Renaissance in Italy

There were many factors that led to the Renaissance beginning in Italy. The Renaissance was a transition to the Modern Age that began in Italy. It began in Italy for plenty of reasons but the main factors for this happening are the geographical and sociological factors. These were what made Italy the country that started the Renaissance movement that would later move all throughout Europe. Geographically the main reason why Italy started the Renaissance was the reminder they had from ancient Rome. It was the beauty and art that showed that this area had wealth. 94) This was like a reminder to all the people in that country that they can all have wealth and beauty like that. It wasn't even Just the wealth and beauty in Rome but also the arts and music that was shown, this helped them want to change. (294) Not only was it Rome but there were also other cities like Milan, Florence, Venice, Mantra and Genoa that had the same characteristics. (295) This led to them stepping away from King doms and instead being led by cities. (Lecture 1) The wealthy families also helped start the Renaissance in Italy.One example was he Medici family who were so wealthy that they take over the city of Florence. (Lecture 1) Europe was hit with a plague and the first country to start trading again was Italy, which helped them get a huge increase in wealth over the other countries in Europe. This in itself had a big impact on the creation of the Renaissance in Italy. (lecture 1) All these factors played a big role in the creation of the Renaissance. It was because of Italy's history, location, and wealth that helped this happen. Without all these things happening in Italy the Renaissance wouldn't have happened as fast as it did.

To Kill a Mocking Bird Mrs. Dubose

Valeria Lackey Mrs. Flemming English 10 March 3, 2011 To Kill a Mockingbird Essay In the book To Kill a Mockingbird Jem and scout live in a small town called Macomb. Scout and Jem have a lot of fun times roaming their neighborhood; even though most of the town found it unruly and disturbing that their father was okay with this behavior. Jem and scout heard criticism from a lot of people but the person who made it sting the most lived two houses down from them, Mrs. Dubose. Mrs. Dubose is an old, rude hag addicted to morphine and in this book is a symbol for the reality of things.This mean old witch is racist, very rude and knows how to make her words sting. Mrs. Dubose’s full name is Henry Lafayette Dubose, a boy’s name, which is more than ironic when she makes fun of Scout for being a tomboy and saying things like, â€Å"Don’t say hey to me you ugly girl! You say good afternoon, Mrs. Dubose! † Harper Lee is showing Mrs. Dubose is a hypocrite because one s he has a boy’s name and two she is not attractive either so she has no right to call anyone ugly. A lot of people in this community do not agree with Atticus, but one of the few that let it be known is Mrs.Dubose. Every day the kids pass by her house and everyday she has a new comment about their father like, â€Å"not only a Finch waiting tables but one in the court house lawing for niggers! † Mrs. Dubose doesn’t have to address the children so harshly but she chooses to do so, Harper Lee is trying so symbolize stereotypical people. Mrs. Dubose might be able to stand up to her morphine addiction; she wouldn’t tell anyone to their face what she thinks about them only if they are smaller and they cannot do anything about it.Mrs. Dubose is a bully. Mrs. Dubose has been sucked into what most people should fear, an addition, but this was to a powerful highly addictive medicine, morphine. In the book it states that,† Mrs. Dubose lived alone except for a Negro girl in constant attendance’’, yet her name suggests that she is married which can only mean she has been widowed. That is when she began to spiral downward into the hands of the monster. Jem and Scout didn’t know that she was addicted to morphine they just thought she was sick.Even when they go over to the house to read to her, Jem’s punishment Scout just tags along. Jem and Scout saw it as a nightmare to go over to this horrible woman’s house and read to her and do little chores for her. They didn’t even know they were easing her mind off of the thing that stalks it. â€Å"Mrs. Dubose was a morphine addict,† withdrawals is what Mrs. Dubose suffered every day until the morphine was completely out of her system, shortly after that she died, but she ended with a great battle to the finish.Harper Lee was symbolizing how everyday people are sucked into the devils hand it’s their choice to decide whether or not they will get out. Through everything Mrs. Dubose thought the children and Atticus she still unfortunately died. Like everything in life no matter the accomplishments people still die, the importance is the memory story and knowledge they leave behind. â€Å". . . Instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It’s when you know you’re licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what.. Mrs. Dubose did not get to tell Jem this but she helped Atticus make his children realize that there is more to courage than a gun. Mrs. Dubose fought a fight with out a gun and it was a hard one but she made it and accomplished what she thought she could only dream of doing. Being free of morphine was her last wish and she accomplished that, â€Å"She said she was going to leave this world beholden to nothing and nobody. † Her death symbolizes you do not know what you have until you lose it Jem would have never looked through her wi ckedness.It took death for him to realize what she was truly about. More than just the characters in the book can learn from Mrs. Dubose, she helps unfold many lessons. Do not judge a book by its cover, take a step in another shoes for a while and a friendship can come in an unlikely place. Harper Lee used Mrs. Dubose as a symbol to reality that the real world is not a fairy tell and a lot of people are going to say hurtful things; but being the bigger person is better off in the long run. Mrs. Dubose was an old hag that overcame her fear and died without morphine.

What Does it Cost to Attend Kenyon College?

Deciding which college to attend comes with plethora of factors to consider, and for many families, college prices doesn’t make this decision any easier. Every year, tuition at four-year institutions rises. College tuition has been increasing almost six percent above the rate of inflation , and is expected to continue doing so. Meanwhile, a college degree is becoming the baseline expectation in the increasingly-competitive job market, and the demand for a college education is greater now than it was one generation ago.   With such high rates of tuition, financial aid becomes more and more important. In the 2015-2016 academic year, 85 percent of undergraduate students received financial aid . Financial aid itself is a multi-faceted creature, and can be a headache to navigate. Kenyon College, home to the prestigious Kenyon Review and a dining hall that bears striking resemblance to Hogwarts’ Great Hall, is a private institution in Gambier, Ohio. The high sticker price, however, is not necessarily easy on the wallet. We’ve compiled this post that covers exactly how you can navigate tuition prices, as well as the different options you have for financing your student’s degree at Kenyon College. If your student is interested, or already admitted—congratulations!—to Kenyon, you’ve probably already visited the college’s Costs and Financial aid page . That’s a good place to start, and will give you a general idea of how much four years at Kenyon might cost. However, it can also be misleading. Costs of attendance for colleges are highly variable. The numbers that you see there are what we call the list prices, and few families actually pay that price. A better number to look for is the net cost , which refers to what families actually pay out of their pockets, after factors like financial aid have been applied. Generally, the elements that will reduce net cost come down to three parts: We’ll look at each of these in detail in this post. Since all financial aid is subtracted from the list price to give the net cost, the list price is where to start in estimating a student’s cost of attendance. In the 2016-2017 academic year, Kenyon College’s list price was $66,670 for both in-state and out-of-state students, since it’s a private institution. Remember that most families don’t pay this price. Who are those who do pay it? In general, it’s the families whose annual household income is greater than $175,000. Even for these families, if the student receives merit aid from the institution, they may not even pay the list price. It’s worthwhile to note that not all colleges offer merit aid, but Kenyon College does. Approximately 47% of Kenyon students receive need-based aid, and 22% receive scholarships. F or the 2016-2017 school year, the average net cost of attendance with need-based financial aid only was $57,328 for both in-state and out-of-state students. The greater your family’s financial need, the more need-based aid a student will qualify for. Here are the average net amounts that families with different incomes pay for Kenyon College. *These numbers do not reflect any Pell Grants that families may receive. Families with an income of $0-30k often receive Federal Pell Grants, which reduce the amount of financial aid that individual institutions need to award. This is why there is a higher tuition rate for families with $0-30k vs. those with $30k-48k. Estimating your chance of getting into a college is not easy in today’s competitive environment. Thankfully, with our state-of-the-art software and data, we can analyze your academic and extracurricular profile and estimate your chances. Our profile analysis tool can also help you identify the improvement you need to make to enter your dream school. What we’ve been talking about so far has been need-based financial aid. In contrast, merit aid is awards granted based on what the college deems to be exceptional performance and potential, usually academic performance, and school or community involvement. It often comes in the form of a scholarship. Merit aid at Kenyon College is relatively generous. Out of a pool of 1000 schools analyzed for merit aid generosity, Kenyon ranks 611th. At Kenyon, 23.1% of students without financial need receive merit aid, with the average amount coming to $3,305 in 2016. The average net price for a student who didn’t qualify for financial aid was $63,365. Often, students still need help financing their college education even with institutional aid and scholarships. This is where student loans come in. Unlike scholarships or grants, loans need to be repaid, often with interest. At Kenyon College, 69% of students take out federal loans, with an average amount of $3,046 per student across their college career. Investing in college is a big decision, especially if your student has loans to pay back, so it’s useful to have an idea of how graduates of a particular school are doing down the line. Kenyon College has a 6-year graduation rate of 90%, which is impressively high when stacked against the 66% average for private nonprofit institutions. The average salary of a Kenyon alum ten years after graduation is $48,700.    Besides the main expenses of tuition and room and board, there are usually other costs to account for when estimating college spending, even if the student is living on-campus for all years of attendance. Gambier, Ohio has an overall cost of living index of 95.6 , which means it’s about 4 percent more affordable to live in Gambier than in the rest of the U.S. in general. If the idea of looking for housing for college gives you a headache, Kenyon College’s housing situation is just right for you. Kenyon is a fully residential college. Students live on-campus for all four years, and have a variety to choose from, from program houses to themed houses. There aren’t many off-campus job opportunities for Kenyon students, since the college itself is the main attraction of the village of Gambier. However, the on-campus employment scene is rich; students can choose from over 1100 job positions filled each year on the Kenyon campus. The minimum wage for on-campus jobs, determined by the minimum state wage, is $8.55 per hour as of 2019.    We’ve covered the main ways in which students can lower than costs of attendance, but the ways to save don’t end at financial aid and loans. There are many merit-based private scholarships available, especially if your student is enrolling in an institution in their home state . The Austin E. Knowlton Scholarship supports a Kenyon student from Ohio with up to $18,000 over four years. One of the most prestigious national scholarships is the National Merit program. Students who take the PSAT are automatically entered for qualification, and the program awards $2,500 to finalists. Take a look at our guide to the National Merit Scholarship program . You can learn more about scholarships on our following posts: Another way to help finance an education at Kenyon is right here at . As a part of our College Applications Program , we help students figure out how to make any school more affordable using our Finances tool, which can show the ROI of different schools and majors and help students identify scholarships to apply for. On average, our students earn about $83,000 in scholarships. Find out if working with our Financial Aid Tools is right for your family! The Applications Program will also pair your student with an admissions specialist who will work with them one-on-one to navigate each step of the college application process, from building a school list to submitting the application.

