore, SMRT, although still partly owned by the government through Temasek Holdings, was not allowed to raise its prices in 2007 because it was already making profit margins similar to that of Singapore Airlines. Technological advancementBiotechnology and information technology are new areas in corporate growth. In biotechnology, an area called bioethics has emerged. Although biotechnology holds great promise for enhancing life and health, it could have unprecedented ethical consequences. Genetic engineering could increase supply of food as it can make plants more resistant to pests or to grow in harsher conditions. However, the issue of using or eating genetically modified food has opposition. In Europe, there is a ban on bioengineered crops. In 2004, McDonalds did not want Monsanto to introduce its bug-resistant wheat as it did not want to be caught up in the biotech debate when people eat their fries. Another area of concern is in embryonic stem cell research. It holds the greatest hope for diseases like cancer, Alzheimer’ and Parkinson disease but American law denies the use of new embryos to carry out research. Scientists clone stem cells to loop around this restriction. (Carroll and Buchholtz, 2006: 260-284 )Information Technology has undergone immense growth even after the dot-com bubble burst. Emails and the Internet have enabled communication without the need of a fixed place and time. It can be a fermenting ground for Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO). Individuals who were once powerless can now rally, surround and infiltrate even the most powerful organizations through the internet. For example, the Royal Dutch Shell Company changed its disposal strategy of offshore platforms after protests from Internet stakeholder swarms. (Hopkins 2006) Similarly in 2001, Nike’s global sweatshop allegations were started by an email sent out by Jonah Peretti to a few friends. Society’s increased awareness of ethical behaviourThe rising education and affluence of society have increased awareness in the ethical responsibility of firms. Most MBA and business undergraduate students now undergo some form of ethics training. Business ethics training courses are being carried out by large companies such as Lockheed Martin and Sun Microsystems. People are more aware of discrimination issues and their rights. In 2003 the Ethnic Resource Centre National Business survey showed that two-thirds of organisations provided a way to report misconduct anonymously. (Carroll and Buchholtz, 2006:243-251)The rise in social investing has also shown society’s preference for moral corporate behaviour. Socially screened portfolios in the U.S. have climbed to $2.15 trillion in 2003 and are expected to hit $3 trillion by 2011. Europe SRI market has grown $0.6 trillion from 2005 to 2007. Modification to Carroll’s CSR pyramidOne of the main weaknesses in Carroll’s pyramid is the inability to convey the tensions between the component responsibilities. To better show these organization realities it might be better to use two triangles instead. The economic responsibility surrounds and supports all the other responsibilities in the model and is the â€Å"foundation† of this model. This is because profitability is still the basis in any corporation. Corporations focus on profitability even when undertaking CSR programs. In KPMG’s International Survey of Corporate Social Responsibility (2005), 74% of respondents found economic considerations as drivers of corporate responsibility. The relative priorities of CSR should be adjusted with the rise in ethical responsibilities in corporations. The increased compliance with new standard accounting practices and laws have increased the task of legal responsibility. However, law often cannot address all new issues business face in a fast-paced global environment. Although there is an increased expectation for a corporation to give back to the community and business philanthropic responsibilities are greater than before, these are still not as large as its legal obligations. Hence, it remains the smallest out of the four components of CSR. ConclusionThe gap between society’s expectations of business ethics and that of actual business ethics has given rise to ethical problems. Globalisation has led to the broadening of the term ‘Society’. As the rate of technological change speeds up, ethical responsibilities will play a greater role in the CSR pyramid. References Bacchus, Rayman L. and Crowther D, (2004). Perspectives on Corporate Social Responsibility. London: Ashgate. Carroll’s CSR pyramid:http://www.csrquest.net/default.aspx?articleID=12770&headingSeptember 17, 2007. Carroll, Archie B. and Ann K. Buchholtz, 2006, Business and Society: Ethic and Stakeholder Management, 6th Edition, USA: South-Western, Thomson Corporation. Carroll, Archie B. (1991, July). The Pyramid of Corporate Social Responsibility: toward the moral management of organizational stakeholders balancing economic, legal and social responsibilities. Business Horizons. Hopkins, M. (2006). Corporate Social Responsibility and International Development. London: Earthscan. KPMG. (2005). KPMG Global Survey of Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting 2005: KPMG International. Revisting Carroll’s CSR Pyramid:http://www.waynevisser.com/csr_pyramid.htmSeptember 17, 2007. Palmer, M. (14, September 2007). Google to call for web privacy shake-up. The Financial Times. P21.

