Intolerance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Intolerance - Essay Example It is, in a sense, a human nature. This behavior is nicely captioned in the phrase â€Å"Us and Them†. Our tendency to think and feel in terms of â€Å"Us and Them† may have arisen early in human evolution, since it has adaptive consequences and universal presence. Although human beings have continually adapted to overcome adverse and potentially dangerous conditions during the course of evolution as we are not the naive servants of biology, however, we are still unmindful of the deleterious consequence of intolerance. Ideologies, alliances, and partners are built on the foundation of this structural division. The above reflections raise a wider issue about our motivations, posit a law of our psychological nature, or a necessary truth about all conceptually, or logically possible worlds. The preemptive immediate challenge is to accommodate with respect, justice, and good feeling to our diversity of national origin, ethnicity, religion, age, and gender etc., at a time wh en the world is faced with charged geo-political climate and dwindling economic resources. We can’t afford to have the luxury of any hedonistic outcomes such as tribal loyalty, jingoism, in group ‘Us’ aggrandizement, and out group, ‘Them’ disdain. It is important to understand how individuals respond to and adopt the principles of coexistence and evolve into a dynamic and vibrant society like brothers, or else will perish like fools as aptly said by, Martin Luther King, â€Å"We must live together as brothers, or perish together as fools.† The essay describes through two articles, observation and findings that demonstrate the intolerance towards a group or individual, ’us’ and ‘them’, with appropriate citation and reference. It will also explore similarity and differences with the Bennett article on transition shock. And demonstrate symptoms,  responses, stages and resolution that occur in each of the two articles. Milton J Bennett (1977, P.45-52) in ‘Transition Shock: Putting Culture Shock in Perspective proposed that cultural shock is but a variation and subset of reactions by significant change across a broad spectrum of circumstances. In a more interdependent world, survival depends more on cooperation than on competition, with the realization that countries with the highest disparity in wealth have the greatest incidence of stress, violence, and crime (Albee 2000, P.845-53). The powerful have been more impacted socially, and economically, from the consequences of intolerance; with the result have greater responsibility to exercise tolerance and justice. One does not have to look elsewhere to see the effects of oppression as in the United States itself has many of different kinds. Article1-The Stanford Prison Experiment Black men, though constitute less than 6% of the general U.S. population, they account for 48% of the state prison population (Haney & Zimbardo 1998, P. 709-22), the authors reflect on the lessons of their Stanford Prison Experiment, some 25 years after conducting it. They had put a few young, healthy people into prison like environment, after six days of the mock imprisonment the out come was shocking for the researchers as well as the general public, as within a short period, otherwise healthy, emotionally strong young

Financial Development In 1985 Essay Example for Free

Financial Development In 1985 Essay In 1985, the interest rates were lower and more stable than in other years. 1978 experienced lowest short-term interest rates while long-term interest rate declined to a rate that has never been seen since 1980. The real interest rates- nominal rates adjusted for inflation- were also lower in 1985 than other years though going by historical standards, they remained very high. From January to early march, both short-term rates and long-term rates rose moderately by yearly highs. This is partly because of the strong demand for business credit and the ending of a period during which the Federal Reserve eased the pressure on banks on their reserve positions. Interest rate declined by April and June. The factors behind interest rate ________________________________ 5. Douglas A. Irwin Joseph H. Davis. Trade Disruptions and Americas Early Industrialization, (2003). NBER Working Papers 9944, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. demand for business loans. Another factor that contributed to the second quarter drop in interest rates was because of the cut in the Federal Reserve’s discount rate. After midyear, the short-term rate fluctuated in a narrow range, slightly above June lows. By early December, the U. S. Treasury bill rate was 7. 10 percent. This was about one percent lesser than that of 1984. The long-term interest rate also fluctuated in the third quarter; however, in the late of October, it dropped rapidly. The continued drop in long-term rate was because of the low rate of inflation, the signs that showed that the economy would remain sluggish and that monetary policies would not tighten. Interest rates in 1985 were more stable than the most recent years. The rate of fluctuations for short-term rates was within the range of one and one-half-percentage points in the year compared to the three percent points in 1984 and considerably less than 1980-1984 periods. The long-term rates were also stable in 1985 and the rate of fluctuations was between a narrow range that was less than two percentage points. Nominal rates and interest rates were low in 1985 but going by historical standards, there were high. Growths in Monetary Policy in 1985 The growth in monetary policies in 1985 was moderately higher than that of 1984. M1 grew faster than most recent years while M2 grew fastest than in 1984. The growth rate of M3 in 1985 was less than that of 1984. M1, known as money supply grew at an annual rate of 11. 6 percent for the first 11 months of 1985. This is more than twice the growth in 1984. The resurgence in the growth of demand deposit and a rebound in the growth of 6. Diebold, Francis X Rudebusch, Glenn D, Have Postwar Economic Fluctuations Been Stabilized? , September 1992. American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 82(4), pages 993-1005. other checkable deposits caused the rapid growth. After exhibiting little growth on balance in the past five years, demand deposit grew to 8. 0 percent rate in the first 11 months of 1985. There was a sharp declination in M1’s turnover in 1985 just as it grew more rapidly than nominal GNP. M2 grew at an annual rate of 8. 6 percent in the first 11 months of 1985. This was somewhat more than that of 1984. In contrast to the growth of M1’s in 1985, M2’ growth was likened to the growth of 1980-1984 periods. Several other components in M2 grew rapidly in 1985 than in 1984. Savings deposit increased in 1985 after contrasting in 1984. Some of the 1985 growths may have come from the expense of small-time deposits. M3 slowed sharply in contrast to M1 and M2 in 1985. M3 grew at an annual rate off 8. 3 percent for the first 11 months of 1985. This is considerably less than that of any recent years. This slow growth was because of the declined growth in large denomination time deposits. Growth of term repurchase agreement and institution-only markets fund were slowed down in 1985. The growth of domestic non-financial debt also slowed in the first 11 months of 1985, growing at a rate of 12. 8 percent, which moderately low than that of 1984. This nonfinancial debt consists of outstanding debts of all governmental units, household, and nonfinancial businesses.

Analysis Of Growth In Packaged Milk Industry Marketing Essay

Analysis Of Growth In Packaged Milk Industry Marketing Essay According to Dairy Index 2012, Pakistan is the third largest milk producing and consuming country in the world with 64 percent of the countrys population classified as Deeper in the Pyramid (DIP), which represents 60 percent of LDP consumption. The livestock sector alone contributes 11% of the countrys GDP,  with an estimated 42 billion litres of milk produced per annum. The total revenue from these dairy products is estimated as US$ 26 billion per annum. As per the Economic Survey of Pakistan 2009, Pakistan has a herd size of around 63 million animals, which is the 3rd largest in the world. About 35 million people are involved in dairy farming, deriving more than 40% of their total income from livestock. For these farmers, dairy animals provide milk for domestic consumption as well as meagre income through the sale of milk. In rural Pakistani culture livestock is a storer of wealth. It is viewed as important social capital and offers insurance to the owner in times of financial distress. Pakistan lacks the essential infrastructure that is needed for safe storage and transportation of farm produce. According to the Livestock and Dairy Development Board, 20 percent of the current milk production is lost due to poor infrastructure. Poor research facilities, technological backwardness and lack of processing facilities have resulted in generating fewer jobs and adding virtually no value to its agriculture produce. Of all the milk produced in the country, only 3 percent is processed. Rest of it is consumed as fresh milk which is not treated and is mostly supplied by gawalas. These Gawalas account for around 80-85% of total milk supply in the country. Due to this informal sector most of the milk in Pakistan is of low quality and is untreated. The handling of milk is miserable and no precautions are taken. People involved in this process are mostly uneducated and have low preference to health issues. They do not understand the importance of treatment procedures. Due to this lack of education, the productivity of milk is also low. The methods used for milking are old and no machinery is used. Everything is done purely by hand. In addition the live stock are not properly fed and taken care off. People do not understand the ways through which productivity can be enhanced. The lack of equipment also causes 20% of the milk to be lost during carriage which also lowers the yield and revenue produced by selling the milk. The packaged milk industry comes into picture here. This industry is the opposite of the unprocessed milk dairy industry which is the major chunk. The packaged milk companies have tried to introduce new techniques, use of machinery for milking and setting of health standards. These companies have state of the art plants installed and try to provide the best quality milk. The companies mostly buy milk from these local milk men but a few also have their own farms. The local unprocessed milk is bought by these companies and processed and treated at the standards which meet international quality. So with the increase of such companies and awareness among consumers, the packaged milk industry has started to take effect and gain share of the total dairy industry. Industry background The packaged milk category was originated in 1981 by company named Milk Pak, which  pioneered tetra pack milk in Pakistan. The supply chain involved collecting milk from rural areas across Punjab, processing the milk through UHT (Ultra-High Temperature Processing) treatment, and selling it to consumers in uniquely coloured triangular and rectangular packs designed to prolong the milks quality. Milk Paks Milk Packs were very well-received and the brand soon became synonymous with quality milk. Its first real competition came in the form of Haleeb, which introduced distinctively blue tetra  packs to the market in 1986. Milk Pak later merged with Nestle and continued its growth and leading the new high potential industry. By 2006, the dairy milk category was growing at 20 percent annually, and Milk Pak and Haleeb were well-entrenched brands with distinctive colours and brand  promises of providing high quality, natural and healthy milk. Milk Pak was identified by its green and white packaging-the colours of the country-and offered a brand backed with the strong equity of Nestle, coupled with its own traditional heritage. Haleeb was recognized as the blue brand, and professed to have the naturally thickest milk which was also claimed to give tea the best taste. At that time, market was dominated by these two strong and widely respected brands. The industry looked completely impenetrable for the new comers. But still milk industry in Pakistan had great prospects for growth. However Olpers, new milk brand backed by a powerful company engro, emerged to the scene and with its heavy promotional activities it soon started making its presence felt. The company gained share in the market quite rapidly and in couple of years time accounted for 13% of the market share. Other big companies saw this as the sign of potential profitable market and starting entering the packaged milk business. Good Milk was another brand backed by Shakargunj also launched onto the scene and started making impact. Local companies like Nirala sweets also took the opportunity and launched their milk products. In this growing market some old products such as Nurpur started reviving their brand and started making tetra pack milk. Numerous small brands like Halla, Gourmet and P rime launched their plastic packaged milk too which was cheaper than tetra pack. The industry took real boost in years 2008 and onwards. Countless brands started emerging, many on small scale. People started importing cows from Australia and other countries and marketed their milk. Educated people also stepped into this business. They brought in new techniques, live stocks and feeds to enhance the productivity and sell quality healthy milk. Various brands like Fresh milk, Farm fresh, Anhaar, White gold followed this trend. The industry particularly looks profitable as Pakistan is one of the largest milk producing and consuming country in the world. Milk is one of the main components of Pakistani people diets. Increase in urbanization during these years also helped the industry to boom. People came from rural areas started adopting to new trends. Mass media created an impact as companies used vigorous advertising to influence consumer choices and make them believe that the packaged milk is better, safe and healthy. The fresh milk suppliers also helped the industry as the fresh milk they supplied was constantly lacking quality, rumours of mixing of water into milk, unhygienic treatment of milk and medications given to animals to enhance milk produce led people to give-up fresh milk consumption and avert to packaged milk. Research objectives Identify how many new packaged milk companies have become functional in last five years. What is the growth of milk production in last five years What are the reasons behind the growth What is the projected growth for coming years Why is demand for packaged milk increasing What are potential new markets for packaged milk How many consumers are willing to substitute fresh milk with packaged milk Is the non packaged milk industry slowly transforming into packaged milk industry? What impact does increasing population has on milk demand Is large youth population a driver for growth in packaged milk? Research Question Analysing the growth of packaged milk sector in Pakistan over the last five years. Research Methodology This section will explain what type of research would be conducted and by which means. It covers the details of the research design, methodology for collecting the data, population, questionnaire development and data analysis. Data Type The type of data can be either primary or secondary. In this particular paper both primary and secondary data would be used. The primary data set will be gathered via questionnaire whereas the source of secondary data are published articles from Jstor journal and other credible sources. Further the data can be qualitative and quantitative in nature. Qualitative data refers to data that may categorize items in terms of certain characteristics and / or quality. This type of data can be observed and recorded however, it cannot be measured. Quantitative data refers to data that is numerical and can be measured using various statistical techniques .The majority of the data regarding this paper is quantitative in nature. This is due to the fact that quantitative data is easier to measure and analyze and reduces biasness that can occur in qualitative data. Information with regards to the demographics of the research subjects would be termed as qualitative data; this includes information abo ut the respondents gender, age, etc. Sampling Procedure Convenience, non-probability sampling will be used, based on the ease of access for the researcher. Sampling Frame For the purpose of this research, the list of elements upon which the sample is selected from the population include the fact that they should be easily accessible to the researcher (as convenience sampling is used). The other element of is that atleast 50% of the sample should fall into the SEC B income bracket. This is because research shows this class to be the most frequent users of these products. Time Frame The time frame for this research project is 5 months, starting from August and ending in December. Research Proposal Submission (August 2012) Revisions to Proposal (1st September 2012) Literature Review (8th September 2012) Hypothesis Generation (8th September 2012) Theoretical Framework (8th September 2012) Methodology (8th September 2012) Data Collection (22nd September 2012) Data Compilation (6th October 2012) Data Analysis (13th October 2012) Results and Findings (20th October 2012) Final Submission (3rd November 30th 2012) Literature Review The prospering dairy industry of Pakistan The author of the article talks about the increasing trend of consumption of branded or packaged dairy products in urban areas. According to the author the transition of dairy industry from unprocessed loose products to formally treated hygienic packaged products has took a long time. The packaged milk industry initiated in 1981 but till the early 2000s the growth was very slow. People did not adapt to the idea and kept on consuming fresh products. Milk from Gawalas and yogurt from local milk shops were widely preferred. In the last decade the consumers became more aware of the benefits of the packaged milk. People also started knowing about the improper treatment of dairy products by the local milkmen. Germs, mixing of water, poor handling techniques and medications to enhance milk yield from cows contributed to consumers dismay. People suddenly started looking at packaged milk as more healthy, nutritious and safe. According to the figure given in the paper, the packaged milk indust ry is growing at 20% annually. Marketing of dairy (fresh) milk vs. packaged milk The article researches the reasons behind success of packaged milk in recent times. The industry has boomed in last five years. Many new companies have come and impacted the industry. The fresh milk is being substituted for the packaged milk. According to the author the impact can be seen by studying the marketing strategies of fresh milk producers vs. Packaged milk producers. The author sees advertising as a key factor that has contributed to this boom in packaged milk industry. The marketing strategies and advertising has changed consumers perception. Consumers are made aware of the advantages of packaged milk. The hygienic values, purity and freshness have been promoted massively. The marketing has also shown the dark side of fresh milk. The improper handling, unhygienic and old methods and contamination in the milk have led to change in people preference. Moreover the companies have targeted changing people lifestyles. The convenience of packaged milk, hassle free handling and easy storage has also caused positive attitude towards packaged milk. The packaged milk makers have also successfully promoted milk as essential product for as well as main ingredient for various items. Like the best tea, best desserts and best drinks are made from packaged milk. On the other hand the fresh milk industry being largely unaccounted and informal has failed in this aspect. They are lacking innovation as well as modern techniques. The uneducated milkmen have failed o understand the significance of marketing. They are still surviving on massive demand, price and staunch users who do not want packaged milk. Changing lifestyles and consumer attitudes The ever increasing concerns of contamination, germs, bacteria and improper handling of dairy products specially milk has led many consumers to opt for packaged milk consumption. The perception and understanding of packaged milk being more safe and healthy is fast catching the minds of consumers. People are more informed about the hazards of consuming unhygienic loose milk. This change is the a key indicator of huge potential and enormous untapped market that has great potential for growth in packaged milk industry. Keeping in mind this huge potential and changing lifestyles of consumers, the packaged milk companies have come up with different varieties of milk. Consumers now have more choices than they could have imagined previously. Companies like Milkpak and Olpers offer normal pasteurized milk with full fat content as well as low fat, high calcium milk better known as skimmed milk. Consumers specially the ladies are targeted with the skimmed milk categories whereas men and children are promoted the normal brand of milk. Talking about choices and innovation, companies have even made milk a specialized item. For example olpers markets it milk Tarang specially for making tea. It says that Tarang is the best milk for tea. Similarly nestle has done this for many years with its dry milk brand called every day. So with changing consumers need and evolving lifestyles, companies have come up with new and innovative products and have successfully specialized their options. Drinking milk products in Pakistan In the dairy sector, milk continues to be the largest consumed commodity. In this category of drinking milk, Khula doodh continues to be the preferred choice of consumers as high percentage of population consumes it. Share of packaged milk is still very low in the dairy industry. The main reason behind this is that still majority of people consider the loose milk to be more fresh, nutritious and affordable. Drinking milk products is expected to see a constant value CAGR of 8% over the forecast period, departing from the high annual growth of 21% seen in 2011 as well as similar high double-digit growth seen in the past few years which had been mainly led by hikes in unit prices. During the forecast period, prices are expected to see only modest growth since companies are concerned about the inability of consumers to cope with soaring food inflation. In this high growth industry, packaged milk has also seen tremendous growth. The competition has increased and new companies have started making impact in the market. In 2010, Engro foods a young company was tied with Nestle Milkpak a pioneering company in packaged milk for the share value of sales which stood at 33%. Haleeb closely followed these companies with 20% value share. The white revolution (Dhoodh darya) The basic objective undertaken in this paper is to activate the resource potential of rural Pakistan and serve as a key engine of economic growth, thus radically changing the landscape of Pakistans agriculture economy through dairy development! the revolution aims at empowering small farmers and providing them with mechanized farms. The revolution is trying to improve the overall infrastructure of the dairy sector so that its full potential can be exploited. By introducing modern techniques, white revolution will influence the lives of millions and enhance urbanization through innovation and quality. The white revolution aims to satisfy consumers by providing quality milk, affordable, wide product range and high nutritional value. To meet the needs of the farmers, white revolution will train, empower, provide resource, improve yield, link to formal markets and provide a thriving pathway to growth. This way the supply chain will become better off, local milk production will adapt to n ew techniques and foreign investors would also be attracted. Overall a standardized industry would take shape. Some stats shared in the paper give us brief of the industry. These stats are as follows: Capture.PNG Capture2.PNG Through these statistics we can clearly see that the dairy industry has great potential for growth. The packaged milk industry is also contributing more and more every year. The growth trend is strong and may lead the industry in near future. All this would be made possible by achieving the objectives as mentioned in the paper. Pakistans transforming dairy industry The Gawala system is one of the long standing traditions of Pakistan milk industry. The result of this tradition can be seen by dominance of unprocessed milk which accounts for 93% of all liquid dairy products. From 2006-2009 consumption of LDP has increased with increase in the population, With a CAGR of 2.4% (according to Tetra Pak data). In 2009, LDP consumption reached 18.9bn litres, maintaining its position as the fourth largest LDP consumer after India, China and the US. In the same period, the rate of growth of packaged LDP was at CAGR of 8.4% compared with unpackaged products, which grew at a CAGR of 2.1%. according to tetra pack this trend is going to continue in near future. Tetra Pak expects packaged LDP to continue growing, with a CAGR of 10.4% from 2009-12. The changing demographics of the country are contributing to this change. Emerging middle class, increasing young population and education has caused people to demand safer and healthier products. In the alst decade the urban population of apkistan has increased by 3 percentage points. In 2009, 35.5% (59.9m) more people were living in urban areas. This change or urbanization has limited the supply of good healthy fresh milk as people have moved away from rural areas. Their access to good quality loose milk has been limited due to the lack of a cold supply chain. This has provided packaged milk companies with the opportunity to provide good quality, safe milk in an alternative form. Increasing educational class and sophisticated consumers have demanded more and more packaged products as they perceive it to be healthier and more convenient. From 1999-2009, packaged LDP grew by 19%. VAT to hamper growth of dairy industry In 2010 the article published in tribune raised concerns of dairy industry as government considered applying VAT on packaged milk. According to Pakistan dairy association (PDA) the VAT would seriously hamper the growth of the industry. According to Muzammil Aslam, economist at JS global capital ltd. Government will face difficulty in applying VAT on food industry. The government will face problems in imposing VAT especially in the food sector because this area has been mostly unregulated, If government applied VAT on packaged milk which is around 15%, the prices of milk packs would sharply rise. The difference between loose milk and packaged milk would become extraordinary. Consumers will shift to loose milk and packaged milk which has been growing year to year will suddenly default. Already the packaged milk sector has only 13% share in the dairy market. The industry wont survive and eventually Pakistan would have to import packaged dairy products. The loose milk industry is currently not in tax bracket so it would be unfair to have taxes on packaged dairy products. Emerging markets will drive growth of dairy industry According to a study conducted by tetra pack in 2012, emerging new markets in the world including Pakistan, India, Brazil, Russia and china will drive the growth of LDP industry. The LDP market is set for accelerated demand in years 2011-2014. Pakistan is currently the third largest milk producing country and has third largest herd size. Most of the population of Pakistan is deeper in the pyramid (60%). This provides great opportunity for companies and local farmers to cash in. Pakistani food producers have made many new innovative products which are affordable and good. One such product is the tea whitener. 32% of milk is used for making tea so it is a very important market. Products like tarang which are cheap and good for tea are ideal to penetrate into DIP segment of the society. Once the packaged foods enter this segment the growth will be enormous. Todays low-income consumers are tomorrows middle class, said Azhar Ali Syed, Managing Director Tetra Pak Pakistan, noting that this is a golden opportunity for dairy processors to cultivate consumer loyalty among a new generation of dairy consumers in developing countries such as Pakistan. The consumption is to incease from 70 billion litres to 80 billion in the year 2014. Many of the loose milk consumers are expected to shift during this period to packaged milk. Low-income consumers represent one of the biggest growth opportunities for the dairy industry. The key to tomorrows success is reaching these consumers today, said Tetra Pak President and CEO Dennis Jonson. They make up almost 40 percent of the worlds population and live in economies driving our industrys growth and they are growing more affluent. Tetra pack also announced that LDP demand worldwide is going to grow at 2.9% CAGR from 2011-2014. The biggest potential markets will be Asia, Africa and Latin America. Competitor analysis The packaged milk industry of Pakistan initially faced slow growth. People did not adapt to the idea of packaged milk and avoided consuming it. In the last decade this trend has changed. People now have become more aware of the packaged products and its nutritional values. The awareness led to consumer testing and liking the packaged milk. Thus the milk consumption started to transform. There are two types of packaged milk available, the tetra pack and the pouch packed milk. In the past five years the growth has been rapid. The industry has prospered in this time period. The boom in packaged milk industry has seen many new competitors enter the market. The competition has increased and suddenly the industry has become fiercely competitive. In the early days, the packaged milk market was dominated by nestle milk pak. Milk pak was like a monopoly. Now with new companies entering, the market share has dropped but still milk pak leads the market. Olpers now has second highest market share, was launched during this period of time by engro foods. The competition within the industry itself has become intense. There are many brands available offering virtually the same product at almost the same price. The taste and nutritional value of the milk brands are also same. Consumers have endless choices. The prominent brands competing in the market include: milk pak, olpers, haleeb, halla, good milk, gourmet, prema, anahar, nurpur, omung, and white gold. The combined percentage share of tetra pack and pouch pack milk brands of the dairy industry is 29% (22% tetra pack, 7%pouch pack). All these brands are fighting to gain maximum of this 29% share of the dairy market that makes the packaged milk industry. Of the 29% share of packaged milk in dairy industry, 22% is tetra pack milk. Currently milk pack has around 40% share of this pie whereas olpers is second at 27%. Other significant competitors in this category are haleeb and good milk. These tetra packed milk brands offer pasteurized milk. It is a little expensive too when compared with other categories. In the other category, Gourmet milk dominates the pouched milk category as it has more than 70% share of the 7% pouched milk market. The main competition in this category is halla and dairy queen. These brands offer UHT milk which come in pouches and are considered economical. Apart from this inside competition faced by packaged milk industry, immense competition is present outside the industry. This competition is given by the fresh milk or unprocessed milk category. This category is by far the most popular and most consumed one. It accounts for 71% of the total dairy market share. The fresh milk has this huge market share due to various factors. Among these factors price, taste, availability and nutritional value are key. The fresh milk is readily available and supplied to households on daily basis. Local milk men who have their own cows supply fresh milk on daily basis. The milk is delivered to consumers doorstep fresh every morning. This ease is also one of the main reasons for its success. The fresh milk also is cheaper to get. As compared to the packaged milk it almost costs Rs. 10/litre less. Another factor that has lead to this huge market share is lack of awareness regarding packaged milk. People still believe that fresh milk is more nutritious wh ereas to them packaged and processed milk is artificial. One key thing to note is that the fresh milk has a 70% share in rural market while in urban its only 30%. Industry analysis According to a study on Milk marketing conducted by FAO in Pakistan in 2003, out of 33.6billion litres of production of milk, 80% of the milk in the country are collectively produced by rural commercial and rural subsistence producers. The semi urban producers account for 15% of the milk production, whereas urban producers contribute 5% to the total milk production in the country. Only 5% of the milk is processed and is marketed through formal distribution channels whereas the other 95% is being distributed by the middlemen in the urban and rural areas. This accounts to be 0.43% contribution of the formal sector to the real GDP of Pakistan in the year 2004-2005. The formal sector (UHT) market are the milk producers in Pakistan which totals to be only 3%, which is only a small percentage, are growing at a stable rate of 20% a year. Initially the dairy sector did not receive much attention. As mentioned before, the packaged milk industry began in Pakistan in 1981. Milk pak became the pioneer by introducing its packaged milk. Later Haleeb and dairy queen and Halla followed Milk pak footsteps. The industry at the beginning never looked promising and was hardly seen replacing the fresh milk. In fact, the concern of adulteration, germs, obsolete and old methods of improper handling of dairy products, particularly loose milk and curd by milkmen and shopkeepers, are forcing a large number of consumers in the country to change their old buying patterns and move away for traditional milkmen delivered fresh milk. Consumer preferences have changed in the favour of packaged dairy products (Austin and Kohn, 1990), which offers better hygiene, nutritional value and good value for money. In the early 90s Tetra pack started their campaign of hygiene bacteria free milk; moreover their main aim was to educate the masses about th e health hazards of loose milk which is supplied by the local milkmen. Also they wanted to build awareness about the quality, purity, freshness of the packaged milk which is free from preservatives. Till the mid of 90s milk production was the least commercialized enterprise in the agricultural economy. It was during the early years of the 21stcentury that the dairy sector became slightly more commercialized with the emergence of two new companies in the sector: Olpers and Goodmilk. The former enterprise emerged as an aggressive player with attractive new ad campaigns emerging after almost every six months and managed to gain second highest market share as a UHT milk producer in Pakistan after Nestle Milkpak. The dairy sector now stands at its turning point. The advertisement campaigns and the competition between the oligopolies of milk enterprises have benefited its consumers the most (Pakistan Dairy Development Company, 2006). A demand shift can be viewed from that of loose milk to packaged milk. Milk consumers now have a variety of brands of milk to choose from which would suit their needs. The majority of national livestock herd is distributed in small units throughout Pakistan. About 55 million landless or small land holding farmers are responsible for the bulk of milk production produced in the country. Buffalos being the major milk producing animals produce most of the milk in Pakistan whereas only small amount of milk is produced by cows as Pakistans consumers prefer buffalo milk over cows milk. UHT producers of milk have made collection points in rural areas from where they collect milk from small scale farmers. It develops into a hassle for the collectors as they have to face problems due to poor infrastructure, quality assurance of the milk produced by farmers, inexpert manpower and seasonality issues. Low productivity and uneven farm base makes it inefficient for collectors to collect milk from farmers as collection becomes ineffective due to this. These difficulties create serious threats to the dairy industry of Pakistan which can only be eliminated by providing subsidies by government to the farmers. To make Pakistans dairy industry competitive against worlds dairy sector Pakistans dairy industry needs to be developed with respect to international standards. Primary research For this research project most of the data has been gathered from secondary sources. due to limitations and small time span only small scale primary research has been done. The primary research done for this study is has been limited to Lahore area only. The respondents were mostly students belonging to few universities of Lahore. the sample size chosen for this research was 100. These hundred people represent the whole population for this research only. This sampling has been done just to get an idea of how much our research claim is valid. The primary research data gathering has been done through questionnaires. A fourteen close ended questions questionnaire was floated in our sample. The questionnaires were filled under the supervision of the researcher and all precautions had been taken to avoid any bias. Survey analysis When the respondents were asked which type of milk they consume 30 said fresh milk, 60 tetra pack, 9 plastic pouch and 1 went with others. The next questions addressed the frequency factor. 30 respondents said they consume milk twice a day, 50 used it once a day, 15 said few times a week and 5 only used once a week. The third question asked the purpose behind consuming milk. Most respondents said they consume for tea, coffee and drinking. Out of the sample of 100 respondents, when asked 70 said that they use tetra pack milk while only 30 said no they dont. The most popular kind of packaged milk according to our respondents is the UHT milk as 60 respondents went with the option. When asked about the packaged milk brands most people consumed milk pack 49, olpers being second and good milk third. In pouched milk category gourmet was the preferred choice along with halla. The next question was perhaps the most critical one. We asked respondents that have they ever consumed loose milk or are its past users. 97 out of 100 said yes. Almost everyone has been a past consumer of loose milk. In one of the questions we noted that 70 out of 100 p