Study of The UK Food Manufacturing 2036 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6000 words

Study of The UK Food Manufacturing 2036 - Essay Example The paper has deployed a number of strategic management techniques to determine market condition, consumer demand and position of the companies thereof. SWOT, PEST and Porter’s five force analyses were considered appropriate. Besides business environment, financial and non-financial performance of each company has been assessed along with their cumulative performance for a period of five years. The paper has elaborately discussed every aspect of business with respect to the subject companies using ratio analysis. The outcomes have also been critically assessed and recommendations have been provided keeping in view the future scope of growth and development for the firms. The food sector in the United Kingdom (UK) can be chiefly segmented in four areas, namely, food manufacturing, food retailing, food wholesaling and non-residential catering. Food is an essential purchase among all others by consumers and growth of food sector is being significantly driven by increasing population. Between 1992 and 2008, the food sector of the UK grew parallel with economic boom and stabilised by 2012. The food manufacturing sector is significantly dominated by different kind of foods that can be conveniently categorised as necessity food and luxury food and be further subdivided into other categories (DEFRA, 2014a; Manley, 2010). The diversified nature of the UK food industry and its contribution in the UK economy makes it an interesting choice of research. The food manufacturing sector is an essential part of the food industry as it acts as a link between agro-food industry of raw material and food retailing and wholesaling. Food manufacturing is also essential for the food industry because it generate employment, provides export opportunities, minimises scope of import and results in great value addition to local produces and local crop producers (ILO, 2014). The research paper

Analysis of First Eucharistic Prayer Research Paper

Analysis of First Eucharistic Prayer - Research Paper Example Scholar Mazza explores and examines the four texts available to him in order to decipher the structure and content of the First Eucharistic Prayer: (1) Jewish festive meal, (2) Luke’s Last Supper, (3) Didache, and (4) the First Letter to the Corinthians. The â€Å"texts† that describe the rituals characterized in the Jewish festive meal and the Didache were written anonymously since both texts are oral tradition; this implies that the two texts were made by the people who practiced them -- there was no particular author who wrote them. In Luke’s document, it is assumed that the writer is Luke who was one of the disciples of Jesus. And the author of the Letter to the Corinthians is none other than St. Paul himself. In his rigorous research, Mazza uncovers the nature of this Eucharistic Prayer and how it shapes the study of Christology and Ecclesiology. According to Mazza (1999, p.20), Luke’s description of the Last Supper has similarity or â€Å"analogous† to the Jewish festive meal. Monti (1993, p.117) says that the Last Supper instituted by Jesus of Nazareth is considered by many Christians as the â€Å"most important aspects of this liturgy (i.e., eucharistic prayer).† And Mazza attempts to find a connection or relationship between the Last Supper and the Jewish festive meal; after all, Jesus was fundamentally a Jew. There are three basic stages of the Jewish festive meal: first, the rite of the Qiddush as an introduction to the festive celebration; second, the meal proper; and third, the rite of the cup accompanied by Birkat ha-Mazon (Mazza, 1999). In the Qiddush rite, it begins with the rite of the cup and the reading taken from the passage in the Book of Genesis. Afterwards, a short blessing is performed. At the concluding part of the Qiddush is the rite of bread. After the rite of the Qiddush and the me al proper is the recitation of the Birkat ha-Mazon; Birkat ha-Mazon is a ritual characterized by thanksgiving to God, usually

Critique memo Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Critique memo - Assignment Example It gives the pictorial presentation of the product in pages one and two with the consecutive pages dealing with other parts effectively. The article develops the product specification by giving a general overview then narrowing down to the various pars with absolute precision. Areas that may have different components are highlighted to ensure variation in the product based on color and other features are captured in the technical document. In addition, the illustration and specification of integral parts are highlighted by separating the different parts and addressing the issues of the parts independently. The article offers complete information about the product without venturing in excess information. However, the major challenge with the document is on the creativity and appeal. The document is not appealing enough especially when searching for basic information of the product. The appeal of the document can be improved by addressing the issues of layout and color usage in the document. The current document is black and white. The use of color will improve its appeal and encourage readers to access it. In conclusion, the document is good but needs minor improvement in issues on

Unemployment in UK Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Unemployment in UK - Assignment Example The history of unemployment in the UK tells that during Great Depression the rate of unemployment was very high in the country. It reached to the level of 25 percent but after that time, unemployment rate used to remain at a low level and with the help of different policies and strategies the government of the UK succeeded to attain more or less full employment level until the 1970s. However, after an oil prices fluctuation in the 1970s the unemployment rate was also badly affected and gradually it began to rise. The recent rise in the unemployment rate is highest during the last decade and the country is facing the worst situation with respect to unemployment crisis in the country (Pettinger, p2, 2009). The following table shows the United Kingdom unemployment rate during last three years and it is clearly seen in the table that unemployment rate is continuously increasing in the country with each passing year. The recent statistics also show that the unemployment is recorded at the highest rate in last eight years. The rate of unemployment is rising at an alarming pace due to which the year 2009 is also expected as a stagnant year for the economy of United Kingdom. (Monaghan, p1, 2008) The country while responding towards the global financial crisis is witnessing worst situation of unemployment and there is a high level of concerns and worries at all level regarding the rise of the unemployment rate. The following chart shows the current situation of unemployment in the country that is expected to rise even more. Unemployment is closely related with the economic development of a country. When an economy faces recessions, the rate of unemployment also increases. Thus, the economic recession is the major cause behind the high rate of unemployment in the UK and it is expected that if the UK will face deep economic recession in 2009 then the unemployment will also reach the level of 3 million.  

To Spy Or Not To Spy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 1

To Spy Or Not To Spy - Essay Example However, there is no consensus with many members having dissenting opinions on the capacity of embracing technology to solve their problems at hand. Some of dissenting opinion with being pro technology is the capability that the technology bring, which the chief executive officer so much believe in and has to building trust when the subordinate are under the watch always with the spyware. This presents a problem of mistrust and fear within the company. Trust is needed for the company to be reputable and cooperative. It emerges that the transitioning from the founders of the company to the current CEO of the company did not have more of technology but it advanced. The previous regime based their property on the research that enabled them to know area of opportunity, threats, weaknesses and strength. With such knowledge, it was easy for the company to grow. The root cause of the stalemate and problem was the new chief executive office coming up with almost sudden change. According to research done by Carr & Trahant change is not something that should be done once but introduce slowly to allow people to familiarize with. The new chief executive came with philosophy of embracing technology, which appeared to be skewed toward spying employees. This cause discourse within the board. The strategic position has negatively affected by the problem in a number of ways. First, the resistance of being pro technology delays the program. Use of spyware is also observed as absence of trust hence bringing the divisions in the company. The current marketing of Globe Alive, Inc is Edmonton area. They have good customer base in Edmonton area. In addition, this organization has very clear objectives. For example, facilitate efficient communication between global partners, discern in-bound supply chain elements from out-bound shipments, expedite customer orders in a timely manner, electronically transfer funds around the world, and monitor employees to ensure

To What Extent might Globalization be seen as Disadvantageous to Our Essay

To What Extent might Globalization be seen as Disadvantageous to Our Society - Essay Example Before moving on, there is a dire need to define what globalization, in essence, is - globalization is a term which encompasses a number of difficult series of economic, social, technological, cultural and political changes that have been happening from time to time on the global front. These changes have seen some serious strides that have been made with regards to increasing interdependence as well as mergers and interacting units between people from different locations and companies with diversified interests. The term started to take form in the year 1944 but it was not before the year 1981 that the economists actually started using it. The main person responsible for coining the term globalization is considered to be Theodore Levitt. Furthermore, in an economic zone, globalization plays a significant role in increasing trade on an international front which as compared to the global economy, is much faster and ahead of its time. In addition, one can predict an increase in the flow of capital that has been coming from the global regimes which might include the foreign direct investment as being one part of it. Moving on, there are the agreements which are signed on a global scale that eventually lead to world bodies like the World Trade Organization (WTO) and others. Global financial systems also come to light as their developmental work gets thumbs up. International transactions speed up as the world bodies like WTO, WIPO, IMF and the like play their role in a more coherent and active manner. Economic practices like global sourcing or outsourcing as we know of it, off-shoring and others increase courtesy the multinational concerns. Hence poverty-driven mechanisms are enacted but not followed to the extreme core, t hus resulting in the poor masses which are spread in every nook and corner of the world today. Â  

Opportunity to Get Higher Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Opportunity to Get Higher Education - Essay Example Alongside each  paper  I did, the lecturer commented on my strengths and weakness. Further, the  lecturer  gave me suggestions on how I can improve weaker areas. I do not  often  read  textbooks, probably; this was the least helpful thing I had through this class. A textbook is a tool and no need of reading all that is in there some  irrelevant  to the subject. The reading assignments we worked on were extremely specific and always applied directly to the assignments. The assignments I enjoyed most were those I had  total  discretion in terms of my topic of choice. Persuasive research  paper  and also the  letter  to the  writer  were my  best  assignments I did in this class, and I scored  best  in these two papers. In my letter to the editor, I discussed animal egret and abandonment and came up with a solution. The  solution  called â€Å"get  tough† which included  multiple  steps. The real key  solution  was using  the community  for outreach and  involvements  in ensuring animal rights  have adhered. The issue of animal rights is particularly  salient  to me because I work in an animal shelter,  and  was ease  getting  all the  information I required. The story about basset hound  found  in  shock  brought in  passion  for this. I looked in depth on the importance of spaying or neutering your pets in my persuasive  paper. This issue  was deeply connected  to this  letter  am writing to the editor. Animal abuse and neglect would be substantially lessened.  This  would be so if there were not so many unwanted puppies and kittens born to people who cannot protect  them and not be wishing to do so.  I opened up the paper with a series of questions, which I think helped  catch  the readers attention and I had a  sizeable  number  of facts such as the current stats--local and  a nation--regarding unwanted pets and annual pet birth rates.   

