Sunday, March 8, 2020

Skepticism Philosophy Essay Essays

Skepticism Philosophy Essay Essays Skepticism Philosophy Essay Essay Skepticism Philosophy Essay Essay Essay Topic: The Peloponnesian War Incredulity: It comes from the Grecian word skeptikoi which means â€Å"seekers† or â€Å"inquirers. † It refers to the critical attitude wherein a adult male inquiries different things including the well-known absolute truth or cognition. Note that incredulity ( philosophical that is ) should be contrasted with philosophical bigotry wherein the latter is the direct antonym of the former. Philosophic bigotry refers to an attitude wherein a adult male believes to hold absolute truth/knowledge ( â€Å"dogma. † intending rigorous regulations ) . Short History of Skepticism Classical Skepticism. Gorgias A Sophist who believed that nil truly exists. He lived from 483-376 B. C. ( Leontini. Italy ) . He went to Athens to carry through his mission as an embassador. He was a pupil of Empedocles. In Greece. he was the wise man of Thucydides ( writer of the Peloponnesian War ) and Isocrates. His issue with respect to the doctrine of being can be understood by holding a full clasp on the logical contradiction. His whole thought of being commences from the premiss that nil exists. Or. if something exists. it must come from another beginning. The beginning of the being of â€Å"something† is said to be unknowable. Besides. Gorgias postulated that a â€Å"being† should come from another being. It is impossible for this being to come from nil. We can see Gorgias as a Sophist instead than a skeptic. It should be noted. nevertheless. that early incredulity came from the early sensed doctrine. and that is Stoicism. Philosophical Skepticism The followers are the philosophical enquiries of the sceptics: 1. Epistemology Can adult male attain absolute cognition? Where does the absolute cognition come from? How does feel perceptual experience operate in the service of accomplishing cognition? 2. Metaphysicss What is/are the composition/s of the existence? What are the separating characteristics of human nature? Does God be? 3. Ethical motives What should be the measure uping factors to measure human behavior? Is it possible for adult male to find whether an action is morally right or incorrect? 4. Metaphilosophy Is Philosophy important to human life? What are the proper purposes and ends of philosophical enquiry? Phyrro and Stoicism He is considered as the earliest philosophical sceptic in Western doctrine. He lived from 360 to 270 B. C. Some bookmans find a political beginning of Phyrro’s incredulity in this: on the theory that traumatic periods produce disenchantment and surrender. the souring and obsolescence of traditional beliefs. a retentive relativism of beliefs. virtuousnesss. and habits that will non delegate absolute high quality to any. and a demand for new methods of get bying in a feverish universe. Taught that peace of head was the highest terminal of life and that cognition of truth was required to achieve and keep it. Phyrro consequently sought truth. nevertheless for every philosophical inquiry that the Stoic doctrine replies ; it is being contradicted by several other schools of idea. What was worse was that each place had grounds and grounds to back up itself and to overthrow and rebut its oppositions. He gave up in desperation and admitted to himself that he could non make up ones mind among them and did non cognize what was true. The Stoics were accused by the Greeks as advocates of bigotry: It is the direct antonym of incredulity. A doctrinaire is certain that cognition is possible. because he is certain that he hold some. A individual is still a doctrinaire even if he is non certain. but still asserts something to be true. whether on a intuition. an intuition. and a sensed plenty of grounds. mystical urges. blazing bias. or crackbrained repeat. A. Academic Skepticism Asserts that at least some truths are wholly unknowable. Cicero postulated that: â€Å"Nothing could be known except the place that nil else could be known. † B. Empirical Skepticism An empirical sceptic is person who refuses to accept certain sorts of claims without first subjecting them to a series of scientific probe. Difference between an empirical sceptic and philosophical sceptic: a philosophical skeptic denies the really being of cognition while an empirical skeptic simply seeks for cogent evidence before accepting a claim. C. Scientific Skepticism A subdivision of empirical incredulity that addresses scientific claims. It uses scientific techniques in order to formalize the acquired cognition. D. Religious Skepticism It refers to incredulity towards religion. Religious sceptics based their claims harmonizing to immortality. Providence and disclosure. A spiritual sceptic is non needfully an atheist or an agnostic. David Hume: He was born in Edinburgh. Scotland. David was merely two old ages old when his male parent died. He was fond of analyzing Mathematics. History. Ancient and Modern Philosophy and Science. His major philosophical plants are: o A Treatise of Human Nature ( which he completed from 1739-1740 ) O Enquiries Concerning Human Understanding ( 1748 ) o Refering the Principles of Morals ( 1751 ) O Dialogues Concerning Religion ( 1779 ) He is besides considered as one of the best British empiricists along with George Berkeley and John Locke. His doctrine was partly influenced by Adam Smith ( his stopping point friend ) and Cicero ( ancient philosopher ) . David Hume’s Skeptic View on Reality and Human Belief David Hume is one of the greatest sceptics in the history of Philosophy. He besides influenced the development of the two philosophical schools of idea: empiricist philosophy and incredulity. Hume’s View on Reality Harmonizing to Hume. there are two differentiations of mental construct. to humor. feelings and thoughts. Impression – refers to the direct. vivid. and forceful merchandises of immediate experience. Ideas – these are simply lame transcripts of these original looks. It should be emphasized that these two differentiations should be treated individually with each other. Hume’s View on Human Belief Relations of Ideas/Priori – beliefs grounded on associations formed within the head. Matters of Fact/Posteriori – beliefs that claim to describe the nature of bing things. _____________________________________________________________________________ GROUP FOUR: UTILITARIAN PHILOSOPHY Basic Concepts ( Formal Definitions ) Etymologically talking. the word â€Å"utilitarianism† comes from the Latin word utilis. which means â€Å"useful. † In Ethics. utilitarianism is a philosophy that what is utile is good. and accordingly. that the ethical value of behavior is determined by the public-service corporation of the consequence. Utilitarian philosophers believe that it is normal for human existences to execute activities which lead towards felicity ( that is. to maximise felicity and to avoid hurting ) . This theory is under the normative political theory. Normative Political Theory – this theory asks a peculiar inquiry as â€Å"what is ought to be† as compared to the inquiry â€Å"what is† in political life. It is non confined on the scene or building moral theories. nevertheless. it analyzes the effects of the constructed moral theories in the political life of an person and how it is being applied/practiced in the existent political sphere. This attack of the normative political theory is spearheaded by Jeremy Bentham. He is a extremist nineteenth century societal reformist. who is seemingly a useful. Bentham argues that the nature of human existences is to obtain felicity ( complacency ) and to avoid hurting. In this respect. the morally right political determinations are based on the corporate felicity of the society. This corporate felicity may be characterized in the signifier of public-service corporation. This public-service corporation could be of any sort that would convey felicity to the society ( i. e. belongings. advantage. chance. goods. services etc. ) . Bentham did non supply theories or methods on how to achieve societal public-service corporation or maximization of felicity. Harmonizing to him. the attainment of felicity depends on how an single defines his/her felicity. In connexion to this. every member of the society which comprises the whole society should consolidate their definition of felicity in order to obtain societal public-service corporation. It should be emphasized that Bentham was focused on the involvement of community/group. The supreme aim of moral action and the foundation on which all morality should be grounded is the accomplishment of the greatest happiness/satisfaction of the greater figure. Nature of Utilitarianism Because this doctrine is greatly focused on the accomplishment ( or maximization ) of felicity. it doesn’t matter whether the consequence of the effect is good or bad. Remember the celebrated axiom of Niccolo Machiavelli: â€Å"the terminal justifies the agencies. †  · Hedonism It refers to an political orientation wherein felicity can be found between pleasance and hurting. Utilitarian philosophers besides use â€Å"hedonistic calculus† wherein they believe that a moralist could easy find the unit of pleasance and of hurting. O Bentham’s â€Å"hedonistic calculus† has similar construct with the theory of Epicurus. O The hedonic concretion is used to find the entire sum of pleasance and hurting of an person. O Moral agent –person who conducts hedonic concretion. Historical Traces of Utilitarian Philosophy It is believed that Utilitarian doctrine flourished in England. We can presuppose the fact that utilitarianism came from English doctrine. Some historiographers argued that Richard Cumberland originally perceived the thought of utilitarianism. He was an English philosopher and theologian ( bishop of Peterborough ) . Afterwards. a British â€Å"moral sense† philosopher clearly defined the useful doctrine. Francis Hutcheson did non merely explicate the philosophical position of utilitarianism which is â€Å"the greatest felicity for the greatest numbers† but he besides provided for a mechanism for ciphering the appropriate effects of the activities to achieve such felicity. This mechanism is called â€Å"moral arithmetic. † Jeremy Bentham. a outstanding figure in useful doctrine. admitted that he found the rule of public-service corporation from the Hagiographas of the following eighteenth century minds: O Joseph Priestly – a priest who was known for his find of â€Å"oxygen. † o Cesaria Beccaria – an expert in legal affairs ( Italian legal theoretician ) . o Claude-Adrien Helvetius – writer of a doctrine of â€Å"mere esthesis. † John Gay ( scriptural bookman and philosopher ) – he considered God’s will as the greatest modification factor for virtuousness. Furthermore. he argued that God’s goodness is the beginning of human felicity. Utilitarian Philosophers 1. Jeremy Bentham ( Developer of Utilitarian Philosophy ) Life: Bentham was a legal theoretician. linguist. societal philosopher and political militant. He came from a affluent household from England. Bentham was sent to Westminster School ( one of the esteemed school in England ) and Queen’s College Oxford. He was besides a practicing attorney ; nevertheless. he showed an firm involvement in doctrine. o He examined the philosophical plants of David Hume. Helvetius and Beccaria. Finally. he started to organize his ain thought of utilitarianism. o Bentham argued that the turning away of hurting and the chase of pleasance are the natural thrusts of human activity. as recognized by the â€Å"principle of public-service corporation. † 2. William Paley Life: Paley was born in July. 1743 ( Peterborough. England ) . He attained his spiritual grade ( Anglican priesthood ) at Christ’ College in Cambridge. He became a coach of Christ College three old ages after he graduated from the declared school. Harmonizing to Paley. utilitarianism is a combination ofindividualistic hedonism ( average between pleasance and hurting ) and theological dictatorship. 3. James Mill Life: Mill was born in April 6. 1773 ( Forfarshire ) . He was a boy of cobbler in Montrose. He was sent to the University of Edinburgh in 1790 and his instruction was financed by Sir John Stuart. James Mill received his M. A. grade in Edinburgh. He was a full pledged sermonizer. However. Mill bit by bit lost his religion and decided to reassign in Scotland until John Stuart invited him to populate in London. He became a author of the Literary Journal in London. It can be said that the closing of the Literary Journal had made him write assorted essays. articles and other literary plants such as his reappraisal on the history of Corn Laws and etc. He was the male parent of John Stuart Mill. another useful philosopher. Harmonizing to Mill. the turning away of hurting and the chase of pleasance are the two primary motivation forces behind human actions. He besides justified the being of the authorities in the society. He stated that the establishment of the authorities exists to guarantee these twin purposes ( maximization of pleasance and turning away of hurting ) are fulfilled for the greatest figure of people possible. Effectss of Utilitarianism in Other Disciplines Utilitarian doctrine has been so of import to the Fieldss of political relations. jurisprudence and economic sciences. Its theories are still relevant in the modern-day times particularly in rendering of import political determinations. care of societal stableness ( chase of pleasance and turning away of hurting ) and etc. A. Law For case. some viewed penalty as tantamount to â€Å"retributive theory. † This theory merely states that a condemnable ( i. e. convicted raper. liquidator or robber ) should be punished to pay for his offense. Harmonizing to the useful doctrine. penalty is served non to ease retribution/retaliation but to reform the felon and insulate the society from him. B. Politicss V Harmonizing to the useful philosophers. the best signifier of authorities is democracy. Social contract. natural rights and natural jurisprudence are the bases of authorities authorization and importance of single rights. V â€Å"Democracy† comes from the Grecian word demos which means â€Å"people. † It coincides with the philosophical purpose of useful doctrine wherein the general involvement of the people ( and maximization of their felicity ) should be the footing of the government’s political determinations. V Utilitarian doctrine is besides known for its comparative positions on socio-political issues. Harmonizing to this doctrine. a strong authorities should be needed to keep the selfish involvements of its topics. As mentioned before. one of the chief duties of the authorities is to keep the stableness of political order. Based on this rule. the useful statement is on the side of conservative/authoritarian place.  § Nazi Germany ( Adolf Hitler )  § Soviet Union ( Joseph Stalin )  § Cuba ( Fidel Castro ) On the other manus. William Godwin ( laminitis of philosophical anarchism ) had an optimistic position of human nature ( parallel to the philosophical theory of John Locke with respect to human nature ) . Harmonizing to him. the chase of greatest felicity may take into â€Å"philosophical anarchism. † Philosophical anarchism – Godwin emphasized that values must be profoundly imbibed in every person. Furthermore. he argued that sufficient supply of goods ( economic resources ) should be every bit distributed to guarantee that the economic demands of the society are decently fulfilled. He hoped that authorities governments must explicate Torahs to equalise the unjust distribution of wealth. Furthermore. Godwin stated that the authorities should minimise its engagement to advance academic freedom. C. Economics. Early useful philosophers argued that the authorities should non tamper on economic personal businesss of the society. Subsequently on. they admitted that the authorities has a important function in the economic system. Jeremy Bentham’s Mode of Thinking Theory of Psychological Hedonism Harmonizing to Bentham. human behaviour can be explained by mention to the primary motivations of pleasance and hurting. Pleasure and hurting – it is believed that nature has placed mankind under the administration of these two motivations. Utilitarian philosophers ever ask inquiries affecting â€Å"what we ought to do† and â€Å"what we shall make. † Bentham argued that the human person is the basic unit of societal domain. An individual’s relation with others is unneeded of being what he is. He defined â€Å"relation† as a fabricated world. Community. on the other manus. refers to the amount of the involvements of the persons who composed it. However. there are some cases that the involvements tend to collide with each other. Such happening diminishes the chief construct of â€Å"community† ( amount of the involvements of the persons ) . Bentham argued that the authorities and statute law should work together to harmonise the aforesaid struggle. Bentham’s Moral Theory The followers are the features of Bentham’s moral doctrine:  · Principle of public-service corporation It is synonymous to the â€Å"greatest felicity rule. † It concerns the involvements of the people who are in inquiry ; it can be the whole community. an person or a little part of the group. Bentham enumerated the advantages of the rule. to humor: O The rule should non be consulted to metaphysics philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle. Thus. the chief kernel of the rule can be easy grasped. O The useful rule offers nonsubjective standard of right and incorrect – application of hedonic concretion  · Universal egoism or selflessness Assuming that the said establishments ( authorities and statute law ) successfully harmonized the involvements of every person in the community. the people may be given to work selflessly to prosecute the common good. O Altruism – it refers to the unselfish concern to the general public assistance of others. Determination of common involvement Hedonistic Ethics Utilitarian moralss can be defined as an art in which man’s action is geared towards maximal measure of felicity. Bentham’s Political Theory Harmonizing to Jeremy Bentham. one can understand jurisprudence and political relations if he/she has a good appreciation of human nature. On Liberty Bentham defined autonomy as a freedom from any external control. A individual can be considered as â€Å"free† if he/she is non under the influence of another individual. In his theory on autonomy. Bentham argued that there is no such thing as a â€Å"state of nature† and societal contract. He postulated that the latter is merely historical and fresh literature. On Law Bentham viewed jurisprudence as a restriction/limitation of autonomy. It can be considered as hurting ( a Prima facie evil ) to those whose freedom is restricted. The regulating jurisprudence within the society can non be considered as a â€Å"natural law† because it is harmonizing to the will of the Sovereign ( swayer ) . Bentham proposed that the jurisprudence should be in conformity with the natural jurisprudence. that is. it should be paralleled with the common involvement of the people. The followers are the positive maps of good Torahs ( although Bentham still regarded Torahs as limitation to autonomy ) :  § Good Torahs are indispensable to good authorities.  § Good Torahs are necessary to keep societal stableness.  § Good Torahs develop and protect the people’s personal and material resources. On Rights Bentham’s position on rights can be rooted on his doctrine about natural jurisprudence. Harmonizing to Bentham. rights are produced by Torahs. and as affirmed before. Torahs can be attributed to the will of the Sovereign. Socio-political organisation must be formed in order for these two to be. Bentham related his position on the societal contract theory with the being and usage of rights. Harmonizing to him. it is impossible that rights exist before the constitution of the authorities. Harmonizing to Jeremy Bentham. the theory of societal contract is impossible ( if non historical ) because in order for the said contract to adhere. there must be an constituted authorities to implement such contract.  § In contrary. the authorities must be before the definition of different rights. This would once more. take into the issue with respect to jurisprudence and autonomy ( where the Sovereign dictates the sum of autonomy and rights that should be given to the people ) . John Stuart Mill’s Mode of Thinking Moral Theory J. S. Mill’s two distinguishable attacks to moral theory: Intuitive Approach – cognition is attained without holding an entreaty to see. Inductive Approach – cognition is gained through observation and experience. J. S. Mill’s Utilitarian Philosophy Mill believed that actions are right if they tend to advance felicity and incorrect if they tend to present the antonym of it. For him. felicity can be associated with rational and animal pleasance. He besides stated that everything we desire can be considered as felicity. The followers are some of the illustrations of felicity: Virtue Love of money Power Fame He besides enumerated two sorts of motive: External Motivation – this arises from hope of pleasing or fright of displeasing God and other worlds. Internal Motivation – this arises from responsibility. Duty – it refers to the subjective feeling which develops through experience. Furthermore. worlds have an natural feeling of integrity which guides the development of responsibility towards greater felicity. Mill’s Proof of the Principle of Utility:  · The lone manner to turn out that general felicity is desirable is to demo that people really desire it.  § For case. if X is the lone thing desired. so X is the lone thing that ought to be desired. General felicity is the thing desired. On Justice Apparently. J. S. Mill’s construct of justness is paralleled to the useful doctrine. There are two indispensable elements on justness. to humor: Punishment – it is a combination of societal understanding and retribution Violation of someone’s rights – violation of rights. There are differences in the impression of justness when analyzing theories of penalties. just distribution of wealth and etc.  ¦ Political and Social Philosophy On Individuality – J. S. Mill prescribed two standards to find the best sort of single. to humor: Person who is separately responsible for his ain beliefs and actions. Person who will non merely be happy in his ain instance but will be concerned with and lend to the felicity of others. Social Institutions that Contribute to Individuality: Free and uncensored argument. J. S. Mill regarded autonomy as a cardinal human right. Democracy and representative authoritiess encourage freedom and address.

Friday, February 21, 2020

Discrimination in hispanic business Research Paper - 1

Discrimination in hispanic business - Research Paper Example The majority of the Hispanic business owners underline that employees in their companies are lacking of management skills. There is no essential source of financing directed on employees skills development. On the one hand, it is rather effective to promote Hispanic business in case of employees are of Hispanic origin, because very often non-Hispanics are not hired as a major part of employees. Hispanic business owners are prevented from private and public market options. A great number of respondents agree upon the fact that the government does not give them an equal opportunity for business development and promotion. There are many cases, when Hispanic business owners were oppressed and discriminated. One of the main examples is the following: "Latino business owners in Queens have complained that they feel discriminated against by Community Board 3 when they apply for licenses to sell alcohol" (Medina, 2012). There is a clear rejection in license because of business owners Hispanic origin. Palagauchi accuses government of racial prejudices. He underlines that Hispanic business owners know English and they can be good specialists, but they can find no help. The government remains silent. Other businessmen of Hispanic origin underlined that a hostile mood, an aggressive behavior, total prejudice and abuse were experienced by them in the process of documents collecting and applying for alcohol trade license. Very often people in different business fields are complaining about a cruel attitude. It is necessary to introduce new perspectives and the new waves of immigrants of Hispanic origin to America are also looking forward to finding new ways of personal realization of business goals. On the one hand, America is a big country and there are many different options for realization of goals of these people. As a matter of fact, ethnic minorities are exposed to

Wednesday, February 5, 2020

The Federal Court House on Habeas Corpus Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Federal Court House on Habeas Corpus - Essay Example The main conflict arises in the possibility that this design will be abused by others, thus also staining the justice system. The inability to execute judgment to someone who is guilty is also clearly seen by the law as one form of injustice. Habeas corpus petition are filed by convicted prisoners as a challenge to the validity of their conviction; citing particular reason that police, prosecutor, defense counsel or even the trial court have deprived the convicts of their Federal Constitutional Rights such as "the right to refuse to answer questions when placed in police custody, the right to a speedy and fair trial, and the right to effective assistance of counsel" (Roger A. Hanson,Henry W.K. Daley, September 1995). An article in the Duke Journal sees one unintended result happening with the presence of habeas corpus. "Modern habeas law is predicated on the assumption that a state prisoner seeking habeas relief is attacking the legality of his confinement by alleging a constitutional error in the decision that led to his incarceration. Federal habeas, in other words, provides collateral review of earlier rulings by state courts. But almost 20 percent of federal habeas petitions filed by state prisoners do not challenge state court judgments. They attack instead the constitutionality of administrative actions by state prison officials or parole boards, taken long after the petitioner's conviction and sentencing" (Nancy J. King, 2009).

Tuesday, January 28, 2020

Role of Financial Development in Total Factor Productivity

Role of Financial Development in Total Factor Productivity THE ROLE OF FINANCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN TOTAL FACTOR PRODUCTIVITY OF VIETNAM’S MANUFACTURING SECTOR Thesis Research Design Instructors: Team of MDE Lectures Student:Hà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬Å" Bà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ £o Trà ¢n 1. Problem statement There is a large literature about the link between financial development and economic growth. Many studies indentify that productivity as one channel through which finance affects growth. The importance of financial development in raising productivity and promoting economic growth has been discussed in many reports (e.g., Goldsmith 1969; McKinnon 1973; Shaw 1973; Greenwood and Jovanovic 1990; Bencivenga and Smith 1991). The financial system pressure handicaps financial development and results in misallocation of resources, then reduce productivity and economic growth. As the financial systems develop well, overall economic productivity will be improved through the efficient reallocation of resources. At firm level, financial development of a firm allows a firm to appropriate new business opportunities, conduct investment and research activities, make a defense against financial and non-financial shocks and achieve higher productivity. More importantly, firm productivity is an essenti al indicator in transforming financial market development to economic growth at macro level. There are also many empirical studies about the impact of financial development on productivity efficiency. Levine (2005), Beck et al. (2005) point out that financial constraints, including low liquid and limited access to financial resources, make the growth prospect of firms worse. In Vietnam, manufacturing firms play an important role in the decade of economic growth. In 2013, there are 60700 businesses closed. There are many reasons such as long loss profit, management capacity, operating restrictions and lack of funds business†¦ In which, financial market development offers a crucial impetus for enhancing firm competitiveness and catalyzing industrialization. In Vietnam the scientific research using a panel data to find out the role of financial development in total factor productivity of Vietnam’s manufacturing sector is limited. This study will present the evidence of this linkage using panel data for manufacturing firms from 2003 to 2009. 2. Research objective 2.1. Research objectives To estimate the TFP growth rate of manufacturing sector To find the role of financial development in total factor productivity of Vietnam’s Manufacturing Sector. To give policy implication for improving firm productivity 2.2. Scope of the study The study will examine the role of financial development in total factor productivity of Vietnam’s Manufacturing Sector using the panel data of 2003, 2005, 2007, and 2009. 3. Literature review 1. Productivity: Concepts and measurements Productivity is commonly defined as a ratio of a volume measure of output to a volume measure of input use (Schreyer and Pilat 2001) or in other words, how much of output which is obtained from a given set of inputs (Syverson 2010). Productivity = