Nominal and Real GDP Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Nominal and Real GDP - Essay Example As per common belief nominal GDP is the total of all the products and services produced by a country in a particular time span, generally one year, expressed in current prices (NZIER.org, 2006). Nominal GDP technically does not include all the goods and services produced by any country. This would lead to double counting of certain products. To avoid this error, only the final product value is taken into consideration. In this value the share of intermediaries (Eg: Raw material suppliers) is apportioned according to their value add to the final product. This usage of intermediates to produce a final product is called as intermediate consumption. Hence nominal GDP is the sum total of all the products and services produced in a country in a specific time period minus the intermediate consumption (NZIER.org, 2006). Increase in nominal GDP is not a reflection of actual economic growth according to economists (Baumol and Blinder, 2004). In nominal GDP, as the current prices are considered, the increase over the previous year is not comparable. Nominal GDP will also show variations according to inflation. If inflation is higher, then nominal GDP is higher. This explains that nominal GDP only reflects changes in prices and does not reflect changes in output levels. Hence GDP is indexed against a base year and the increase from that year is calculated.

Thunder Heart analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Thunder Heart analysis - Essay Example Ray is able to suspect the existence of conspiracy and cover-up in the entire murder saga which puts him at loggerheads with his co-agent in the investigations. The environmental impact that the mining of uranium in the local reservation has created, is evident in the poor state of the areas poor water and dirty condition. The mining has further led to major conflict between two powerful forces leading to the death of many people in the small town which exposes a number of social evils such as crimes, corruption and moral decadence that had been taking place in the region. The cultural attributes of the Native Americans is made evident in the movie in a number of occasion owing to the fact that investigations on the murder of a former political activist on a Native American Reservation in South Dakota. F.B.I agent Ray Levoi has been selected for the task of leading the investigation mainly because of his familiarity with the culture of the Natives owing to the fact that he is from a mixed race background. The film brings out diverse American architecture which is multicultural in nature with a lot being borrowed from the Native American culture (Marubbio, 102). The landscape in the region in which the movie is set portrays diverse nature of the American terrain. Mountainous landscape is an indication of a secure environment marked by the existence of natural features that could easily act as camouflage to criminal activities. The cultural artifacts of the Native Americans such as peace pipe, moccasins, and teepee are made evident particularly among the people that The FBI agent meets and interviews over the death the politician. The use of native plants and animals are very important part of the lives of the Indians. As Ray tours the region in which he has been assigned, he notices a number of cultural practices that he had been told by his parent but had never experienced in his entire life. As much as he was against the

Public Library Essay Example for Free

Public Library Essay Library is something which has a lot of importance in everyone’s life. And specially in the life of school going children’s. It is responsible for teaching those children the moral values which are required a lot in further run of their life. Library is something whose importance cannot be neglected at any point of life. I consider myself to be very lucky as I was being provided with one of the best library by my school. My school had a big and efficient library. Almost all sorts of books required by student’s could be found in that library. And also there were many different types of magazines and newspapers in our library. We had a different room known as Reading Room adjacent to our library. It was the place where we used to take our books for reading them or making notes. No one was allowed to read books in library instead of teachers. Students till class 10th had two library period in a week. They had permission to issue books during those two periods only. Also they had to return the issued book within 15 days. No student till class 10th was allowed to keep books for more than 15 days. Keeping books with themselves for more than 15 days would require the student to pay a fine of Rs5 a day for each extra day. But this was not the case with senior students or students of class 11th-12th they were allowed to issue books whenever they wanted. There was no specific Library period for senior students. Also they had the permission to keep books with themselves till they want. They had to return books only during the time of examination. There were different sections in our library which were divided according to classes. The section for senior students mostly consisted of reference books. But they too had an option of issuing novels and other story books. Although due to study pressure there was hardly any student who issued novels or story books. Everyone issued references.