Homosexuality Defaces the Bible Essay Example for Free

Homosexuality Defaces the Bible Essay Alright, I’d just like to start by saying thank you to everybody for coming tonight – I really appreciate it – and for being interested in learning more about this subject. I also want to thank College Hill United Methodist for graciously agreeing to host the event. My name is Matthew Vines, I’m 21 years old, and I’m currently a student in college, although I’ve been on leave for most of the last two years in order to study the material that I’ll be presenting tonight. I was born and raised here in Wichita, in a loving Christian home and in a church community that holds to the traditional interpretation of Scripture on this subject. Just to offer a brief outline for this presentation: I’ll start by considering some of the broader issues and divisions that are behind this debate; and then I’ll move to a closer examination of the main biblical texts that are involved in it; and then I’ll offer some concluding remarks. The issue of homosexuality, of the ordination of gay clergy and of the blessing of same-sex unions, has caused tremendous divisions in the church in recent decades, and the church remains substantially divided over the issue today. On the one hand, the most common themes voiced by those who support changing traditional church teaching on homosexuality are those of acceptance, inclusion, and love, while on the other hand, those who oppose these changes express concerns about sexual purity, holiness, and most fundamentally, the place of Scripture in our communities. Are we continuing to uphold the Bible as authoritative, and are we taking biblical teachings seriously, even if they make us uncomfortable? I want to begin tonight by considering the traditional interpretation of Scripture on this subject, in part because its conclusions have a much longer history within the church, and also because I think that many who adhere to that position feel that those who are arguing for a new position haven’t yet put forth theological arguments that are as well-grounded in Scripture as their own, in which case the most biblically sound position should prevail. The traditional interpretation, in summary form, is this: There are six passages in the Bible that refer in some way to same-sex behavior, and they are all negative. Three of them are direct and clear. In the Old Testament, in Leviticus, male same-sex relations are prohibited, and labeled an â€Å"abomination. † And in the New Testament, in Romans, Paul speaks of women â€Å"exchanging natural relations for unnatural ones,† and of men abandoning â€Å"natural relations with women and committing shameful acts with other men. † And so according to the traditional interpretation, both the Old and the New Testament are consistent in their rejection of same-sex relationships. But it’s not just those three verses, as well as three others that I’ll come to later. It’s true that 6 verses isn’t all that many out of Scripture’s 31,000. But not only are they all negative, from the traditional viewpoint, they gain broader meaning and coherence from the opening chapters of Genesis, in which God creates Adam and Eve, male and female. That was the original creation – before the fall, before sin entered the world. That was the way that things were supposed to be. And so according to this view, if someone is gay, then their sexual orientation is a sign of the fall, a sign of human fallenness and brokenness. That was not the way that things were supposed to be. And while having a same-sex orientation is not in and of itself a sin, according to the traditional interpretation, acting upon it is, because the Bible is clear, both in what it negatively prohibits and in what it positively approves. Christians who are gay – those who are only attracted to members of the same sex – are thus called to refrain from acting on those attractions, to deny themselves, to take up their crosses and to follow Christ. And though it may not seem fair to us, God’s ways are higher than our own, and it’s not our role to question, but to obey. Within this framework, gay people have a problem, and that is that they want to have sex with the wrong people. They tend to be viewed as essentially lustful, sexual beings. So while straight people fall in love, get married, and start families, gay people just have sex. But everyone has a sexual orientation – and it isn’t just about sex. Straight people are never really forced to think about their sexual orientation as a distinctive characteristic, but it’s still a part of them, and it affects an enormous amount of their lives. What sexual orientation is for straight people is their capacity for romantic love and self-giving. It’s not just about sexual attraction and behavior. It’s because we have a sexual orientation that we’re able to fall in love with someone, to build a long-term, committed relationship with them, and to form a family. Family is not about sex, but for so many of us, it still depends upon having a companion, a spouse. And that’s true for gay people as well as for straight people. That is what sexual orientation means for them, too. Gay people have the very same capacity for romantic love and self-giving that straight people do. The emotional bond that gay couples share, the quality of love, is identical to that of straight couples. Gay people, like almost all of us, come from families, and they, too, long to build one of their own. But the consequence of the traditional interpretation of the Bible is that, while straight people are told to avoid lust, casual relationships, and promiscuity, gay people are told to avoid romantic relationships entirely. Straight people’s sexuality is seen as a fundamentally good thing, as a gift. It can be used in sinful or irresponsible ways, but it can also be harnessed and oriented toward a loving marriage relationship that will be blessed and celebrated by their community. But gay people, though they are capable of and desire loving relationships that are just as important to them, are told that, for them, even lifelong, committed relationships would be sinful, because their sexual orientation is completely broken. It’s not an issue of lust versus love, or of casual versus committed relationships, because same-sex relationships are intrinsically sinful, no matter the quality and no matter the context. Gay people’s sexual orientation is so broken, so messed up that nothing good can come from it – no morally good, godly relationship could ever come from it. And so they are told that they will never have a romantic bond that will be celebrated by their community; they are told that they will never have a family. Philippians 2:4 tells us to look not only to our own interests, but also to the interests of others. And in Matthew 5, Jesus instructs that if someone makes you go one mile, go with them two miles. And so I’m going to ask you: Would you step into my shoes for a moment, and walk with me just one mile, even if it makes you a bit uncomfortable? I am gay. I didn’t choose to be gay. It’s not something that I would have chosen, not because it’s necessarily a bad thing to be, but because it’s extremely inconvenient, it’s stressful, it’s difficult, and it can often be isolating and lonely – to be different, to feel not understood, to feel not accepted. I grew up in as loving and stable of a family and home as I can imagine. I love my parents, and I have strong relationships with them both. No one ever molested or abused me growing up, and I couldn’t have asked for a more supportive and nurturing childhood than the one that I had. I’ve never been in a relationship, and I’ve always believed in abstinence until marriage. But I also have a deeply-rooted desire to one day be married, to share my life with someone, and to build a family of my own. But according to the traditional interpretation of Scripture, as a Christian, I am uniquely excluded from that possibility for love, for companionship, and for family. But unlike someone who senses a calling from God to celibacy, or unlike a straight person who just can’t find the right partner, I don’t sense a special calling to celibacy, and I may well find someone I grow to love and would like to spend the rest of my life with. But if that were to happen, following the traditional interpretation, if I were to fall in love with someone, and if those feelings were reciprocated, my only choice would be to walk away, to break my heart, and retreat into isolation, alone. And this wouldn’t be just a one-time heartbreak. It would continue throughout my entire life. Whenever I came to know someone whose company I really enjoyed, I would always fear that I might come to like them too much, that I might come to love them. And within the traditional interpretation of Scripture, falling in love is one of the worst things that could happen to a gay person. Because you will necessarily be heartbroken, you will have to run away, and that will happen every single time that you come to care about someone else too much. So while you watch your friends fall in love, get married, and start families, you will always be left out. You will never share in those joys yourself – of a spouse and of children of your own. You will always be alone. Well, that’s certainly sad, some might say, and I’m sorry for that. But you cannot elevate your experience over the authority of Scripture in order to be happy. Christianity isn’t about you being happy. It’s not about your personal fulfillment. Sacrifice and suffering were integral to the life of Christ, and as Christians, we’re called to deny ourselves, to take up our crosses, and to follow Him. This is true. But it assumes that there’s no doubt about the correctness of the traditional interpretation of Scripture on this subject, which I’m about to explore. And already, two major problems have presented themselves with that interpretation. The first problem is this: In Matthew 7, in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus warns against false teachers, and he offers a principle that can be used to test good teaching from bad teaching. By their fruit, you will recognize them, he says. Every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Good teachings, according to Jesus, have good consequences. That doesn’t mean that following Christian teaching will or should be easy, and in fact, many of Jesus’s commands are not easy at all – turning the other cheek, loving your enemies, laying down your life for your friends. But those are all profound acts of love that both reflect God’s love for us and that powerfully affirm the dignity and worth of human life and of human beings. Good teachings, even when they are very difficult, are not destructive to human dignity. They don’t lead to emotional and spiritual devastation, and to the loss of self-esteem and self-worth. But those have been the consequences for gay people of the traditional teaching on homosexuality. It has not borne good fruit in their lives, and it’s caused them incalculable pain and suffering. If we’re taking Jesus seriously that bad fruit cannot come from a good tree, then that should cause us to question whether the traditional teaching is correct. The second problem that has already presented itself with the traditional interpretation comes from the opening chapters of Genesis, from the account of the creation of Adam and Eve. This story is often cited to argue against the blessing of same-sex unions: in the beginning, God created a man and a woman, and two men or two women would be a deviation from that design. But this biblical story deserves closer attention. In the first two chapters of Genesis, God creates the heavens and the earth, plants, animals, man, and everything in the earth. And He declares everything in creation to be either good or very good – except for one thing. In Genesis 2:18, God says, â€Å"It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him. † And yes, the suitable helper or partner that God makes for Adam is Eve, a woman. And a woman is a suitable partner for the vast majority of men – for straight men. But for gay men, that isn’t the case. For them, a woman is not a suitable partner. And in all of the ways that a woman is a suitable partner for straight men—for gay men, it’s another gay man who is a suitable partner. And the same is true for lesbian women. For them, it is another lesbian woman who is a suitable partner. But the necessary consequence of the traditional teaching on homosexuality is that, even though gay people have suitable partners, they must reject them, and they must live alone for their whole lives, without a spouse or a family of their own. We are now declaring good the very first thing in Scripture that God declared not good: for the man to be forced to be alone. And the fruit that this teaching has borne has been deeply wounding and destructive. This is a major problem. By holding to the traditional interpretation, we are now contradicting the Bible’s own teachings: the Bible teaches that it is not good for the man to be forced to be alone, and yet now, we are teaching that it is. Scripture says that good teachings will bear good fruit, but now, the reverse is occurring, and we say it’s not a problem. Something here is off; something is out of place. And it’s because of these problems and these contradictions that more and more Christians have been going back to Scripture and re-examining the 6 verses that have formed the basis for an absolute condemnation of same-sex relationships. Can we go back, can we take a closer look at these verses, and see what we can learn from further study of them? What are these 6 verses? There are three in the Old Testament and three in the New Testament, so I’ll go in order of their appearance in Scripture. In the Old Testament, we have the story of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19 as well as two prohibitions in Leviticus 18 and 20. And in the New Testament, we have a passage by Paul in Romans 1, as well as two Greek terms in 1 Corinthians 6 and 1 Timothy 1. To begin, let’s look at Genesis 19, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. In Genesis 18, God and two angels come in the form of men to visit Abraham and Sarah at their tent alongside the Dead Sea. Abraham and Sarah do not yet realize who they are, but they show them lavish hospitality nonetheless. Halfway through the chapter, God – now beginning to be recognized by Abraham – tells him â€Å"[t]he outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. † Abraham’s nephew, Lot, and Lot’s family, live in Sodom, and so Abraham bargains with God, and gets Him to agree not to destroy the city if He finds even 10 righteous people there.