Theories on Children’s Cognitive Development & Case Studies Illustrating Them

Gleaning insights proposed by the earliest psychologists like Jean Piaget, socio-cultural theorists like Lev Vygotsky, radical behaviorists like B. F. Skinner and other well-known psychologists like Howard Gardner, who challenged the earlier views on children’s cognitive development, can be very important. By drawing insights and gaining a better understanding of how children’s thought processes are formed, as well as the factors that influence them, and the overall impact on children, parents, caretakers, educators, and therapists find themselves in a better position to guide and help growing kids achieve their optimum potential. In most of the theories set forth , factors like genetics and the environment or outside influences come into play. Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget, who formed his theories after conducting actual observations of kids, opined, â€Å"The mind of the child is not that of a miniature adult†¦ the mind develops by forming schemas that help us assimilate our experiences and that must occasionally be altered to accomplish new information. In this way, children progress from the sensorimotor simplicity of the infant to more complex stages of thinking† (Myers 1989: 85). This theory, which presupposes that children’s cognitive skills develop spontaneously, is highlighted by the different developmental stages to which children’s learning must adjust. Most teachers rely on Piaget’s cognitive developmental theory which, in essence, maintains that â€Å"the reasoning processes of children at various ages†¦ cognitive development proceeds in four genetically determined stages that always follow the same sequential order† (Child Development Theories, n. d. ). The Piagetian theory boils down to the fact that children must not be forced to absorb concepts. Instead, knowledge and learning must take place at the designated time or age of the child. Even if they undergo the same stages – infancy, early childhood, adolescence, early adulthood, and so on, individuals, of course, exhibit varying capabilities or rate of cognitive development. Piaget presupposed that children gradually find out what there is to learn about the objects and people around them through a gradual learning process. Nothing must be foisted on young minds. Instead, the young mind should be allowed to form relationships and learn through a stage-by-stage assimilation of concepts and facts. The focus is on the knowledge learned, then. Most pre-schools find the Piagetian theory quite applicable and useful. In fact, the Piagetian theory has been widely used as underlying structure or foundation for child education & care in America and other parts of the world. There are some educators or schools, though, which combine the Piagetian concept on children’s cognitive development with other theories like the socio-cultural theory set forth by Russian developmental psychologist Lev Vygotsky, to let children realize their full potential. Vygotsky held that â€Å"cognitive processes are formed in the course of socio-cultural activities†¦ the individual comes into possession of a variety of cognitive processes engendered by different activities† (Kozulin, n. d. ) and with the guidance of a learned individual. â€Å"A knowledgeable person can help to add meaning to what is familiar to the child when he or she enters the child's zone of proximal development (ZPD), that place for learning located somewhere between the child's present understanding and potential understanding† (Steele 2001). Simply put, children’s cognitive skills are hastened when they come into contact with more knowledgeable elders, or more experienced, older mentors. There may be cases when even other kids of the same age but with greater intellectual capacity may help shape or form a slow-learning child’s understanding of basic concepts like music or the alphabet. The difference between the child’s own cognitive development and his potential to assimilate greater knowledge is the zone of proximal development. When schoolage kids interact and talk to and help each other learn, while also listening attentively to what their teacher says to them, they enter the zone of proximal development. In contrast to Piaget, Vygotsky laid greater emphasis in the way a child can utilize the joint approach or co-mingling with a well-informed adult in order to achieve full learning potential. Cases of teachers teaching young children to play a musical instrument like the piano may illustrate both the Piagetian concept of learning and Vygotsky’s socio-cultural theory. A child falling under the pre-operational stage, correlating to children in the age bracket of two to seven years, who is tinkering with the piano is still in the process of mastering symbols and will not really learn how to play the instrument well on his own. An adult’s expert guidance will jumpstart the child’s learning process. On the other hand, the piano teacher must prepare lessons that will suit the age of the child, or his developmental stage. Indeed, it can be noted that Piaget’s cognitive development theory has been used as jump-off point by his contemporaries and succeeding psychologists. One of those who challenged the Piagetian concept and maintained that a child’s cognitive ability is but one aspect of development is Howard Gardner. The latter proposed that individuals have â€Å"a number of domains of potential intellectual competence which they are in the position to develop, if they are normal and if the appropriate stimulating factors are available† (Gardner 2004: 