Immanuel Kant S Moral Theory Essay

Although Kant’s moral theory makes many great points about fairness and equality, the negatives of the theory outweigh the positives. Kant’s moral theory would never be able to function in today’s society. His theory is based solely on always fulfilling your moral duty. Which would be impossible since once someone told a lie or showed emotion everything would fall apart. Due to the fact that everyone wouldn’t trust anyone anymore which wouldn’t end up well. Deontology is defined as the theory of duty. Kant’s moral theory can be categorized as a deontological theory, due to his belief that you have a moral duty to fulfill (Kant 114). Kant believes that all people have intrinsic or inherent value. Which in simple terms mean that we as human beings are held to a higher standard; to know what is right and wrong (Kant 114). Kant states that there are only two principles for an action to be morally right. First, you must have done the action out of the motivation of good will. Kant defines good will as â€Å"To act out of duty, out of a concern and respect for the moral law†(Kant 114). Good will plays a very important role on assessing the moral worth of an action. Kant explains that you can’t just have good will for an action but also you must do the right thing. So without good will you couldn’t determine any action morally right. The second principle is that the action must conform to moral law. If you follow these two Blezien 3 principles the outcome being good or bad is not your responsibility (Kant 113). Moral law is universal and is determined by categorical imperatives. The use of categorical imperatives plays a big role in Kant’s overall moral theory. The first categorical imperative formulation is â€Å" Act only on that maxim that you can will as a universal law† (Kant 116). This categorical imperative applies to everyone and focuses on your thought process before you act on something. You must ask yourself is what I’m about to do something I can approve of others doing on the regular? If you can’t approve of others committing the same act then your action wouldn’t pass the categorical imperative test. Kant’s second formulation is â€Å" Always treat humanity, whether in your own person or that of another, never simply as a means but always at the same time as an end† (Kant 117). The second categorical imperative applies to your individual self and everyone else. This imperative focuses on how you should always acknowledge everyone’s value and existence. There is never a time where you should use someone or let someone use you. My first time reading about Kant’s moral theory I thought there were only weaknesses. After I spent more time analyzing the theory, I found that there are both strengths and weaknesses. A strength that I found was how Kant really expressed that everyone is to be treated equally. Kant says that since all humans are rational beings that we are all capable of respecting others. This is a strength because with everyone using their moral obligation to treat each other equally things would be a lot easier. People would not only consider themselves before acting on something but they would have to make sure they are Blezien 3 considering the moral thing to do. If this idea of equality were universal and followed by everyone; there would be a lot less violence, depression, and racial tension. Which would leave everyone overall satisfied since everybody is following the moral law. A critical weakness I found in Kant’s moral theory is that he says there is a right and wrong for everything. This is a weakness because; there are many examples where using good will isn’t the best answer. For example when I read that Kant suggested that if a killer comes to your house; and asked where your friend is to kill him you must tell the truth. That seems a little extreme and I have to disagree that would be the best thing to do. Your emotions would sure be going crazy which already makes your answer morally wrong according to Kant. He needs to know where to draw the line and shouldn’t be only on one side. In this paper I have described the basic principles of Kant’s moral theory. I have learned that without having a good will you can never be morally right according to Kant. His categorical imperatives show a lot of fairness and equality, but when it comes down something simple like lying to someone who wants to kill your friend to save your friends life you’re not morally correct. Overall, Kant’s moral theory was very interesting to study how philosophers thought back then. I wonder what Kant would think if he knew how much we let our emotions affect our decisions.

Cases Research

* Masters v Cameron (1954) * Estate agent retained by Cameron drew up a sale note for the sale of Cameron’s property to Masters. * Cameron’s insistence included in the sale note a clause. * Agreement made subject to the preparation of a formal contract of sale, which shall be acceptable to solicitors on the above terms and conditions. * Both parties signed the sale note. * Masters paid a deposit. * Masters did not signed the contract prepared by Cameron’s solicitors as Master experienced difficulties arranging necessary finance and wished to withdraw the purchase. Cameron wished to proceed the sale. * The court have to decide whether the parties were contractually bound by the sale note(which has been signed by both of them) or whether they would only have formed a binding contract by Cameron’s solicitors(which could not apply, since Masters did not signed. * Souter v Shyamba Pty Ltd (2003) * Shyamba owned land at Merimbula, NSW on which it operated a hote l and motel. * 8 October 2001, Souter wrote to Shyamba enquiring whether the property was for sale and one Bennett, a director of Shyamba, telephoned Souter and told him that the price was $3 million. Negotiations at lower figures failed. * Fresh negotiations in March and April 2002 resulted a signed document by Souter and by Bennett and one Mirabito on behalf of Shyamba. * The document provided that â€Å"This sale will become unconditional upon the purchaser paying the amount of $1,000 into the vendor’s bank account. The purchaser agrees to pay a further $299,000 to the vendor’s solicitor upon exchange of contracts, not later than 16 June 2002 and the balance ($2,700,00) at settlement 1 July 2002. On 1 May 2002, Souter paid $1,000 unto the vendor’s bank account and Shyamba instructed its solicitors to prepare formal agreements. * On 31 May 2002, Bennett wrote to Souter, stating that the sale had â€Å"hit a hurdle in the form of a huge Gazzumpt†. * Ben nett Stated that he had been informed that the agreement of 1 May did not bind the purchaser and could not therefore bind Shyamba as vendor. * Souter sued for specific performance of the agreement dated 1 May 2002. The court held that the document dated 1 May 2002 did not constitute the binding contract and made an order for specific performance. * The judge held that the decisive issue is always the intention of the parties, which must be objectively ascertained from the terms of the document when read in the light of the surrounding circumstances. * If the terms of the document indicate that the parties intended to be bound immediately, effect must be given to that intention irrespective of the subject matter, magnitude or complexity of the transaction. * The judge itemised the reasons for his finding that the document had the effect of a contract. * Instrument 7020202154 v Ormlie Trading Pty Ltd * The court held that the parties had no intention of entering into a binding contrac t of sale despite reaching agreement on the essential terms. * In both the letter of offer and in the letter of acceptance of the offer the words â€Å"in principle† were used. * The word â€Å"in principle† used was indicated and unqualified acceptance by the offeree of the offer. Teviot Downs Estate Pty Ltd & Anor v MTAA Superannuation Fund (Flagstone Creek and Spring Mountain Park) Property Pty Ltd * Alleged agreement made on 29 August 2003 for the sale of land of Spring Mountain Estate, Beaudesert in Queensland for $11m. * Teviot sent a letter of offer to the defendant on 22 August 2003 and a response accepting the offer was sent on 29 August. * Deposit of $1. 1 million was paid. * 3 October 2003, the firstnamed plantiff wrote to the defendant saying that its due diligence enquiries had been satisfactorily completed and that the contract was unconditional. On the same day, defendant wrote to Tevoit saying that its Trustee did not approve of the sale. * The Supreme Court of Queensland has to decide whether the exchange of correspondence (the letter of offer of 22 August and the letter of acceptance of 29 August) constituted a legally enforceable agreement (as the defendant contended). * The court observed that the case suggest that there is no binding contract unless and until formal contact documents are signed and exchanged. * Tinn v Hoffman and CO (1873) Two offers, identical in terms, cross in the post, there will be no contract as neither can be construed as an acceptance of the other, even though there is a meeting of the minds. * Patterson v Dolman (1908) * The offer may be construed by the court as being accepted by a number of persons and the offeror will be bound to each and every person who accept. * The contract is only able to be performed with one party, the offeror may be liable in damages for breach of contract to the others who accepted the offer. Felthouse v Bindley (1862) * An uncle and his nephew had conversation about the possible sale of the nephew’s horse to the uncle, but there had been some confusion about the price. * The uncle subsequently wrote to nephew, offering to pay $30 and 15 shillings and saying, ‘If I hear no more about him, I consider the horse mine at that price. * The nephew was on the point of selling off some of his property in an auction. He did not reply the uncle’s letter, but did tell the auctioneer to keep the horse out of the sale. The auctioneer forgot to do this and the horse was sold. * The court felt that the nephew’s conduct in trying to keep the horse out of the sale did not necessarily imply that he intended to accept his uncle offer. * The nephew actually wrote afterwards to apologise for the mistake and so it was not clear that his silence in response to the offer was intend to sell but there are many situations in which it would be undesirable and confusing for silence to amount to acceptance.