Chemistry Project Essay Example for Free

Chemistry Project Essay Caffeine is a naturally-occurring stimulant, found in several plants. Caffeine is water soluble, and is extracted into the brewed cup when preparing tea, coffee, or other caffeinated drinks. The most well-known plants containing caffeine are the tea plant, Camellia sinensis, coffee, yerba matà ©, and guayusa. Although tea is known to have a number of health benefits, heavy caffeine use is known to have unpleasant effects and negative impacts on health, including anxiety and insomnia, and for this reason many tea drinkers seek to moderate their caffeine intake. The amount of caffeine in tea tends to be low, but is high enough to be a matter of concern for people drinking large quantities of tea, as well as people sensitive to caffeine for medical reasons. The Caffeine Molecule How much caffeine is in tea? The caffeine content of tea varies widely from one tea to the next, and depends on how the tea is brewed, but tends to be within the range of 15-70mg per 8 ounce cup. Caffeine can also be measured in terms of milligrams of caffeine per grams of dry tea. A teaspoon of dry tea leaves tends to weigh around 2.5 grams, the amount usually used to make a single cup, although this varies greatly by the type of tea. One study of the caffeine content of teas (after steeping) found that the caffeine content of tea varied from about 3 mg/g to 30mg/g, which would result in a cup of tea containing between 7.5 mg and 75 mg of tea. In most cases, tea has much less caffeine than coffee; a typical cup of coffee contains 80-135 mg of caffeine. However, it is important to note that these figures are per cup, not per serving, and in the case of large serving sizes, and also with espresso and other heavily-caffeinated drinks, the caffeine per serving can be considerably higher. In the U.S. the standard small serving size is 12 ounces. A recent study of commercial coffee vendors in Australia found that roughly a quarter of espresso samples contained over 120 mg of caffeine per serving, about 1/8th contained 167 mg or more per serving, and the highest contained 214 mg per serving. The authors of this study concluded that the most often-cited figures on caffeine content of coffee tend to underestimate the actual caffeine content. How much caffeine is safe to consume? To place these figures in perspective, the current consensus of the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists is that it is safe for pregnant women to consume up to 200 mg of caffeine daily. For the general public, the Mayo clinic recommends that 200-300 mg of caffeine daily is safe, but that 500-600 mg daily can cause a number of health problems. If drinking a relatively stronger tea containing 60mg / cup, 8 cups a day would be a safe amount, or 3 for pregnant women. For a weaker tea, with 30mg / cup, twice this amount would still be a safe amount of caffeine. Keep in mind that different people react differently to caffeine, so an amount that is safe or unpleasant for one person may not be healthy for everyone. L-theanine in tea interacts with caffeine In addition to caffeine, tea also contains L-theanine; theanine can interact with caffeine, allowing a smaller dose of caffeine to have a stronger effect in terms of boosting concentration and alertness. This may explain why tea seems to provide a stronger boost in alertness for some people than one would expect from its caffeine content alone. Do black, green, or white teas contain more or less caffeine? Many tea companies, and even some reputable entities such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture, have made misleading generalizations about the caffeine content of broad classes of tea. It is a widespread myth that black tea contains more caffeine than green tea, and another myth that white tea contains the least caffeine of all teas. Studies that have actually examined the caffeine content of a large number of different teas have consistently found that caffeine levels vary more among individual teas than across broad categories of tea such as black, white, green, oolong, or pu-erh. A study published in 2005 in the Journal of Food Science listed, among other things, the caffeine content of 77 different teas, and found a broad range of caffeine content among both green and black teas. Surprisingly, the tea in this study that was found to contain the most caffeine was a white tea, solidly dispelling the myth about white teas caffeine content. A more recent study in the 2008 Journal of Analytical Toxicology examined the caffeine contents of a number of teas, and found that they ranged from 14 to 61 mg per 6 or 8 oz serving, with no observable trend in caffeine concentration due to the variety of tea. Very few tea companies have examined the caffeine content of a large number of samples of their teas; one that has, Camellia Sinensis Tea House, found similar results, that the caffeine level varies widely from one tea to the next, and does not show clear trends of caffeine levels across different varieties of teas. One possible exception to this observation is that matcha is known to contain very high levels of caffeine, consistently much higher than other teas. This is due in part to higher caffeine levels in the leaf used to produced matcha, but it is also due to the fact that, because matcha is a powdered tea, the entire tea leaf is consumed when brewing, so a cup of prepared matcha contains 100% of the caffeine in the leaf. What determines the amount of caffeine in a particular tea? Caffeine protects the tender young leaf buds of the tea plant from being eaten by insects. There are so many different factors influencing the caffeine content of tea, that it is very hard to make generalizations predicting the caffeine content of tea. Caffeine levels vary widely from one particular tea to the next. The only certain way to know the caffeine level of a particular tea is to actually test it in a laboratory. Tea can be made from different parts of the tea plant, and these parts contain different quantities of caffeine. Leaf buds (tips) and younger leaves are higher in caffeine than older, mature leaves. This pattern can be explained by the fact that, for the tea plant, caffeine acts a natural insecticide, serving to protect the plant against being eaten by insects. Since the tips and tender young leaves are most vulnerable to insects, these parts of the plant are highest in caffeine; the older leaves are tougher and thus lower in caffeine. Tippy teas such as Yunnan Gold or Silver Needle White Tea (Bai Hao Yinzhen) are thus higher in caffeine than large-leaf teas such as Lapsang Souchong, a black tea (Souchongs are made of mature leaves) or Shou Mei, a white tea. The varietal (cultivar or specific horticultural variety) of tea plant used to produced tea can profoundly affect caffeine levels in tea. Varietal is independent of type of tea (green, white, black, oolong, etc.), and different types of tea can be produced from the same varietal. Variation in caffeine content among different varietals can lead to teas grown under similar conditions, with similar appearance and other qualities, having different caffeine levels. Roasting can also reduce the caffeine levels in tea. In the 2005 study mentioned above, one particular sample of Hojicha, a Japanese roasted green tea, was found to have less caffeine even than some decaffeinated teas. Oolong teas are usually roasted to varying degrees, and can be lower in caffeine, although like all types of tea, oolong teas vary greatly in caffeine content. It should be noted that the roasting processes both for hojicha and oolongs vary greatly, and the caffeine content of most of these teas has not been extensively studied, so it is not safe to conclude that hojicha or roasted oolong is necessarily low in caffeine. The blending of tea with caffeine-free ingredients to produce flavored teas can result in a lower total caffeine content so long as less total tea leaf is used in the blend. Scenting tea with flowers or flavoring tea with essential oils of plants does not add as much weight as blending with loose herbs, and thus does not lower the caffeine content (by weight) of the blend as much. How you brew tea affects caffeine content The quantity of leaf used and the length of time the leaves are steeped both directly influence the caffeine content of the final cup of tea. Using more leaves and steeping for a longer time both increase the caffeine in the resulting cup. Our page on brewing tea has more discussion of how to brew tea. Can you decaffeinate your own tea by steeping it briefly in water? Short answer: no. A number of sources make the claim that you can decaffeinate your own tea by making a brief infusion in hot water, and then discarding this infusion. Unfortunately, this process does not work; if it did, tea companies would not have to resort to expensive and involved decaffeination processes to produce decaf tea. Caffeine tends to diffuse in hot water at the same rate as many of the chemicals responsible for the flavor and aroma of tea, so if the tea still tastes flavorful, it probably still contains caffeine. Most (but not all) herbal teas contain no caffeine Although caffeine does occur in a number of plants, the overwhelming majority of herbal teas are caffeine free. The most notable exception is Yerba mate. Other plants containing caffeine are very rare as ingredients in herbal tea. In addition to exploring other herbal teas, people desiring caffeine-free tea-like drinks might want to try South African rooibos and honeybush, two plants which are often described as being similar to tea in flavor, health benefits, and manner of production.

