Therapeutic Approaches Paper Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Therapeutic Approaches Paper - Assignment Example The therapeutic relationship was established so as to create a means by which the health professions and the respective patient come get into a one on one conversation so as to archive effective beneficial changes to the respective patient (Bowie 1996). Therapeutic approach communications are mostly applicable in mental health centers and it is conducted by mental professionals who have a common purpose of solving emotional conflicts that that happen through the mind of the respective patients. Therapeutic relationship assurers the patients at hand of enough security in the information they give to the healthcare professionals. This enhances them to open up and give the accurate information about what is making them to have the emotional conflicts and thus getting the appropriate treatment. Therapeutic relationship was established after some major researches were conducted and it was scientifically proved that it really aided the health care professionals to foresee the appropriate d iagnosis and treatment that the patient required to cure the particular disease that he or she was suffering from (Gel so 1998). Rogers developed a therapeutic relationship model that was aimed at providing the respective patients with a chance of them understanding how their particular attitudes and feelings are being affected by their emotional conflicts and the appropriate treatment required to solve these problems is that the patients should achieve their full positive potential. Rogers discovered a number of conditions that that was essential to enhance effective changes to the client's personality. Some of these conditions include genuine of both the heath care therapist and the respective patient, professionalism of the health care therapist in his work, the patient openness to the healthcare therapist and many others. Rogers was focused on developing a therapeutic relationship model that will ensure that both the patients and the health care therapist were both involved in s olving the patient’s emotional conflicts (Gel so 1998). A health care professional is one who is able to put himself or herself in the shoes of the respective patient that they are attending and avoid any circumstances of being judgmental. The health care professionals should have a sympathetic and empathetic attitude towards their particular patients and this will enhance them to get familiar with the personality, feelings and so many other factors that relate to their patients. The health care professionals who conduct the therapeutic relationship posse’s very good communication skills which one of them is listening. An effective communication process occurs between two individuals. It is a two process and hence the two involved parties should give each other time to speak and listen (Forchuk, Westwel, and Hux 2000). The therapeutic health care professional has understood this communication skill and they are employing it professionally their day to day work. Every i ndividual desires to be heard as they speak in all circumstances and if by any chance the therapeutic health care professionals lack this special communicating skill then they end up not meeting the expectations of their patients (Steve 2000). Effective therapeutic communication also involves use nonverbal communication such

Criminal Justice Experiential Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Criminal Justice Experiential Paper - Essay Example It is interesting because how people react is a good indication of the state of society today; although there are many definitions of deviance such as absolutist, reactivist or normative, suffice it to say at this point that deviance refers to anything that is out of norm. Along this line, it is perhaps proper to first identify the importance of norms to society and in our everyday lives (Clinard & Meier, 2008, p. 8). This is because without norms being discussed it would be difficult to put deviant behavior into a proper context. The social norms therefore are references to expectations people place on everyone regarding what is correct conduct on certain situations or in occasions when people normally gather among themselves. Simply, deviance is anything that is quite different from the accepted social norms; it implies that deviance is a very relative notion or matter of perception. On a deeper level, deviance is something that is not valued or dis-valued (perceived or evaluated i n a negative light). The social gathering which I had chosen to implement my experiment was our school reunion. There were several batches present, those ahead of us and those who studied after us, besides the batch mates to which I belonged. It was a silver jubilee (25th year) since our high school graduation and many of us attended; some went together with their families. Discussion In this section, I will discuss some of the deviant behaviors which I engaged in during our high school reunion. It must be emphasized at this point that at no time did my egregious behavior endangered anyone or put someone even remotely at risk. I may have offended some people's sensibilities but that was almost all about it; it was all intended to elicit reactions. The actions I took and the varied reactions I elicited with them are discussed below. Deviant Behaviors – I intentionally arrive late for the start of the festivities. Although it was agreed by our batch that everyone should endeavo r to arrive early or even on time, the time I got there was already almost an hour late and naturally, my batch mates were not happy with the way things turned out for our batch as I missed an early pictorial for our group. Moreover, I did not apologize or offer some explanation as to why I was that late. My guess was that everyone expected me to at least give an alibi which I think was not necessary. This was because everyone in our batch had been reminded a few times several days before the event to please arrive on time; reminders were sent to each one of us by text messages. It is therefore almost inconceivable for someone to be late; the implication was that the party or occasion was not accorded the importance it deserves. I tried to appear grouchy as well. There was a fund raising activity to coincide with the momentous occasion in which I had promised to buy two tickets as my contribution to the charity works of the school. This is a raffle in which ticket holders are suppos ed to win some prizes but I purposely remarked that the prizes were too cheap considering the price of the tickets being sold. That remark was for the purpose of giving them an impression that I was not too happy with paying for my tickets. At the very least, it was construed by our batch president and others that I tried to sneak out of a firm commitment to buy those two tickets. I also mumbled something about having to pay a hospital bill for a close relative who was rushed to the

Biblical rationale for koinonia Essay Example for Free

Biblical rationale for koinonia Essay The term ‘Koinonia’, a Greek word, occurs around 20 times in New Testament. Each of these verses give one or more aspects of the Koinonia as implied by the original Greek term. Koinonia is mostly translated in English New Testament as ‘Fellowship’. The meaning of the Greek word takes many forms – Fellowship, close relationship, participation, gift, companion, partner and sharer. 1 Koinonia first occurs in Acts 2: 42. â€Å"They devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. † 2 Some of the important passages are, â€Å"We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. † 3 â€Å"If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. † 4 â€Å"But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. † 5 â€Å"May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. † 6 â€Å"For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? † 7 â€Å"If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy 1. Richard J. Goodrich, Albert L. Lukaszewski, A Reader’s Greek New Testament (Michigan: Zondervan, 2003),375-376. 2. Acts 2:42 3. 1 John 1:3 4. 1 John 1:6 5. 1 John 1:7 6. 2 Corinthians 13:14 7. 2 Corinthians 6:14 1 complete by being like minded, having the same love being one in spirit and purpose. † 8 â€Å"I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death. † 9 A care full reading of these passages denote Koinonia to mean, fellowship, fellow ship with fellow humans, fellowship with the Triune God – God the father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, common attribute – holiness, common bond – Love, like minded, one in Spirit and purpose, and the purpose of this fellowship is to become like Christ. This fellowship is possible only with similar characteristics – purity, which is made possible by the blood of Jesus Christ, our Redeemer. Fellowship with Christ means in Pauline thought, being in Christ, in Christ’s words, being in Christ to give fruits. This term is associated with the church. Bible says Church is the body of Christ. 