Role of Human Capital in Economic Development

CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION a)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   BACKGROUND Kenya is one of the less Developed countries that are endowed with relatively good levels of resources and labor. However, there are still a lot to be done to tap those resources into viable productivity and industrialization levels. One way of achieving this is by maximizing the use of both physical and human capital. In or case we shall consider human capital. Human capital, according to Adam Smith refers to the acquired and useful abilities of all the inhabitants or members of the society. The acquisition of such talents by the maintenance of the acquirer, during his education, study or apprenticeship, always costs a real expense, which is a capital fixed and realized, as it were in his person. Those talents, as it makes a part of his fortune, so do they likewise to that of the society to which he belongs. The improved dexterity of a workman may be considered in the same light as the machine or instrument of trade which facilitates and bridges labor and which, though it costs a certain expense, repays that expense with a profit. Therefore, the greatest improvement in the productive power of labor and the greater part of the skill, dexterity and judgment with which it is anywhere directed or applied, seem to have been the effects of division of labor. Other types of capital being equally important, they can be provided with ease if the private sector and the government, through public expenditure can use the existing human capital to develop and widen the capital stock base, both in domestic production and production of industrial goods. Human capital is therefore a vital factor of production, seemingly the most prominent of all the other types of Capital. Owing to increasing population growth in Kenya, labor is not a hindrance to development. In fact, people export their workforce to the United States of America through the famous Green card lottery. There is more than this in economic development process. Explaining why less developed countries are poor, Robert L. Heil Broner, the author of the book, ‘The Economic Problem, 1970’, said that these are poor countries because they are traditional societies, that is, societies that have developed neither the mechanisms of command nor of the market by which they might launch into sustained process f economic growth. He stressed that as he examines the less Developed Countries he gets a feeling that he is encountering in the present the anachronistic counterparts of the static societies of antiquity. He considered agricultural and industrial capital not to be the only reason for low productivity and economic development. To him, an endemic cause of low par capita output and inc ome lies in the prevailing social attitudes that are vital determinant of human capital development. Typically, people of underdeveloped economy have not learned the economic attitudes that foster rapid industrialization. Instead of disciplined workers they are reluctant and untrained workers. Instead of product-minded businessmen, they are trading-oriented merchants. It’s therefore very necessary to inculcate human capital into the economy of less developed countries. b)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM What exactly is the role of human capital and other social variables in economic growth and development of an economy? In the traditional neoclassical growth models developed by Robert Solow and Trevor Swan in the 1950s, the output of an economy grows in response to larger inputs of capital and labor (all physical inputs). Non economic inputs such as human capital or human health variables have no function in these models. However, the endogenous growth models developed by Paul Romer (1980) broadened the concept of capital to include the human capital. The advent of endogenous growth models with human capital (providing externalities) is argued to have enhanced the understanding of the mysteries of rapid and long sustainable high growth performance of some developing countries. However, to establish the point whether healthy human capital was one of the important factors in explaining the economic development for east African countries including Kenya, it will be useful to analyze the actual data on these variables across the countries. This paper therefore seeks to determine if, indeed, human capital has been the factor that has caused a rise in economic growth and development in east Africa. c)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   RESEARCH QUESTIONS ?   What is the role of human capital in economic development in east African countries?    Is healthy human capital and other non economic inputs are part of the determinants of economic growth in east African countries? d)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY ?  To find out the role of human capital in economic development in east African countries. ?  To determine whether healthy human capital and other non economic inputs are part of the determinants of economic growth in east African countries. e)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY This study is seeking to establish the relationship between human capital and economic growth and development in east Africa. By so doing, we will be able to know with certainty whether human capital is actually one of the reasons for economic growth in east Africa, in which case the findings will be used to establish the right proportion of human capital needed to mix with other economic inputs so as to facilitate sustainable economic development in the region. It also gives an indication of the possible way to rate human capital against other inputs to the economic development of east African community. The findings of this study will help the implementation process of the east African development goals and objectives. This will be possible given the evidence of the role of human capital in economic development, as established in this study. Furthermore, this study will also shed light to east African states on whether to put much reliability on social amenities such as hospitals, schools and churches. If the study finds a positive relationship between human capital and economic development, then it is left with no much option but to improve on its social amenities and allocate more of its resources to the same. CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW In this chapter, we will first consider past theories regarding the field of the study. This is to appreciate the various aspects that are of significance in our study as has been developed in theories. In the traditional neoclassical models developed by Robert Solow and Trevor Swan in the 1950s, the output of an economy grows in response to larger inputs of capital and labor (all physical inputs). Non economic variables such as human capital or human health variables have o function in these models. Furthermore, the economy under such a model conforms to the law of diminishing returns to scale. With these assumptions, the neoclassical growth models afford some implications to the economy; particularly that as capital stock increases, growth of economy slows down, and in order to keep the economy growing it must capitalize from the infusions of technological progress. It is well known that this type of mechanism is the neoclassical model is neither inherent nor does it strive to explain much. In economic lexicon, this simply means that the technological progress is exogenous to the system. Yet the reality is quite contrary to that, especially in East African countries which kept over the years. This implies that it is not only technology which is the main driving force accountable for maintaining such high growth performance in the economies but there are other factors which are outside the realm of neoclassical growth model. Addressing the above issues, in the mid 1980’s, a new paradigm was developed in literature, mostly due to the Paul Romer (1986), which is now commonly known as Endogenous growth models. By broadening the concept of capital to include human capital, the new endogenous growth model argues that the law of diminishing returns to scale phenomenon may not be true as is the case for developing countries. In simple terms, what this means is that if the firm which invests in capital also employs educated and skilled workers who are also healthy , then not only will the labor be productive but it will also be able to use capital and technology more efficiently. This will lead to the so-called ‘hicks neutral’ shift in the production function and thus there can be an increasing rather than decreasing returns to investment. In other words, technology and human capital are both endogenous to the system. Indeed, the advent of endogenous growth models with human capital (improving externalities) have certainly enhanced the understanding of the mysteries of rapid and long sustainable high growth performance of east African economies. Julie Turcotte & Lori Whelwel Reninson also studied on technology and human capital. They examined the effects of education, training and technology use on productivity and wages at firm level. They made innovative use of statistics in Canada’s orkplace and employee survey, which allows the linking of characteristics of workers in a firm to firm performance measures. They found that productivity is higher; the intensively the technology is used in the firm, the greater the proportion of university educated workers, the greater the participation of workers in training programs the greater the proportion of workers who get computer training the greater the firm’s ex port orientation. A key finding with important policy implications is that computer skills training can augment the qualifications of low skilled workers and consequently boost firm productivity. From the theories, therefore, we can correctly postulate that human capital has a role to play in economic development of any nation, especially the developing ones like the east African countries; Kenya Uganda and Tanzania. CHAPTER THREE METHODOLOGY OF THE RESEARCH CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK The methodology of carrying out this research is ideally dependent on the various aspects of human aspects such as human health, education and training. In regard to health, we shall consider the mortality rates of the three countries under study. This study will then seek to show the relationship between mortality rates and the level of economic development in the three countries. In respect to education and training, this study will use the level of education and other skills acquired through training. It will then determine the relationship between education and training and economic development for each of the three countries under study. Finally, this study will establish the overall impact of the different trends in education, training and health on economic development of each of the three countries. If we find that there is a positive relationship, then we shall be able to conclude that human capital has a role to play in economic growth and development. On the other hand, if there is a negative relationship, then we dismiss the possibility of human capital playing a role in economic development. RESEARCH MODEL The research model to be developed in this study is that which considers economic growth given by output (y) as a function of both labor and capital, but puts much emphasis on human rather than physical capital. We shall first consider the cob Douglass function given by; Q=Af (L, K): where Q is the level of output, K is the level of capital, L is labor and A is technology. Now, if we assume that the amount of labor is sufficiently provided and that technology is constant, then capital will be the determinant factor in production. If we break down capital into fixed Physical capital and human capital we get; Q=Af (L,Kp,Kh): where Kp refers to physical capital and Kh refers to human capital. Therefore, output is directly related to human capital, and we have to prove this in our study by using relevant variables. DESCRIPTION AND MEASUREMENTS OF VARIABLES The variables to be used in this model will be the two major determinants of human capital. In order t explain the point whether healthy human capital is one of the important factors in explaining the economic development for east African countries, it will be useful to analyze the actual data on these variables across the countries. Although there are many variables that can represent human capital and healthy conditions of the people of a nation, to keep the analysis simple while, at the same time, capturing the basic broad thrust of these two variables, this paper will focus on total literacy rate and life expectancy at birth. Total literacy rate will give us an overview of what we expect as the overall level of education and skill development, while life expectancy at birth will determine the level of health among the citizens of a nation. This gives the overall level of human capital which we shall relate to the level of output, growth and economic development. Life expectancy at birth refers to a measure of overall quality of life in a country and summarizes the mortality at all ages. It can also be thought of as indicating the potential return on investment in human capital and is necessary for the calculation of various actuarial measures. This entry contains the average number of years to be lived by a group of people born in the same year, if mortality at each age remains constant in the future. Literacy rate on the other hand includes a definition of literacy and census bureau percentages for the total populations; males and females. There are no universal definitions and standards of literacy. Unless otherwise stated, all rates are based on the most common definition – the ability to read and write at a specified age. Information on literacy, while not a perfect measure of educational results, is probably the most easily available and valid for international comparisons. Low levels of literacy and education in general can impede the economic development of a country in the current rapidly changing, technology-driven world. SOURCES AND TYPES OF DATA The sources of data in our study are basically the internet, lecture notes, library books and journals and magazines. We shall use available data relating to the life expectancy rates and literacy rates from the internet, government documentaries and articles. We shall also use lecture notes and library books to get the theories of scholars and adopt them in our study. The types of data will be of secondary nature. It will involve data of theories, findings by other individuals or groups, established models and empirical studies. It will also include government documentaries and public opinions as established in secondary data. DATA ANALYSIS In analyzing the data, we shall first quantify the value of each variable using the appropriate society preference schedule. We then tabulate the results, establish the graphs, evaluate the results, interpret and draw conclusions. In summary, the data analysis will involve a systematic process of putting the variables into quantifiable statistics, evaluating them, interpreting and making conclusions. This will include the use of both geometric and mathematical analysis. SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY This study will be carried out within Kenyatta university premises in a period not less than three months and not more than four. It will include visits to the library, use of Kenyatta university computers, discussions with Kenyatta university students especially from the school of economics and also consulting lecture notes, perhaps in the study room or in the hostels. There are some limitations to this study just like any other kind of study. First is the intermittent network failure in the school computers. There is also the problem of inadequate books in the library and the school policy not to allow undergraduate students to access research materials from the Africana section of the library. Worse still, is the problem of shallow coverage of the syllabus content by lecturers and the students’ tendency not to cooperate in discussions. CHAPTER FOUR INTRODUCTION The world today is very different from the one which experienced the two world wars. During the second half of the Twentieth century, considerable advancements in science and Technology, along with the establishment of broadly-based Governments and strengthening of institutions, have led to significant Socio-economic progress and improvement in the lives of a large number of people in many countries. However, there are still many others among us who are lagging behind. The current reality in the East African region is the existence of significant differences in the state of economic development among countries. For instance, when GNP per capita income is taken as an indicator of economic development (see figure 1. 1), the figures for Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. Fig 1. 1 1999 | KENYA 1600 | UGANDA 1060 | TANZANIA 550 | 2000 | 1500 | 1100 | 710 | 2001 | 1000 | 1200 | 610 | 2002 | 1020 | 1260 | 630 | 003 | 1000 | 1400 | 600 | 2004 | 1100 | 1500 | 700 | 2005 | 1100 | 1800 | 700 | 2006 | 1200 | 1900 | 800 | 2007 | 1700 | 1000 | 1300 | 2008 | 1600 | 1300 | 1300 | 2009 | 1600 | 1200 | 1400 | 2010 | 1600 | 1300 | 1400 | Given the vastly divergent economic development among the three countries, it would be a common myth to presume that the discrepancy in development is somehow inherited by the respective groups of countries. Contrary to this general perception, it is quite an enigma to note that, this had not been the case in the past. In fact, figure 1. 