Using The Evaluation Framework Economics Essay

Using The Evaluation Framework Economics Essay The possession of an ownership advantage gives a firm the opportunity to sell goods overseas but it fails to explain why this is carried out through production in the foreign market rather than exporting to the foreign market. As a result, there is the need for an evaluation framework. LEARNING OBJECTIVES By the end of this Unit, you should be able to understand and grasp the following: the importance of an evaluation framework; the 4 criteria of the evaluation framework; assess the contribution of MNEs in a foreign country by using the Evaluation Framework. THE EVALUATION FRAMEWORK The contribution of MNEs to the development of the host nation, more particularly developing countries or LDCs has been the subject of much debate over the years. Whilst it is generally accepted that MNEs do contribute by way of technology transfer, skills diffusion and by bringing much needed finance capital, nevertheless criticisms abound as to the negative impact of MNEs in that they are viewed as exploiting the local labour force, they transfer outdated technology, and they strip the LDCs of much needed resources. However, MNEs were and still remain a very important ingredient of growth, especially for developing countries. This is why it is crucial for a host countrys government that it should be able to assess FDI in a policy context. The latter process is usually done by way of an Evaluation Framework. An evaluation framework usually encompasses 4 criteria. 3.3 Efficiency of Resource Allocation Efficiency of resource allocation relates to the extent to which there exist complementarities between of economic interests between the multinationals and the host countries. In a similar vein, it highlights the following: under what conditions do the operations of the TNC in a host country contribute to the world economic welfare that could not be achieved before? However, the presence of MNEs in host countries is often prompted by government-induced imperfections including protection from imports. Such a situation mainly occurred when countries were adopting an import substitution industrialization strategy. Adopting an import-substitution strategy entailed a high level of protection, via tariffs, import restriction measures and quotas, which discriminated against exports via explicit and implicit tax of export activities and an overvalued foreign exchange rate. Also, the government used investment license, differential taxes, tax holidays, exemptions and remissions to influence resource allocation between industries and sectors. The proponents of IS strategy firmly believed that they would be able to meet the domestic demand for manufacturing products; provide employment opportunities for skilled labour; ease pressure on the balance of payment and strengthen the long term productive capacity of the economy by importing the production technology via foreign firms  [1]  and by using the infant industry argument. Under such an era of protectionism  [2]  , MNEs were mainly regarded as being of a market-seeking  [3]   nature. Firms set up plant within foreign nations in order to supply their national markets in the most profitable way possible. The key location advantages (in Dunnings terminology) which determined these market-seeking investments were the cross-border transport and communication costs; artificial barriers (import restrictions) to trade in goods and services; the size, income per capita and the expected growth of the local market. Though cost considerations were deemed important and even decisive in certain marginal markets, an efficiency-seeking motivation was deemed to be of a very secondary nature (Pearce, 1999). However, the overwhelming consensus is that IS was a failure  [4]  . IS strategy has turned out to be self-defeating since it has resulted in huge increases in imports of equipment and inputs while transfer pricing constituted a severe drain on foreign exchange. Also, IS granted excessive protection to industries producing inefficiently non-essential goods for high-income elite. Furthermore, fiscal credit and exchange rate policies, coupled with subsidies on imports of capital goods, made it possible and advantageous to entrepreneurs to rely on high capital intensive equipment produced abroad and technology unsuited to the factor proportions prevailing in less developed countries. As a result, a new orthodoxy emerged in the late 60s and early 70s which stressed the role of exports of labour intensive manufactures as an engine of growth. This represented a return to the static theory of comparative advantage with trade based upon different factor proportions prevailing in various countries which meant that the pendulum turned full swing for development policy in LDCs from import substitution to manufactured exports. Export oriented strategy not only encourages free trade  [5]  , but also the free movement of capital, labour, enterprises and an open system of communication. It also entailed more efficient allocation of resources with firms competing internationally  [6]  based on their relative comparative advantages. These considerations, coupled with the emergence of trade blocks, were factors motivating changes in the strategic orientation of MNEs. MNEs underwent a complete restructuring of their global and regional supply profiles. This entailed locating  [7]  manufacturing operations in only a few countries but exporting for a wider market. Each subsidiary were opened to a fully competitive market situation which permitted the realisation of economies of scale and the attainment of optimal efficiency in production (Pearce, 1999). The where to produce clearly gained in prominence during such an era which led to MNEs redistributing their unchanged ownership advantages in order to create an international network of subsidiaries  [8]  which optimised their supply of established range of products. Thus, investments undertaken by MNEs were mainly of an efficiency-seeking nature. However, one should not underestimate the crucial role played by the government during that period. It was not only the choice of trade strategy but also the appropriate role of government policy which was at the heart of the development issue. For example, export-oriented growth and appropriate macroeconomic policies  [9]  were mutually of economic development in the NICs. The integration of NICs into world and regional economies was essential for their long-term growth. This required less government intervention and greater reliance on private initiatives and market forces. It provided an environment conducive to foreign investment and domestic entrepreneurship. The Government was expected to actively promote economic growth and use its resources to direct and support the private industry. It was the pursuit of such appropriate policies by these developing countries governments permitted shifts in their pattern of international specialisation in response to the changing structure of their comparative advantage at different levels of industrial development. As a result, the efficiency of resource allocation improved, the rates of growth accelerated, with benefits accruing to all concerned. DISTRIBUTION Distribution relates to the extent to which the gains arising from the MNEs operations are distributed between the partners. The host country would demand a fair share of the benefits created by the investment. However, the identification of a fair distribution is very difficult since it is almost impossible to price correctly some contribution such as technology diffusion and managerial expertise which are intangible in nature. In addition, the issue of distribution is even more contentious especially when profits of the multinationals are due less to the efficiency of resource allocation and more to market distortions or imperfections created and sustained in the first place by the government to attract these foreign firms. Also, the distribution of such rent is influenced by the relative bargaining strength of the multinationals and the host governments in the light of factors such as tax concessions, tariff protection and labour training. In this light, it may be argued that there is a direct relationship between the bargaining strength of the host country and its level of industrialization such that, the lower the industrialization level, the weaker its bargaining power. Finally, host nations are unable to extract their fair share of benefits because imperfections in the market for factors of production in which the multinationals are strong permits them to earn monopoly rent on these factors. SOVEREIGNTY Sovereignty relates to the ways in which the multinational may compromise the economic independence of host nations in either the short or long term. It highlights how the behaviour of multinationals may compromise the effectiveness of certain aspects of the host countries policies. For example, the intra-group transfer of rent, via transfer pricing practices, may undermine the autonomy of the host countries in areas such as fiscal policy, monetary policy, trade policy and its attempt to control and organize the structure of industries. SELF RELIANCE Self-reliance relates to the ways in which the operations of the multinational may undermine the viability or independence of local firms or enhance their potential. The self-reliance issue also crops up during the investigations of the impact of multinationals on the industrial structure of the host nations; for e.g. the level of concentration and/or modes of operations. It is also concerned with whether the operations of multinationals in the host nations may either enhance or hold back the availability of particular types of skills for local enterprises since there are claims that multinationals remunerate better their employees than local enterprises. However, there is no reason as to why the relationship between local enterprises and multinationals should be a competitive one. They may in fact complement each other rather than act as rivals. For e.g. multinationals may have recourse to indigenous forms for their supply of inputs and this may lead to significant benefits for the indigenous firms by way of improved technology, better quality control procedures and diffusion of skills. EXERCISES 1. MAURITIUS CASE STUDY Mauritius is unique in having had a wealthy class of sugar plantation owners who were actively seeking to diversify their investments in the first years of independence. They have experimented with horticultural and industrial exports, as well as with tourist facilities, for many years. It took the arrival of Hong Kong and Taiwan textile firms to get industrialization going, however. And South African hotel chains first brought the tourist facilities up to world class standards. Why couldnt they do it alone? The key missing ingredient was the much vaunted keystone of the new economy: knowledge. Mauritian investors lacked the depth and breadth of knowledge needed to create viable industry and tourism on their own. The overseas Chinese and South African investors brought in-depth knowledge of how to run an efficient firm. They also had intimate knowledge of customers and their preferences, as well of what the competition was offering. They were able to train the Mauritian workforce, interspersing production lines with faster Chinese workers and more flexible Indian ones to bring up productivity. Domestic investors, whether the sugar barons or more locals of more modest and ethnically diverse origins, unanimously reported that they were not squeezed out by foreign investment. On the contrary, they worked with, learned from, and in many cases bought out foreign investors. Ethnicity has been handled delicately in Mauritius, in surprising contrast to analysts predictions at independence. The few dozen Franco-Mauritian sugar barons who controlled the economy at independence in 1970 faced the classic South African nightmare of being washed into the sea. The majority of the electorate comprised landless descendants of cane-cutters brought in from the Indian subcontinent as contract labor. Yet Mauritians found a stable accommodation, in both politics and the economy. The constitution explicitly recognizes ethnic minorities, providing for 10 percent of parliamentary seats to go to also rans from ethnic minorities that would otherwise not be represented. The tiny new polity attained in two decades an economic transition from monocrop Sugar Island to a balanced economy in which textiles, tourism and sugar are the pillars. New forays are being made into business services, information technology and other diverse export products. Indo-Mauritians are still minimally represented as entrepreneurs, though they dominate the civil service. Sino-Mauritians, hitherto concentrated in smallscale commerce, enhanced their status through association with Hong Kong and Taiwan industrialists whose knowhow and investment initiated the textile sector. Economic tensions are worked out in annual tripartite negotiations between labor, government and employers, most of whom are Franco-Mauritians. Sound institutions have played a critical role in the process. The rule of law has prevailed consistently. The sturdy financial sector, led by Mauritius State Bank since 1828, provides investment capital to both domestic and foreign investors. The British tradition schools graduate fully bilingual, often tri- and quadrilingual students, whom employers find a great asset in the new global economy. Foreign And Local Investment In Mauritius Mauritius was chosen as a case study because it has a reputation as a country in which foreign investment has played a critical and unanticipated role in industrialization, driven largely by good policies. The case study bore this out, but added great complexity to the portrait. Ethnicity was a complicating factor that could have derailed growth, and sound institutions played as important a role as policies in its success. An Overview of Investment Policy and Performance in Mauritius In the 1960s as independence from Britain approached, James Meade and Burton Benedict published several studies that foresaw a bleak economic and political future for Mauritius.11 Meade proposed strategies to improve the standard of living while taking into consideration projected continuing rapid population growth (then over 3% per year). He foresaw pressures of population growth on economic resources on this small volcanic isle and suggested several mitigating strategies, including increasing productivity, encouraging emigration and family planning. Burton Benedict challenged Meades proposed solutions, asserting that even if Meades suggestions on ways to increase productivity were followed, this would not produce results strong enough to counter the population growth problem. To the Malthusian logic in these first analyses, Benedict added concern over the future political stability of Mauritius. He analyzed the 1953 and 1962 censuses and documented the impact of ethnic, religious, caste and linguistic fragmentation on local politics-from the national level to the squabbles over a repair contract for a small town road. He began with the observation that Mauritians rarely identified themselves and others as Mauritians. In 1962 people from the Indian subcontinent were the majority, but did not comprise a single ethnic group. 