handmaids tale Essay -- essays research papers

The central social hierarchy within the novel is the gender hierarchy, placing men in a position of extreme power. This is evident in every aspect of the book, as the entire Gilead society is male dominated. The Commander is at the top of the hierarchy and is involved with designing and establishing the current society taking control of a nation of women, and exploiting their power by controlling what is taught, what they can teach themselves and the words that they can use. Soon all of the women will become brainwashed, simply because it is made nearly impossible to defy the rules The Eye is the next highest up and are used as spies to keep the society the way it is and make sure no one consorts against it. Angel’s are next because they are men so they are higher then all women. Their job is to make sure they are all safe and basically the police force. Men are the only ones who may drive cars, own property, have bank accounts, work, or even read from the Bible or any other text. The next highest up is the commander’s wife. She has writes and privileges about all other women. Aunt’s are responsible for getting the handmaids ready for their society. They pound the ideas of the new culture into the handmaid’s head so that when they enter it seems normal. Handmaids are the next class, they are the only women who can reproduce they are forced to have children for upper class couples women are often compromised by a forced sexual nature, thereby allowing them to be blamed for problems of conception. Handmaids show which Commander owns them by adopting their Commanders’ names, such as Fred, and preceding them with â€Å"Of.† I.e. Offred is one of these unfortunate servants who are only right to exist depends on her ovaries productivity. She lives with her commander and his wife in a highly supervised centre. All female characters in the text are only mentioned in relationship to a male owner of some sort. We find out about how women are treated as walking wombs when the ‘Red Centre’ also known as the Rachel and Leah Centre. As the basis of the novel it is replicated many times throughout the book, it is found in the family reading before the monthly ceremonies, and in Rachel’s plea give me children, or e lse I die. This really puts emphasis on the threat to the Handmaids life. By failing to produce a child, they will be classed as Unwomen and sent to the Colonies to... ...they train the handmaids. You could tell them what you believed and hope for change. The commanders wife has privileges but a rough deal too because the commander still thinks of her as a woman and not an equal. As the wife I would try to put in his head that not al sex has to be for procreation. As a handmaid or lower options are almost none. You have to make friends and trusted allies to make a difference. There is strength in numbers, but it would be imperative that it remain secretive. But in the end I think its hopeless for them in the society they are in. I think The Handmaids Tale is a direct warning to modern society, Atwood underlines that all the points in her novel have occurred in the world previously, and if a half truth establishes itself, it could take place again.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It would be hard to know who to trust because of the eye. But I think that their society would not let any women be in a position of power over a man so women can be more trusted. The angels would not be able to be trusted because the young guys are to stead fast on their principals and can do irrational things. Your best bet would be to make friends with all the commanders.