1 distinctly shows that economic development measured in terms of GNP per capita in the early 2000 for these countries except Kenya was quite similar and comparable to the extent that they were below 1200 USD mark. In light of the above, the pertinent question is: what factors led to this exceptional economic development for some countries (i. e. , East African developing countries) in the last three decades? Obviously, the factors could be numerous, ranging from social to cultural, from economic policies to institution development, geographic location to opportune time. In this paper, however, rather than focusing on all these factors together, which of course is beyond the scope of this study, only the socio-economic factors, particularly the human capital dimensions, are briefly investigated across the group of countries to establish the possible role and linkage of human capital with economic development. HUMAN CAPITAL AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT In inspecting the total literacy rate data for various East African countries in figure 1. 2, it is intriguing to note that even in the 1990s when most of these countries were at similar stages of economic development, Kenya was far ahead of both Uganda and Tanzania. In fact, the total literacy rates for Kenya in 1995 was as high as 78. 1 per cent, 67. 8 per cent for Tanzania and even Uganda had a rate of over 61. 8 per cent. After three decades, while Kenya and Tanzania have somewhat ameliorated their human capital, the total literacy rates are still far below 70 per cent in the case of Uganda as shown in figure 1. . During the same period, however, Kenya and Tanzania have more or less achieved the formidable task of educating most of their people. As a result, in the late 2003, the total literacy rate of the Republic of Kenya has reached 85. 1 per cent and Tanzania managed to achieve a rate of about 78. 2 per cent. Fig 1. 2 | KENYA | UGANDA | TANZANIA | 1995 | 78. 1 | 61. 8 | 67. 8 | 2000 | | 62. 7 | | 2002 | | 66. 8 | 69. 4 | 2003 | 85. 1 | 69. 9 | 78. 2 | Analyzing the health variable measured in terms of life expectancy at birth across the three groups of countries in the East African region, like the literacy rate, again a similar sort of pattern is evident among these countries. For instance, in 2000, all East African countries had a Life expectancy at birth below 50 years except Tanzania with Uganda having a figure of even much less than 45 years as shown in figure I. 3. On the other hand, during the same period, Tanzania had a life expectancy at birth well over 50 per cent with the Republic of Kenya having a figure almost 50 years (47. 98 years). In 2011, although East African countries enhanced their life expectancy to a level of over 50 years, Tanzania and Uganda, in this context, is far more stagnant, as shown in figure 1. 3. In the case of Kenya, the life expectancy rate is now in the order of over 55 years. Fig 1. 3 | KENYA | UGANDA | TANZANIA | 2000 | 47. 98 | 42. 93 | 52. 26 | 2001 | 47. 49 | 43. 37 | 51. 98 | 2002 | 47. 02 | 43. 81 | 51. 7 | 2003 | 45. 22 | 44. 88 | 44. 56 | 2004 | 44. 94 | 45. 28 | 44. 39 | 2005 | 47. 99 | 51. 59 | 45. 24 | 2006 | 48. 3 | 52. 67 | 45. 64 | 2007 | 55. 31 | 51. 75 | 50. 71 | 2008 | 56. 64 | 52. 34 | 51. 45 | 2009 | 57. 86 | 52. 72 | 52. 01 | 2010 | 58. 82 | 52. 98 | 52. 49 | 2011 | 59. 48 | 53. 24 | 52. 85 | What can one infer from the discussions so far? First of all, the empirical data overwhelmingly incarnate that, in the past decade, the three East African countries considered in this paper started with a similar state of economic development but now, in 2011, there is a marked dif ference among them on account of their per capita incomes. Kenya is now well beyond the reach of Uganda and Tanzania in 2011 in terms of economic development. Tanzania, on the other hand, is overtaking Uganda as depicted by the economic growth in terms of GDP per capita in 2011 in fig. 1. 2. Secondly, although in terms of per capita income all these countries were quite comparable in the early 2000, nevertheless, in the context of human capital and health sector development, there were huge differences among them; Kenya and Tanzania were, by far, ahead of Uganda. In the 1990s, most Kenya’s population were literate while Uganda and Tanzania still had a long way to go. Thirdly, based on the facts presented earlier, it is evident that the onslaught of East Africa developing countries’ rapid economic progress in the 1990s occurred along with their reasonably well developed and healthy human capital endowment which started to take momentum in the 1960s or even earlier. It is the view of the author that, for human capital to spawn a perceptible impact on economic development, a nation needs to have a minimum captious mass of at least 70 per cent or more literate population. What this means is that if an overwhelmingly large number of people in a country are literate, even with simple basic education as being able to read newspapers, this may open up the minds of the masses, possibly make them more enlightened workers and perhaps institute some element of discipline in them. These are, of course, some of the essential prerequisites for a large organized production to run efficiently and for leading to rapid growth. Through mass literacy, better prepared healthy workers and conducive investment friendly government policies, Kenya and Tanzania seem to have been able to furnish those essential elements of rapid growth at the very early stages of their development. And, therefore, at the dawn of globalization in the early 1980s, Kenya and Tanzania were befittingly prepared to attract large sums of foreign investments thus accomplishing rapid economic progress. On the other hand, during the same period, unfortunately Uganda was neither primed in terms of human capital endowments t large nor were its government investment policies responsive enough to allure foreign investors in sizeable quantities to trigger rapid economic growth. Thus, in a mere two decades, Uganda lagged far behind Tanzania and Kenya to the extent that any catching up in the near future by the former country to the level of the latter countries would be a very challenging onus. As shown by the GDPs per capita, Kenya still maintain s its High level of 1600 USD as it was in 1999 and Tanzania has rose fast to 1400 USD from 550 USD of 1999. On the other hand, Uganda seems to stagnate around 1300 USD. These results are due to the well developed human capital base depicted by literacy rates and life expectancies of Kenya and Tanzania in figures 1. 3 and 1. 4 respectively. What led to the divergence in human capital among nations? As demonstrated above, a well developed human capital base of a nation played an important role in economic development and, on this count, Kenya and Tanzania were far ahead of Uganda even at the early stages of economic development. A germane public policy question, in this context, is how Kenya and Tanzania managed to delude such a well developed human capital base as compared to Uganda even when the per capita incomes for all these countries were rather similar as shown earlier. In other words, for all practical purposes, in the 1990s, all these groups of nations could be contemplated as equally rich or equally poor, yet in terms of human capital development they were distant apart from each other. What led to this significant divergence in the human capital development among these groups of countries? This study argues that it is the direction of a nation’s priorities and commitments measured in terms of actual resources devoted towards the education sector that led to such differences in human capital among the groups of countries. Since independence and now in the new millennium, however, the disparities in per capita expenditure on both education and health between the three countries are staggering. For instance, data from CIA world fact book shows that the Kenya’s government spending on education as a percentage of GDP in 2006 was 7%. Uganda’s spending on education as a percentage of GDP was 3. 2% in 2009 while that of Tanzania in 2008 was 6. 8%. The world fact book’s data government’s spending on health in the last decade also shows that Kenya spends more as a percentage of GDP as compared to Tanzania and Uganda. Kenya’s spending was 12. 2%, Uganda’s spending was 8. % while that of Tanzania was 5. 1%. These data show that Kenya spends more of its GDP on health and education than any other east African country. Therefore, it is correct to say that a country which is committed to providing education and good health to its citizens is able to make use of its human development in an economically productive manner, hence raising its GDP per capita and its economic growth and development. CHAPTER FIVE GESTATION PERIOD FOR HUMAN CAPITAL INVES TMENT Given the acceptation of human capital investments towards Economic development, a pertinent question is whether the time taken or the gestation period of such investments to proliferate intended Impact in terms of literate skilled workers is comparable to that of physical infrastructure investments such as roads, highways and hydroelectric dams. It needs to be underscored that, while the physical infrastructure investments may ordinarily take a long time to be completed, however, the impact period for human capital investments could be even longer if it is to forge results. Not only that, while it may even be possible to abbreviate the gestation period of physical infrastructure investment by apportioning more resources through borrowing or foreign aid, the same cannot be said for human capital. Notwithstanding of the size and pace of human capital investments, it will necessitate a fixed number of years (say five years for a primary high school or eight years for secondary education) to shape a generation of educated and skilled labor force. Another important distinction between physical infrastructure and human capital investments is that the former type of investment customarily requires one-time capital expenditures while the latter category enjoins investments on an interminable basis. For instance, once a hydroelectric dam project is completed, it is expected to generate electricity for a long time without entailing future heavy capital expenses. On the other hand, to mould a generation of educated workers will entail investments in human capital on an incessant basis. Thus, the return of the social sector investment is a long term continuous proposition and, therefore, its affiliation with economic growth and development should be delved and analyzed within a framework which has a longer perspective. This proposition is also empirically substantiated by the author for Pakistan in two other earlier studies (Pasha, Hassan et al, 1996a, and 1996b). Based on a large, over 200 equations dynamic econometric model of Pakistan, the findings of these studies insinuated that a shift in the investment priority to social development (i. . , education sector) would entail enduring positive impact on economic growth but with long lags of about eight years. The results of the studies further suggested that, in the short to medium term, the impact of human capital investment on economic growth for the country may not be noticeable; however, after the critical time period of eight years the economic growth for the country will be substantial and long-lasting. CONC LUSION How relevant is this study to public policy? First of all, the study empirically found out that in the past decade, among other things, the east African nations broad based healthy human capital (such Kenya and Tanzania) grew faster than the ones with less human capital investment (such as Uganda), where the elements of human health were missing. Thus, the empirical results in this study corroborated the premise that there is an important link between healthy human capital and rapid economic development of any country. This link can be illustrated mathematically by deriving the cob Douglas function and modifying it to include the aspect of human capital. In this sense, we take a country’s GDP represented by its output Q as a function of labor, human capital and physical capital. The function is represented by the linear equation; Q=Af (L,Kp,Kh): where Kp refers to physical capital and Kh refers to human capital. Therefore, output is directly related to human capital, just as the results of our study have shown. Secondly, the study also found that, under similar economic Predicaments with comparable per capita, Kenya and Tanzania were investing far more in human capital and health sectors on a per capita basis than Uganda. This result substantiated the point that it is the commitment and priority of a nation rather than other economic factors alone that led to more economic growth and development in Kenya and Tanzania as compared to Uganda. Even when they were all equally endowed with resources, and in fact Uganda was doing better in earlier years than Tanzania in terms of GDP per capita, but is now lagging behind. Thirdly, it is important to acknowledge the fact that there is a distinction between investments in human capital versus physical capital. The finding of the study, in this context, upholds the view that, while it is possible to cut down the gestation period of physical infrastructure the same outcome, however, may not be possible for human capital investment. Unlike physical infrastructure investment, human capital development investment is a long term as well as continuous proposition. Commitment and public policy are very simple and unpretentious. In the 1990s, most countries in the east Africa were remarkably analogous in terms of their economic development. However, at the dawn of the new millennium, although Kenya and Tanzania have made some economic progress, these countries are still attributed to their earlier copious investments made in human capital. What policy options and choices are available to the Uganda under the prevailing circumstances to improve economic development and to catch up with the other east African countries? It is the view of the author that it will have to adopt similar policy options that Kenya and Tanzania did in the 1960s – that is, to deeply commit and heavily invest in human capital development. This study has shown that there is no shortcut procurable in terms of educating the masses of a nation and in the event these countries demonstrate any laxity in building up a broad human capital base sooner than later. This is likely to be a recipe of postponing the impending quagmire to a future date. REFERENCES Hafiz Pasha, M. Aynul Hasan, Aisha Ghaus and M. Ajaz Rasheed, Pakistan†, Pakistan Development Review – 579. , 1996b. â€Å"An integrated planning model and expenditure on social development: the case of Pakistan,† 2) Romer, Paul, 1986. Increasing returns and long-term capital†, Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 94, pp. 1002-1020. Wishart, M. D. , Principles of Microeconomics, 4e, 2005. Stamford, Thomson publishing. Robert, L. H. , The Economic Problem, 2e, 1970. New Jersey, Englewood. http//:www. ciafactbook. com http//:www. gisdevelopment. net Republic of Kenya (1965). African Socialism and its Application to Planning in Kenya, Nairobi. Governmen t press. Todaro, M. P. , Latest edition, Introduction to Economics for a Developing World. Oxford. Chapter 24. Role of Human Capital in Economic Development Introduction Our research topic is to analyze the relationship between human capital and economic growth. Economic growths important determinant are physical capital, labor and human capital. But from the recent trend of world economic growth, we found that human capital is playing a key role by taking the place of material capital and labor. Human capital is intimately related to growth as it increases the nation's capacity to produce goods and services. It also creates more Job opportunities and lifts the living standards of a country through increase in income levels.Human apital deals with individuals who learn special skills and knowledge trough education at school, training and experience in the labor market (Barro et al, 2000). However, Economic growth refers to the increase in the amount of the goods and services produced by an economy over time Cones, 1996). As a result of their skills and education, productivity level would increase because educated workers would work at a faster pace than less educated workers Human capital refers to the knowledge and skills embodied in people.It is widely recognized that some types of human capital are obtained through experience or nteractions with others and with formal education. Human capital is intimately related to the economic growth. Masses believe that capital means a bank account, stock or factory plants in the industrial area. These are also a type of capital that they are assets that increase income and other useful outputs over long periods of time. But such tangible forms of capital are not the only type of capital.There is another very important type of capital known as human capital. It implies to Schooling, a computer training course, expenditures on medical care, and lectures on the virtues f punctuality, expertise and honesty. It is because these factors are also contributing to raise earnings, improve health, or over all increasing the economic growth rate. Therefore, economists regard spending o n training, medical care, education and so on as investments in human capital.They are called human capital because people cannot be separated from their knowledge, skills, health, or values in the way they can be separated from their financial and physical assets. The notion of human capital arose out of the awareness that physical capital alone was not enough to explain long term growth. Many social indicators such as educational enrolments and life expectancy became combined in a common term: human capital. Often, human capital is implicitly referred to as