50.5 percent of the population was Hindu and 16.2 percent Muslim Chinese comprised 3.4 percent of the population, and the General Population, mainly Creoles and Franco-Mauritians constituted 29.9 percent. Although Africans had been brought to Mauritius in slavery, African languages and ethnic groups had melded into a mixed population speaking the Creole French patois that gradually became a lingua franca of the Island. The Indo-Mauritian population was 63 percent Hindu Sanatan and 19 percent Muslim Hanafi. There were generally endogamous minority sects of both major religions (the largest of which were Arya Samaj and Ahmadiyya), as well as Indian Christians. Castes had consolidated into a bipolar mode. They had no corporate organization, but were generally endogamous. Chinese were nearly evenly split between Christians and Buddhists. Indo-Mauritians were further split by language, which sometimes had ethnic connotations. Hindi was the mother tongue of 36 percent of the total population and Urdu of 13.5 percent. Smaller Tamil and Telugu groups rarely intermarried with other Hindus. The General population of metisse, Franco-Mauritians and others was 96 percent Roman Catholic. The Franco-Mauritian families, are mostly descendants of French nobility who fled there during the French Revolution. The British gained control of the island during the Napoleonic wars andgoverned it until 1968, but the French families dominated the domestic society and economy. For the dependency theorists of the 60s, Mauritius was an archetypical monocrop colonial economy. It depended on sugar for 99 percent of exports and one third of GDP. Cane fields occupied 90 percent of arable land. Of that, 55 percent was owned by 25 Franco-Mauritian families, often dubbed sugar barons. The remaining 45 percent of sugar estates were owned by 84,000 small farmers, predominantly of Indian origin. Almost no food was produced on the island. The majority who would dominate numerically in a democratic Mauritius was a land-poor population of former indentured laborers on sugar plantations from the Indian subcontinent. Until recently they had been considered transients, not counted as members of the population. Benedicts complex analysis of the ethnic situation did little to lift the prevailing pessimism about Mauritius future. The colonial government commissioned Meade to head an appointed commission to produce an economic strategy. The Meade Report was to strongly influence the government in creating its initial import substitution industrialization policy. The key recommendations in the Meade Report included tariff protection for certain local industries, a decrease of corporate tax from 40 to 30 percent, tax holidays for five of the first eight years of a company, priority of capital expenditure for projects leading to productive employment and the abolition of tariffs on importation of machine tools and equipment. These policies already focused on investment promotion, a policy which successive Mauritian governments have consistently favored. Even as early as 1960, investment in Mauritius reached 30% of GDP, a figure only recently achieved by the most successful economies in East Asia and largely unheard of in the developing world. At this time, however, neither the new government of Mauritius, nor others in the developing world, had recognized the connection between investment policy and the larger political and economic context. A number of trends of the first government, which was dominated by the Mauritian Labour Party from independence in 1968 until 1982, limited the effectiveness of investment promotion incentives. One concern of foreign investors was political stability. There had been some communal violence just before independence, and the new Hindu dominated government maintained a fragile truce with minorities, including Muslim, Chinese and Franco-Mauritians. Other concerns centered around macroeconomic policies. Currency controls and protective tariffs designed to nurture import substitution industries [for the tiny national market], raised energy and transaction costs and times for potential exporters. The involvement of government in labor/ management negotiations and the creation of state corpora tions in key sectors led investors to take a wait and see attitude toward government. And the fledgling transport and telecommunications infrastructure was barely adequate. The idea of creating an export promotion zone (EPZ) was added to the policy mix in 1970, only two years after independence. It was inspired by the success of Taiwan. Within a year the EPZ legislation was passed. In a stroke of brilliance, industrial leaders and policy-makers realized that Mauritius, being a small island with readily controlled access, could declare the whole island an EPZ-it did not need to have a fenced area. This allowed investors to build in dispersed locations, to facilitate transport for their workers and/or their products. Only a few foreign investors took advantage of the EPZ law in the 1970s, however. Mauritius isolated location in the Indian Ocean, its currency controls and uncertain political situation reportedly influenced the first investors to limit their commitments. What became the flagship textile firm, for example, was set up initially to do only the manufacturing marketing and management were based in Japan and Hong Kong respectively. By the end of the 1970s Mauritius was experiencing many of the same problems that other African countries had with state corporations, protective tariffs, and currency controls. With no petroleum resources, it had been hit hard by OPECs escalation of oil prices and the global economic distortions that ensued. Government was running unsustainable annual deficits, the balance of trade was negative, industry was stagnant, and foreign exchange rationing slowed down all transactions. A devastating cyclone catalyzed a change in direction and in government. An alliance of former opposition parties, the Mauritian Militant Movement (MMM) and Mauritian Socialist Party (PSM), won the 1982 elections, changing the dominant party position for the first time since electoral politics was introduced in 1947. The new government scrapped the mixed strategy of the 1970s, liberalized the currency, retreated from subsidizing state corporations, and put its full efforts into voluntary structural adjustment and promoting export-led growth. In retrospect, a recent government report sees that decision as an inevitable logical consequence of Mauritius geographic situation. The report, Mauritius at Crossroads (1995) explains that as a small island, physically limited by lack of arable land and relying solely on sugar for foreign exchange, Mauritius was condemned to turn to an aggressive export strategy. However, it was not until the early 80s that foreign investment actually took off. And, it appears, partly as a consequence so too did domestic investment take off. Today, according to Mauritius at Crossroads, every Mauritian is taught the concept Export or Die. This philosophy has led to the development of a sound business environment which is friendly to investors, both local and foreign, and which offers an attractive investment incentives package to compensate for the lack of resources and the no-longer inexpensive labor force. The older generation of industrial and government leaders also stresses that Mauritians have learned to make a virtue of their ethnic diversity. The switch to an export-led strategy came at a time of crisis. The ill-paid labor force was still predominantly of Indian origin, as was the government, whereas the industrial sector was led by Franco-Mauritians, Hong Kong/Taiwan investors and a few Sino-Mauritians. Several interviewees described the moment as if they had looked at one another, then at the surrounding hundreds of miles of ocean, and decided that they would sink or swim together. For the export strategy, Mauritius needed to reach out to Hong Kong and Taiwan textile magnates, who had the capital and skills to organize a competitive industry. Franco-Mauritian local capital and know-how, and contacts were needed to open up European markets. A cooperative, trainable labor force was needed to attract investors. And government needed to be fully committed to its investor-friendly strategy. Mauritius had hard-working bilingual predominantly male labor force. They were skilled in farming, not industrial work. Most analysts doubted that Hindu or Muslim women would ever come out of the home and into the workplace. Within six or seven years, Mauritius had full employment, and industrial workers were mainly women. Policies were the main, but not the only factor in investment decisions. Promoting investment has been on the top of the governments industrial agenda throughout the different development phases, but the understanding of what works for investors, for government and for the society as a whole, has evolved continuously. The first clearly defined policy came in 1961, as the colonial government began to prepare for an independent Mauritius, with the Industrial Development Tax Relief Act. The Export Processing Zone took effect in 1971, as one of the first acts of the newly independent government. Support services for exporters were given a fillip in 1981 with the Export Service Zones Act. In 1985, the Mauritius Export Development and Investment Authority (MEDIA) was established as the executive arm of the Ministry of Industry. Its main responsibilities are to attract investment, promote exports and manage industrial estates. Investors clearly weighed these incentives against the inconveniences created by location, lack of local food and fuel supplies and small market size. The only major policy disincentive for foreign investors is that they are not allowed to own land. Government has compensated by providing fully equipped industrial sites for lease. Hotel investors generally partner with a local landowner. In the 1980s Mauritius offered inexpensive labor, but within a decade the development of the textile and hotel sectors had brought wages to a middle level, by world standards. From the late 1980s through early 1990s, Mauritius experienced full employment. Rising wages have gradually priced the textile industry out of its mass-production T-shirt lines, and forced b oth government and industry to rethink development strategies. The Industrial Expansion Act of 1993 was a partial response to this dilemma. Through it Mauritius confirmed its commitment to permanent zero tax rates for exporters, and added a bundle of new-targeted incentive programs, providing for high technology investors, offshore financial services and freeport services. The full range of incentive programs Mauritius which were offered is shown in Table 6.1. To increase confidence in the industrial sector in general, corporate tax for manufacturers who do not qualify for the EPZ zerorate was cut from 35 to 15 percent. Table 3.1: Manufacturing Fiscal Incentives INCENTIVE SCHEMES QUALIFYING ACTIVITIES INCENTIVES Export Enterprise (EPZ)  ·Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  All manufactured goods for exports  ·Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  Produce of deep sea fishing (Including fresh or frozen fish)  ·Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  Printing and publishing as well as associated operations  ·Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  IT activities  ·Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  Agro Industries  ·Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  No customs duty, or sales tax on raw materials and equipment  ·Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  No corporate tax  ·Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  No tax on dividends  ·Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  No capital gains tax  ·Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  Free repatriation of profits, dividends and capital  ·Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  60% remission of customs duties on buses of 15-25 seats used for the transport of workers.  ·Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  Exemption from payment of half the normal registration fee on land and buildings by new enterprises.  ·Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  Relief on personal income tax for 2 expatriate staff Pioneer Status Enterprise  ·Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  Activities involving technology and skills above average existing in Mauritius and likely to enhance industrial and technological development.  ·Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  Applicant companies may come under one of three broad categories: (a) new technology, (b) support industries and (c) service industries.  ·Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  No customs duty, or sales tax on scheduled equipment or materials.  ·Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  15% corporate tax  ·Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  No tax on dividends  ·Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  Free repatriation of profits, dividends and capital Strategic Local Enterprise  ·Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  Local industry manufacturing for the local market and engaged in an activity likely to promote and enhance the economic, industrial and technological development of Mauritius.  ·Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  15% corporate tax  ·Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  No tax on dividends Modernization and Expansion Enterprise  ·Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  Two broad categories:  ·Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  Investment in productive machinery and equipment, such as automation equipment and processes and computer applications to industrial design, manufacture and maintenance CAD/CAM)  ·Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  Investment in anti-pollution and environment protection technology to be made within 2 years of date of issue of certificate.  ·Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  No customs duty on production equipment  ·Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  Income tax credit of 10% (spread over 3 years) of investment in new plant and machinery, provided at least Rs 10 million are spent and this occurs within two years of date of issue of certificate. (This is in addition to existing capital allowances which amount to 125%of capital expenditures.)  ·Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  Enterprises incurring expenditure on anti-pollution machinery or plant benefit from a further incentive, i.e. an initial allowance of 80% instead of the normal 50% Industrial Building Enterprise Construction for letting purposes of industrial buildings or levels thereof, provided floor space is at least 1000 square meters. Special conditions: The applicant can only be a company intending to erect an industrial building to be let to the holder of a certificate (other than an industrial building enterprise certificate) issued under this Act or to an enterprise engaged in the manufacture or processing of goods or materials except the milling of sugar.  ·Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  15% corporate tax  ·Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  No tax on dividends  ·Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  Registration dues for land purchase: 50% exemption  ·Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  There is also a non-fiscal incentive, namely the disapplication of the Landlord and Tenant Act, i.e. rent control Source: Destination Mauritius, Mauritius Export Development and Investment Authority (MEDIA). Table 3.2: Services Fiscal Incentives INCENTIVE SCHEME QUALIFYING ACTIVITIES INCENTIVES Offshore Business Conduct of business with non-residents and in currencies other than the Mauritian Rupee. Activities include: offshore banking, offshore insurance, offshore funds management, international financial services, operational Headquarters, international consultancy services, shipping and ship management, aircraft financing and leasing, international licensing and franchising, international data processing and other information technology services, offshore pension funds, international trading and assets management, international employment se