Freedom in the Modern World

Freedom in the Modern World Freedom of Choice, Religion and Rights all depends on the amount of Freedom of the Press within a country. Remor J. Gamutan Reg. 1868 August 3, 2011 ENG 101 B – Section 70 B Professor Hans Straub Introduction: Unlike the past, the world today is more united in diversity. Most countries in the modern world, boast unity of people from different cultures and backgrounds with the same nationality. With unity in diversity comes freedom of oppressed races and culture.Freedom is a word most of the young generations are very proud of; however, it is only a theory for some people from Third World countries and non-democratic nations. According to Sudeshna Pal who is an economist at Georgia College and State University, racial tension and other instabilities within a country, such as, crime, religious problems, ethnic clashes and many more, can be solved by giving more freedom to the press. (Bailey, 2011) The media is regarded by many, as a powerful tool to c reate peace within a country, given that journalists have the freedom to write what they need.Creating a free press allows a country’s citizens to not only criticize their government’s activities but also to give them more knowledge about what is happening within their nation, and what they can do to revolutionize it, to improve its situation. Criticism for governments may not be the easiest to handle, especially when it’s coming from the majority of the nation’s people. It could be viewed as futile for some countrymen; nonetheless, it is a positive way of informing the government of what the country needs through the people’s perspective, in addition to theirs. Rummel, 1989) This research highlights the importance of liberty of the press, and its positive correlation to freedom of religion, freedom of choice, rights and overall freedom within a country. This is designed to compare and contrast the prevailing problems of different nations and the a mount of freedom the press have, in relation to the overall rights of the people. Furthermore, I am going to discuss the countries with the least amount of freedom and the countries with the most, in the modern world.My research also provides information about the conditions and factors that contribute to the overall liberty of each citizen within a nation. Freedom of the press: Advantages and disadvantages of Free Media Liberty in the press means that the government does not restrict much of what’s being published, especially the news that they think are politically threatening. All well-established newsmen know the importance of delivering the truth to the people especially the things that relate to politics.According to R. J. Rummel, may it be politically undermining or encouraging, the citizens of a country have the right to know the truth about the activities of their current governments. The reason why freedom of the media is the key to national stability is because the citizens possess the power to suggest or show their perspective and views towards the government and it even promotes revolution if a political party is generally viewed as corrupting the system. Rummel, 1989) This allows a nation’s leaders to work in tandem with the citizens on improving all aspects of the country, and thus eliminating corruption and weak political figures, much like the natural selection in the theory of life. Such great advantages that comes with a free press is common during the â€Å"People’s Power Revolution† in the Philippines, in 1986. As an example of how a nation can be improved through media liberation, the act of revolution by the Filipino’s that year is well documented and known throughout the whole world.This shows that with freedom of the press, the whole nation has access to the true intentions of their leaders and can stand united as one to overthrow him/her. (Delotavo,2006). Through lack of media censorship by the Phili ppine government, the people were well aware of the corruption of its political leaders. Despite the implementation of martial law, underground newspapers were distributed and a â€Å"call† by the Catholic Church for the nation to stand united against one common enemy (the president), was successful.The success of the press united all the Filipinos, which caused an uprising and resulted into the current regime (at that time), being overthrown, in the most non-violent manner. The streets of EDSA and majority of Manila (now Metro Manila), were flooded with millions of people as they sought to remove from power the current president of that time, Pres. Ferdinand Marcos. The people stood united, without any violent act. They were simply chanting words with the intention of pleading the president to step down from power.With cameras feeding live videos of the revolution all over the world, it was inevitable for Marcos to surrender without any reaction. (Delotavo, 2006). Not long a fter Marcos, another president; Pres. Joseph Ejercito Estrada, got taken off from power and sent to jail, through the same process, in retaliation to the alleged â€Å"plunder† that he committed, which has been published by the press. After those incidents, the next generation of political leaders in the Philippines aims to be very truthful and convincing in each of their annual State of the Nation Address (SONA), which is broadcasted live on TV.When the President states his/her plans and report the use of the government funds during the SONA, the entire nation is watching because that date is regarded as a national holiday in the Philippines. Such â€Å"revolution† is common all over the world today, and most countries have freedom of the press for the sole purpose of educating the people and keeping them knowledgeable about current political events. The sharing of non-censored information from the government to its citizens reduces the instabilities within a country. These instabilities are measured in seven ways by Sureshna Pal as â€Å"ethnic tensions, external and internal conflicts, crime and disorder, military preparation in government, and religious tensions. † (Bailey, 2011), as she analyzed the data from 98 countries. She found out from her analysis that a rise in freedom of the press creates a decrease of all the measures of instability within a country. These are the advantages of having a liberal media. According to the, World Public opinion; a report of results from 22 nations released during the International Freedom Day in 2008, most countries prefer freedom of the press.As shown in Fig. 1, most nations, except for majority of the Muslim dominated lands which compose of Egypt, Turkey, Palestine Territories, Iran, Jordan and Indonesia, voted for the idea of press freedom. The average vote for liberty of the press between the 22 countries is 57% while only 35% believed that the government must have the power to censor the medi a from publishing things that could be politically threatening for the government. (World Public Opinion).Most Muslim dominated countries believe that the government has the right of censorship because of the Islamic culture. Islam has a long history of authoritarian tradition, and press restrictions are considered as a right of the government by these countries to â€Å"preserve political stability†. Such stability is not necessarily the overall stability within the country which is described by Pal to be measured in seven different ways, but stability in terms of the people in power. However, this does not mean that such countries do not desire more press freedom.Countries like Egypt, Jordan, Indonesia, and the Palestine Territories are among those Muslim countries who voted that their nations could do better with more liberty of the media as shown in the chart below. Despite these figures and known advantages of having freedom of the press, many can still argue that too mu ch liberty of the media, especially during conflict and war, can be a great disadvantage. This is because the press could be dominantly biased on one opinion, and that simple facts and figures could be manipulated. (World Public Opinion)According to K. A Soxman’s article, TMI, Tet and the Media, most of the American people who are in the USA during the Vietnam War were easily persuaded that USA was going to lose the war, and many American soldiers have already died. The latter was in fact the truth; however, the media were convincing enough that the American citizens assumed that reports from the press were 100% accurate. This resulted in to a lack of support to the soldiers in Vietnam from the USA, and the majority of the American people sought the return of the soldiers back home.The press were biased against the war and reported that the Tet offensive was a lost battle where in fact, US soldiers have won that fight and could have, arguably, carried on to ultimately win the war. (Soxman, 1980). The same happened during the war in Iraq. Since the tragedy of 9/11, rumors have spread that USA was trying to invade and conquer Iraq for their oil, and many other reasons. Those are rumors deemed to be true for some â€Å"irresponsibly biased† media who never revealed the true intentions of the American government.Since then, such reports took its toll on the government, and they have been heavily criticized as liars and greedy by their own people. Biased reports made the US regime pay a heavy price after the war on Iraq with unlimited criticism. (Grieder, 2004). The disadvantages of freedom of the press are that it could be misleading. During war and conflict, as part of human nature, many take sides of a story and believe it to be true, even the media. With such beliefs, come strong arguments that can be very convincing if manipulated well by the educated. It can also be true in terms of political issues.A certain group of the media may be on one sid e while another would be on the â€Å"other side†. This also explains why most of the Muslim dominated countries shown in Fig. 1 voted against press freedom because such countries have long history of documented internal conflicts. However, with the right precautions and the right of the government to question, not necessarily censor such reports, could resolve conflicts. With groups of the media on different sides of a story, the result could be disagreement in the short run, but, it is a perfect way to debate and analyze the positives from each side and create a positive resolution in the long run.Freedom of the Press: The Countries with the Least Freedom of the press and its conditions According to the article, Countries with the Least amount of Press Freedom in the World, which used the data that was released by Reporters without Borders in October 2009, the top five nations with the least amount of liberty of the media are Eritrea, North Korea, Turkmenistan, Iran and Bur ma. Following the report in 2006 by the â€Å"Committee to protect Journalists (CPJ)† on the, 10 Most Censored Countries, North Korea was always among the top because of its Communism. Most of these countries are hardly democratic.In a communist country like North Korea, reports of famine, poverty and even murder by government officials are never reported. This is because â€Å"all† the domestic news-related matters are fully controlled by the government. Radio channels, television and even newspapers always publish their communist leader, Kim Jong Il’s wisdom. On a tragic incident that occurred in April 2004 near the border of China, where a munitions train exploded, the amount of people who died were not reported, instead the North Korean press reported the loyalty of the people towards their leader by saving his portraits before their beloved families.The picture shown in Fig. 3, however, shows the devastation of such incident, provided by the World Food Prog ram, where there were 150 people recorded â€Å"dead† and thousands were injured. (â€Å"10 most censored countries,† 2006). Many of the negative occurrences within the country are never revealed to the world, leaving its citizens at the mercy of their leader. Almost all of the top ten least free countries in terms of media liberty have the exact same problem in that their leaders isolate the country from the rest of the world to gain full control of their nation and to erase all threats that could potentially overthrow them.Freedom of the Press: The Countries with the Most Freedom of the press and its conditions Shown in Fig. 4, in the 22 nations that were assessed by World Public Opinion, the country which had the most amount of freedom of the media is the UK with 71%, voting for â€Å" a lot†, and 22% voted for â€Å"some†, followed by the USA with 66% who responded with â€Å"a lot†, while 26% voted for â€Å"some†. Both countries are ve ry democratic countries and have very few or no internal conflict between ethnic groups and racial tension.The same pattern applies for the top ten countries with the most freedom of the media, from the data collected by Reporters without Borders, in the article Countries with the Least Amount of Press Freedom in the World. The nations which belonged to the bottom of that list has the highest press freedom and least government censorship, and those countries are Sweden, Norway, Republic of Ireland, Finland, Denmark and many more which are mostly from Europe and North America. Such results prove R. J.Rummel’s argument on his article, Freedom of the Press—A Way to Global Peace, that free media promotes democracy to be and accurate claim. Overall freedom within a Country: The Measurement of Overall Freedom? Pal, according to Bailey in the article, Peace and the Press: Media Bolster Social Cohesion, has conducted an analysis of the correlation between press freedom and the â€Å"seven measures of instability† within a country. These instabilities were measured as ethnic tensions, external and internal conflicts, crime and disorder, military participation in government, and religious tensions.Such instabilities are described by Pal to only improve with the increase of liberty by the press, quoting Thomas Jefferson’s wisdom, â€Å"Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter. † (Bailey, 2011). Those measures were close to the actual measurement of a country’s overall freedom once compared to the thorough report of Freedom in the World 2011: the Authoritarian Challenge to Democracy, written and compiled by Arch Puddington.Thus, the overall freedom of a country is measured based on these conditions: whether or not there is an open political competition, respect for religion and civil rights from the go vernment, how significant the independent civic life is, independence of media, and strength of the rule of law. Given these conditions, three broad categories are derived, Free, Partly Free, and Not Free, with the conditions given in the Box (Fig. 5). A country, as stated in Fig. should possess positive values of the conditions written there, which includes freedom of religion, political right of the people, and right of speech which can be included in the category of independent media. According to Puddington’s report, there are 87 countries which represent 45% of the world’s 194 countries that are considered as â€Å"free†. That consists of 43% of the world’s population. However, there are 47 countries that were categorized as â€Å"not free†, which represents 24% of the world’s countries.In total, the population stands at 2, 434, 250,000 people or 35%, a surprising number despite the increase of democratic nations throughout the years. O verall freedom within a Country: The Countries with the least amount of overall freedom Of the 24% of the World countries (47 nations) which are categorized as â€Å"not free†, there are nine which are absolutely the worst in terms of Overall Freedom. In relation to having the least amount of Press Freedom, North Korea, Turkmenistan, Iran and Burma are again amongst these countries categorized as the worst.The people are thought to have no political rights, no freedom of choice and civil liberties which include freedom of religion and many more. This further proves the importance of a liberal media, and why it is considered by many as the most important tool within a country to keep its peace. It is well reported that lack of freedom only haunts the Authoritarian nations and cultures. Most democratic nations are categorized as â€Å"free† countries, where the press is relatively free of restriction and all the other measures of instabilities are low.Overall freedom wit hin a Country: The Countries with the most amount of overall freedom In Puddington’s review, he did not state the countries with the highest amount of overall freedom because of its lack of importance compared to the â€Å"not free† countries, in which his report focuses on. However, in the regional patterns shown in page 9 of his report (shown as fig. 6 below), the Americas and Western Europe, which has the most democratic countries, has the most number of free nations. This is similar to the â€Å"Countries with the Most Freedom†, in page 10 of this research paper; both regions also had the most liberty of media.Analysis: Freedom in the world According to all the data collected in this research, Democratic Nations are the most â€Å"free† nations in the world in terms of all the conditions that were mentioned before. In the figures and charts taken from Puddington’s thorough review, which will be shown on the next few pages, it can be derived tha t Democracy is indeed â€Å"the best policy† and in relation to the data collected earlier in terms of Freedom of the press, most â€Å"free† nations, are democratic and have a high press freedom. Conclusion: Both Sudehsna Pal and R. J.Rummel are right when they claim that press freedom is the key for democracy and peace. In the Country Breakdown by status, â€Å"Not free† countries are the last in terms of the number of nations within that category. However, it has the second largest population, shown in the population breakdown. In the Regional data, it is clear that the regions found to have the most freedom of the press, have the most overall freedom. It is very surprising that the countries that are â€Å"not free†, which have few political rights and civil liberties, have 35% of the world’s total population, whereas the countries which are â€Å"free† has 43%.Nevertheless, there is a positive correlation between press freedom and overa ll freedom of a country. This shows the importance of a liberal press within a nation, because with no restrictions to report what is needed, the government could stay honest to its people to avoid negative criticisms. It also allows the citizens to be well educated about what is going on within their country and can act upon their own to help the government resolve internal issues. References: Countries with the least amount of Freedom in the World. (2009), http://www. blatantworld. om/feature/the_world/least_free_national_press_html. (2011, July 19) Delotavo, A. J. (2006). Ethical Considerations on Ecclesio-Political Involvement: A Philippine People Power Case. Asia Journal of Theology, 20(2), 221-229. Academic Search Premier Database. www. ebscohost. com (2011, July 17) Europe falls from its pedestal, no respite in the dictatorships. (2010). Press Freedom Index 2010, Retrieved from http://en. rsf. org/press-freedom-index-2010,1034. html (2011, July 20) Fadhil Ali , M. (2011). Fre edom has a price. The CBS Interactive Business Network, Retrieved from http://findarticles. om/p/news-articles/new-straits-times/mi_8016/is_20110715/freedom-price/ai_n57838829/ (2011, July 12) Freedom in the world 2011: the authoritarian challenge to democracy. (2011). Report- Freedom House, Retrieved from http://reliefweb. int/node/381505 (2011, July 14) Freedom of the media; country by country results. (2008). World Public Opinion, Retrieved from http://www. worldpublicopinion. org/pipa/pdf/apr09/WPO_PressFreedom_Apr09_countries. pdf. (2011, July 19) Greider, W. (2004, May 3). Iraq as Vietnam. Nation. p. 5. Academic Search Premier Database. www. ebscohost. com (2011, July 17)International public opinion says government should not limit internet access. (2009 ). World Public Opinion, Retrieved from http://www. worldpublicopinion. org/pipa/articles/ btjusticehuman_rightsra/477. php? lb=bthr&pnt=477&nid=&id=an_rightsra/477. php? lb=bthr&pnt=477&nid=&id=&gclid=CLqZw6TxiqoCFUka6wod9ye7 xg (2011, July 14) Ladeur, K. (2009). The myth of the neutral state and the individualization of religion: the relationship between state and religion in the face of fundamentalism. Cardozo Law Review, 30(6), 2445-2471. Academic Search Premier Database. www. ebscohost. om (2011, July 17) Neuhaus, R. , Wahid, A. , Smith, N. , Chamarik, S. , Bernas, J. , & Delgado, M. (1985). RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN THE THIRD WORLD. World Affairs, 147(4), 253. Academic Search Premier Database. www. ebscohost. com (2011, July 17) Puddington, A. (2011). Freedom of the world 2011: the authoritarian challenge to democracy. Freedom House, Retrieved from http://reliefweb. int/sites/reliefweb. int/files/resources/ EFA28E3670B830004925781E000EA6EA-Full_Report. pdf (2011, July 14) Ronald Bailey â€Å"Peace and the press: media bolster social cohesion†. Reason. FindArticles. om. 18 Jul, 2011. http://findarticles. com/p/articles/mi_m1568/is_4_43/ai_n57762421/ (2011, July 14) Rummel , R. J. (1989). Freedom of the press– a way to global peace*. Retrieved from http://www. hawaii. edu/powerkills/FREEPRESS. HTM (2011, July 19) Soxman, K. A. (1980). TMI, Tet and the media. Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, 36(3), 64. Academic Search Premier Database. www. ebscohost. com (2011, July 17) Ten most censored countries. (2006). Committee to Protect Journalists, Retrieved from http://cpj. org/reports/2006/05/10-most-censored-countries. php (2011, July 14)