formal and informal education.Yet, it can also contain factors such as the costs of raising children, health costs, and ability. Significance Economic gr n depends on many tactors such as the quantity and quality ot education, how education can impact on fertility rate, government policies to sustain incentives for human capital, a reduction in the cost of technology adoption and increase expenditure on education. Education and other aspects of human capital is important to economic growth because more educated individuals tend to have higher employment rate and earnings and produce more output relative to those who are less educated.Education is considered as a positive investment that allows individuals to be equipped with knowledge and skills that can improve their employability and productive capacities that would lead to higher earnings in the future and hence, economic growth. Moreover, it has shown that it is not only the amount of formal education that matters, but also that the type of knowledge ossessed by labor in a region also plays a key role in determining the level of economic activity.There are various type of education having there own effect on the economic growth such as skilled based education primary education specialized education higher education and education to develop entrepreneur skills, the more the entrepreneurs are in a country, more the business will flourish in that country . As a result, the countrys economy will rapidly grow. The continuing growth in per capita incomes of many countries during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries is partly due to the expansion of scientific and echnical knowledge that raises the productivity of labor and other inputs in production.And the increasing reliance of industry on sophisticated knowledge greatly enhances the value of education, technical schooling, on-the-Job training, and other human capital. New technological advances clearly are of little value to countries that have very few skilled workers who know how to use them. Investment in human capital is long term as compare to the investment on physical capital. It is also a continuous process unlike investment on physical capital. But the outcome of human capital is much greater than other investment. In past decades the healthy human capital countries grew faster than the one where these factors were missing.Economic growth closely depends on the synergies between new knowledge and human capital, which is why large increases in education and training have accompanied major advances in technological knowledge in all countries that have achieved significant economic growth. The outstanding economic records of Japan, Taiwan, and other Asian economies in recent decades dramatically illustrate the importance of human capital to growth. We are going to support the positive orrelation of human capital and economic development by reference on some previous conducted researches.Maudos, Pastor and Serrano aimed to find the role of human capital in the productivity gains of OECD countries form 1965-1990. There research supports the correlation of human capital and economic growth. Their findings suggest a positive the link between human capital and economic development. They concluded that human capital not only is an additional input in the production formula but also is a catalyst for technical change. Thus, the estimation of a stochastic tran slog production unction shows a statistically significant product elasticity of human capital, and non- parametric techniques confirm its significance as input.Xu, Qi came to conclusion in the research conducted in 2008 that human capital is contributing towards Total factor production (TFP), which is contributes directly to economic development. They concluded that human capital had lower impact in technologically strong provinces compared technologically backward provinces. We have seen that human capital have an impact on the growth rate. But there is various composition of human capital. Various composition of human capital has different impact on the economic growth. Role of Human Capital in Economic Development Our research topic is to analyze the relationship between human capital and economic growth. Economic growths important determinant are physical capital, labor and human capital. But from the recent trend of world economic growth, we found that human capital is playing a key role by taking the place of material capital and labor. Human capital is intimately related to growth as it increases the nation’s capacity to produce goods and services. It also creates more job opportunities and lifts the living standards of a country through increase in income levels.Human capital deals with individuals who learn special skills and knowledge trough education at school, training and experience in the labor market (Barro et al, 2000). However, Economic growth refers to the increase in the amount of the goods and services produced by an economy over time (Jones, 1996). As a result of their skills and education, productivity level would increase because educated workers would work at a fast er pace than less educated workersHuman capital refers to the knowledge and skills embodied in people. It is widely recognized that some types of human capital are obtained through experience or interactions with others and with formal education. Human capital is intimately related to the economic growth. Masses believe that capital means a bank account, stock or factory plants in the industrial area. These are also a type of capital that they are assets that increase income and other useful outputs over long periods of time. But such tangible forms of capital are not the only type of capital.There is another very important type of capital known as human capital. It implies to Schooling, a computer training course, expenditures on medical care, and lectures on the virtues of punctuality, expertise and honesty. It is because these factors are also contributing to raise earnings, improve health, or over all increasing the economic growth rate. Therefore, economists regard spending on training, medical care, education and so on as investments in human capital. They are called human capital because people cannot be separated from their knowledge, skills, health, or values in the way they can be  separated from their financial and physical assets.The notion of human capital arose out of the awareness that physical capital alone was not enough to explain long term growth. Many social indicators such as educational enrolments and life expectancy became combined in a common term: human capital. Often, human capital is implicitly referred to as formal and informal education. Yet, it can also contain factors such as the costs of raising children, health costs, and ability.SignificanceEconomic growth depends on many factors such as the quantity and quality of education, how education can impact on fertility rate, government policies to sustain incentives for human capital, a reduction in the cost of technology adoption and increase expenditure on education. Education a nd other aspects of human capital is important to economic growth because more educated individuals tend to have higher employment rate and earnings and produce more output relative to those who are less educated.Education is considered as a positive investment that allows individuals to be equipped with knowledge and skills that can improve their employability and productive capacities that would lead to higher earnings in the future and hence, economic growth. Moreover, it has shown that it is not only the amount of formal education that matters, but also that the type of knowledge possessed by labor in a region also plays a key role in determining the level of economic activity.There are various type of education having there own effect on the economic growth such as skilled based education primary education specialized education higher education and education to develop entrepreneur skills, the more the entrepreneurs are in a country, more the business will flourish in that coun try. As a result, the country’s economy will rapidly grow.The continuing growth in per capita incomes of many countries during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries is partly due to the expansion of scientific and technical knowledge that raises the productivity of labor and other inputs in production. And the increasing reliance of industry on sophisticated knowledge greatly enhances the value of education, technical  schooling, on-the-job training, and other human capital.New technological advances clearly are of little value to countries that have very few skilled workers who know how to use them. Investment in human capital is long term as compare to the investment on physical capital. It is also a continuous process unlike investment on physical capital. But the outcome of human capital is much greater than other investment. In past decades the healthy human capital countries grew faster than the one where these factors were missing. Economic growth closely depends on the synergies between new knowledge and human capital, which is why large increases in education and training have accompanied major advances in technological knowledge in all countries that have achieved significant economic growth.The outstanding economic records of Japan, Taiwan, and other Asian economies in recent decades dramatically illustrate the importance of human capital to growth. We are going to support the positive correlation of human capital and economic development by reference on some previous conducted researches.Maudos, Pastor and Serrano aimed to find the role of human capital in the productivity gains of OECD countries form 1965-1990. There research supports the correlation of human capital and economic growth. Their findings suggest a positive the link between human capital and economic development. They concluded that human capital not only is an additional input in the production formula but also is a catalyst for technical change.Thus, the estimation of a s tochastic translog production function shows a statistically significant product elasticity of human capital, and non-parametric techniques confirm its significance as input. Xu, Lai, and Qi came to conclusion in the research conducted in 2008 that human capital is contributing towards Total factor production (TFP), which is contributes directly to economic development. They concluded that human capital had lower impact in technologically strong provinces compared technologically backward provinces.We have seen that human capital have an impact on the growth rate. But there is various composition of human capital. Various composition of human capital has different impact on the economic growth. There can be different composition of human capital agriculture human capital (AGR); high-tech  human capital (TECH); business and service human capital (SERVICE); the humanities human capital (HUMAN); and health and welfare human capital (HEALTH). These divisions are done by Chun-li Tsai, Ming-Cheng Hung, and Kevin Harriott in their research conducted in 2010. They concluded that, secondary education is a large contributor to economic growth in developing countries than it is in developed countries.However, they find tertiary education also plays an important role in economic growth equally for both developing and developed countries. The findings also indicate high-tech human capital is positively correlated with economic growth. It indicates that a country should promote greater enrolment in high-tech fields of study, that is, the percentage of tertiary graduates in science, engineering, mathematics and computer science is an important indicator of high-quality labor-force. It provides skilled and specialized labor to work with hi technology.Daren A. Conrad conducted a research on four Caribbean countries; he divided them in two groups according to the nature of the development. he concluded that countries with high development status in Caribbean which are Barbado s and Trinidad & Tobago. The human capital contribution in these countries is high towards economic development in all sectors. However, in less developed countries which includes (Guyana and Jamaica), the human capital contribution is low in tertiary sector because in these countries the human capital is not very much developed because of lack of resources on education compared o developed countries. In the end this research paper does give concrete reasons of dependency of economic development on human capital.Teixeira and Fortuna (2004) in their research paper made a conclusion that the main estimation results emphasize that human capital stock and internal innovation capability (internal stock of knowledge) are important in explaining Portuguese productivity during the period of study which is from 1960 to 2000.Nazneen ahmed and Joseph French had shed light on the casual relationship between growth rate and human capital in developing countries such as Bangladesh. Their studied the Bangladesh economic growth in relation with its human capital. Bangladesh, like other developing nations, depends upon  production processes that are largely labor intensive. according to Nazneen Ahmad and Joseph French, These results indicates that increases in human capital have a propensity to follow increases in per capita GDP and at the current state of the economy, emphasis on secondary and higher secondary education should be a priority for Bangladesh.Secondary and higher secondary education are imperative because of the labor-intensive nature of the Bangladeshi economy. Again this research gives importance to the composition of human capital and type of education imparted to the labor. Skills acquired from secondary and higher secondary levels of education are in utmost demand and as their results show, contribute considerably to economic growth in Bangladesh.Musila Jacob and Belassi Walid in their research emphasized on the fact that government expenditure on the huma n capital can be an important determinant to analyze this relationship of human capital and economic growth. Government expenditure on education would also have an impact on the economic growth. Moreover investment on growth can be represented as the investment on the human capital. As government will spend more on educating the human capital, more will be the skilled labor to positively contribute towards the economic growth of the country. Author investigated that the increase the government expenditure on the education would increase the economic growth. That the average education expenditure per worker positively correlates with the economic growth.LR test indicate that education expenditure in the model are weakly exogenous, suggesting therefore, that they drive economic growth. Government expenditure on education in the long term investment to increases the economic growth of the country. This research clearly proves the point that how human capital contributes to economic gro wth.Ruth Judson in 1998 tried to find answers to two questions. First, does investment in education help growth; second, does the allocation of investment in education matter? He came to conclusion that if allocation is the done in organized manner in different levels of education, then countries can gain more from human capital.He is trying to make a point that that human capital speeds up the economic development so it is  necessary that one develops them in best possible manner by allocating appropriate investment in different levels of education. He says that basic education is most important as it lays foundation for further education, so it can be concluded that, countries should emphasis greatly on basic education in order to gain maximum for human capital as human capital is catalyst for economic growth.â€Å"Education is empowerment. It is the key to establishing and reinforcing democracy, and development, which is both sustainable and humane. It is also the only avenue for a lasting peace founded upon the mutual respect and social justice. Indeed, in a world in which creativity and knowledge play an ever-greater role, the right education is nothing less than the right to participate in the modern world.†(UNESCO, 1998).Vladmir tries to prove this relation by using two models. He uses Lucas model and Nelson-Phelps approach. The Lucas model establishes that the driving force behind economic growth is the rate of accumulation of human capital. On the other hand, the Nelson–Phelps approach considers that high levels of human capital increase the capacity of individuals to innovate (by discovering new technology) or to adopt new technology. Thus, again it can be said that human capital is one of the major pillar of economic development.Abel J.R and Todd M.Gabe in their research prove empirically the dependence of economic growth on human capital. By using educational attainment as an indicator of human capital, it is found that a 1 percenta ge point increase in the proportion of residents with a college degree is associated with about a 2% increase in US metropolitan area GDP per capita.ConclusionThrough above discussion it can be clearly claimed that there is a positive relationship between human capital and economic development. They both are directly proportional to each other; weak human capital would slow down the economic growth. On the other hand, strong human capital would accelerate  the economic growth. Human capital is very important to nation’s development and it cannot be neglected.Neglect of human capital would negatively impact the economic growth. Furthermore, it can be said that it is important to invest on basic education as it lays foundation for other important skills and further education. Human capital is a resource on which countries build and it should be polished as economic growth is dependent on skilled human capital.