Spiritual Beliefs Vs Human Reason Philosophy Essay

Spiritual Beliefs Vs Human Reason Philosophy Essay Philosophers and scientists have constantly attempted to explain concepts divine processes described initially. They always sought for a scientific or logical explanation for a phenomenon explained through religion, or not explained at all. Scientists believed natural laws govern universe. As a result, a quest for explanation of events, which seemed illogical, began. The first philosophers speculated that beneath the ever-changing natural world was an unchanging matter (Matthews Platt, 46). They also believed in rationality. Thus, any explanation of a natural concept seemingly unrealistic was questioned. This mindset progressed throughout Western history, and presently, there is the attempt to prove the role of God, and the existence of God through human reason. My opinion is human reason should not preclude the existence of God. Spiritual beliefs and logic should be separate spheres of human existence. Humans beings have two paths to knowledge During the time of the Greeks, there was a myth claiming Apollo drove his chariots across the sky, which was responsible for the rising and setting of the sun. This myth, though illogical, was held high and any opposition to this myth would have been called, in modern terms, blasphemy. The belief was held as firmly as the monotheistic religions believe in the existence of God through faith. Later science was able to prove false the reason for the rising and setting of the sun the Greeks believed in. Even in the case of Galileo Galilee, the churchs theory was that the sun revolved around the fixed Earth: Geocentrism. Galileos attempt to prove otherwise, scientifically, was vigorously fought-against. They forced him to recant his theory because it went against their theory. In their explanation for the cause of rain, Ancient Greeks believed Heras cries fell as rain whenever she found out Zeus, her husband, had gone after other women. These concepts, clearly unscientific, were assumed true. As history moved from the Greek civilization to the modern era, a number of myths were dogmatically believed. Later science and rational thought refuted most of these myths or concepts, while others,-especially those related to spiritual realm, such as the existence of God-are difficult to prove. The Greek civilization was perhaps the foremost place where the tension or dispute between faith, religious thought, spiritual belief; and science, natural philosophy and logical thought began. Philosophers such as Thales, Pythagoras and Heraclitus believed in rationality and the fact that the universe operated on natural laws. Such philosophers believed God or their religious deities had no effect on the natural order of things. The Greeks of the Archaic Age believed the muses were responsible for creative inspiration. Muses were the goddesses of artistic inspiration and claimed to stimulate every work. The monody, lyrical poetry, is based on the personal thoughts of the poet. Then how did the goddesses inspire a work that was based on the poets personal thoughts? In spite of the irrationality of the explanations, the Greeks believed in the explanation of concepts that involved the deities. Philosophers in later civilization asked questions, probing the credibility of the beliefs which resulted in several proofs that opposed myths and religious dogma. Philosophers, since the Hellenic Age have been inquisitive; they questioned divine or illogical explanations to concepts in the universe. Still in the Archaic Age, the idea of believing in concepts, despite the lack of logic behind them, was a key element in their religion. It carried over to later religions in the modern era where religious dogmas are still held. An example of such is the hypostatic union. It is the claim Jesus was both divine and human while in his physical form on earth. To me, the reason the search to understand the natural order of things started, was that everything in the Archaic Age was attributed to the deities. The deities determined the inspiration for works of art, the survival and prosperity of the Greeks, and their cultural accomplishments. Embedded in the Greeks was the belief that as long as they recognized the divinities power and did not challenge themà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦they would survive and often prosper. (Matthews Platt, 41). The initial philosophers were able to ignore the beliefs (or dogma), because they thought of a world that was controlled by natural causes and deities had no eff ect on the world. However, explaining concepts illogically, which actually are scientific, has been a part of religion, even from the Egyptians. This is not to say that religions knew the concepts were of natural causes, but scientific proofs that came later on would not cause the religions to waiver in their initial beliefs. An example is the tale of the beginning of the world. Scientists claim that the world was formed because of an explosion- The Big Bang. Scientists would then question the tale of Christianity: how did God create the whole world in seven days? Many have tried to answer this rationally or scientifically, but in my opinion, it is almost impossible to explain. Yet, Christians still hold on to this belief firmly. So many cultures, as well as science, have their own speculation about the beginning of the universe. The Hebrews belief of the beginning of the world then became the accepted Word of God thus making it seem as if other beliefs are wrong. This undermines the credibility of re ligious beliefs, but does not mean the Hebrews version is false. Take an instance where a murder is commited and three witnesses give entirely different accounts of the details. However, because the three of them gave separate accounts of the murder, does not mean that no version can be the correct one. In fact, the real version might be a combination of all three accounts. I disagree with the attempt to use reason or rational thought to predetermine if God has effect on the world or if He exists. A logical claim I could make is God creates the natural order philosophers try to understand. An example is the recent science discovery refuting the effects of God on the parting of the Red Sea. Scientists found out that the biblical account of the splitting of the Red Sea might have actually been due to natural causes. In the Bible (Exodus 14), God caused the Red Sea to split, allowing the Israelites to pass on dry ground and then the sea caved back in and drowned the Egyptians. However, according to science, the wind from the East (East Wind) could have been so strong as to push the water up several streams for a certain period (for the Israelites to cross) and then cease, to cause water to return to the sea (to drown the Egyptians). It could have been possible that God caused the East Wind to drive the Red Sea up the tributaries at the time the Israelites wanted it, and then caused the river to fall in when the Egyptians were passing through it. The desire to prove the role or existence of God has persisted through centuries. There is such a strong belief that human reasoning can prove the existence of God, if He exists. But if God cannot be proven, then He does not exist, and He is just a fiction of the imagination of monotheists. I disagree with this perspective because the existence of God has to do with the spiritual realm. The existence of God has for a long time, been questioned, and therefore has troubled philosophers and scientists who always seek to explain every concept, but these two theories (mention the name of the theories), in my opinion, should be completely separate spheres of human existence. To Ockham, faith and reason were both valid approaches to truth, but they should be kept apart so that each could achieve its respective end (Matthews Platt, 261). I agree with William of Ockham in this statement because the fact that the first philosophers believed there is regularity in the universe and that human reason can ultimately understand the natural order, does not imply the use of reason should preclude the existence of God. Just as Thales was wrong about the fundamental substance being water, so also could the Milesian school be wrong about using human reason to prove or try to verify the existence of God-that is if God falls under the natural order of things. William of Ockham lived from about 1300 to about 1349, during which many things in the physical world have been invented or discovered. Up until now, the spiritual realm remains a mystery. Apparently, there is a great disparity in achievement between the use of reason to explain things in the physical world and to explain things of the spiritual realm. William of Ockham accepts reason as a valid approach to truth, but he also includes faith as a valid approach to truth. He explicitly says reason alone cannot question the existence of God. Instead, he suggests the existence of God can only be accepted by faith and the divine mysteries can simply be understood by faith. John Duns Scotus concluded, The theologian and the philosopher have different intellectual tasks, [therefore] theology and science should be independent fields of inquiry (Matthews Platt, 261). To elaborate on John Duns Scotus conclusions, as a Christian, I tried to prove the concept of the Trinity to a Muslim, using only logic. No matter how logical my answers were, they still involved spiritual beliefs and faith. Scientists who have attempted to measure the efficacy of prayer have obtained rather conflicting results. How can one attempt to solve a physics problem by reading a literature book? How can scientists make an effort to verify the spiritual beliefs using human reason? According to Ockham, human reason cannot produce any meaningful knowledge about the spiritual realm (Matthews Platt, 261). Furthermore, there are several religious events recorded in the Bible or Quran that are unfounded; for instance, how Noah was able to get all types of animals into the ark and prevent them from eating one another. One cannot answer this question because it does not make sense logically, so humans have to use another form of inquiry, faith. Only faith can explain the divine mystery. William of Ockham asserted, Reason, senses and empirical evidence could enable human beings to discover and hence understand the natural world, stoicism-a philosophy in the Hellenistic Age-offered a seemingly contradictory point of view. The Stoics believed that reason and the senses could be used jointly to uncover the underlying moral law as well as Gods design [or effect] in the world. The Stoics accepted that a spiritual being had effect on the happenings of the universe. An issue is does God have any effect on the universe. The Stoics acknowledge the effect of a supernatural being, William of Ockham does not. The Greeks/Mesopotamians/Egyptians believed that the More importantly, the use of faith to explain spiritual beliefs or religious dogma caused tension between religious thought and rational thought. From the Hellenistic Age, philosophies and religion have offered conflicting answers to unpredictable events and those beyond human control. Concepts, which could not be explained initially, were attributed to God or religious deities like the myth of rain: Hera. The inclination to leave the happenings during their time to the hands of the deities had a strong impact began with the Mesopotamians, who believed they were created to serve the deities. They probably held an even stronger dogma than modern times, because they believed human destinies were in the hands of the gods, and there was nothing they could do about that. Whatever the gods did with their lives could not be questioned. Also, the Hellenistic world had a section of people who believed in Fate. Fate, in that era, meant there were non-physical beings that controlled the natural events. They felt human reason could not understand the natural order of things. The Greeks who began to put humans at the center of the universe fortunately altered this pessimistic approach to life. Their mindset led them to question divine explanations for natural events. The disagreement between materialists and idealists could represent the early dispute between rational thought and spiritual beliefs. Materialists in the Archaic Age believed that the world was made of some basic physical element whereas the idealists reasoned that the physical world was deceptive and that there was a spiritual force or metaphysical power being the physical world. Also in the Hellenistic Age, the clash between these two paths to knowledge has been so significant; they can be found in other works of art. Dramatists wrote plots that dealt with divine law versus human law. Evident in Age of Synthesis (1000 to1300 CE), the tension or dispute has been carried through civilizations. Thomas Aquinas in this Age, tried to resolve the dispute by stating that human beings have two divine paths to truth or knowledge: reason and faith. He refers to divine paths, which indirectly means that the paths are God-given-a spiritual being exists that determines the limit to what we know. However, perhaps the period when the gap between philosophy and theology became the widest was in the Baroque Age 2 (1600 to 1715CE). In this Age of Scientific Revolution, the scientists and philosophers questioned divine explanations; they countered faith with reason, dogma with skepticism, and divine intervention with natural law. Nonetheless, scientists and philosophers have the tendency to assume that if divine concepts or events cannot be explained scientifically or logically, then these concepts or events never happened, or do not exist. This supposed misconception probably came about as a result of the actions of ancient civilizations. These civilizations produced explanations for things beyond their comprehension, which led led religions in later civilizations to explain other concepts divinely. Science has proven some of these concepts false and as a result, this has fuelled the constant dispute between religious beliefs and logical thought. Nevertheless, because some accounts were wrong does not mean all other explanations are. For the reason that Thales was wrong about water being the fundamental substance, did not mean that his belief-there is regularity in the universe-was wrong. Consequently, the use of reason cannot and should not preclude the existence of God. Religious dogma started on earth in Egypt and has manifested in different religions in history. Religious dogma is a belief without proof. Starting from the Egyptians, they believed that the king as god on earth embodied the state. Likewise, there have been several civilizations, which have provided different explanations about the beginning of the universe or life after death. Religious people believe in one holy book or another. The Christian version of the history of the universe is the biblical account. However, just like every tribe has a different story of the creation, the Hebrews had their own, and their version then became the accepted version by Christians-the word of God. Another concept for which several civilizations provided different explanations is life after death. The Egyptians, according to their religion, believed that if they remained faithful to their gods, they would be rewarded with a new life after death. About a thousand years later, the Hellenistic world held similar beliefs. Mithraism followers believed immortality awaited them after death. This concept of immortality is similar to the Egyptians new life after death. Philosophies in the Hellenistic Age attempted to explain life after death. According to Epicureanism, the atoms that made up the soul simply separated from the bodys atoms and united with other particles to create new forms. This way of life made its followers believe that there was a happy life after death. Couples of centuries later, Christians are made to believe the same underlying perception of life after death as did the Egyptians and the Epicureans: if they remain faithful, there would be paradise awaiting them. All through Western history until this date, science has never been able to refute any of these beliefs. Rational thought, or human reason, has not been able to come up with a description of life after death, which would refute these beliefs. Only spiritual belief has helped in understanding life after death. This suggests human reasoning or science is has a limit to which it can understand certain concepts in the universe. Restating Ockams concept, no useful knowledge can be gained through reason or the senses about the spiritual realm. To further the achievement of the Greek genius, human reason, as well as spiritual beliefs can understand concepts of the universe CONCLUSION

A Look Back, A Spotlight on Education :: Free Essays Online

My Eighth grade English teacher walked around the classroom, in a daily ritual, glancing over pages of circled letters, occasionally muttering, "turn", in an exhausted, apathetic tone. Many of my classmates used the time she had allotted for "checking homework" to socialize, while others frantically fumbled for a pencil, asked for a neighbor’s workbook, circled, underlined, and copied while occasionally lifting their heads up to see how far down the rows she had gotten and how close she was getting to them. Needless to say, it wasn’t hard to copy another student’s homework. We had already been in this "orange vocabulary book" system for two years by the time we were in the eighth grade. The workbook called for no originality or unique thought, so all of our little workbooks were expected to look exactly alike, all the same a’s circled, the same words underlined. It was possible that on any given weeknight, ten out of the twenty-five students in class would actually bother to do the assigned vocabulary homework. A few of us would copy a friend’s answer a little before, or even during class. There were still a few students that wouldn’t even put in that much effort into the English class, and would readily take the "zero" in the grade-book for the day. After the all-important "homework checking ritual" was through with, we all reluctantly opened up the vocabulary books for the "checking the answer" ritual. Starting with the front right corner of the classroom, students began reading off answers, letters and words, and nothing else, one after another, being occasionally corrected, and fed the right answer. I can’t say I learned too much from this vocabulary practice. I sat in my desk, looking at the clock mounted on the wall, listening to a random letters and words, with no other connotation, explanation, or implication of them, occasionally checking to see how far along the line we had gotten so that I would be able to answer promptly when it was my turn. For my teacher, however, vocabulary practice time seemed like the best part of the school day, next to her lunch break. She really didn’t choose to put much effort into the practices at all. The students didn’t protest, of course. It was an easy part of the day for us too. The vocabulary quizzes, did make up a big part of our grade in the class, as the vocabulary practices did take up a great deal of class time.

The Perception of Happiness in Families :: Happiness Essays

Guccione begins by discussing the uninteresting perception people have with the lives of happy families. Using a quote from Tolstoy, Guccione shares past data of how people are taught to believe that all happy families are alike, while happy families share a uniqueness through their melange of misery. This discussion prepares you for her thesis, which explains how happy families struggle and work for the lives they graciously enjoy. Her thesis is marked by examples of myths, which she dismisses through her research. Successful families, according to her research, must develop skills in negotiating and coping. Guccione also mentions that not all happy families are alike. In fact, each is happy in its own way. She stresses how successful families earn their happiness and that it is not simply known to them. There were three sections of the body in Guccione's essay. The first part of the body discussed the notion of boundaries among families. Balance was another key term and she uses the living call as an example: "Families must be strong enough to allow integrity and and interaction within, yet be permeable to the outside." Guccione's research also led her to the importance of family members feeling that they are an intimate part of a group. She stresses that a frequently encountered problem is families where no one belongs, "where people come and go" as she puts it. Guccione then takes you into the life of a woman, Peg, who now lives an extremely happy life with her family. Previously, Peg had severe problems with her family and was unhappy. However, by creating a balance, she was able to negotiate and cope with the problem. The section closes with Peg, the difficulties she lived and the ones yet to come. Overall, she expresses relief in knowing that hard work leads to happiness. The second part of the body enters the world of single parents, how they cope with life in order to reach true happiness. Guccione begins by showing her research of how happy families posses a mutual thread; "the ability to maintain the balance between individual freedom and the need people have to belong to a group." She also encourages families to help each individual member reach their own potential. Guccione then tells the tale of Marie, a single mother raising her two boys, aged 11 and 13.

Maggie Hobson Essay

Maggie’s personality in act one gives us the impression that she is very bossy and always wants her own way, â€Å"this is a shop you know, we are not here to let people go without buying†. She is bossing Albert Prosser into buying a pair of boots. I think that this makes her have an unpleasant appearance and is not the sort of person people like very much. During the play the author changes your mind by showing a different aspect to her personality. In act one, she acts very busy â€Å"she crosses and takes her place at desk†, â€Å"she busies herself with an account book†. This makes us think that she is the main boss of the shop. We also think that she does most of the work. The first thoughts of her is that she is anti-social. Alice : â€Å"oh it’s you, I hoped it was father going out†. Maggie : â€Å"it isn’t†. She is acting ‘businesslike’ and doesn’t seem to be acting very friendly to her sister Alice. Maggie is unromantic, she doesn’t think that there is any need for courtship before marriage, â€Å"See that slipper with the fancy buckle on to make it pretty ? Courting’s like that my lass. All glitter and no use to nobody. † This shows that she doesn’t believe in courting. Really courting is nothing like a slipper, but Maggie has a practical personality and doesn’t believe in wasting time. She is a lady who always get what she wants and doesn’t believe that you should waste time over courting when you can get married straight away. Maggie organises the household and arranges the dinner time, â€Å"so that, if you stay more than an hour in the Moonraker’s Inn, you’ll be late for it. † This show that she is trying to take over the main lead in the family role, when it should be her father’s role to say when the dinner should be ready because that was the norm in that era. Maggie has swapped roles with him. Hobson is very rude to his daughters, Alice and Vicky, about their delight in fashionable clothing and the idea of getting them married. Maggie is not included in the conversation of marriage. She then asks him what he thinks of her getting married. He lets her know he hasn’t given her any thought of marriage and is very rude giving his opinion of her, â€Å"but if you want the brutal truth, you’re pass the marrying age, you’re a proper old maid Maggie if ever there was one. † She reacts offended and upset to this remark and tells him that she is only thirty. We can tell that she wants to get married as well as her two sisters, Alice and Vicky.