10 Church is not the making of men but it is the creation of our Lord. God is the author of the church. So also Koinonia is not of men but it is the gift of God. It is evident then that the fellowship meant by the term Koinonia denotes the fellowship between the members of the church and that with Christ. Koinonia is brought into the church by the Holy Spirit and with out God the Trinity present in the church, there is no koinonia worth mentioning. It can be said, Koinonia is the God’s plan for the church. God wants fellowship with His created beings and also wants that fellowship to permeate among his created beings. The Koinonia – Fellowship with God has a definite purpose, entails participation in God’s plan and being partner and sharing in his work- his vine yard.   8. Philippians 2:1, 2 9. Philippians 3:10 10. Ephesians 5:24-32 The concept of Missions ensues from the study of Koinonia. We can clearly see this concept through out Bible. Fellowship with God Creation scenario. In Genesis, we see God creates all the universe and Adam. God wanted Adam to have fellowship. God and Adam had fellowship. But when sin entered humanity, effecting the fall of man, Adam wantonly got away from the presence of God and the agony and anguish inflicted on God is reflected by God’s question â€Å"Adam ,where are you? †11 Fall of man. The consequence of sin is the loss of Fellowship with God. The corollary of this is the loss of fellowship among human beings as depicted by the Cain-Abel episode. Instead of loving fellowship- Koinonia, there arose jealousy, hatred, and enmity resulting in murder. When God asked Cain , â€Å"where is your brother, Cain lied, saying I don’t know. He even protested saying, am I his keeper? a reckless answer. Sin breeds lies and recklessness. The scenario was continuing and the mankind was estranging from God’s intended purpose of creation, kindling the indignation of God, resulting in the deluge during Noah’s time. But there are instances of people having fellowship with God like Enoch and Noah. Life of Enoch. It is written in Bible, that Enoch walked with God while living in this world. God took him at his 365th age. Enoch’s life illustrates a life of constant and continuous fellowship with God. Life of Noah. Noah lived a life pleasing to God denoting the fellowship he had with God. God was communicating with Noah and Noah was responding to God’s instructions and doing the work God had given to him. Fellowship entails partnership and participation of the God’s plan. Call of Abraham. God called Abraham to follow him and Abraham faithfully followed him. Godetween God and Abraham seen in this passage is a fine example of Fellowship – close relationship between God and Abraham. God wanted to bless the whole world through Abraham and reestablish the lost fellowship between God and humanity. The chosen tribe of Israel, with whom God wanted to establish fellowship, is the descendant of Abraham. The nation of Israel. The nation of Israel is the chosen one for establishing God’s fellowship with humanity. God wanted to bless the whole nations of the world through Israel. God blessed Egypt through Joseph. He blessed Babylon through Daniel. God planted his presence among Israel during their sojourn in wilderness, all through day and night. God communicated with Moses face to face, just like a friend. Moses had good fellowship with God. The nation of Israel was not faith full all the time and sinned against God. Sin estranges God’s people from God and the fellowship is lost. God wanted to reestablish the fellowship and he raised many prophets to give clarion call and to bring back people to his fold. Prophets. The mind of God is clearly depicted in the messages of the prophets. Through Isaiah God laments, â€Å"I reared children and brought them up, but they have rebelled against me. † 13 Fellowship is lost when there is rebellion, â€Å"The Ox knows his master, the donkey his owner’s manger, but Israel does not know, my people do not understand. † 14 Fellowship is lost when there is no understanding, when there is loss of communication. God laments through Prophet Jeremiah, â€Å"†¦what fault did your fathers find in me that 12. Genesis 18: 17-33 13. Isaiah 1: 2 14. Isaiah 1: 3 they strayed so far from me? †15 God anguishes, â€Å"my people have committed two sins: they have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water. † 16 God is the living water, but the nation of Israel have opted the worldly things instead of God, showing that the fellowship with God is lost when the close relation ship with him is lost. God says, Israel has forgotten him, â€Å"Does a maiden for get her Jewelry, a bride her wedding? yet my people have forgotten me with out number. † 17 God says, â€Å"My people are fools, they do not know me. They are sense less children; they have no understanding they are skilled in doing evil they know not how to do good. † 18 When the fellowship with God is lost, knowledge of God and understanding of God’s ways are lost, and the ability to perform good works glorifying God is also lost. In all these passages God complains of the loss of fellowship with his chosen people. But God longs to re establish the lost relationship. God says, Return faithless Israel†¦ I will frown on you no longer, for I am merciful, I will not be angry for ever†¦for I am your husband. I will choose you †¦I will give shepherds after my own heart, who will lead with you with knowledge and understanding †¦Return faithless people, I will cure you of your backsliding. (Jeremiah, 3:12, 14, 15, 22) God expresses his love for his people through the prophets. Through Jeremiah, He says, â€Å"Is not Ephraim my dear son, the child in whom I delight? Though I often speak against him, I still remember him. There fore my heart yearns for him, I have great compassion for him†. 19 Here we see the mind of God. Though the chosen nation has sinned and estranged from God, loosing the fellowship, God’s heart yearns for them and God longs to re establish the fellowship– the relationship.   15. Jeremiah, 2:5 16. Jeremiah, 2:13 17. Jeremiah, 2:32 18. Jeremiah, 4:22 19. Jeremiah, 31:20 God’s agony for the estranged people is depicted in the writings of Prophet Hosea, My people are determined to turn from me. †¦ How can I give up you Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel? †¦My heart is changed within me; all my compassion is aroused. I will not carry out my fierce anger, nor will I turn and devastate Ephraim. For I am God, and not man- the Holy one among you. ( Hosea, 11: 7-9) Here we see, God says he is among his people, but his people turn from him; but still God is compassionate and agonized. God promises through Prophet Jeremiah, making new covenant, forgiving their wicked ness and making them His People. â€Å"†¦ I will put my law in their minds and write in their hearts. I will be their God and they will be my people. †¦ for I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more. † 20 Here we see fellow ship with God is re established when sins are for given. The new covenant foresees a conversion in the mind of God’s people. The new covenant is best expressed by prophet Isaiah in Chapter 53, which talks of the Redeemer suffering for the sins of his people. Isaiah states, Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows †¦ But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him. †¦the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all †¦ he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken. (Isaiah, 53: 4-8) The Redeemer took all the iniquities and bore all the punishment to bring forgiveness and restoring the peace and relation ship with the Godhead for his people. Fellowship with God is possible only when the sins are forgiven and when similar characteristics exist among all. The fulfillment of Prophecy and the advent of Jesus. At the appointed time, the eternal Son of God took the form of humanity and was born of Virgin Mary according to the scriptures   20. Jeremiah, 31:33, 34 . and with the fulfillment of prophecy. Gospel according to Mathew records the statement of the angel, She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins†¦. All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ‘The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel’ which means, ‘God with us. ’ (Mathew, 1: 21-23) Here we see, â€Å"Jesus will save his people from their sins, and â€Å"they will call him Immanuel, which means God with us –God dwells amongst us. The second God head of the Trinity has assumed permanently the human nature so that He will dwell among the humans, and he will forgive their sins and justify them as sinless. This is the essence of the Gospel. Because of the advent of Christ Jesus, fellowship with humans is established. The teachings of Jesus. The Jews- Pharisees taught the Old testament scriptures scrupulously, leaving the essence of the scriptures. Jesus taught the scripture truths effectively using parables driving the central, deep, and spiritual points of the truth. Apart from the ethical teachings contained in the sermon of the mount, Jesus taught his disciples how to do the will of God effectively, â€Å"The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent. † 21 In essence believing in the son of God is the work pleasing to God. The Gospel truth is well given in the words of Jesus, â€Å"to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,†22 and â€Å"God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. †23 The sole requirement of salvation on the part of men is to believe in the Name (Person) of Jesus and receive him. 1 John 6: 29 22 John 1: 12 23 John 3: 16 Abiding in Christ. Jesus explains the importance of abiding with him in Gospel according to John Chapter, 15. Here we see fellow ship between Jesus and the believer is compared to the vine tree and the branches. Only when the branch remain in the tree it can be alive and give fruits. Apart from the tree the branch itself cannot give fruits. So if we are in fellowship with Jesus and Jesus in us, we will be fruitful. And God will be glorified because of our good fruits. 24 The fellowship entails giving good fruits for the glory of God. We may compare and contrast this with God’s question in the prophecy of Jeremiah, â€Å"I had planted you like a choice vine of sound and reliable stock. How then did you turn against me into a corrupt, wild vine? †25 God planted Israel as a good vine tree expecting good fruit, but it turned into a corrupt and wild vine. The reason for this unfruitfulness is the non abiding nature of the nation Israel. What is the fruit Jesus is talking about? Jesus explicitly says to obey his commands, the chief command being the command to love each other as Jesus has loved us, â€Å"My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. †26 Jesus has taught that love is the fulfillment of Law and Prophecies. Jesus has summarized the law as, 1). Loving God whole heartedly and 2) loving the neighbor as oneself. 27 Fellow ship and Church assembly. Jesus promises to be with us where ever two or three come together in his name, â€Å"where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them. †28 This denotes the fellowship – Koinonia between the believers and the Savior. The criteria required are, 1) gathering in His name, 2) togetherness- oneness of mind. 24 John 15: 1-8. 