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Graphs, variables and methods of data collection - Essay Example They are divided into numerous pieces, which give clear comparison side by side (Freud 05). For clearer comparison, various graphs should be evenly spaced using the right scale and by observing accuracy when plotting the various points. This paper will examine four types of graphs including Line graphs, Bar Graphs, Pie Charts and Histograms, as presented in different news mediums. In the line graph that is examined, the variable used on the X-axis includes months and that on the Y-axis is revenue in million dollars. The data collection methods include questionnaires and sampling. This line graph shows that, despite the increase in market share, the income has not increased significantly. The other type of graph that is examined is Pie chart. The variables used here include occupancy in terms of revenue earned, which is shaded in green and un-occupied rooms represented by the un-shaded region. The data collection methods used includes sampling, questionnaires and surveys. The pie charts compare the occupancy rates between years 2007 to 2009 for Ritz-Carlton and All Marriott hotels. Further, the pie chart shows that Ritz-Carlton has more clients as shown by high occupancy rates compared as with All Marriott brands (Freud 25). Histogram is the third type of graph that is reviewed. The methods of data collection used include questionnaires, surveys, and sampling. The general conclusion is that the histogram compares the sale of light vehicles amongst General motor (GM), Ford, Chrysler, Toyota, Honda and other small manufactures of light vehicles. In addition, the graph shows that many light vehicles were sold by all the companies between 2006 and 2008 as compared to 2009 to 2010 (Jelen 25). The last graph that is examined is a bar graph. The variables used are fuel consumption in terms of liters, on the X-axis and percentage of sales made, on the Y-axis. Data collection methods include