My Proof of Theism

Introduction to Philosophy 200 Spring 2008 My Proof of Theism Jenny Wiggins In this essay, I plan to give proofs that defendtraditional theism. Traditional theism is defined by E. K. Daniel in his essay, A Defense of Theism, as: â€Å"there exists a being, God, who has all of the following attributes: God is omnipotent (all powerful), omniscient (all-knowing), supremely good (omnibenevolent), infinite, eternal, a being who possesses all perfections, transcendent to the natural universe, but the creator of the universe (Daniel, p. 259). † I find it ironic to prove theism in philosophy class. Even Greek philosophers believe in a higher power. The question that is not always agreed upon is which or what higher power to believe? That being said, since there are views that refute theism, I will also take some of these arguments and try to find their weakness. The first classical argument that I will put forth to argue the existence of God is the first cause argument also known as the cosmological argument. This argument simply says that everything has a cause, so if we proceed backwards to find every cause,we would never be able to stop. This is unintelligible. For one to think about it rationally there must be a first cause, a cause that in itself is uncaused. This uncaused being we will call God. Therefore, God exists. The first cause argument proposes that the universe is finite, which means it is limited, and to think of it as infinite would be unintelligible. It also says that the universe is contingent, by stating that each thing in it has a cause. Since the universe could not have caused itself, there must something uncaused that caused the universe. Daniel reformulates the first cause (cosmological) argument this way: P1: Everything in the universe is finite. P2: Whatever is finite is limited. P3: Hence, whatever is limited cannot be the cause of its own existence. P4: Everything in the universe is contingent. P5: Whatever is contingent is dependent on something else for its existence. P6: Hence, whatever is contingent cannot be the cause of its own existence. P7: The totality of things making up the universe is also finite and contingent. P8: Thus, the totality (universe) must also have a cause for its existence. P9: Since it cannot be the cause of its own existence, the cause must be something external to the universe. P10: That is, since the universe cannot contain the reason for its existence within itself, the reason for its existence must be something external to it. P11: Hence, there must exist an infinite and self-subsistent (non-contingent) being who is the cause of the universe. P12: Unlike that which is finite and contingent, such a being must exist necessarily. P13: Such a being is commonly called God. Conclusion: Therefore, there exists an infinite, necessary, and uncaused cause – God (Daniel, p. 68). A question to this argument may be: Do the attributes of finite and contingent, referring to the universe, necessarily need an uncaused being to have created its existence? The very definitions of finite and contingent rationally conclude, yes. If the claim that an infinite sequence of causes was untrue the universe would possibly not exist at all, because if even one of those causes were taken out all succeeding causes would cease to exist. I would also like to take a look at another classical argument which is the design argument also known as the teleological argument. The design argument says that the universe is created in such a way that everything is designed and adapted for a purpose (Daniel, p. 261). The fact that the universe and everything in it seems to be put there in an orderly fashion with things working together in order to give purpose and produce a means to an end, suggests that there was a maker. Consider my argument in defense of the teleological argument below: P1: If we examine an automobile of any kind, we can see that each part has a purpose and design. P2: We can also see that there is an order and complexity. P3: We find that the parts are arranged in such a way that they will operate together in order for us to drive the automobile. P4: This is certainly evidence of rationality and design. Conclusion: Hence, there exists a rational being that designed and brought the automobile into being. Daniel defends the teleological argument by reformulating it in this way: P1: Look out at the universe and the things within it. P2: The universe also shows evidence of design and purpose. P3: We detect orderliness and intricacy. P4: More importantly, we find purposiveness: a marvelous adaptation of means to ends. P5: An example of such purposeful adaptation is the existence of two sexes for the end of procreation or the structure of the eye for the end of seeing. P6: All this is also evidence of rationality and design. P7: Hence, there must exist a rational being who designed and brought the universe into existence. Conclusion: That is, there must exist a Cosmic Designer –God (Daniel, 269). An objection to the teleological argument could be: This earth is not well made; there are plenty of things that do not have adaptation of means to ends. An explanation for this is even though it seems that something does not have purpose for one reason or another it does, but we cannot understand it. Yet another objection may be can we hypothesize that in order to have something of an intricate design that there had to be an intelligent maker? The answer would be yes because a designer cannot make something intelligent by not being so himself. Last but not least I would like to look at the moral argument. This argument states that people have a sense of moral obligation, a feeling to do what is good and right, coming from outside of them. There is no explanation for the sense of completemoral obligation that a person feels other than there is a moral law giver transcendent of the universe. Therefore, such a moral law giver, God, must exist. Human needs and behavior do not explain the complete sense of obligation to do what is right or moral (Daniel, p. 261). Take for example the missionaries sense of obligation to do whatever is in their power humanly and spiritually to help others that they do not even know. The missionaries may possibly risk their very own lives by entering a violent situation just by feeling a complete moral obligation to do so. Another example may be of parents that forgive a murderer who has murdered their only child and they are unable to conceive a new child. These instances are examples of the moral argument. Our doing of good works and deeds by complete moral obligation that is felt to come from outside of ourselves at the forfeit of our own happiness makes no sense unless there is something outside of this universe that compels us to do so, I believe that that compelling force is God. An objection to the moral argument would be: Couldn’t our parents have simply brought us up to do what is morally right? It is not a sense in that one can be taught but a complete sense that will not fail. The decision we make may go against what we are taught as children. I will now take a look at the problem of evil which is most frequently used in the argument against theism. In H. J. McCloskey’s essay, God and Evil, he states the problem in this way, â€Å"Evil is a problem for the theist in that a contradiction is involved in the fact of evil on the one hand, and the belief in the omnipotence and perfection of God on the other. God cannot be both all-powerful and perfectly good if evil is real. † An argument can be formulated to disprove the existence of God in the following way: P1: God is a being that is both all-powerful and perfectly good. P2: An all-powerful being could eliminate all evil. P3: A perfectly good being would eliminate all the evil it has the power to eliminate. P4: Evil exists in the world. P5: Therefore, there is no being that is both all-powerful and perfectly good (McCloskey, p. 328). An argument that would refute the problem of evil is as follows: P1: Evil is necessary to appreciate goodness. P2: Evil is unreal. P3: Evil is necessary for the goodness of the world. The world is made better by the evil in it. P4: Evil is not due to God but to man’s misuse of the free will that God gave him (McCloskey & Hick, 332 &347). With regards to the latter of these two arguments one might think of the analogy of having something that you think is not good, losing it, and then realizing that what you hadwasn’t so bad in the first place. Most people learn lessons from the hardships that they face in life and go on to live an even better life. Man does not always make the most rational decisions in his life and those bad decisions usually have consequences. This is no evidence that there is not an all-powerful and perfectly good God. K. D. Ellis refutes theism in his essay, Why I Am an Agnostic, on the grounds that there are no good reasons, meaning no reliable empirical evidence or sound rational arguments, to believe that there is a God (Ellis, p. 296). He suggests that the classical arguments that are stated in Daniel’s essay, â€Å"may offer some support for the plausibility of the belief in a god, but they are not sufficiently strong enough to compel our assent to the conclusion that a god exists. † He also says that there is no knowledge in the statement, God exists (Ellis, p. 297). However, Ellis also refutes atheism because of the philosophical atheist’s main arguments flaw which is as follows: P1: There is no good reason for anyone to believe that God exists. Conclusion: Therefore, God does not exist. This way of arguing is an argument of ignorance. To say I know what you mean by the ideal of God as a transcendent entity, but, he does not exist. This argumentis fallacious. This is Ellis’ reason for refuting atheism (Ellis, p. 298). Ellis instead makes his stand with agnosticism, because there are no good arguments for God’s existence or refuting God’s existence. Both claims cannot be trueas he states, â€Å"I have tried to show that we cannot know which is true. † Therefore, he takes the position of traditional agnosticism (Ellis, p. 301).