25 Jeremiah 2: 21 26 John 15: 12 27 Mark 12: 30,31 28 Mathew 18: 20 Fellowship and Missions. Jesus promises to be with us always to the end of the age, â€Å"†¦ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. † 29 This promise is given at the great commission denoting the fellowship of the savior is assured for the carrying out of the great commission. The fellowship has a definite purpose, doing the will of God, partaking in his plan of salvation taking the Gospel message to the un reached. Fellowship- Koinonia has a definite Missionary perspective. Fellowship and interpersonal relationship. Jesus gave importance for both the vertical relation ship- relation ship between the person and God and the horizontal relation ship- the person and his neighbor. We see this concept in many of his parables. A beautiful example of the God’s requirement of fellow ship- Koinonia is given in the parable of prodigal son. 30 Here we see the second son went away from the fellowship of his father and his brother and lived a sinful life, wasting all his resources and finally repented and returned to his father. But the loving father was all along waiting for his return and received him whole heartedly and restored him his son ship, and there was joy and celebration in the house hold. But the elder son could not digest this. He could not forgive his brother and was arguing with his father. The father admonished him and states, â€Å"†¦ we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again he was lost and is found. † 31 This parable tells the mind of God. He wants all to be saved and wants his people to cooperate with him in saving people. Thus Koinonia results in gladness. Jesus, in his high priestly prayer prayed to the Father, â€Å"†¦that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know   29 Mathew 28:20 30 Luke 15: 12-32 31 Luke 15: 32 that you send me †¦Ã¢â‚¬ 32 Fellowship – Koinonia as envisaged by Jesus is complete unity, unity in purpose, action, witness, and partnering with Christ in carrying out God’s will of saving people. The birth of the Church is in direct answer to this High priestly prayer of Jesus. The birth of the Church. Church is not a mere organization involving Christians. Church is the mystical body of Christ for carrying out the plan of God in saving the nations. Augustine affirmed that â€Å"Church is the mystical body of Christ whose principle or unity is that it is a fellowship of love. † 33 Church is the body of Christ, in that through the Spirit Christ is ruling inspiring, sustaining and uniting power in the church. †¦ It is the presence and working of the Holy Spirit which makes church the body of Christ. † 34 In Acts, we see â€Å"†¦ the Lord added to their numbers daily those who were being saved. † 35 So it is clear, Church is the making of God. In the spiritual sense there is only one Church – Church Universal, spiritual, and invisible. But practically we see many denominations- big and small. These are all local assemblies, practicing Christians. The one universal, Spiritual, holy, apostolic, and catholic church comprises of members from all local assemblies, big or small, from all parts of the earth, with out any difference of race or culture or language. Fellowship among Christians Christians have fellow ship with the father, Son and Holy Spirit and with one another. Possession of the Spirit is the decisive mark of being a Christian. 36 The fellowship with God leads one to fellowship with fellow believers, because â€Å"God has poured out his love into our hearts by 32 John 17: 22-23 33 Owen C. Thomas p 233 34 Owen C. Thomas p 231 35 Acts 2: 47 , 36 Owen C. Thomas p 231 the Holy Spirit. † 37 A. Nygren argues in his book Agape and Eros â€Å"The fundamental theme of Christian faith and life is Agape, God’s love for humanity in Christ and in response humanity’s love for their neighbors. † 38 Surely there exists Koinonia between true believers, what ever be the denominational difference among them. The one sign of the universal Koinonia is the existence of un explainable love towards the fellow Christian of any denomination. The absence of this love is a clear proof of heretical leanings. Koinonia – Fellow ship is the mark of any Christian assembly. The fellowship characteristics expected out of any Christian assembly as listed out in Unger’s Bible dictionary, â€Å"Confession of faults to one another with prayer, James 5:16 . Assembly with exhortation and provoking to love and good works. Hebrews 10: 24, 25. Partaking of Lord’s supper. I. Corinthians11:24, 25. Ministering to the Saints: Acts11:29, Romans 12:13, 15: 25, I Cor. 16:1, 2. II Cor. 8:4, Heb: 13:16. Bearing infirmities of the week and edification, Rom: 15:1. Love for and fellowship with one another is necessary as an evidence to love of God. I John 4:12. Christ prayed that his people might have fellow ship with each other. Fellowship with God is essential to fruitfulness. Jn15:4†. (Unger’s Bible Dictionary 1983, 349) On a look of the early Christian Church, one can easily find the marks of Koinonia among Believers. We see in Acts 2:42, â€Å"They devoted themselves to Apostolic teaching, Breaking of bread- meaning partaking in Lord’s supper, Prayer, being together, had every thing in common, selling their possessions and giving to the needy, glad and sincere, and praising God†. The immediate effect of the Koinonia among the early Christians was that the other people came to know of this and filled with awe favoring the believers and the Church began to grow as God was adding the new converts. 37 Romans 5:5 38 Owen C. Thomas p 265 It is not out of context to quote a famous Tamil Evangelist, N. Jeevanandam regarding the Christian fellowship. While he was giving a message on Christian unity and love, narrated a vision that he had. While he was praying, he in his vision, was taken to Hell by an angel. There he saw all in pandemonium. There was a dining table and there were food available on it. People surrounded the dining table and were very hungry and desirous of eating. But they were unable to eat as their hands were stiff and they could not take the food to their mouth. After struggling for some time they got restless and started cursing each other for their plight, accusing one another and were hitting each other. There was utter pandemonium. At the next vision, the angel took him to Heaven. He was taken to a dining room, and the dining table was full of eatables. People came to the dining table and they were all in joy full mood, and started praising God. On closely looking on them, the evangelist found out that these people also could not bend their elbow. But they all started to eat, praising God. They started feeding one another with their stiff hands with out any difficulty, patting each other. They all cooperated with each other, there was happiness and praising. The message is simple- by helping others one fulfills the Royal law, ‘love your neighbor as your self’ 39. The new law of love cares for one another, honors, accepts, serves, and encourages others. God, as a father wants His children to live at peace and harmony with each other. St Paul Teaches in his epistles, If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus. (Philippians 2:1-5) __________________ 39 James 2: 8 Biblical rationale for small groups We have seen the Church is a Spiritual entity and God is the author of it, it is catholic-means universal, and invisible. The local Christian assemblies, big or small, are all part of the Spiritual Church. God only knows who all part of the Church are. The one and only qualification needed on the part of the believer to be a part of this Church is faith in Jesus – the shed blood of Jesus Christ effecting â€Å"Justification by faith†. Salvation is free and is of the Grace of God. Having justified freely, the believer gratefully obeys the Lord, and is in spiritual union with the Savior, participating with Christ and fellow believers in carrying out the will of God, with the ultimate goal of glorifying God. The chief end of Koinonia is the glorification God, through worship acceptable and work fruitful. As long as these criteria are met, there is no problem with the size of the congregation, whether big or small. There is often difficulty on the part of one Church group in practicing Koinonia with another group, because of doctrinal differences. It is human to cast doubt about other side. It takes maturity to understand and acknowledge other groups. We find a beautiful example in the life of Moses. The people of Israel were murmuring and complaining against God and Moses. Moses was much grieved and he prayed to God that he can not take the burden of leading the people single handed and wanted God to take him away. But God told Moses to gather 70 elders so that he will put the Spirit on them and so did Moses. God sent the Spirit to all the seventy elders and when the Spirit came, all of them prophesied. But of the seventy, two elders – Eldad and Medad were not in the company of Moses but were in the camp and they had also prophesied. Coming to know of this, Joshua asked Moses to stop them. Moses replied, â€Å"Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the LORDs people were prophets and that the LORD would put his Spirit on them! † 40 Here we see a beautiful example of leadership, magnanimity and tolerance on the part of Moses. Joshua, out of loyalty towards Moses, wanted others, who are not in the company of Moses, to be derecognized. But Moses wants all the people to be prophets like him whether they are in his company or not. We see another similar instance in New Testament. John tried to stop another man who was driving out demons in the Name of Jesus, reasoning that he is not of their company. But Jesus said, â€Å"Do not stop him, for whoever is not against you is for you†. 42 Group loyalties should give way to loyalty towards God. Koinonia should be manifested universally, with out any local loyalty. Heresy and Cults. Another aspect we have to consider regarding small groups is the Doctrinal Purity. Through out the church history, one can find heretical movements. There is a danger of development of heretical tendencies in small groups. , distorting the Gospel message as taught by Christ and Apostles. The leaders of the small groups may introduce novel doctrines by giving false interpretations of the Bible passages, even to the extent of denying the Lord who has bought them with his blood. The modus operandi of these leaders is to introduce novelty to attract more people. Their motive is aggrandizing themselves. This problem is existing even from N. T. period. Jesus and the Apostles have warned of these people. 