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Sex, Nudity, Violence in Modern Era Music - Essay Example The musicians seethe with anger, remember they're frustrating lives before they had a breakthrough and so on. Despite their frustrating pasts which manifest themselves in their lyrics most of these bands have lived a commercial success through their bands and have entered the well-known world of fame and fortune. At the same time, the money and publicity brought with them sex scandals, drug addiction, and public disorder. Few postmodern bands have been prudent with their fame and fortune but the music world is full of sad tragedies like Kurt Cobain’s unfortunate suicide. In this vein, my research will explore to what extent are Rap and Grunge bands a victim of drug effects themselves other than the alleged promotion of a culture of sex nudity violence and culture.The methodology of my work pertains to a few anonymous interviews with representatives of two local bands which play successfully at a nearby club. Their phenomenal success and popularity inspired me to explore their perspectives on the postmodern era. The aim of this literature review is to discuss the issues and bands which will be discussed in the interviews in advance. The literature review was prepared after to interviews to become an aid to the understanding of the musician's concerns and perspectives. Post-modernism has cut off the present from all futures. The daily media add to this by cutting off the past. Which means that critical opinion is often orphaned in the present?† John Berger (English Painter, b.1926) This section addresses the definitional and historical premises behind postmodernism and its influence on modern music media. Visionaries like C. Wright Mills (1959) were looking ahead when they described the post-modern period as one where there would be a growth of the tertiary sector and the services industry would boom in the era of multinationals and a rise in capitalism.  

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Marx - Assignment Example Like Hegel, therefore, Marx dialectical materialism perceives human progress as an upward spiral process that begins with a single concept (the thesis), which always arouses its very opposite (an antithesis). The interaction of the two, Marx argues, creates some form of tension (synthesis); a kind of stage where the ideas presented in the above two scenarios are refined with the incorporation of elements from either side, resulting into a new concept [new thesis], which is literally more advanced than the original concept [thesis]. Simply stated, Marxist dialectics sees human progress as a conflict directed process, always in a state of constant development/motion, leading to superior levels of interactive mechanisms. An inverted form of Hegels dialectic, Marx explains that the key to changes witnessed in history is not in the operative mechanics of the human mind, but in the material life guided by the system of production; that the very ideas of the mind are but consciously shaped by the material life, for people must produce the necessities of life before engaging in anything else such as politics. In other words, the superstructure of human life rests on the economic relations within the society, and that capitalism, like any other economic system that has been in existence, is only but a transitional force towards a more superior economic system. Capitalist societies, according to Marx theory, have two major social classes: the propertied, which he describes as the Bourgeoisie – owning the means of production and the propertyless , which he describes as the proletariat—owning little or no property and working for wages. The two classes, Marx argues, are dependent upon each other in that while the former need the latter to provide their labor in the production of goods and services from which they derive their profits, the latter depend much on the on former for their income in order to survive. The relationship, is however, based upon

Historical relation between Islam, Christianity and Judaism Essay

Historical relation between Islam, Christianity and Judaism - Essay Example Religion helps to provide a driving force for every man’s existence on Earth – it is a belief of faith that people indulge in, in order to feel secure and protected in terms of their actions with relation to others around them. Islam, Christianity and Judaism are three of the world’s oldest religions, perhaps stemming and growing from each other initially as per historical evidences; however, today, the three have created a niche for themselves in the world with great followings of their own. It is said that Judaism was the backing that gave way to Christianity and Islam and that is why most of their teachings and beliefs are very much similar. The three religions share a stark relationship with each other in terms of their history with a connection between their messengers, texts and teachings. If checked properly, one can also notice the similarities between their rites and rituals, and how it is only different names and the use of different languages that sepa rates the three from each other. The commonality between the three is that each religion believes in its own God, and has put major emphasis on the higher supreme power that rules the faith. It is said that these Gods were the creators of heaven and hell, and of man’s existence on Earth, and that is why each religion has its own set of beliefs and laws for every man to dedicate his life to serving God.. Traditionally speaking, all three religions are bound by history because of their connection with Prophets like Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad. They each were the servants of their Gods, and came as messengers to people in order to reveal the truth about life that God imparted to them. Abraham gave his people the message provided to him by God, Moses provided the Israelis with the Ten Commandments, and Jesus was the harbinger of the teachings of God and Hebrew prophets. Finally, Muhammad is said to have combined the above messages of God and reject any kind of idolatry whi le simply establishing some required laws for the rest of humanity to follow. According to history, it is said that Judaism formed the roots of religion from which Islam and Christianity grew with the help of Messiahs. All three religions had their own Messiahs that delivered messages of truth and peace to the rest of their followers. While taking the literal meaning of the word ‘God’ into account, all three religions date back to their creations; The Hebrew word for God is ‘Elohim’ which in Arabic or Islam can be translated as, and means, ‘Allah’. Jews were said to come from Isaac, the son of Abraham, and the Arabs from Ishmael, another son of Abraham. According to this theory, all three religions were born out of the brainchild of a single God, despite having branched out into separate entities. Thus, all of mankind is a child of Abraham. On reading the holy books pertaining to each religion, i.e., the Holy Bible or the Qur’an, many hi storians as well as people specializing in theology have pointed out that the texts and readings of all religions contain the same teachings in different languages. The names of the Prophets are also strikingly similar, with a few changes in the pronunciation due to being spoken about and written in different languages and scripts. With respect to history, taken from a pragmatic point of view, there is only one God and his sons were the ones to have brought his message to the rest of mankind, and this was done by three different elements, thus leading to the creation of different religions. Judaism, Christianity and Islam, gradually developed into powerful tools used for the purpose of politics and monarchy in different countries, among different people. Preaching to the people became a widely known concept in the early centuries of the world, and more and more people began to take to power just in order to be able to gather mass following. This came as a threat to the identity and existence of the religions as the purpose of existence for