287). Musical intelligence is one of the kinds of intelligence that Gardner said kids may cultivate. The example of a piano teacher giving a child his/her first set of piano lessons may encompass both the Piagetian concept, Vygotsky’s socio-cultural theory, and Howard Gardner’s theory on multiple intelligence. As far as Howard Gardner’s multiple intelligence theory is concerned, it runs counter to the Piagetian theory. Gardner believed in the vast potential each child has. He surmised that at any one instance, the well-nurtured child can be at different stages, honing his/her latent abilities – whether in spatial reasoning or body-kinesthetic or interpersonal skills, intrapersonal sensitivity, linguistic or musical inclinations. Even at a young age, children may nurture any of these multiple intelligences. A two-year-old child, for example, may be exposed to the piano playing of parents, and a couple of years later made to attend group lessons to observe, such that by the time the same child reaches the pre-teen years, he/she would have already developed a keen musical appreciation. Unlike the Piagetian method focus which tends to focus on test scores or the knowledge acquired per se, Gardner’s multiple intelligence theory focuses on forming â€Å"a strong, positive and attractive character† (Gardner 2004: 374). In the case of the child who grows up with musically inclined parents and eventually nurtures the talent , the resulting remarkable piano performance, is actually just a means to creating the child’s well-rounded character. Nonetheless, Piaget’s cognitive development concept has long been considered a universal learning theory which has found its way in numerous preschools all over the world. If most preschool classroom settings vividly illustrate Piaget’s cognitive developmental concept, particularly in the pre-operational stage, a clear-cut example of Vygotsky’s socio-cultural theory is the traditional education or cultural transmission taking place in most rural communities across the world. Let us take, for instance, the case of oral narratives about ancestral heroes and events transmitted by older males to their young in Ethiopian rural communities. â€Å"Children who sit patiently and silently on the periphery of the story-telling circle gradually absorb the cultural content and verbal technique (which) lasts for hours and constitutes an integral element of everyday life. † (Kozulin, n. d. ). By relying on their elders for their socio-cultural assimilation of ideas, the children very well mirror Vygotsky’s socio-cultural theory. An adult comes into the picture to impart greater learning at a quicker pace than if the children were to come across the same body of knowledge on their own. The traditional oral transmission of culture such as that perpetuated in the Ethiopian village, however, is no longer practiced in most other societies. Written records have supplanted the oral tradition. In his book, â€Å"Frames of Mind – The Theory of Multiple Intelligences,† Gardner cited numerous examples of people and situations affecting children’s cognitive learning skills. One of these is the structured method inspired by Japanese violinist Shinichi Suzuki to teach kids to learn music. Hinged on the basic principle that kids have an innate ability which â€Å"can be developed and enhanced through a nurturing environment† (The Suzuki Method 2005), the Suzuki Method lays emphasis on other intervening factors that may affect how young students learn music or instrument playing. These factors include starting lessons at an early age; recognizing just how important listening to music is; getting a first-hand grasp in learning how to play an instrument even before learning how to read; parental participation; well-trained teachers who instill quality teaching standard; realizing the importance of communicating and socially interacting with other children (The Suzuki Method 2005). Gardner also cited the method of imparting learning in traditional African bush society, wherein â€Å"the youngsters are divided into groups according to ages and aptitudes and receive instruction in the assorted lore of native life†¦particular stress on the historical background of the population as a means of stimulating group consciousness† (Gardner 2004: 343) is made. Gardner made the distinction of such ritualistic methods from more scientific ways of obtaining knowledge. â€Å"With formal schools, we behold a transition from tacit knowledge to explicit forms of knowledge† (Gardner 2004: 345). Such sensitivity to spoken knowledge displayed by native communities, when melded with modern methods of learning and technical requirements, may comprise what Gardner refers to as linguistic intelligence. When kids hailing from their native communities are absorbed in mainstream society, they are accorded the chance to fully develop this linguistic intelligence. Such language development also reflects or applies Vygotsky’s socio-cultural theory, which highlights the important role of language and social context in children’s cognitive processes. Language, in the case of African communities with an oral tradition of teaching kids, is used primarily to retain key concepts in the minds/memory of the youngsters. In such scenarios, children obtain greater understanding of their roots, including their ancestors, traditions, and culture as a whole, and piece together a logical picture in their minds by internalizing the various words and concepts articulated by knowledgeable elders. Vygotsky’s socio-cultural theory likewise finds itself applied in contemporary society. As an alternative to the Piagetian concept