43 Numbers 11:29 42 Luke 9:49,50 43 Mt 24:5, 11,24; Acts 20:40; Rom 16: 17,18; 2 Peter 2:1-3; 1 Tim 6:3-5 Examples of heretics of early Church are, Montanists, Arians, and Gnostics. Modern day heresy is Jehovah Witness. Cults. Small groups may initially exhibit much cohesiveness and have very close knit fellowship, attracting it’s members to its fold. The members will be totally loyal to the group leader even surpassing loyalty to Christ. These small groups, if with out communion with other Christian communities, may develop into a close circuit community with secret doctrines and dealings. The leader of the cult will exert out right control over the members of the group, almost enslaving them, indoctrinating them, and leading them astray- away from the true doctrine. The leader may even assume superhuman postures, demanding and accepting allegiance more than that is given to Christ who has shed his blood, bought and redeemed them. Then the group will lose its Christian character and outlook, the members will backslide, losing the grace and Joy of Salvation and get separated from the fold of Christ. A few examples of the past decades are, 1). Sun Moon group of South Korea, 2). Jim Jones group of United States of America, and 3) Paul Asir Laurie group of India. So it is always safe and advisable for the small groups to have some form of communion with the established major Church groups. Summary Koinonia – fellowship is a divine attribute, a divine creation, and it is alien to carnal human mind. Koinonia is possible only with the participation of Godhead- the Triune God- God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, and any show of fellow ship with out God’s presence is only hypocritical exhibit, concealing the selfish human attribute. Koinonia as manifested in the early church is God’s plan for carrying out his will – taking the message of Salvation to all mankind. Koinonia exists in the Church and God is present among his people in the Church- The Church Universal, mystic, spiritual – the body of Christ. The prerequisites of membership in the universal Church for humans are; Justification by faith in Jesus, cleansing of sins by the blood of Christ, and sanctification by Holy Spirit. The love of God is shed abroad in the hearts of members by Holy Spirit and this is the bond of fellowship- Koinonia. The local church groups, big or small, are all part of the universal church. The visible signs of Koinonia in Church groups are: the joyful worship of the Triune God and fellowship with partaking of Holy Eucharist, love and concern for one another, Joy of sharing and caring, helping and lifting the weak, honest and transparent dealing with one another, partaking in the joys and tribulations of one another, taking care of other’s needs, encouraging one another, and considering others better than oneself. BIBLIOGRAPHY Thomas, Owen C. Introduction to Christian Theology. Delhi: ISPCK, 2000. The NIV Study Bible, The Zondervan Corporation, 1985 Unger, Merrill F. Unger’s Bible Dictionary. Chicago: Moody press, 1983,

Impact of the Global Economic Crisis on Developing Countries

Impact of the Global Economic Crisis on Developing Countries Ever growing poverty, unemployment, huge inequality between rich and poor countries are witnessed to the nightmare and failure of world economy first time in the 21st century. The present economic crises across the globe are said to be the result of neo-economic theories such as Thatcher-Regan free market model which dominated world economic philosophy more than 30 years. The series of the current global financial crisis, particularly in USA and the European countries service industry, Automobiles industry and Information Technology and its related services, are become a global threat where it swallows developing countries economies one by one. Many studies said that this is the result of failure of free market model where the government intervention in trade and commerce is negligible. In a free market economic model, there is a close collision among trade, commerce and Politics which leads to manipulation of market by a few market leaders with the cost of a huge number. In this jun cture, this is the time to find out an appropriate solution to cue and accelerate the economic growth. In this paper an earnest attempt is made to study the impact of global economic crisis on developing countries which are often become puppets in the hands of developed countries. This paper speaks in three core areas where the first section deals introduction of the study, the second section deals, heart of this paper, impact of the global economic crisis on developing countries particularly South Asia, Africa and India and the last section speaks out some possible conclusions. Section I Introduction The global financial crisis has become a full-fledged crisis of the real economy as much deeper than the Great Depression of 1930s. The global recession has set in with all its ill effects on employment, loss of livelihood and houses for people around the world. The demand, especially private consumption, is daily being fall at national and international levels. Investment, output, employment and trade are falling sharply worldwide. Poverty is rising, the middle classes are threatened, and the wealthy and retirees find their assets shrinking dramatically. In most developed countries, new waves of bank rescue packages follow the previous, unsuccessful ones. Conservative central bankers of the USA take on risky assets, their balance sheets and prospective losses swell. Some warn of deflation, others worry that fiscal and monetary stimuli will bring back inflation. Even countries that have accumulated high levels of foreign exchange reserves are concerned by capital outflows, while thos e without queue at the IMF. The latest World Economic Outlook (Update in November 2008); suggest that the world economy will grow only at 2% in 2009, with the advanced economies taken together, experiencing negative growth (-0.3%) during the year. The US GDP is projected to contract by 0.7%, Euro Area GDP by 0.5% and UK GDP by 1.3% during 2009. According to the IMF, this will be the first annual contraction, i.e., absolute fall in output, experienced in the advanced economies in the post-war period. All the major capitalist Centers USA, Europe and Japan are simultaneously in recession. The unemployment rate in the US had already risen to 6.7% in November 2008, with 18.7,00,000 people jobs being lost there since November 2007. The unemployment rates in France and Germany had risen to 8.2% and 7.1% respectively by October 2008 (ILO). With the recession deepening in 2009, unemployment in the advanced capitalist economies would rise further. The initial response of the Governments in the advanced capitalist count ries to the financial crisis was to announce bailout packages for the financial companies, which had made enormous losses. Recapitalization of private financial institutions with public funds took the shape of part nationalization of several banks and financial companies. This was accompanied by coordinated interest rate cuts by Central Banks across the world. These financial and monetary policy measures, however, have failed to prevent a deepening recession, which is now generally believed to be the worst ever since the Great Depression. The Governments of the advanced capitalist countries are now falling back upon fiscal interventions to salvage the situation. Even the bastion of neo-liberal orthodoxy, the IMF, has recently called for a large fiscal stimulus totaling 2% of global GDP, to address the crisis. While the $700 billion bailout package announced in the US in October 2008 was primarily meant to compensate the losses made by the private financial institutions and other cor porates. After much debate between Britain and Germany, the EU has also adopted a nearly $ 280 billion fiscal package including tax cuts and public spending plans. The crisis is exposing the hazards of neo-liberal economic policies and the advanced capitalist countries are being compelled to resort to direct State intervention as the way out of the crisis. However, the extent of the crisis is such that these fiscal measures may turn out to be insufficient. There is also apprehension that the extent of financial losses by banks and other private companies are yet to be revealed. More financial shocks would only aggravate the crisis and worsen the prospects of economic recovery. All efforts would be made by the rich capitalist countries to shift the burden of crisis on to the third world and for the ruling classes to shift the burden on to the working class and the peasantry. USA is a Root Cause for Present Crisis The clear victory for Obama was a rejection of the policies of Bush regime. The growing economic crisis which has badly affected the American people was a prime reason for the victory. The American people are more concerned about how Obama will tackle the economic crisis and revive the economy and jobs. History shows that the Depression, it always comes from American Wall Street. A major promoter of globalisation was the Washington consensus based the network of the Wall Street, the US money lending agencies in the Euro-currency markets. Nevertheless, the new US Govt. led by Obama is trying to revive the economy, has approved a special $800 billion fiscal package to be spent over the coming years in short-term, and it is estimated around $10 trillion to spend in the long-term in the areas like infrastructural development and housing projects to create new job opportunity and so on. It means each American will intervene with USD 2.25 thousand for helping to bail out firms threatened b y the fall-out of sub-prime crisis. However, the White House, the Treasury and the Federal Reserve, who were saying that intervention was inevitable to avoid a financial meltdown, were making the case for a specific kind of intervention that favoured Wall Street. Having made huge profits on speculation big finance wanted the State to pick up the losses when the bubble burst. Section II Impact of Global Crisis on Developing Countries Many developing countries are moving into a danger zone. Growth in developing-countries had been expected to reach 6.4 per cent in 2009, but has been marked down to 4.5 per cent. In the coming period, developing countries will see growing fiscal pressures both on the expenditure side (growing demands for social protection, recapitalization, etc) and the revenue side (as exports and economic activity slow). The appropriate response to falling domestic demand may, in some cases, be a measured fiscal stimulus. However, the credit crunch and flight from risk is already reducing the ability of formerly market-access countries to meet their gross financing needs (rolling over amortized debt and financing their net borrowing requirements). Some developing countries will be hit much harder than the average experiencing growth which is negative in per capita or even absolute terms. Coming on the heels of food and fuel price shock, the global financial crisis could significantly set back the fight against poverty. Sharply tighter credit conditions and weaker growth are likely to cut into government revenues and governments ability to invest