The role of The People in any political system essays

The role of The People in any political system essays For many centuries people have been looking for answers to different questions that political life raises. To find these answers we often draw attention to the ideas developed centuries ago. One of the people who established ideas about politics was Niccolo Machiavelli whose work was important ever since and often gave people answers in this area. His two most known books on politics, The Prince and The Discourses, still have immense importance in study of politics. History tends to repeat itself, and can be understood as a cycle, where many things can be predicted as a result of analyses. That is why after more then four hundred years we still discuss Machiavellis work. In The Discourses author discuses what the form of government should be like taking in account republics, and in The Prince he gives certain criteria for Princes how to maintain power in hereditary states. Although ideas of these two books are different in some ways, there are certain points in which Machiavelly holds the same understanding. In both his books attention is drawn not only to discussion of the governmental estates, but also to the people who live under rule of their Prince. Although in The Prince Machiavelli has as the main goal giving suggestions to the Prince in order to be successful in his politics and in Discourses he doesnt emphasize any parts of republic, such as Prince, military, or people discussing good life of the commonwealth, the discussion about people remains significant. That is why it is important to understand if Machiavelly holds the same view of the role of the people in each work. Analyzing the two works it is appropriate to consider, that people is the main powerful force which even being under the rule of the governor, forms either republic or principality, and are capable for reforms despite of might of their Prince. Talking about people Machiavelli means the society that comp...

Greeks contributions DBQ essays

Greeks contributions DBQ essays Throughout history the ancient Greeks have made many contribution to the western civilization. They made advances in the areas of art, architecture, drama, philosophy, math, and science. These contributions have influenced the western civilization, and are still used in the world today. The ancient Greeks have made contributions in the two areas of art and architecture. For example, the ancient Greeks built the Parthenon, which is a temple built in honor of the goddess of wisdom, Athena (Doc.7). The Parthenon had columns built in the front it. The western civilizations used columns in some of their architecture, like the Lincoln Memorial. Another contribution is the famous sculpture known as the Diskabolus or the Discus Thrower (Doc. 8). The sculptor of this sculpture was showing that men should be physically fit. He also used very detailed lines to show how strong and fit the men in Greece were. Today artists use very detailed lines to show what something or someone actually looks like, just like the ancient Greek sculptor of the discus thrower. Even though some information is known about the Greeks contribution of art and architecture to the western world, we no even more about their contributions in the fields of math of science. A famous Greek physician named Hippocrates made advances in medicine. He created the Hippocratic oath, which promised that a physician would help a patient according to his ability and judgment. Also a physician will never give any deadly medicine to anyone if asked (Doc. 4). The Hippocratic oath is still used in the western civilization today. Many medical schools make all their doctor graduates say this oath. The mathematicians named Euclid and Pythagoras made some of the advances in math. Euclid said that if two straight lines were to cross each other, the vertical, or opposite angles would be equal (Doc.5). Euclids law is still used today to teach geometry. Pythagoras created the Pythagore...

An Examining Of The Great Commission Religion Essay

An Examining Of The Great Commission Religion Essay â€Å"God authorized and commanded me to commission you: Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you. I’ll be with you as you do this, day after day, right up to the end of the age.† (Matt 28:18-20 The Message) â€Å"18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:   20Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. â€Å"(Matt 28:18-20 KJV) Introduction The Gospel of Matthew ends Jesus meeting with His apostles in Galilee. This was a special meeting and would change the course of world history in many ways. The meeting was foretold by Jesus in Matthew 26:31-32 : â€Å"31 Then Jesus said to them, â€Å"You will all fall away because of me this night. For it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ 32 But after I am raised up, hI will go before you to Galilee.† This meeting was announced both by an angel (Matt 28:78) and Jesus Himself (Matt28:10). It was a meeting filled with mixed emotions. Some had run away and others had denied Him before His death. Now He stood before them, alive. Their reaction was to bow down in worship (Matt 28:16-17) I was a meeting in which Jesus gave His disciples a command that we now refer to a the great commission. Someone once said that this was seen by many Christians as the great suggestion, but it is a command that lies at the heart of the Church and from which she operates. The command ends with the beautiful promise that He would always be with them. This is not something to be ignored, but to be a constant part of the C hurch’s functioning as well as that of every believer. I will be looking at what makes this commission so GREAT. I Great in its Authority To Jesus was given all authority. As the creator, He is the One who has the original right to do all things: â€Å"For by1 him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities-all things were created through him and for him. And is before all things, and in him all things hold together.† (Colossians 1:16-1) What higher authority than the creator Himself to issue such a command. As our Redeemer, this authority is even more pronounced: â€Å"who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has hig hly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.†(Philippians2:6-11)

Home work Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Home work - Essay Example Often, this music is generated from computer-based sound systems to generate the necessary background of the play (The Open University, 2012). Ambient sounds. These are mechanical sounds like the clicking of drives or a CD-ROM, or opening of a drawer, or removing a bottle cap to demonstrate that something is operated correctly (The Open University, 2012). In the movie The Graduate, the viewer can hear the sounds of a closing door, voices of guests that are faded down, light switch or the sounds of the radio when music was played. You could also hear footsteps and sound of a vehicle being parked. (2)Using a film that youve watched in class, give an example of subtextual dialogue. Quote the dialogue using the format shown on page 91-2 in the text book. Summarize the text of the dialogue and then explain the dialogues subtext   This was lifted from the episode when Mrs. Robinson attempted to tempt Ben for a sex but was halted upon the arrival of Mrs. Robinson’s husband (Buck, 1967). Mrs. Robinson was so expressive of her desire amid outright refusal and confusion of Ben on how to feign responsibly to this desire without insulting and getting hatred from the woman and anger from her husband (Buck, 1967) (3) Choose a scene from a film that you watched in class. You can use Rear Window by Hitchcock Briefly describe the scene and its accompanying sound.. Explain in the detail how the various types of sound contribute to the atmosphere, plot and theme. In the scene 10 of movie Rear Window where Lisa sat on bed browsing magazine and travel book, the episode was accompanied by a love song to add meaning to unspoken passion as the man is limited by his disability to maybe sit or lay besides Lisa (Hitchcock, 2011). The director used the music to bridge love in this couple and to replace supposed dialogues. Hitchcock (2011) explained that to

Anthropology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 9

Anthropology - Essay Example The cuts that congress has put on the food stamp program are oppressive to those individuals who rely on this program to ensure that they make their ends meet (Wallbank). Because of the cuts that have been instituted, it will make it much harder for individuals to ensure that they keep their families well fed, and it is a fact that many of the people who rely on this program might end up going hungry. It can be said that if one were to consider this according to the Marxist principle, one will find that Congress, many of whose members are well off members of the society, is making an attempt to maintain the current status quo through denying the poor a means through which they can be able to improve their lives. The current social and economic institutions as they exist in American society have suited the needs of the elite within this society and this is the reason why many of the latter would like it to remain as it is. The cuts of finding can be considered to be a relationship between the elite and the masses who are involved in the economic process and the best example that can be stated of this concept is related to the concept of a correlation between a master and a slave. It is a familiar Marxist belief that the economic structure of a society has an effect on its political structure, and as such, the elite, being the one who run the economy, have the power to ensure that they influence every aspect of the lives of the people within the society. The fact that Marxists are all in accord that social class has a direct effect on the economy is fundamental because it shows how societies develop within their own contexts (Ouyang 643). In the long run, it is the elite which benefits because they are the ones who will get the services derived from the money that is saved. The large corporations have come to dominate the globe in a variety of ways that cover the entire social life of societies. It is a fact that the corporations which have a global influence

The topic can be proposed by the writer Assignment - 19

The topic can be proposed by the writer - Assignment Example As a result of falling out between Louise and Sarah, Sarah decided to vote for shares in violation of the agreement with James. Was Sarah right to vote for James shares in violation of the agreement signed with James? The court of trial held that the rightful holders of the office are those people who are elected in a written consent. It reasoned that the consent was effective if only Sarah’s votes counted towards the majority side and her vote could only be counted is her agreement with James did not bind them. For an individual to act effectively as a proxy, a document must identify the shares that are to be voted by the agent. Proxies are usually revocable unless they are able to satisfy the requirements. A duly proxy that can be executed is only irrevocable if it states that it is irrevocable and only if it is coupled with a sufficient interest in law supporting a power that is irrevocable. The court ruled that James had no power to vote for his share by the time he made contract with Sarah. Basing on the foregoing, we hold that the proxy James gave to her daughter- Louise, failed to satisfy all the requirements of a proxy hence it was