as well as to the behaviorist schools of thought which had theorists like B. F. Skinner postulating that mental processes or learning occurred as a consequence of the individual’s response to, or interaction with, the environment†¦ and with reinforcement and punishment playing a crucial part in molding behavior (Child development theories, n. d. ), Vygotsky’s socio-cultural theory articulated that learning is more of â€Å"a shared/joint process in a responsive social context† (Psychology applied, n. . ). Vygotsky debunked the view that learning depends or follows a child’s stage of development or maturation. Vygotsky veered away from the â€Å"biologically-based understanding of human behavior† or from the rewards and punishment concept set forth by behaviorists as main determinants of children’s thinking & behavior. Instead, he placed emphasis on the impact of social/cultural forces on human c ognitive processes and activity. He discovered the connecting links between socio-cultural processes taking place in society, and mental processes taking place in the individual† (Psychology applied, n. d. ). A modern example that applies in part Vgotsky’s learning theory of having a knowledgeable adult supervise the learning process and B. F. Skinner’s behaviorist approach is a structured skills-based tutoring service that offers individualized instruction to slow or advanced learners wishing to strengthen their foundation in key subjects like math, reading, and writing. Tutoring Club, one such company, has in its employ well-schooled and well-trained tutors who guide enrolled students who need to obtain better understanding of concepts in certain academic areas. The students work on modules of exercises designed to sharpen their cognitive skills, and every time they meet the desired output, an incentive (reward) comes in the form of a merchandise that they may get from a mini store inside the learning center, traded for chips which students accumulate for each module they complete. Another case in point is a modern-day Mathematics teacher who is instilling basic concepts to her students. An investigative research that zeroed in on a teacher who adopted the Vygotskian socio-cultural perspective in teaching Mathematics to her students showed how helpful it can be to encourage students to share their thoughts, ideas and assumptions with their peers under the teacher’s knowledgeable guidance and prodding. As the teacher opined, â€Å"Sharing clarifies their thinking. It lets them verbalize. nstead of just having it in their minds†¦ students become aware of how they think so that when they verbalized their thinking processes, she (the teacher) could help them with any difficulties they had† (Steele 2001). Based on the Vygotskian theory, language and communication – whether in remote rural communities or the contemporary setting, utilizes language and communication as essential tools to stimulate children’s cognitive development. The approach, of course, will vary depending on the physical state of each child. A different approach is taken for children with defects or physical impairment. Vygotsky may also be credited with tailorfitting the teaching method to the particular needs — as well as dysfunctions – of children. â€Å"Within his general theory of child development, (Vygotsky) created a comprehensive and practice-oriented paradigm of educating children with special needs (and) introduced the notion of `primary’ defects, `secondary’ defects, and their interactions in the field of psychopathology and different disabilities† (Psychology Applied, n. . ). Vygotsky believed that because cognitive development is hinged largely on stimulation of the senses, the physically and mentally impaired child is inhibited from obtaining knowledge at a generally accepted rate. More than the physical handicap of the special child, though, it is the â€Å"social consequences† (Psychology Applied, n. d) arising from that child’s impairment which must be gi ven focus. Cognitive developmental theories may be applied beyond the classroom, or in many other areas of children’s learning and lives. Various other factors that come into play which influence cognitive processes, like interactive media, also cannot be discounted. The condition of the child is likewise important in determining the right approach to inculcate learning. In any case, early cognitive developmental interventions, finetuned by succeeding theorists, serve not just to enhance academic outcomes but help shape the well-rounded personalities of today’s kids. Nowadays, the sound body of knowledge aimed at the workings of children’s mind continues to evolve and grow. In the end, it is up to parents, schools and other learning institutes, to determine which ones are truly suitable and will contribute in a healthy manner to the development of children’s cognitive skills. It can be seen that the pioneering works of such psychologists as Jean Piaget – who emphasized biologically-based or natural development of children’s cognitive skills — certainly provided good foundation or strong footing for succeeding child development theories to come out with improved concepts. Given the numerous cognitive development theories set forth and utilized for classroom teaching and/or child care, and the distinct differences and similarities in the main points of contention of the theorists laid out for people to grasp, which have undergone further study and enhancements and complemented by other theories throughout the years, parents and educators have been able to devise new and improved methods of enhancing children’s cognitive skills and potential.