to meet education, health and gender goals. The poor will be hit hardest. Current estimates suggest that a one per cent decline in developing country growth rates traps an additional 20 million people into poverty. Already 100 million people have been driven into poverty as a result of high food and fuel prices. Already, sharp cuts in capital flows to developing countries are expected. Even if the waves of panic that have inundated credit and equity markets across the world are soon brought under control, deleveraging in financial markets and an extended period of banking-sector consolidation is expected to cut sharply into capital flows into developing countries. Private flows into developing countries are projected to decline from $1 trillion in 2007 to around $530 billion in 2009 (or from 7.7 to 3.0 per cent of developing country GDP). The food and fuel price shocks have already imposed large fiscal costs on developing countries, undermining their ability to respond to fall-out from the financial crisis. Policymakers responding to high food and fuel prices made extensive use of tax reductions to offset higher prices and increased spending on subsidies and income support. Data from a recent IMF survey covering 161 countries shows that nearly 57 per cent of countries reduced taxes on food while 27 per cent reduced taxes on fuels. Almost one in five countries increased food subsidies while 22 per cent increased fuel subsidies. Recent declines in food and fuel prices do not imply that pressures and problems have disappeared. Although most of the hike in commodity prices that occurred in 2007 and the first half of 2008 has dissipated, commodity prices remain above their 2004/05 levels, and currency depreciation is raising the local cost for many food and fuel importing countries. For the very poor, reducing consumption from already very low levels, even for a short period, can have important long-term consequences. The poorest households may have had to reduce the quantity and/or quality of the food, schooling, and basic services they consumed, leading to irreparable damage to the health and education of millions of children. Poor households forced to switch from more expensive to cheaper and less nutritional foodstuffs or cut back on total caloric intake altogether, face weight loss and severe malnutrition. During 2008-09, higher food prices may have increased the number of children suffering permanent cognitive and physical injury due to malnutrition by 44 million. Many of the countries most exposed to rising global food and fuel prices are those with high pre-existing levels of malnutrition. Financial institutions in developing countries are beginning to suffer from a lack of short term liquidity, as retail deposits exit and non-deposit funding dries up. As the effects of the global recession spreads, the impact will be felt on financial sector asset quality, leading to the need for recapitalization of financial institutions. Lack of liquidity will also reveal underlying weaknesses in regulatory frameworks and in the management of financial institutions, requiring regulatory reforms and capacity building. Tight credit markets in developing countries are rapidly affecting the real sector, especially sectors reliant on trade, finance and working capital. Impact on the South Asia While some countries in South Asia had relatively less exposure to the crisis through adverse effects on capital flows, they remain vulnerable to global economic slowdown through export earnings, remittances and external financing of infrastructure. Growth in South Asia decelerated in 2008, falling from 8.6% in 2007 to below 7% based on estimate as of last December 2008. It is projected to decline further to around 6% or below in 2009, before recovering to around 7% in 2010. Even at these reduced growth rates, South Asia stands out compared to the recession in the developed economies. Nevertheless, with 900 million people in developing Asia surviving on $1.25 a day more than half of those in South Asia any tempering of growth is a serious case of concern. We believe, there are four inter-related impacts of global economic downturn on Asia. First, economic slowdown would result in reduction of exports with the attendant effects, not only on export-oriented, value-added industries th emselves, but industries across the value chain. This impact could manifest itself in the form of unemployment and a reduction in GDP. Second by, the impact is being felt through the financial system. By this, we mean that the outflow of foreign direct investment from Asias financial markets result in depressed domestic equity markets and contribute to conservative lending strategies. Third by, impact relates to liquidity in domestic financial markets. If credit availability remains constrained, it is likely to be even more constrained for the lower end of the market, i.e., credit for labor-intensive small and medium enterprises and micro enterprises with its serious impacts. Fourth by, impact, though not fully evident yet, could be on informal social safety nets by virtue of reduced remittances received from overseas migrant workers as the host country economy slows down and capital expenditures are reduced. Impact on African Continent The poorest countries of Africa will be significantly affected by the crisis. African countries will be harmed through slower export growth, reduced remittances and lower commodity prices. The crisis may also lead to a reduction in private investment flows, making weak economies even less able to cope up with internal vulnerabilities and development needs. Some African countries are facing serious macroeconomic imbalances quite independently of the financial crisis, mostly brought on the fuel and food crises-such as Ethiopia having 60 per cent inflation and so on. Burundi, Madagascar, Niger, Timor Leste, Ethiopia, Somalia and Yemen are among the ten most affected countries for both stunting and wasting indicators. All of these countries experienced double-digit food inflation during 2008-09. Impact on the Indian Economy India has already entered into recession though late a little bit compared to west. Indias exports had been expected to reach USD 200 billion by 2008, but unfortunately has been marked down to USD 180 billion in December, 2008 (when it was growing 30.9% during the last six months, but it is reported to 12% in December, 2008). According to Mr. Shaktiwel, President of Federation of Indian Exports Organization (FIEO); Indias export share (which is 20% of the GDP) is going down, and it is expected to be 10 million job losses in March, 2009. Indian exporters have mainly been depending on North American and European markets, and both markets have entered into recession. Indian Govt. has announced an extra rescue package (around $4 billion) for the producers and exporters to revive the economy. The Indian financial system has remained relatively immune from the devastating crisis afflicting the advanced capitalist countries, mainly due to the extant regulations and public sector domination of the financial sector. The stock markets have witnessed a meltdown though, with the FIIs being net sellers worth $13.1 billion in the year 2008, which has also led to a decline in Indias foreign exchange reserves. The real impact of global recession on the Indian economy, however, is mainly being felt in terms of a slowdown in exports and industrial growth. Dollar value of exports in November 2008 ($11.5 billion) was almost 10% lower than that in November 2007 ($12.7 billion). The Index of Industrial Production recorded a 0.4% fall in October 2008 compared to October 2007, with the manufacturing index registering a 1.2% fall. The prices of cash crops have also declined adversely affecting the farmers. Job losses have escalated. At least 1, 00,000 gem trade workers have been rendered jobless in Gujarat. It is estimated that around a million jobs have been lost. As per estimates by Assocham and others in the coming period, job losses will mount to ten million. The economic managers of the Government, who till not so long ago were boasting about attaining 10% GDP growth, have now downgraded their GDP growth forecast to 7% for 2008-09. Economic growth is likely to slow down sharply in 2009. Howeve r, the UPA Government has neither learnt the proper lessons from the financial crisis nor is it willing to shed its neo-liberal dogma and adopt effective steps to deal with the slowdown. The basic demand was for a fiscal package directed at increasing public expenditure in ways, which increases the income and consumption of working people and ensures broad-based growth. Increased public investment in agriculture, expansion of the NREGA, higher allocations for health and education, infrastructure like rural roads, housing for the middle and lower income groups and universalisation of PDS were specifically demanded, apart from a reduction in fuel prices, regulation of organized retail, tariff protection for farmers and small industries and reversal of financial liberalization. A moratorium on job and wage cuts was also demanded. Price rise and food supply Though the rate of inflation is going down, there is no reduction in the prices of food items and other essential commodities. People continue to suffer from high prices in retail items. Petrol and diesel prices were marginally reduced by the Government in early December 2008, by Rs. 5 and Rs. 2 per liter respectively, but the reduction was inadequate considering that crude oil prices have come down to below $50 per barrel from the peak of $147 dollar per barrel in July 2008. Further, reduction of oil prices has to be done by the government. Food insecurity has had a devastating impact leading to increased malnutrition and hunger as a direct result of faulty food policies of successive governments. Deaths due to malnutrition and hunger have taken place in tribal areas in Maharashtra and Jharkhand. With the increased procurement of wheat this year, stocks with the government are at 22 million tonnes; double that of the buffer norm for the month of October. Taken together, the rice and wheat stocks of the government are 29.8 million tonnes against the minimum combined buffer norm of 16.2 million tonnes, a 84 per cent surplus over the required buffer. According to data supplied by the Ministry, between 2005-2006 and 2007-2008, the average annual allocation for Above Poverty Line ration card holders to the states was cut by 73.36 per cent. Yet, the government refuses to restore the allocation preferring instead to sell the