The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: The Formation of Ident

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave details the progression of a slave to a man, and thus, the formation of his identity. The narrative functions as a persuasive essay, written in the hopes that it would successfully lead to â€Å"hastening the glad day of deliverance to the millions of [his] brethren in bonds† (Douglass 331). As an institution, slavery endeavored to reduce the men, women, and children â€Å"in bonds† to a state less than human. The slave identity, according to the institution of slavery, was not to be that of a rational, self forming, equal human being, but rather, a human animal whose purpose is to work and obey the whims of their â€Å"master.† For these reasons, Douglass articulates a distinction between the terms ‘man’ and ‘slaves’ under the institution of slavery. In his narrative, Douglass describes the situations and conditions that portray the differences betwee n the two terms. Douglass also depicts the progression he makes from internalizing the slaveholder viewpoints about what his identity should be to creating an identity of his own making. Thus, Douglass’ narrative depicts not simply a search for freedom, but also a search for himself through the abandonment of the slave/animal identity forced upon him by the institution of slavery.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The reader is first introduced to the idea of Douglass’s formation of identity outside the constraints of slavery before he or she even begins reading the narrative. By viewing the title page and reading the words â€Å"The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, written by himself† the reader sees the advancement Douglass made from a dependent slave to an independent author (Stone 134). As a slave, he was forbidden a voice with which he might speak out against slavery. Furthermore, the traditional roles of slavery would have had him uneducated—unable to read and incapable of writing. However, by examining the full meaning of the title page, the reader is introduced to Douglass’s refusal to adhere to the slave role of uneducated and voiceless. Thus, even before reading the work, the reader knows that Douglass will show â€Å"how a slave was made a man† through â€Å"speaking out—the symbolic act of self-definition† (Stone 135).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the first chapter of the narrative, Douglass introduces the comparison between slaves and animals, writing that â€Å"the larger... ...details the transformation of a slave to a man. The institution of slavery defined a slave as less than human, and in order to perpetuate that impression, slaveholders forbade slaves the luxury of self definition. Therefore, when Douglass finally rejects the notions about his identity forced on him by slavery, and embraces an identity of his own creation, he has completed his journey from slave to man. He no longer defines himself in terms of the institution of slavery, but by his own thoughts regarding what his identity is. Through the metamorphosis of his identity as â€Å"an animal† to an author who fights for the abolitionist movement, Douglass presents his narrative not simply as a search for freedom, but also a search for himself. â€Å"It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men." – Frederick Douglass Works Cited Douglass, Frederick. â€Å"The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass.† The Classic Slave Narratives. Ed. Henry Louis Gates Jr. New York: Penguin Group, 1987. Stone, Albert. â€Å"Identity and Art in Frederick Douglass’s ‘Narrative’.† Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism: Volume 7. Ed. Paula Kepos. Detroit: Gale Research Inc., 1990. 134-137.

Martin Luther King Jr. :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After the Birmingham, Alabama newspaper published â€Å"The Public Statement by Eight Alabama Clergymen† calling Martin Luther King Jr.’s activities â€Å"unwise and untimely,† King wrote a response back from jail arguing each point the clergymen had made in their â€Å"Public Statement.† In the â€Å"Letter from Birmingham Jail,† King points out that he is not an outsider since the people of Birmingham invited him and that since they are all within the United States, nobody should be even considered an outsider. Being a fighter of injustice, King says, he sought to negotiate with the white community of Birmingham, but they refused to comply. Then, he illustrates to them that the tension amongst the groups is many times good because it leads to action and negotiation. He further explains that calling the actions of Negroes â€Å"unwise and untimely† is denying them justice, which they have been waiting for too long. Moreo ver, King explains that laws can be just and unjust, and that he will only obey just laws that agree with the moral code and disobey laws that do not unlike the white churches, which permit prejudice and hate even though they should preach brotherhood and love. Lastly, King points out that Negroes will win their freedom in the end because it is their right and God’s will. To argue his points in the â€Å"Letter† King uses each of the three rhetorical appeals: ethos, pathos, and logos. In this essay, I will try to prove that one appeal is more effective than the rest, but first in order to help one understand what these appeals mean, I will use Arthur Quinn’s definitions of what the three appeals entail. The first appeal, the ethos, tries to persuade an audience to agree with an argument by using the reputation and character of the speaker or writer. For instance, a well-liked political leader might hold a strong ethos in the eyes of his constituents, and therefore his opinions on issues might convince his constituents to hold the same opinions whether or not they know anything about the issue. In contrast, the pathos appeal attempts to persuade an audience by targeting their emotions in attempt to gain their sympathy for the argument. An example of this appeal can be seen in TV commercials fundraising money for impoverished children. The final appeal, the logos, attempts to persuade an audience using logic and good reasoning.

Insight into Human Nature in Geoffrey Chaucers Canterbury Tales :: Canterbury Tales Essays

Insight into Human Nature in Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer, (written c. 1387), is a richly varied compilation of fictional stories as told by a group of twenty-nine persons involved in a religious pilgrimage to Canterbury, England during the fourteenth century. This journey is to take those travelers who desire religious catharsis to the shrine of the holy martyr St. Thomas a Becket of Canterbury. The device of a springtime pilgrimage provided Chaucer with a diverse range of characters and experiences, with him being both a narrator and an observer. Written in Middle English, each tale depicts parables from each traveler. England, in Chaucer's time, was a nation of social and economic growth. Medievalism was a dominant influence in the lives of Englishmen, but the Renaissance had assumed definite form, and the country stood on the threshold of the modern world. Medieval Europeans asserted that the ideals of spiritual community, social groups and national interests were greater than individualism. In Chaucer's time, there were many manifestations of rebellion against the old order of things, including an influx of mysticism and materialism. People demanded more voice in the affairs of their government and viewed the Catholic Church as corrupt. An emerging religious reformation, which placed emphasis on individualism and national patriotism, along with the upsurge of manufacturing and commerce, gave rise to the English middle class. The Canterbury Tales is a literary work that deals with the personal concerns and solutions of an evolving Medieval society. In Medieval Europe pilgrimages were common for personal reflection, penance, and spiritual renewal. Chaucer chose the framework of a pilgrimage for its naturally plausible diversity of people and mix of pious purpose and holiday spirit. Geoffrey Chaucer, England's first great poet, was born in 1343, during a time of social, political, religious and literary ferment. Chaucer, who was the descendent of a prosperous family from Ipswich, received the impetus for writing from fourteenth-century Italian and French poets. Chaucer--whose father was a successful wine dealer in London and whose mother, Agnes de Compton, a member of the English court--was reared in an intellectual environment of high society. He was well educated, having studied at the Universities of the Court. He lived among nobility in his service to the Court. The project of writing The Canterbury Tales took Chaucer thirteen years of unremitting toil, a work that was both continually evolving and unfinished.