Computer Ethic and Privacy

Computers and the world of information technology are advancing quickly in this generation. Moor in his 1985 article â€Å"What is Computer Ethics? † stated that, â€Å"Computers provide us with new capabilities and these in turn give us new choices for action†. Hence, arguments about privacy and ethics in computer technology arise. With the birth on computers there â€Å"was concern right away that computers would be used inappropriately to the detriment of society†(Herold, 2006). I believe that the good is outweighing the bad when it comes to computers.I also believe there is a degree of user Alana Northrop states in her paper that, â€Å"Computerized search systems have been one of the most widely deployed management science technologies in the fight against crime†(1993). Police officers use computers in their cars now. The computers gives them access to information on citizens and also has the ability to give them directions to where they want to go. E verybody benefits from the use of GPS. At some point everyone has used Google Maps and perhaps even Google Street View to find an address.But is Street View seen as an invasion of privacy? Or is it just another stride in computer and information advancement? I believe the way people use computers and information play a big role in the social benefits. People and corporations alike use computers and information as a tool for more information or for leverage. What users do not often understand is that â€Å"they also have a responsibility to consider the ramifications of their actions and to behave accordingly†(Herold, 2006).Software piracy and plagiarism are examples of what happens when computer users decide to ignore ethics and use the computer and information for their own personal gains and/or pleasure. Hackers believe that it’s acceptable to do anything with a computer as long as the purpose is to learn. This utilitarian way of thinking, that anything is ok as long as it is for the greater good (Beauchamp, Bowie, Arnold, 2009), contributes to harming the social good. Hacking, piracy, plagiarism; these are the things happen because of how a person decided to use information.The information in and of itself is not harming the social good. That being said; the benefits of computers and the information they gather and store will always outweigh the harming of the social good. If you look at how far mankind has come with the help of computers and information technology, you will find evidence of this. Hospital records and now easier to access and store. Credit reports no longer takes weeks to obtain. We could go on and on with examples of how computers benefit society. I’m not sure that there is a way to effectively embrace computers while preventing the harm of the social good.With good things come the bad. We just need to accept that. Laws and regulations are in place to help minimize damage to the social good but even those have their li mits. It really leans heavily on the moral character of the people that live in today’s world. Yes, without computers we wouldn’t have these issues. But we do have them and they mostly make our lives easier and simpler and I would say the trade-off is fair. References: Beauchamp, T. L. , Bowie, N. , & Arnold, D. (2009). Ethical Theory and Business, (8th ed. ).Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall. Herold, R. (2006). Introduction to computer ethics. Retrieved from http://www. infosectoday. com/Articles/Intro_Computer_Ethics. htm Moor, J. (1985). What is computer ethics?. Metaphilosophy, 16(4), 266. Northrup, A. (1993). Police use of computers. Informally published manuscript, Center for Research on Information Technology and Organizations, University of California- Irvine, Irvine, California. , Available from Escholarship. org. (qt71x0h7hb)Retrieved from http://escholarship. org/uc/item/71x0h7hb

Analysis of Anselm’s Ontological Argument Essay

This premise does not state that God’s strengths as this argument is to prove his existence, not whether or not God is all-powerful, all-knowing and all-good. The second premise means this greatest possible being is either an imaginary being that one has thought of or, a being that we not only is not only thought of but also exists. The third premise and its sub premises states because existing in reality is greater than existing in thought, then the God we have thought of exists in reality or there must be a greater, or more perfect, being that does exist and that being is God. This leads to the conclusion, if you accept the premises then you accept the existence of the greatest being possible, God. This concept of God’s existence is also led with the idea that God is a necessary being, a being that is not dependent of something greater in order to exist. If God relied on another being, like how a children rely on parents to conceive them, then this being called God is not God because it would be