stocks to traders at subsidized rates. Inadequate Government Measures The fiscal package announced by the UPA Government on 7th December 2008 increased Plan expenditure by only Rs. 20000 crore, which is less than 0.5% of Indias GDP. Such a weak fiscal stimulus would not succeed in reversing the slowdown and arresting the consequent job losses and growing unemployment in the economy. The Government primarily relied on tax cuts, like the 4% cut in the CENVAT rate, to stimulate the economy. The Government has failed to link the concessions to industry to conditionality preventing layoffs and retrenchment. The State Governments were totally neglected in the fiscal package. With tax revenues falling due to the economic slowdown, the State Governments are experiencing great difficulties in maintaining the desired level of Plan expenditure. A debt relief package for States along with interest rate subsidy on their borrowings, relaxation of fiscal responsibility norms and greater transfer of resources from Centre to States are required, in order to enable the State Governments to step up expenditure to create jobs and expand welfare measures. A second stimulus package was announced by the Government on 2nd January 2009. Not a single rupee of additional spending was announced over and above the amount of Rs. 20,000 crore additional Plan outlay announced on 7th December 2008. In fact, the Government ruled out any further increase in public spending in the current financial year. By announcing that further fiscal measures will only be contained in the annual Plan for the next financial year, the UPA Government is shifting the burden of addressing the economic slowdown on to the next Government, after having imported the global recession into the domestic economy by pursuing neo-liberal policies. The Government is basically trying to salvage the situation by infusing liquidity into the financial system through interest rate cuts and other monetary policy measures. It is also doling out tax concessions to the corporates in order to protect their profits and trying to ensure that they do not abandon their investment plans. Thes e measures would not succeed since recessionary fears have already gripped the private corporate sector as well as middle-class consumers, who are cutting down on investment and consumption spending. Neo-liberal dogma prevents the UPA Government from embarking upon a substantial fiscal intervention that can provide some succor to the slowing economy. What is more disturbing is the fact that in the name of announcing a stimulus package on 2nd January 2009, the UPA Government has pushed further capital account liberalization measures like easing External Commercial Borrowing norms for corporates, especially for the real estate sector. The investment limit for FIIs in corporate bonds has also been raised. This shows that the Government has learnt no lesson from the global financial crisis and continues to repose its faith upon speculative international finance capital. The UPA Governments stubborn refusal to learn from global experiences and its recklessness in pushing ahead with financial liberalization was also visible during the winter session of Parliament when two Bills The Insurance Laws (Amendments) Bill and The Life Insurance Corporation (Amendment) Bill were introduced in the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha respectively on 22nd December 2008. The first legislation seeks to raise the FDI cap in the insurance sector from 26% to 49% and allow the same foreign players, who have played havoc with the global financial system, to expand their control in the Indian insurance sector and gain access to the savings of the people. Another amendment is to allow foreign companies in the reinsurance business. These legislations are meant to keep the process of insurance sector liberalization and privatization alive despite the global shift in favour of public ownership of financial institutions in the wake of financial crisis. It is clear that the response of the UPA Government to the global economic crisis would be limited to defending the interests of big businesses, international finance capital and the affluent sections. On the other hand, the working class is coming under increasing assaults in the form of lay-offs and retrenchment. With a deepening recession, prices of agricultural products particularly, cash crops like coffee, rubber, pepper etc. are falling drastically, adversely affecting the peasantry. The brunt of the crisis will be borne by the peasantry and leads to suicides by farmers are recurring. Small-scale producers and traders, especially those in the unorganized sector, would be badly hit. Section III Is a Practical Solution for the Current ills Possible? Though, on 2 April, 2009, the G-20 summit held in London address the current financial crisis. There is no guaranty of bang of world economy once again. Instead of finding of roots of dearth of the economy, they came with some sops for the global economy. If you go throughout history, one can know that people are not ready to learn. There is no doubt in saying that any financial and monetary measures of the USA and EU will bring more inflation, more devaluation of national currencies, more unemployment, more painful losses of the markets and lower prices of export commodities of the developing and poor countries, more unequal exchange. The society is organized on the principle of division of labour if its health is to be ensured, then all the three dimension of an economy namely; production, exchange and distribution should be taken care of. It is, therefore, necessary that production should be guided not by market forces e.g., demand and supply but the need of the society. There wer e three essential functions to be performed namely; to adept production according to need, to maintain the volume of production up to the limits set by available resources and to distribute equitably the common product among the producers. Production is guided by demand and not by need of the societies and hence it is governed and measured by income, which is very low as compared to need. Again, the level of production is not maintained according to the existing resources. It was carefully directed by the capitalist proprietors who according to their own wishes, controls its volume and size motivated chiefly by the ideal of maximization of profits. Consequently, the distribution of wealth was unjust and there was exploitation of masses by a few. The diminishing purchasing power of working classes, total consumption fails to keep pace with total production leading to unemployment, further diminishing of purchasing power and ultimately to an intensification of crisis. This leads to in the volume of production of those commodities which the labourers are unable to purchase. Consequently, prices go on falling, size of production is reduced, factories are closed and unemployment is created leading to further crisis. Developing countries, particularly India has to spend more on areas like housing projects for low-income urban residents, farmers livelihood and rural infrastructure, the construction of railway, road and airports, education and public health care, ecological construction, technological innovations and disaster relief more systematically. It is an opportunity to change this current global economic and political order. Need to address global imbalances by creating a new global currency, should be widely accepted at international level along with credible insurance mechanisms for countries that forego reserve accumulation and stimulate domestic expansion, along three possible lines: more central bank swap lines; reserve pooling; and a major expansion of IMF resources, together with IMF emphasis on a large, flexible, fast-disbursing facility that would come with little or no conditionality to countries that are adversely affected by global shocks. Accelerate the development of financial systems in emerging markets, in particular local currency bond markets and foreign currency hedging instruments. Promote regional cooperation in the design of common institutional standards for financial market development and work to lift barriers to cross-border asset trade within regions would be helpful to avoid any further economic crisis in future.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee :: To Kill a Mockingbird Essays

As readers, we saw Scout mature and grow as our narrator and as a person. She learned many things, but also lost many things. As she grew up and changed, she began to see how things really were, and gained the knowledge of the pure hate that one man can show another. Scout lost her innocence when she found this out. She began to see how cruel the world could be to someone who is a little different or strange. She saw this in the prejudice that was shown to Tom Robinson, Walter Cunningham, Miss Maudie and even herself. She gained the wisdom of the world outside her back door and began to see how society works, (it is very cruel and cynical). Although this may not have been a good thing, she could now see how unimportant it was. Atticus taught Jem and Scout to be polite, caring kids. He instilled in them a great sense of love for their neighbor and told them things that would help them get on in life. Scout was very lucky to have someone to guide her along the way. Although she was faced with â€Å"the real world†, she had lots of people who would willingly explain to her and guide her. Scout really matured during the course of this book. She went from a six-year-old child with no knowledge of the real world to a ten year old who had a lot of life’s most important lessons shown to her at a very young age. She had to learn, very quickly, that life would not always be easy and fun. She learned of the horrible ways men can treat other men and of the ugliness of station, poverty and hate. The author, Harper Lee, picked an interesting person to narrate the story. This had some advantages and disadvantages as the story progressed. This writing technique is a very versatile one. When the author uses Scout as the first person, she opens the reader’s eyes to the way children think and act. She also offers a fair opinion of the affairs of Maycomb, and doesn’t dwell on adult matters and make it boring. Some disadvantages of picking Scout for the first person viewpoint were that even though she was smart, she didn’t really understand what all the fuss was about. She was too innocent and young to really grasp the point sometimes and tell the reader, about it.