Behaviour in Organisations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Behaviour in Organisations - Essay Example The purpose of this report is to analyze how organizational behavior will influence the innovation of the Australian consulting firm. The survey will focus on the process of creating and inventing new ideas into the marketplace as the products and the process in order, to flourish the consulting firm in the market. The innovation of any company lies on the power of ideas and individual initiative that expand the services of organizational to its customers. This will happen if the firm is willing to accept the opportunities and the challenges ideas that help organizational to develop new knowledge that meets emerging needs of the clients. Therefore, organizational behavior involves the study of persons and groups within the organizational, and the study of the internal process and practices as they affect the effectiveness of individuals and the organization. Therefore, organization behavior and innovation of the organizational processes go hand in hand in order to meet the interest o f workers and the executive managers. In general, it helps individuals working together in a difficult market system to create a new product and procedure or work process in organizational. This is ability of the individuals in the firm to access their weakness and the strength, set, and pursues professional and personal goals as well as balancing company work and personal life in order, to engage in new learning activities of well-being of the company. ... In general, it helps individuals working together in a difficult market system to create a new product and procedure or work process in organizational. The self-competency This is ability of the individuals in the firm to access their weakness and the strength, set, and pursues professional and personal goals as well as balancing company work and personal life in order, to engage in new learning activities of well being of the company. Stephen and Timothy (2010, p 224) stated that, for any company to innovate new ideas and products in the market, all individuals should have self-competency that involves abilities to be effective in doing the following: To attain the innovation of the consulting firm, the individuals should understand their own and the customers personalities and altitudes. The working team should understand their own motivations activities and the emotions in the organizational environment in order to respect others ideas. They should take responsibilities for managi ng their own work without any push from the top management. They should perceive, appraise, and interpret their ideas accurately in the organizational environment in order to put the new ideas into productive manner. The innovation of the consulting firm will be entirely on the assessment and the establishment of the workers personal life and the work-related goals. In general, self-competency helps in achievement of an underlying personal attributes that are needed for the successfully innovation of the organizational. The Careers Development The individuals in the organizational should aim at improvement of their careers in different fields so that they can develop new ideas in order to move up the ladder in the consulting organization. According to

Advanced Media Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Advanced Media - Case Study Example In such a fixe position, the Major League Baseball Advanced media (MLBAM) has had an influence on MLB. Some of them are as discussed below. MLBAM offers technological professionalism to MLB. It is in charge of all the television rights, online networks, website issues and club investments. Through this, it has been able to generate more than & 87 million for MLB (Elberse & Laffel, 2011). Years ago, MLB relied on revenue generated solely from ticket sale, stadium concession and clubs contribution. However, through the merchandising influence by MLBAM, it has been able to sell MLB-branded items like for instance hats, jerseys and baseballs. This merchandise was evident for instance when an MLB club; Boston Red Sox won the Baseball league in 2004. In less than a day after the win, there was a $ 4.8 million revenue generation from the club’s gear. After the return of MLBAM’s top executives from the Apple’s Headquarters, it became evident through a mobile meeting they held with Steve Jobs that they had been selected to show case a sport-related application on behalf of the iPad. This is because of its good reputation of having a convincing league website and having a genuine success record of accomplishment in the digital media history. From the reports, MLBAM is in a position to generate more than $440 million of revenue from the sale of tickets, money from paid content, adverts and involving itself in merchandise practice (Elberse & Laffel, 2011).It is true most business ventures have failed in surviving in a digital environment. Luckily, MLBAM has overcome such limitations and associated failures. With such a good record, the company came up with the At Bat app, which became the second sort after application on iPhones and IPods. With it having featured among the best selling apps on iTunes, it got so many nam es. For instance, Macworld

The topic can be proposed by the writer Assignment - 19

The topic can be proposed by the writer - Assignment Example As a result of falling out between Louise and Sarah, Sarah decided to vote for shares in violation of the agreement with James. Was Sarah right to vote for James shares in violation of the agreement signed with James? The court of trial held that the rightful holders of the office are those people who are elected in a written consent. It reasoned that the consent was effective if only Sarah’s votes counted towards the majority side and her vote could only be counted is her agreement with James did not bind them. For an individual to act effectively as a proxy, a document must identify the shares that are to be voted by the agent. Proxies are usually revocable unless they are able to satisfy the requirements. A duly proxy that can be executed is only irrevocable if it states that it is irrevocable and only if it is coupled with a sufficient interest in law supporting a power that is irrevocable. The court ruled that James had no power to vote for his share by the time he made contract with Sarah. Basing on the foregoing, we hold that the proxy James gave to her daughter- Louise, failed to satisfy all the requirements of a proxy hence it was

Advanced Media Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Advanced Media - Case Study Example In such a fixe position, the Major League Baseball Advanced media (MLBAM) has had an influence on MLB. Some of them are as discussed below. MLBAM offers technological professionalism to MLB. It is in charge of all the television rights, online networks, website issues and club investments. Through this, it has been able to generate more than & 87 million for MLB (Elberse & Laffel, 2011). Years ago, MLB relied on revenue generated solely from ticket sale, stadium concession and clubs contribution. However, through the merchandising influence by MLBAM, it has been able to sell MLB-branded items like for instance hats, jerseys and baseballs. This merchandise was evident for instance when an MLB club; Boston Red Sox won the Baseball league in 2004. In less than a day after the win, there was a $ 4.8 million revenue generation from the club’s gear. After the return of MLBAM’s top executives from the Apple’s Headquarters, it became evident through a mobile meeting they held with Steve Jobs that they had been selected to show case a sport-related application on behalf of the iPad. This is because of its good reputation of having a convincing league website and having a genuine success record of accomplishment in the digital media history. From the reports, MLBAM is in a position to generate more than $440 million of revenue from the sale of tickets, money from paid content, adverts and involving itself in merchandise practice (Elberse & Laffel, 2011).It is true most business ventures have failed in surviving in a digital environment. Luckily, MLBAM has overcome such limitations and associated failures. With such a good record, the company came up with the At Bat app, which became the second sort after application on iPhones and IPods. With it having featured among the best selling apps on iTunes, it got so many nam es. For instance, Macworld

Sarans Essays Essay Example for Free

Sarans Essays Essay The ancient ideal the Greeks in ancient times and education the tendency today job oriented education the drawbacks of specialization education for livelihood. The ancient ideal of education was that education should be for life and not for livelihood. Knowledge was regarded as an end in itself and not a means to an end. The ancient ideal of education was a liberal one. Students were required to make a study of a variety of subjects, so that they could make a comparative study and develop their judgement and critical faculty. Knowledge was looked upon as a valuable possession which one had to try to acquire with much trouble and difficulty. Ancient scholars thought nothing of travelling to distant, lands to drink at the fountain head of knowledge. They would seek learned teachers and become their willing disciples. The ancient Greeks held the view that education had to help a man to have a balanced and well-integrated personality. It had to help him to achieve harmony within his own being by attaining a balance of body, mind and spirit. It had also to help him to achieve harmony with his environment and his fellow human beings. Education for life is meant to make a man liberal, tolerant and broad minded in his outlook. The tendency today, however, is towards providing for a Business Education or an Education for Livelihood. Todays education is a job oriented education. As a result of this, many Business Colleges have sprung up which are supposed to train people for particular jobs. The knowledge imparted in these colleges is rather limited in scope. It is restricted to whatever is connected with a special profession or trade. Though specialization is supposed to lean to thoroughness and efficiency, it has its own drawback. The students who go in for a Business Education become narrow minded. They lack tolerance and the ability to understand anothers point of view. They study everything from the view point of usefulness and not for aesthetic pleasure. They may not be able to relax and enjoy a book for its own sake if it has no connection with their trade or profession. They may never be able to enter and enjoy the magic regions of art and literature. Education for livelihood does not encourage a student to think for himself and to develop his creative and critical faculties. As his field of study is very narrow, he does not have a chance to make a comparative study, to judge the merits and demerits of other subjects.