imperfect. Therefore, there must be another to call God that meets all the requirements for perfection. One of the first popular objections was created by Gaunilo of Marmoutiers. The premise and conclusion to Gaunilo’s argument is identical to Anselm’s argument except with the replacement of the word â€Å"God† with â€Å"the Lost island† and the word â€Å"being† with â€Å"island†. As simple as that, though Gaunilo’s argument is completely absurd, Gaunilo’s reductio ad absurdum also proves to be as deductively valid as Anselm’s argument. However, this â€Å"Lost Island† could in no way exist. The absurdity and validity of â€Å"the lost island† quickly brought up questions as to how Anselm’s Argument cannot be absurd. Anselm’s argument was not proven invalid until Immanuel Kant, a german philosopher during the 18th century, proposed an objection that would be the decisive blow to the Ontological argument (Immanuel Kant. Wiki). Kant’s objection is how existence is not a predicate (Mike, screen 25). A predicate is used to describe something the subject (this being God in Anselm’s Argument) is doing. In Aselm’s Argument, Anselm premise rely on that being conceived and existing in reality is something that describes God. This rationality does not follow because to exist or conceive does not describe the subject, it only tells us whether it exist or not. Much like how fictional characters do not exist, describing cartoon for example would tell us details of what this cartoon looks like, what its habits are and common antics it goes through, but not whether it exists or not. The question of existence must fall in a separate argument that does not define the character. As there are Arguments to prove God, there are debatable arguments to disprove the God. The First version of â€Å"The Argument from Evil† goes as follow: 1. If God were to exist, then that being would be all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-good. 2. If an all-PKG existed, then there would be no evil. . There is evil. [Conclusion] Hence, there is no God (Sober, 109) The first premise is the definition of what God would be if he were to exist. That is a being that has the power to do anything, had knowledge of everything throughout the span of time and is in all ways good. The second premise is created with the first premise in mind. To expand on the second premise i t states, if God were all-powerful he could stop any form of evil from happening, if he is all knowing then he has knowledge of when evil will occur and if he is all-good then God would stop all evil from happening. If god cannot stop all evil from happening then the definition of God must be incorrect. He then must not be powerful enough to stop all evil, and/or he doesn’t know when evil until it has already occurred and/or good is not all good in that God does not wish to stop all evils. The third premise is stating the fact that there is evil in the world. The conclusion derived since that there is evil, then is what may be defined as God must be lacking in one or two of his qualities and therefore God, by definition, does not exist at all. In order for God to be compatible with evil, God must only allow the evils that would, in turn, lead to a greater amount of good and must take the route that leads to the least amount of evil to gain the greatest amount of good. The soul building defense was created in mind that evil and God co-exist in our world. The defense is that without any evil in the world, our souls would not nurture, or, understand the concept of evil. This defense does not hold true because there has been many evils in the world that seem unacceptable, even though it may have been for the purpose of soul building. God, and all-good being, would then only allow the evils that are essential in soul-building. This would only mean that evil that man commits against man. The reason for this is because anything that happens in nature exceeds soul-building essentials. Another defense is God having given us free will, humans ultimately are the causes of this evil. That is true but the common objection to this is that human do more than enough evil to ourselves, it is going too far to have God throw tornados, volcanic eruptions, and hurricanes at us too. At what point do human have such control over nature. The last defense is that God simply works in mysterious ways. Who can explain why natural events take so many lives and injure many others or why some children have to go through great deals of suffering and live through it? It is God’s way and ultimately, no matter how incomprehensible the evil is, it is for the greater good. Certainly the question to God’s existence has been pondered upon by philosophers for over a very long period of time with no progress as whether God exists or not. The ontological argument created by Anselm withstood a great deal of criticism until it was disproved by Kant over 600 years after the fact.