Kants Humanity Formula Essay -- Kant Philosophy Philosophical Essays

Kant's Humanity Formula   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Few formulas in philosophy have been so widely accepted and variously interpreted as Kant’s injunction to treat humanity as an end in itself†(Hill, 38). Immanuel Kant’s views, as elucidated in his book, Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals, are based on the belief that â€Å"people count† by prohibiting actions which exploit other individuals in order for self-prosperity or altruistic ends. Ethics then, are confirmed by the dignity and worth of the rational agency of each person. Since human beings are the only rational beings capable of decision making and reasonable judgement, humanity must be valued. Kant proposes a test that ensures that humanity is treated with respect, and not used merely as an instrument. To understand how he defines this test, we must first take a look at the foundation of his main principle, the Categorical Imperative. Kant’s way of determining morality of actions is quite different from other philosophers, and many find it extremely hard to grasp or implausible. The central concept of his basic test for morality found in his Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals is the categorical imperative. â€Å"The representation of an objective principle, insofar as it is necessitating for a will, is called a command (of reason), and the formula of the command is called an imperative†(Kant, 24). In other words, an imperative is something that a will ought or shall do because the will is obligated to act in a way in which conforms to moral law. Imperatives can also be referred to as the supreme principle of morality. According to Kant, there are two types of imperatives: hypothetical and categorical. Hypothetical imperatives are actions that look for the best means to a goal, however, the goal might not necessarily be an end in itself. On the other hand, the categorical imperative is an objectively necessary means to an end in itself, and the action to obtain the end, must have moral worth. If we as rational agents, have any morality at all Kant says, it takes the form of rational, categorical imperatives (commands of reason) and is found a priori excluding all interests and desires. These commands of reason are proven by the Universal Law Formula, which when applied, is a method for determining the morality of actions. How is this formula applied though? Kantian philosophy is derived from the belief that ac... ...eir judgement wisely enough to know that lying would create better outcomes in many situations. This essentially, would be a Utilitarian’s argument. Moral actions are based on consequences; ones which increase happiness or positive outcomes. Telling a lie to the murderer to send him astray would save a life, and consequently would be a moral action. Utilitarianism would take into account the future repercussions caused by the lie, but the analysis of an action still lies in the foreseen or predicted consequences rather than on the action’s intrinsic moral value. Morality then, would be judged on a case by case basis. Kant’s perspective refutes this by saying morality loses its value as a universal quality. Although situations change, the basis for acting (morality) must stay the same and actions are moral or immoral, regardless of any immediate consequences. Still, morality is based on constantly changing and often unpredictable outcomes. Kantian philosophy, even interpreted by Kant himself, is overly extreme and the strict application of its principles is too stringent. Although there is no definite foundation to base morality on, the universal law formula is highly implausible. Kant's Humanity Formula Essay -- Kant Philosophy Philosophical Essays Kant's Humanity Formula   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Few formulas in philosophy have been so widely accepted and variously interpreted as Kant’s injunction to treat humanity as an end in itself†(Hill, 38). Immanuel Kant’s views, as elucidated in his book, Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals, are based on the belief that â€Å"people count† by prohibiting actions which exploit other individuals in order for self-prosperity or altruistic ends. Ethics then, are confirmed by the dignity and worth of the rational agency of each person. Since human beings are the only rational beings capable of decision making and reasonable judgement, humanity must be valued. Kant proposes a test that ensures that humanity is treated with respect, and not used merely as an instrument. To understand how he defines this test, we must first take a look at the foundation of his main principle, the Categorical Imperative. Kant’s way of determining morality of actions is quite different from other philosophers, and many find it extremely hard to grasp or implausible. The central concept of his basic test for morality found in his Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals is the categorical imperative. â€Å"The representation of an objective principle, insofar as it is necessitating for a will, is called a command (of reason), and the formula of the command is called an imperative†(Kant, 24). In other words, an imperative is something that a will ought or shall do because the will is obligated to act in a way in which conforms to moral law. Imperatives can also be referred to as the supreme principle of morality. According to Kant, there are two types of imperatives: hypothetical and categorical. Hypothetical imperatives are actions that look for the best means to a goal, however, the goal might not necessarily be an end in itself. On the other hand, the categorical imperative is an objectively necessary means to an end in itself, and the action to obtain the end, must have moral worth. If we as rational agents, have any morality at all Kant says, it takes the form of rational, categorical imperatives (commands of reason) and is found a priori excluding all interests and desires. These commands of reason are proven by the Universal Law Formula, which when applied, is a method for determining the morality of actions. How is this formula applied though? Kantian philosophy is derived from the belief that ac... ...eir judgement wisely enough to know that lying would create better outcomes in many situations. This essentially, would be a Utilitarian’s argument. Moral actions are based on consequences; ones which increase happiness or positive outcomes. Telling a lie to the murderer to send him astray would save a life, and consequently would be a moral action. Utilitarianism would take into account the future repercussions caused by the lie, but the analysis of an action still lies in the foreseen or predicted consequences rather than on the action’s intrinsic moral value. Morality then, would be judged on a case by case basis. Kant’s perspective refutes this by saying morality loses its value as a universal quality. Although situations change, the basis for acting (morality) must stay the same and actions are moral or immoral, regardless of any immediate consequences. Still, morality is based on constantly changing and often unpredictable outcomes. Kantian philosophy, even interpreted by Kant himself, is overly extreme and the strict application of its principles is too stringent. Although there is no definite foundation to base morality on, the universal law formula is highly implausible.