Artificial Insemination 4

Fernando P. Andrada II, PTRP, RN May 13, 2009 BIOETHICS ARTIFICIAL INSEMINATION A. Historical Milleu of the development of the bioethical issue The reproductive revolution is upon us. The past half-century has seen the development of reproductive technologies previous generations could not even imagine. The term reproductive technology refers to various medical procedures that are designed to alleviate infertility, or the inability of a couple to produce a child of their own. These include artificial insemination, in vitro fertilization (or â€Å"test-tube† babies), and surrogate motherhood. These technologies have radically expanded human control over the biological process, and have been designed both to prevent and to achieve successful pregnancy. When successful, these technologies are the miracle of life for couples who have often spent years trying to have a child, and who have exhausted all other avenues for conceiving a child of their own. We are so often amazed how science and medicine have brought human reproduction to new heights. It is not uncommon for us to hear news about a mother giving birth to multiple babies, national geographic and discovery channels showing the process of human reproduction in a laboratory, and the likes, that leave us in awe â€Å"Nakakabilib, and galing naman† is what we often say . But should we accept these technologies as it is. What we often see is already the end of a means. Have we dared assessing the morality of such means? While this new reproductive technologies give great hope to infertile couples and make many new reproductive arrangements possible, they also raise many difficult and complex moral issues and questions. What is the morality of these procedures? What does it mean to separate conception from the act of sexual union? To whom should these technologies be made available? What is the moral status of the fertilized embryos? Those who dismiss these questions as irrelevant or inconsequential show disrespect for human dignity and human life. B. Presentation of the bioethical issue and other related ideas/ issue Definition and Types of Artificial Insemination Artificial Insemination – refers to an assisted method of reproduction in which a man’s semen is deposited into the woman’s reproductive tract through the use of instruments to bring about conception unattained or unattainable by natural fertile intercourse. Two basic types of A. I. 1. Homologous insemination/ AIH – semen is obtained from the husband a. 2 methods employed: i. Homologous artificial insemination – a technique used to facilitate human conception through the transfer into a woman’s vagina of the sperm previously extracted from her husband ii. Homologous in vitro fertilization (IVF) and embryo transfer(ET) – a technique used to facilitate human conception through in vitro fertilization of the generative cells (sperm and ovum) of couple followed by transfer of the newly conceived embryo into the wife’s uterus for gestation. b. Justification for AIH: i. Husband’s impotence ii. Anatomical defects of husband’s urethra iii. Oligospermia – deficient sperm count iv. Some types of spinal injury, and certain physical and psychological problems that hinder normal intercourse. v. Husbands with previous vasectomy for contraceptive purposes who decides to have a child using his stored semen vi. Physiological obstruction in the genital apparatus in virtue of which sperm cannot the ovum in the oviduct 2. Heterologous Insemination /AID –a technique in which the semen is acquired from a donor other than the husband a. 2 methods i. Heterologous artificial insemination – obtain human conception through the transfer into the genital tracts of the wife of a sperm previously extracted from a donor other than the husband. ii. Heterologous IVF and ET – a technique used to obtain human conception through in vitro fertilization of the generative cells (sperm and ovum) taken from at least one donor other that the two spouses in marriage b. Justification for AID i. Husband is sterile ii. Husband carrier of a hereditary disease iii. Wife’s oocytes are defective or also a carrier of a hereditary dse. The Issues 1. Is it morally permissible to procreate outside marriage? 2. Is it morally permissible to separate conception from the act of sexual union? 3. Is it morally permissible to allow fertilization outside the womb? 4. Is it morally permissible to allow a couple to use AI as justification for childlessness? C. Application of Ethical Theories a. Pro-ideas regarding Artificial Insemination Situational Ethics (Fletcher 1954) endorses AI as â€Å"our right to overcome childlessness. Marital Fidelity is more than a legal requirement or a sexual monopoly. It is rather a personal agreement nourished by love for each other which is fulfilled in ensuring that a child born into this world by whatever means. Under Utilitarianism, AIH and AID may promote more good than harm, more happiness than unhappiness, more pleasure than pain for a childless couple. The eugenic justification of AIH (i. e. to prevent the birth of potentially defective child, thus improving the human race) is in conjunction with the principle of greatest happiness for the greatest number. To minimize suffering instead of aggravating it seems to be the rationale in AIH. For a moral pragmatist, AI is the most practical, beneficial, and useful technique to be undertaken by spouses who are beset with the problems of impotence, hereditary disorders, defective genes, and anatomical defects. The decision however must be optional and volitional. What is practical and workable to one individual may not be the case to another. Its practicality must be gauged on a case –to – case basis. b. Anti- ideas regarding Artificial Insemination According to Natural law Ethics, artificial insemination, whether it is within the bounds of marriage or not, is considered immoral. AI is immoral within marriage. More so, if when it is done outside marriage. Worst is when AI is done by a donor. Natural ethicians consider AI to be immoral, insofar as the AI child is not the fruit of the conjugal act as an expression of personal love. Fertilization is more than a mere union of to germs, the sperm and egg, which can be brought about artificially. And that the conjugal act which is planned and willed by nature needs a personal cooperation of both spouses who are joined together in marriage. In marriage, AI by a donor is substantially an adulterous procedure. The element of adultery technically resides in the use and placement of semen into the body of a woman from a man who is not her lawfully wedded husband. This procedure is detrimental to the unitive property of marriage. Only marriage partners have mutual rights over their bodies for the procreation of a new life, and these rights are exclusive, non-transferable and inalienable. Moreover, the husband has neither a moral nor a legal right to give anyone permission to inseminate his wife. Nature imposes on whoever gives life to an infant the task of its preservation and education. Impotency and sterility are also not excusable reasons for the moral justification of artificial insemination. Morally, no amount of good intention and surrounding circumstance however great can make an objectively evil act good. The end does not justify the means. D. Personal Critique on Artificial Insemination The Church’s teachings are reflected in my stand on this bioethical issue of Human Artificial Insemination (A. I. ). While you may say that choosing it is a convenient way for me to justify my stand, because we know that using these teachings silence many of other reasons. On the contrary, I used this as my guide in deciding on difficult moral issues because I believe that these teachings truly demonstrate great reverence for life. Procreation must be within the bounds of marriage. And procreation is the fruit of a conjugal act which is an act of love in which two people are united â€Å"in one flesh. † It is from this act which expresses it that human procreation is meant to result. This is God's design for human procreation. Marital love is essential to human procreation and thus they are inseparable. It is not just an act by which two life germs are united. In artificial insemination procreation is separated from this conjugal act and thus it what makes A. I. morally not permissible even within marriage. Separating human procreation from conjugal love and reducing it to the union of two germ cells also depersonalizes and dehumanizes it. Artificial insemination by a donor is more immoral than homologous insemination. So-called donor insemination was not considered morally acceptable since it involved an invasion of the marriage bond. Techniques that use eggs or sperm from someone outside the married couple are unacceptable as they do not respect the marriage bond and also deny the child the right to be born of a mother and father known to him. Impotency and sterility are also not excusable reasons for the moral justification of artificial insemination. Morally, no amount of good intention and surrounding circumstance however great can make an objectively evil act good. The end does not justify the means. The desire for a child — a completely legitimate desire of the married people — does not prove that artificial insemination is legitimate because it would satisfy such a desire . A defect of nature may be corrected. But, if the defect is beyond the possibility of correction as it is irreversible, nothing can be done but to just leave it to its own course. Spouses who find themselves in this situation must not forget that even when procreation is not possible, conjugal life does not for this reason lose its value. It can be the occasion for other important services to the life of people, for example adoption, various forms of educational work, and assistance to other families and to poor handicapped children. During the process of in vitro fertilization, because of a great number of failures, women seeking pregnancy by this means receive multiple embryos to ensure its occurrence. Some of these embryos maybe found weaker or with defects are discarded or simply aborted in a process called pregnancy reduction. Such process is plain and simple abortion and therefore has no regard whatsoever on the importance of life. Hence this is definitely morally unacceptable. To summarize, Artificial Insemination is immoral on the following grounds: 1. Arbitrary exclusion of the Marital Act from Procreation – the naturally devised means of transmitting life is no other than the marital act. Now, by AI, the said act is deliberately excluded from procreation and replaced with a medical means ,that is, the insertion of a thin and soft catheter containing sperm into the wife’s reproductive tract – a procedure enormously contrary to nature. . Usurpation of God’s Creative power of Authorship over Life – by its very procedure AI usurps God’s authorship over life through the employment of artificially concocted means other than His designed way of transmitting life. It is also an expression of man’s abusive and manipulative act of going beyond the border of his power of stewardship by , more or less, assuming that which exclusively belongs to God – the power of authorship over life. 3. Against Human Dignity – the claim of a right to the baby’s life implies that the child is an object to own and to possess which reduces him/her to a mere biological property over which one has right thereby violating his/her human dignity, value, and worth. E. Summary and Conclusion: I have nothing against the advances in reproductive technology. Technologies can actually assist nature, or even supply for the deficiencies of nature, and when used for these purposes, they can be commendable rather than objectionable. It is not because technologies are artificial that they are condemned. It is only when they go contrary to moral requirements. In examining technologies for their morality, our interest is not whether they are natural or artificial, but whether they are in violation of God’s design for procreation. The Church recognizes the legitimacy of the desire for a child and understands the suffering of couples struggling with problems of fertility. Such a desire, however, should not override the dignity of every human life to the point of absolute supremacy. The desire for a child cannot justify the â€Å"production† of offspring, just as the desire not to have a child cannot justify the abandonment or destruction of a child once he or she has been conceived. A child is not something owed to one, but is a gift† (No. 2378). It is not a mere piece of property, and, likewise, there is no â€Å"right to a child. † Points that provide a useful orientation in the midst of constant scientific developments. In these cases, there need be no intention of intrauterine monitoring (although there could b e) with a view of abortion should the child conceived suffer from any abnormality. Nor need there be, in these cases, the use of immoral means (masturbation) to obtain the husband's sperm, since it can be retrieved in morally acceptable ways. In these cases there is, apparently, only the intent to help a couple, despite their physical incapacity (either by reason of the husband's low sperm production or the wife's blocked Fallopian tubes) to have a child with whom they ardently desire to share life and to whom they are willing to give a home. Do not such couples have a â€Å"right† to have a child of their own? Why, many people reasonably ask, is it morally bad–indeed a sin, an offense against God Himself–to make use of artificial insemination by the husband and homologous in vitro fertilization in such cases? Is not the Church's position here too rigid, too insensitive to the agonizing plight of involuntarily childless couples who are seeking, by making good use of modern technologies, to realize one of the goods of marriage? Do not married couples in this situation have a right to make use of these methods so that they can have a child of their own? It is definitely true that married men and women have rights (and responsibilities) that nonmarried men and women do not have. They have the right, first of all, to engage in the marital act, that is not simple a genital act between two persons who happen to be married but is an act of interpersonal communion in which they give themselves to one another as husband and wife. In direct contrast to genital sex between an unmarried man and woman which merely joins two individuals who are in principle replaceable, substitutable, disposable, the marital act unites two persons who have made one another absolutely irreplaceable and nonsubstitutable by giving themselves to one another in marriage. In addition, husbands and wives, by giving themselves to one another in marriage, have capacitated themselves, as St. Augustine put it, â€Å"to receive life lovingly, to nourish it humanely, and to educate it religiously,† i. e. , in the love and service of God (cf. De genesi ad literam, 9. 7 PL 34:397). Unmarried men and women to the contrary have not so capacitated themselves. God, in short, wills that human life be given in the marital embrace of husbands and wives not through the random copulation of fornicators and adulterers. pic][pic] [pic] Husbands and wives, thus, have a â€Å"right† to the marital act and to care for life conceived through this act, but they do not have a â€Å"right† to a child. A child is not a thing to which husbands and wives have a right. It is not a product that, by its nature, is necessarily inferior to its producers, rather a child, like its parents. And this is the moral problem with the laboratory generation of human life, in cluding artificial insemination by the husband and the â€Å"simple case† of in vitro fertilization. When a child comes to be in and through the marital act, it is not a product of their act but is â€Å"a gift supervening on and giving permanent embodiment to† the marital act itself (cf. Catholic Bishops [of England and Wales] Committee on Bioethical Issues, In Vitro Fertilization: Morality and Public Policy [London: Catholic Information Services, 1983], n. 23). When human life comes to be through the marital act, we say quite properly that the spouses are â€Å"begetting or procreating,† they are not â€Å"making† anything. The life they receive is â€Å"begotten, not made. â€Å"