α-glucosidase Inhibitory Effect of Coffee

ÃŽ ±-glucosidase Inhibitory Effect of Coffee Abstract The activity-based fractionation of coffee solutions by a series of chromatography techniques led to the isolation of an active compound I which exhibited a strong inhibitory activity against ÃŽ ±-glucosidase. The structure of compound I was established as norharman (9H-pyrido[3.4-b]indole) on the basis of HR-FAB-MS, 1H NMR, 13C NMR and 1H-1H COSY spectra. Compound I potently inhibited ÃŽ ±-glucosidase in a concentration dependent manner but it did not exhibit any significant activity against other glycosidases. A Lineweaver-Burk plot revealed that its inhibition mode of enzyme was uncompetitive with a Ki value of 0.13 mM. Keywords: ÃŽ ±-glucosidase inhibitor, ÃŽ ²-carboline, norharman, coffee, uncompetitive inhibitor Introduction Coffee is the most commonly consumed beverages in the world and the health benefits of coffee consumption have been extensively studied [10]: coffee has strong antioxidant properties in vivo [16, 18] and also reduces the risk of Parkinson’s [11] and Alzheimer’s diseases [4]. Recent studies have demonstrated that habitual coffee consumption is related to a significantly lower risk of type 2 diabetes [17, 19], but it remains unclear what mechanisms and what coffee constituents are responsible for the observed association. Animal and in vitro studies have suggested several plausible mechanisms for a beneficial effect of coffee on glucose metabolism: increase in insulin sensitivity [14], inhibition of glucose 6-phosphatase [2], an increase of glucagon-like peptide I concentration [15], and decreases the rate of intestinal absorption of glucose [12]. The ÃŽ ±-glucosidase is essential for carbohydrate digestion because carbohydrates must be degraded enzymatically in the intestine before they can be absorbed. The inhibition of ÃŽ ±-glucosidase slows down the process of dietary carbohydrates digestion and avoids postprandial hyperglycemia that plays a central role in the development of chronic diabetes associated complication [8]. Thus, ÃŽ ±-glucosidase inhibitors have exhibited high promise as therapeutic agents for the treatment of metabolic disorders, such as type II non insulin dependent diabetes, obesity, and hyperglycemia [3]. This work was intended to evaluate ÃŽ ±-glucosidase inhibitory effect of coffee previously reported as hypoglycemic and characterize the active principle isolated from coffee. Materials and Methods General p-Nitrophenyl (PNP)-ÃŽ ±-D-glucopyranoside, PNP-ÃŽ ±-D-mannopyranoside, PNP-ÃŽ ²-D-glucopyranoside and PNP-ÃŽ ²-D-galactopyranoside were purchased from Sigma-Aldrich (St. Louis, MO, USA). Yeast ÃŽ ±-glucosidase, almond ÃŽ ²-glucosidase, E. coli ÃŽ ²-galactosidase, jack beans ÃŽ ±-mannosidase, rat intestinal acetone powders, and norharman were also obtained from Sigma-Aldrich. Unless stated otherwise, all further chemicals were purchased from Sigma-Aldrich. All the reagents were of analytical grade. The UV spectrum was recorded on a Shimadzu model UV-160 spectrophotometer. High- resolution FAB mass spectra were obtained with a JEOL model JMS-AX505 HA spectrometer. 1H-NMR and 13C-NMR spectra were obtained on a Brucker AV 500 spectrometer operating at 500 and 125 MHz, respectively. (CD3)2CO was used as the solvent. Enzyme inhibition assay The intestinal ÃŽ ±-glucosidase inhibitory activity was determined as described previously with a slight modification [5]. The rat intestinal acetone powder was suspended in 100 mM sodium phosphate buffer (pH 7.0) and centrifuged at 12,000 rpm for 15 min. The resultant supernatant was used as the source of the small intestinal ÃŽ ±-glucosidases. For the assay of inhibitory activities of maltase and sucrase, the reaction mixture consisted of crude enzyme solution, 20 mM maltose or 200 mM sucrose, 100 mM sodium phosphate buffer (pH 7.0) and a given amount of inhibitor (50% dimethyl sulfoxide solution) in a total volume of 0.5 ml. After the reaction mixture was incubated for 15 min at 37 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã†â€™, reaction was stopped by heating the mixture at 100 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã†â€™ for 5 min. The ÃŽ ±-glucosidase activity was estimated by measuring the liberated glucose amount using the glucose oxidase method. Prior to measuring the glucose amount, the interfering agent, phenolic compounds were r emoved from reaction mixture by passing through a basic alumina column (1 x 3 cm). Acarbose was used as the positive control. The enzymatic activities of the various glycosidases were determined spectrophotometrically by monitoring the release of p-nitrophenol from the appropriate p-nitrophenol glycoside substrate [13]. The assay solutions and the potential inhibitors were added to a 96-well plate as follows: 20 L of 0.1 M phosphate buffer (pH 7.0), 20 L inhibitor, 10 L enzyme (1 U/mL), 10 L of 25 mM substrate and 40 L of methanol. Following incubation at 37  °C for 15 min, the assay solution was stopped by adding 300 L of 1 N NH4OH solution. The glycosidase activity was determined by measuring the amount of 4-nitrophenol released from p-nitrophenol glycoside substrate was determined with a microplate reader model 550 (Bio-Rad, CA, USA) at 405 nm. All of the analyses were performed in triplicate. The concentration of the inhibitor required for inhibiting 50 % of ÃŽ ±-glucosidase activity (IC50) was calculated by adjusting the experimental data (% inhibition versus the concentration of the inhibitor) to non-linear regression curves. The mechanism of enzyme inhibition was assessed by analyzing the double- reciprocal Lineweaver-Burk plot. Isolation of inhibitory compound from coffee Filtered brewed coffee was prepared in a household coffee maker: 75 g of ground roast coffee of Columbian Supremo (Arabica variety) and 500 ml water to give a brewed coffee. Commercial instant coffee (Tasters’ choice, Nestle) was made by dissolving 75 g instant coffee in 300 ml of hot water. Filtered brewed coffee and instant coffee solutions were separately centrifuged at 12,000 rpm and room temperature for 15 min, and used for isolation of ÃŽ ±-glucosidase inhibitor. The supernatant was adjusted to pH 9 with 1 N NaOH and extracted with ethyl acetate. The ethyl acetate layer was then extracted with 0.1 N HCl solution. This acidic solution was again adjusted to pH 10 with aqueous ammonia and extracted with ethyl acetate. The organic layer containing basic components was subsequently evaporated in vacuo. Forty batches of the above ethyl acetate extracts (total 3 kg each of ground coffee and instant coffee) were concentrated and subjected to silica gel column chromatography with an isocratic solvent system of chloroform-acetone (70:30). Fractions containing the active compound (F3-F6) were combined, evaporated, and subjected to a Sephadex LH-20 column (3 x 35cm) with MeOH as an eluent. Fraction number 10-12, which showed a high inhibition and a similar TLC profile (silica gel 60 F254, Merck, chloroform:acetone = 1:1, rf 0.2) were combined and further purified. The final purification of the active compound was achieved through semi-preparative HPLC separation on a reversed phase C18 column (ÃŽ ¼Bondapak, Waters, Milford, MA, USA) eluting with 75 % MeOH and detected through absorption at 254 nm. The retention time was 14.5 min. After removing the HPLC solvent in rotary evaporator, the active compound was obtained as a white powder by crystallization from cold acetone. Results and Discussion Both instant coffee and ground brewed coffee solutions inhibit ÃŽ ±-glucosidase enzyme activity. Instant coffee showed a slightly higher degree of inhibition than brewed coffee (Data not shown). The activity-based fractionation of coffee solutions by a series of chromatography techniques led to the isolation of an active compound I (2.24 ÃŽ ¼g/ g of roasted ground coffee; 3.85 ÃŽ ¼g/ g of instant coffee) which exhibited a strong inhibitory activity against ÃŽ ±-glucosidase. The isolated compound I was shown to be chromatographically pure by TLC and HPLC with various solvent systems and deduced to be a nitrogen-containing compound based on a positive reaction to Dragendorff’s reagent. The UV spectrum of the compound in methanol exhibited absorption maxima at 230, 285 and 348 nm. The molecular formula of compound I was determined to be C11H8N2 (M+ m/z 168.0736; calcd. 168.0688) by high resolution mass analysis. 1H NMR spectrum of compound I showed 7 aromatic proton signals (ÃŽ ´7.2-8.9 ppm) and one free proton signal (ÃŽ ´10.63 ppm). 13C NMR spectrum showed 11 carbon signals around 110-145 ppm (Table 1). Taken together, the structure of compound I was deduced as ÃŽ ²-carboline, norharman (9H-pyrido[3.4-b]indole, Fig. 1) with 1H NMR, 13C NMR, and 1H-1H COSY spectra and confirmed by comparison of physical data with those of the authentic specimen. Compound I potently inhibited ÃŽ ±-glucosidase in a concentration dependent manner, but it did not display any significant inhibitory effects against ÃŽ ²-glucosidase, ÃŽ ±-mannosidase, and ÃŽ ²-galactosidase when tested at a concentration of 10 mM (Table 2). The inhibitory profile demonstrated that the activity of compound I was greater against maltase compared with sucrase (IC50 values: 0.27 mM for maltase and 0.41 mM for sucrase). Although the inhibitory potency was weaker than that of therapeutic drug acarbose (IC50 value: 0.18 mM for maltase and 0.02 mM for sucrase), observed data clearly indicated the potential of compound I as an ÃŽ ±- glucosidase inhibitor. The pre-incubation of compound I with the enzyme increased the inhibition of ÃŽ ±-glucosidase activity, implying that this compound reacted with the enzyme slowly. The ÃŽ ±-glucosidase activity was fully restored when the enzyme was incubated with an amount of compound I which could inhibit enzyme activity up to 90 % follo wed by eliminating the compound I with a PD 10 desalting column (Pharmacia, Piscataway, NJ, U.S.A). This result demonstrated that compound I was a reversible inhibitor. A double-reciprocal Lineweaver-Burk plotting under various amounts of compound I showed linear lines intercepting on 1/V axis in parallel. The kinetic data suggested that the compound I was an uncompetitive inhibitor, with a Ki value of 0.013 mM (Fig. 2). As a result, compound I, a reversible uncompetitive inhibitor of ÃŽ ±-glucosidase, was isolated from coffee and identified as an active principle. When compound I was given in combination with a carbohydrate-rich diet orally, the postprandial plasma glucose levels were significantly dropped in non-diabetic rats (unpublished data). Compound I, a tricyclic indole ÃŽ ²-carboline alkaloid norharman is distributed widely in biological systems and exhibits a wide spectrum of pharmacological and neurological effects: antidepressant and antianxiety effects in rats [7], inhibitory activities of monoamine oxidase and nitric oxide synthase [9], as well as an increase of insulin secretion two- to threefold from isolated human islets of Langerhans [6]. However, ÃŽ ±- glucosidase inhibitory activity of norharman has not previously reported. Coffee has been noted as the primary exogenous source of norharman. A high variability in ÃŽ ²-carboline content of coffee samples was observed between coffee species (arabica, robusta) and also depended on roast degree and instant coffee production process. An average of 3 cups of coffee per person per day could account for an ingestion of up to 72 ÃŽ ¼g of norharman [1], although this will depend on the coffee strength. Coffee contains numerous substances. However, little is known regarding the effects of individual constituents on glucose metabolism. The cohort study has supported that the most prominent coffee compound caffeine is irrelevant to risk of type 2 diabetes [20]. Chlorogenic acid, the most abundant polyphenol in coffee, has been shown to reduce glucose concentrations in rats, caused by increasing insulin sensitivity as well as reducing hepatic glucose output through inhibition of glucose 6-phosphatase [12]. Without excluding any other possible mechanism, this report observes ÃŽ ±-glucosidase inhibitory activity as a possible mechanism of hypoglycemic effect of coffee and assigns ÃŽ ²-carboline alkaloid norharman as one of active principles in coffee. Coffee appears to contain active principles other than norharman as evidenced by several active peaks in chromatography systems. It may be possible that various active constituents in coffee act synergistically against ÃŽ ±-glucosidase acti vity. Characterization of other active principles is under progress. Figure legends Fig. 1. Structure of compound I (ÃŽ ²-carboline alkaloid norharman). Fig. 2. A Lineweaver-Burk plot analysis of rat intestine ÃŽ ±-glucosidase inhibition by compound I. 4-Nitrophenol-ÃŽ ±-D-glucopyranoside was used as a substrate. The concentration of compound I was 0 mM () or 0.25mM (). The values are expressed as means of triplicate reactions. Table 1. 1H and 13C NMR data for compound I in (CD3)2CO (ÃŽ ´ in ppm and J in Hz) position ÃŽ ´C ÃŽ ´H multiplicity, J 1 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 NH 10 11 12 13 134.8 139.5 115.1 122.3 120.1 128.9 112.4 122.1 112.6 137.2 141.6 8.90 8.33 8.0 8.28 7.21 7.53 7.60 10.63 (1H, br, s) ( 1H, d) J=5.5 (1H, d) J=5.5 (1H, d) J=8.0 (1H, ddd) J=8.0, 7.0, 1.0 (1H, ddd) J=7.5, 7.5, 1.0 (1H, dd) J=8.2, 1.0 (1H, br. s) Table 2. Inhibitory effects of compound I against various glycosidases Enzyme IC 50 ( ÃŽ ¼M) ÃŽ ±-glucosidase (yeast) 180  ± 3.2 Maltase (rat intestine) 270  ± 4.5 Sucrose (rat intestine) 410  ± 11.3 ÃŽ ²-glucosidase (almond) >1.0 x 104 ÃŽ ±-mannosidase (jack bean) >1.0 x 104 ÃŽ ²-galactosidase (E. coli) >1.0 x 104 Values are expressed as the means of triplicate reactions  ± standard deviation.