Managerial Economics

P7. 6 Optimal Input Mix. The First National Bank received 3,000 inquiries following the latest advertisement describing its 30-month IRA accounts in the Boston World, a local newspaper. The most recent ad in a similar advertising campaign in Massachusetts Business, a regional business magazine, generated 1,000 inquiries. Each newspaper ad costs $500, whereas each magazine ad costs $125. A. Assuming that additional ads would generate similar response rates, is the bank running an optimal mix of newspaper and magazine ads? Why or why not? No, the bank is not running an optimal mix of newspaper and magazine ads because the optimal combination would occur when MPn / Pn = MPm / Pm ? newspaper output: 3,000 / 500 = 6 and magazine output: 1,000 / 125 = 8. Therefore, amount spent on newspaper ads attracted 6 inquiries while amount spent on magazine ad attracted 8 inquiries. So to run an optimal mix of newspaper and magazine ads, the bank has to run more magazine ads and/ or fewer newspaper a ds. B. Holding all else equal, how many inquiries must a newspaper ad attract for the current advertising mix to be optimal? For the current advertising mix to be optimal, MPn / Pn = MPm / Pm therefore, to increase the newspaper output from 6 to 8, Find: MPn / 500 = 8 *500 ? MPn = 4,000 *500 So inquiries generated by newspaper ads would have to increase from 3,000 to 4,000. P7. 7 Marginal Revenue Product of Labor. To better serve customers interested in buying cars over the Internet, Smart Motors, Inc. , hired Nora Jones to respond to customer inquiries, offer price quotes, and write orders for leads generated by the company’s Web site. During last year, Jones averaged 1. 5 vehicle sales per week.On average, these vehicles sold for a retail price of $25,000 and brought the dealership a profit contribution of $1,000 each. A. Estimate Jones’ annual (50 workweek) marginal revenue product. oJones’ marginal revenue product can be found by the number of cars sold and the profit of each sale. MRPL = MPL * MRQ ? MRPL = (1. 5 * 50) * ($1,000) = $75,000 (Vehicles sales p/week * workweek) * (profit contribution) B. Jones earns a base salary of $60,000 per year, and Smart Motors pays an additional 28 percent of this base salary in taxes and various fringe benefits.Is Jones a profitable employee? oNo, Jones is not a profitable employee because her cost to be employed is $76,800 ($60,000 base salary + 28% of taxes and fringe benefits) and her marginal revenue product is only $75,000. Therefore, MRPL ($75,000) < PL ($76,800). This means that even though Jones brings in $75,000 additional profit it costs Smart Motors $76,800 to have her which means she brings $1,800 of marginal loss to Smart Motors. P7. 8 Optimal Input Level. Ticket Services, Inc. , offers ticket promotion and handling services for concerts and sporting events.The Sherman Oaks, California, branch office makes heavy use of spot radio advertising on WHAM-AM, with each 30-second ad costing $ 100. During the past year, the following relation between advertising and ticket sales per event has been observed: Sales (units) = 5,000 + 100A – 0. 5A2 ?Sales (units) / ? Advertising = 100 – A Here, A represents a 30-second radio spot ad, and sales are measured in numbers of tickets. Rachel Green, manager for the Sherman Oaks office, has been asked to recommend an appropriate level of advertising.In thinking about this problem, Green noted its resemblance to the optimal resource employment problem studied in a managerial economics course. The advertising/sales relation could be thought of as a production function, with advertising as an input and sales as the output. The problem is to determine the profit-maximizing level of employment for the input, advertising, in this â€Å"production† system. Green recognized that a measure of output value was needed to solve the problem.After reflection, Green determined that the value of output is $2 per ticket, the net marginal revenue earned by Ticket Services (price minus all marginal costs except advertising). A. Continuing with Green's production analogy, what is the marginal product of advertising? **Marginal Product measures additional output from one more unit of the variable input. ** oMPA = MS/MA = ? Sales (units) / ? Advertising (OR ? Q/? A) = 100 – A B. What is the rule for determining the optimal amount of a resource to employ in a production system? Explain the logic underlying this rule. The rule for determining the optimal amount of a resource to employ is: MRPA = PA (see slide 17) MPA * MRQ = PA (see slide 9) The above equation turns to: ?Q/? A * ? TR/? Q = ? TC/? A ?Q’s cancel each other out and the equation turns to: ?TR/? A = ? TC/? A This leads to Marginal Total Revenue (MTR) = Marginal Total Cost (MTC), which means the inflow = outflow. C. Using the rule for optimal resource employment, determine the profit-maximizing number of radio ads. oUsing the above equatio n MPA * MRQ = PA ? (100-A )* $2 = $100 $200-2A = $100 ? $100= 2A ? A=$50 P7. 9 Net Marginal Revenue.Crane, Poole & Schmidt, LLC, is a successful Boston-based law firm. Worker productivity at the firm is measured in billable hours, which vary between partners and associates. Partner time is billed to clients at a rate of $250 per hour, whereas associate time is billed at a rate of $125 per hour. On average, each partner generates 25 billable hours per 40-hour workweek, with 15 hours spent on promotion, administrative, and supervisory responsibilities. Associates generate an average of 35 billable hours per 40-hour workweek and spend 5 hours per week in administrative and training meetings.Variable overhead costs average 50 percent of revenues generated by partners and 60 percent of revenues generated by associates. A. Calculate the annual (50 workweek) net marginal revenue product of partners and associates. For Partners: oMRPP = MPP * MRQ ? MRPP = ($25 * 50) * ($250* 100% – 5 0%) = $156,250 (Billable hrs * workweek) * (rate billed * % overhead cost) For Associates: oMRPA = MPA * MRA ? MRPA = ($35 * 50) * ($125* 100% – 60%) = $87,500 (Billable hrs * workweek) * (rate billed * % overhead cost) Each marginal hour of effort by partner brings the firm $250 in revenue – $125 ($250 *50%) of variable costs, so a partner has a net marginal revue of $125 p/hr. ?Each marginal hour of effort by associate brings the firm $125 in revenue – $75($125 *60%) of variable costs, so a partner has a net marginal revue of $50 p/hr. Both of these reflect the marginal value of service output. B. If partners earn $175,000 and associates earn $70,000 per year, does the company have an optimal combination of partners and associates? If not, why not? Make your answer explicit and support any recommendations for change. Comparing partners marginal revenue products with their salary shows MRPP = $156,250 ; $175,000. This means that partners bring $18,750 ($175,000 -$156,250) marginal loss to the firm. oComparing associates marginal revenue products with their salary shows MRPA = $87,500 ; $70,000. This means that associates bring $17,500 ($87,500-$70,000) marginal profit to the firm. Therefore to help move the company to an optimal combination where profit is maximized, they will have to either reduce the number of partners or have a small increase in the number of associates.This can be done by expanding the number of associates until MRPA = $70,000. After this is done we can recalculate the MRPP to see if it has increased. If the new MRPP = $175,000, no other change needs to be made. Chapter 7 Power Point Problem Stereo Receivers. Do-It-Yourself, Inc. , sells budget-priced stereo receivers, in both kit and fully-assembled forms. Customers who assemble their own receivers benefit from the lower kit price of $100 per receiver. â€Å"Full-service† customers enjoy the luxury of an assembled receiver, but pay a higher price of $150 per re ceiver.Both kit and fully assembled receiver prices are stable. The company has observed the following relation between the numbers of assembly workers employed per day and assembled receiver output: Number of workersFinished receivers 00 18 214 318 420 521 A. )Construct a table showing the net marginal revenue product derived from assembly worker employment. Number of WorkersFinished receiversMarginal Product of Labor (MPL)Net Marginal Revenue Product of Labor (NMRPL) (1)(2)(3)(4) = (3) x $50 00N/AN/A 188$400 146$300 3184$200 4202$100 5211$50 B. )How many assemblers would Do-It-Yourself employ at a daily wage rate of $120? oDo-It-Yourself would employ 3 workers since from the table above, three workers NMRPL is $200 which is greater (;) than the $120 they would pay in wages. C. )What is the highest daily wage rate Do-It Yourself would pay to hire four assemblers per day? oTo hire four assemblers per day, the highest daily wage rate Do-It-Yourself should pay is $100 since thatâ€⠄¢s the NMRPL for the fourth worker. Managerial Economics Q1. In a country, the velocity of money is constant. Real GDP grows by 5% per year, the money stock by 14% per year, and the nominal interest rate is 11 per cent. What is the real interest rate? A. 1 The following is provided in the question GDP growth rate (Y)- 5% Money Stock growth rate (M)-14% Nominal Interest Rate- 11% Velocity Of Money- Constant Real Interest Rate = Nominal interest rate – Inflation †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Fisher Effect By the quantity equation we have; M . V = P. YThe Quantity theory of Money assumes that V is constant and exogenous. Inflation= Change in the Money Growth- Change in the GDP Growth Using the above values Inflation= 14% – 5% = 9% Thus; Real Interest Rate = 11%- 9%= 2% Therefore the real interest rate is adjusted for inflation. Q. 2 Suppose a country has a money demand function (M/P)d = kY, where k is a constant parameter. The money supply grows by 12% per year, and real income grows by 4% per year. (a) What is the average inflation rate? b) How would inflation be different if real income growth were higher, say 6%? Explain. (c) Suppose, instead of a constant money demand function, the velocity of money in this economy was growing steadily, say by 2% per annum because of financial innovation. How would that affect the inflation rate? Explain. A. 2 The Money demand function (M/P)d = kY, where M/P = Real Money Balances k= money people wish to hold for each rupee of income and k= 1/V (a) Average Inflation Rate 12%- 4%= 8% b) If Y=6%, then Inflation is 12% – 6 %= 6% Inflation depends upon changes (in this increases) in the Money Supply and Real Income, which is given by the quantity theory of money. So if the money growth rate is greater than the real income growth rate it results in Inflation. In the (a) the money growth rate was 12% whereas real income growth rate is 4% so the Inflation rate is 8%, whereas in (b) the real income growth rate has increased to 6% and hence the inflat ion has rate has changed and decreased to 6%. c) The Velocity of money is not constant in this case as assumed in the Quantity theory of money. V=2% The Inflation would now therefore be determined as follows- Inflation rate = Change in Money Supply + Change in Velocity – Change in Real Income Inflation rate = 12% + 2% – 4%=10 % The Inflation in this case is highest and is equal to 10%, this is because the growth rate of money supply is greater than real income growth rate and also because the V is not a constant and hence the a unit of the money is being used 2% more.