Human Resource Management Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Human Resource Management - Coursework Example The need is to understand how the both Competency-Based Pay and traditional Job-Based Pay methods are bringing in value for the sake of the organizations and the aspiring employees more than anyone else. The two methods look to be different but are doing more or less the same work, yet in varied capacities which is a point that needs to be comprehended in a proper way. The Competency-Based Pay and traditional Job-Based Pay are inherently different within their work ideologies and should always be treated as such. 2. There are no easy answers to the question of what causes people to act irresponsibly. For years psychologists assumed that some employees were simply more accident prone than others, and that accident-prone people generally caused more accidents. Explain how to reduce unsafe acts through Selection and Placement, and Employee Participation. Unsafe acts that could lead to accidents within the workplace realms can be avoided if employee selection measures are handled in a pr oper way. ... This would mean that they are working to their strengths and thus given the room to exploit their own basis. This is in the form of moving ahead with the changing times. Similarly, employee participation is significant because it warrants the proper role of the employees in a quantifiable way because the quality of the employees is manifested adequately. This is the reason why employees give in their best when they are chosen correctly and the organizations in this day and age reap the rewards incessantly. The element of accidents also reduces within the realms of the organizations and the employees start giving in their cent percent day in and day out. 3. List three factors leading to job stress and identify three suggestions for reducing job stress.   The three factors that lead to job stress include working beyond a certain time that is due, excess of work (both due and undue) and lastly doing work in a way that has not been asked of the individual under consideration. These thr ee factors touch upon the significant areas that lead to job stress within the organizations of today, and which lead to immense problems for the employees in essence (Minter, 1999). The there suggestions that could be given to reduce the job stress ailment is to make sure that the work is completed within the stipulated time so that there are no hangovers of the work realms in the future. Also work should be ascertained in such a manner that there is believability within its completion steps. More work means more job stress for the person who is undertaking such realms, and it is always good to estimate what kind of work he is entering into before actually going about committing the same. Also job stress could

Strategies and Business Models Essay Example for Free

Strategies and Business Models Essay The article which is associated with strategic business model is titled Portal Economics and Business Models. The article asserts that strategic business model is all about the nature in which a business works. Business model is normally used in the explanation of the modus operandi. The option will be used in the explanation of marketing, supply, finance, strategies and the operations of the business, which will work together to a cohesive success plan. The company will use this as a way of fitting into the market and continuing to thrive within the set standards of the region. The external and Internal Environment The article to be reviewed in relation to internal and external environment is titled Multimodality and Environment Semantics. The article indicates that the importance of having an internal and external business environment is to understand the nature in which things are running in the business from all directions. Internal business environment is all about understanding the factors within the organization, which interfere with the success and the approach of the operations. The external factors usually come into play when understanding the nature in which tings run outside the organization and sometimes one does not have control over them. The company can deal with this through managing the internal operations and understanding the threats and opportunities that are outside the operations of the business. Product Differentiation The article on Product differentiation titled Handbook of Industrial Organization indicates that an organization would have to deal with product differentiation through distinguishing the products that have the same capabilities in the market. The strategy is normally used to gain advantage of the market that is being dominated by large companies. References Wall Street Journal (Firm), Langdon, C. S., Bau, A. S. (January 01, 2007). Portal Economics and Business Models. New York, NY: Simon Schuster. Pg 5 Wall Street Journal (Firm), Pittarello, F., Cementano, A. (January 01, 2009). Multimodality and Environment Semantics. New York, NY: Simon Schuster. Pg 23 Wall Street Journal, Eaton, B. C., Lipsey, R. G. (n.d.). Product differentiation. Handbook of Industrial Organization, 1 / Edited by Richard Schmalensee and Robert D. Willig. Pg 3 Source document

Does Prison Work For Offenders?

Does Prison Work For Offenders? Introduction Prisons, most commonly known as correctional institutions, have been an integral part of Criminal Justice System along with Police and the Courts (Griffiths, 2007: 3). Even though prisons and sentencing varies from country to country, they all operate in same manner i.e. to sentence criminals and prevent further damage to the society. Offenders are usually sent to a prison when a legal penalty is imposed on them. Prison is considered to be as the last resort. In past few decades, prisons have been a controversial topic. Recent trends have shown disapproval of prison system by public (Griffiths, 2007: 64). There has been lots of debate on whether prisons are effective or whether they are ineffective in making criminals law-abiding citizens. This essay opens with a discourse of what prisons are in general, looks at analysis and evaluation made by scholars, criminologists, and sociologists on potency of prisons in Canada as well as provides insights into possible reforms to enhance pris ons effectiveness. According to Christianson (2002: 1168), A prison is any institution or device that holds a captive in custody. Prisons have been in existence since ancient times. They didnt serve as a form of punishment back then but rather were just used to hold individuals until they receive their punishment which included beheading, death penalty and public shaming. Crime and punishment are both public acts. Ancient punishments were cruel and harsh but today punishment is used as a form to make all offenders or criminals law-abiding citizens including prisoners. In modern prisons, criminals are deprived of their freedom and they must follow all the protocols, rules and regulations set by the correctional institutions. Jails and closed structures are also considered as part of prison but they just hold individuals for a day or two while they await their trail (ibid: 1168). Slavery was another form of imprisonment where a slave must abide by his/her master (ibid: 1168).International Prisoner Trade and Convict Transportation during seventeenth century which was selling criminals to America, Australia as slaves marked criticism, which leads to enlightenment along with American Revolution and finally put a stop on International Prisoner Trade in eighteenth century (ibid: 1169). Jails, what we call prison today, were first modern structure ever built in Colonial America (ibid: 1169) and early eighteenth century marked modern foundation of prisons. Contemporary institutions came into existence in nineteenth century. They first originated in United States of America (Goff, 2004: 278). Prisons hold convicted offenders who have been sanctioned to be there by the judges. In Canada, there are two levels of prisons Federal Level and Provincial/Territorial Level. People serving two years or less go to provincial or territorial prisons whereas inmates serving more then two years go to federal prisons (Griffiths, 2007: 294-297). Correctional System in various countries operates in same manner but the incarceration rate between all countries is very dissimilar. According to Statistics Canada (Internet), about 158,000 people were serving some sort of sentence in 2008 in Canada compared to other countries which is comparatively low. Canada holds 116 per 100,000 populations compared 702 of United States of America (Griffiths, 2007: 289). Compared to size of country and rate of incarceration, why is the prison population going up despite the best effort made to rehabilitate offenders? Does prison work? Is correctional system effective? Prisons have gone fundamental changes since they first came into existence. Punishment has become very essential for law thats broken. People are always given some sort of punishment if they break any law. There have been lots of issues with prison recently. Criminologists, Sociologists and various scholars have debated both on success and failures of prison. Lots of scholars argue that prisons doesnt rehabilitate offenders, it rather makes them bad. Other scholars argue that prisons are really effective and they are an essential component of criminal justice system along with society and helps in improving all those who have committed crimes. This paper is going to discuss which opinion is more valid and true. Canadian Correctional System Canadas prison system first originated in early 1800s. Kingston Penitentiary was first prison ever to open in Canada. Canadas prison has vastly grown since then. Today Canada has about 215 facilities all over Canada ranging from federal prisons to provincial/territorial prison (Goff, 2004: 259). Correctional System plays a significant role in keeping the community safe. There are three general models laid out the foundations of Canadian Correctional System: The Custodial Model, The Rehabilitation Model, and The Reintegration/Risk Reduction Model (ibid: 265-266). All the models emphasize on prisoners incarceration for purpose of deterrence, ideal treatment of all offenders and reintegration into the society. According to Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics Profile Series, there are few very common and general themes among the population in custody. Most of the prisoners are either black or aboriginal and are substance addict. Most of them are men and many of them suffer some sort o f psychological disablement (Griffiths, 2007: 292-293). People who have committed property offences, addicted to drug/alcohol, failed to pay a fine go to provincial/territorial prison whereas people convicted of serious offences such as murder go to federal prisons. There are various security levels of prison in Canada including maximum security, medium security and minimum security (Goff, 2004: 267). Factors such as severeness of offence, level of danger to society, prior criminal record, substance abuse, and psychological impairdness determines level of security and type of prison an offender is going to (Mathews, 2003). Regardless of best efforts made by Correctional institutions to reform the prisoners, there has been constant debate both in favour and effectiveness of prison. Next part of this paper will discuss arguments and counter-arguments regarding success of prisons. Prison Does Work Based on research done by many authors, scholars, criminologists, sociologists, various survey agencies, some evidence has been presented on success of prisons. They argue that prisons are effective. According to Goodman (2006), who was former diocesan director of education as well as former chair of Independent Monitoring Board, prisons are effective and help prisoners changing from criminals to law-abiding citizens. Public can play a big role in make their life better. Prisons offer very special courses such as anger management courses to rehabilitate them. Intensive courses are also offered to help prisoners overcoming their drug problems. According to the Economic Theory of Crime, developed by Becker, offenders are different and each of them offends due to different reasons. Theory has been tested in various countries and has indeed provided positive results. Punishment does exercise substantial influence on conduct. (Saunders et al, 2002-03: 4). Prison well wishers also argue th at the courses that are being provided to the inmates have changed their thinking from criminal side to a law-abiding citizen. These courses include educational and treatment programs, adult basic education, skills development program which helps in shaping their behaviour. Rehabilitation programs have been really effective as they focus on targeting specific problem areas. Rehabilitation programs include pro-criminal attitudes, problem solving deficit, creating educational and employment opportunities (Ore et al, 2003: 62). Prisons are effective as they rehabilitate prisoners along with deterrence. Also it has been suggested that police arrest rather than reported crime to police should be used in minimizing bias in comparative studies across countries regarding success of prisons (ibid: 62). In addition, what varies from country to country is which crimes are considered for incarceration. Saunders and Billante further defended this point by arguing that prisons deterrence effect d oes reduce crime. Co-relation between crimes rates and incarceration doesnt prelude success of prisons (Saunders et al, 2002-03: 8). For example, in Canada, criminal law is same throughout the country but dispensed differently on provincial levels. Charles Murray mentioned in his work that prisons do work and are effective. He used USA as an example and described how high incarceration rates in USA led to low crimes between 1980s and 1990s (ibid: 5). He further added that even if crime is low, incarceration must be kept high and prison can definitely put halt on crime, thats the main reason why crime rates in United Kingdom were up the roof. Dulilio further expanded Murrays point by saying that prison is an answer to question of how to deter crime (ibid: 5). Crimes in Australia and New Zealand have escalated because of an ease on imprisonment. The New Generation correctional facilities have been praiseworthy. They have dramatically reduced the escapes and violent acts in prison. The direct supervision model has also been considered really valuable. There are six different objectives attached to it along with seven behavioural dimensions that supervise the inmates in pods (Goff, 2004: 268-269). Other custody options or alternatives to imprisonment have had mixed reviews. No accurate numbers have been released whether they have been considered to be far more successful than incarceration, especially treatment approaches and community-based programs (Griffiths, 2007: 278-279). Restorative justices have high review rates. According to Goff (2004: 345), Restorative Justice refers to activities within the criminal justice system that are directed at repairing the injury to the victim and the community. Its one of the central features in Canadian criminal justice (Griffiths, 2007: 272). Believers of our system hold the fact that sanction must be proportionate to the crime. Its different from Utilitarian Goals and Retributive Goals (ibid: 237). Offender must realize what he/she has done and how he/she has disturbed society as whole and should apologize to the victim for his/her actions. One of the main goals of this type of sanction is to avoid the offender from going thorough the criminal justice process and then be sent to prison. Circumstances, intentions and motives of offender are always taken into consideration. This type is totally based on restitution. According to Zehr (1990) this process rebuilds relationships and restores peace. Prisons Dont Work Counter-argument for potency of prisons is failure of prisons, that is, prisons dont work. Criminologists have argued that a prison doesnt alter criminal behaviour and theres a very high likelihood that inmates will re-offend once they finish their term and leave prison. People have encountered brutality and unfairness in prisons. According to Frank, Beirie and Mackenzie (2010: 93) prisons dont alter criminal behaviour, but they rather often promote criminality. They are generally delegitimizing. Prisons are considered schools of crime. Emotions play crucial role in phase of incarceration. Some researchers have indicated that criminals dont cope well in prisons whereas critics have argued prisons do cope criminals (Frank et al, 2010: 93). According to research conducted by Hurd (2005: 26-27), prisons dont work at all. Increase in imprisonment doesnt reduce crime. He used England and Wales as an example. Number of prisoners increased from 44,000 to 60,000 from 1986 to 1997, but no red uction in crime was recorded. Offenders were being numbered up into jails but crime was still going up. Other scholars have argued the same thing. Sinead Hanks have argued the same point. The author used England and Wales as an example. In February 2008, there were about 82,000 people in prison, highest ever in the country. But crimes were still up as more than half of offenders were reoffending within two years after being released from prison (Hurd, 2005: 26-27). Many prisoners have indicated that they have learned more on how to commit crimes during their imprisonment. Hanks (2008: 95-96) argued that prison has been considered as dumping ground, that is, people who have mental health issues, drug addiction problems, are homeless and illiterate are offenders. The author also argued that since imprisonment rates have gone up, overcrowding is a big concern in prisons. This problem further leads to problem of less rehabilitation and higher reconviction rates. The cycle perpetuates it self. It was also discussed that its really expensive to keep the offenders in prison and more than half of the offenders are back within two years or so, thus putting extra burden on the budget (Hanks, 2008: 95-96). Penal Policy is an important weapon in fighting crime. Article written by Mathews (2003), former inmate, suggests that maximum security prison doesnt rehabilitate prisoners, it rather makes them worse. He further added that inmates spend twenty hours a day in their cell in total isolation and its hard for them to function properly in society after spending that amount of time in total isolation, without any human contact. Most prisoners have developed some sort of psychological illness and those who had it before, their situation is even worse. Prisoners are abused most of the time. Criminologists argue that this type of incarceration is inflicting punishment rather then rehabilitating those individuals. Individuals also face administrative separatism (Mathews, 2003: 41 ). This article has received a lot of attention from various scholars, researchers, criminologists, sociologists and more research is being done on maximum security aspect of prison. Some of them even say it that its totally inhumane and degrading. Roger Matthews, Professor at London South Bank University, mentioned that looking at recidivism figures, it certainly looks like that prison isnt totally effective. Instead of rehabilitating prisoners, it adds up to governments budget (Matthews, 2005). People learn more about crime in prisons. Studies have revealed that prison time can help offenders in enhancing their criminal skills, described as prisonization effect (Tremblay, 2009). Other research studies have revealed that incarceration is not meeting up the expectations. According Griffiths (2007: 279-280), incarceration is not an effectual restraint but being caught and punished is a deterrent. It has also been argued that people who have spent more time in prison feel more comfortable in prison rather then being out in community. Longer prisons are totally ineffective because sometimes low- risk offenders are exposed to high-risk offenders, and likelihood of learning other ways to commit crimes is very high. Further studies have revealed that even most offenders prefer probation over incarceration. Studies further revealed that prisons dont always carry out through its provisions and some of them have even failed to meet their performance targets (The Economist, 2003). There are bunch of other challenges faced by prisons. Prison Violence is still prevalent. It can be between inmates or between inmates and staff members (Goff, 2004: 275). No body knows what happens inside the walls but official data disclosed that prison violence has gone up since 1989-90. Prison suicide is another challenge faced by correction facilities. No particular details are available why prisoners commit suicide but it has been said that mostly white males commit suicide in prison (ibid: 275-276). Rising cost of prisons is viewed as another trend in institutional corrections (Griffiths, 2007: 323). As per the statistics, in 2003-04, average cost of inmate housing was approximately $ 87,000 in federal prisons, and approximately $ 51,000 for provincial/territorial prisons. This further raises question on effectiveness and rehabilitation of prisoners (ibid: 324). Overcrowding is another issue and has been considered as a leading cause of violence. In federal prisons, about 25 p ercent of inmates share their room with another inmate (ibid: 324). Over-representation of black and aboriginal people has definitely raised concerns. It has been said that criminal justice system is biased against them and systematic discrimination against aboriginals prevails (ibid: 292-293). Comparison/Conclusion Effectiveness of prisons is a hot debate topic but its not easy to say whether prisons are effective or not. Studies have definitely revealed that high incarceration have lead to low crimes in countries like Australia, England, New Zealand and United states but at the same time critics have argued that high incarceration rate have inflicted upon high crime rates in England and United States. It has also been argued that abuse of power by prison staff is degrading and inhumane and makes them even less collectible, that is, they dont use their authority legitimately but at the same point it has been argued that their legitimate authority have promoted people to follow the rules and be of good behavior. Media has also affected our thinking as prisons are predominantly represented as bad place. Charter of Rights and Freedoms provides limited rights to prisoners but their rights are being violated (Goff, 2004: 276-277). Overcrowding of prisons and high costs have forced government to impl ement reforms. Provincial/territorial governments have debated earlier about privatization of prisons as private companies can provide better and cost effective service. This can definitely take off some burden from the budget but at the same time private companies try to maximize their profits by using less staff and paying them low wages (Klassen, 2009). Restorative justice has proven to be successful in recidivism and restitution (Klassen, 2009). Restorative system saves an offender from further damage and helps him/her in reintegration into society. Incarceration rate and its success is a topic that will never have a proper ending. Every time arguments have been presented regarding success of prison, they have been criticized using counter-arguments and more evidence is presented focusing on failure of correctional systems. Appropriate reforms should be implemented to make prisons more effective. Social programs should be provided, both inside and outside of prison, to strengthe n public safety. Penal Crisis and Justice System reforms should be addressed and modified as per the needs. Theres no need of new prisons, or to rise up incarceration rates. Democratic values of any given country are reflected through prisons and therefore, prisons continue to be an integral part of our justice system and society. Careful analysis needs to be done to evaluate the effectiveness of prisons as presentation of incorrect information can be misleading to the society and public.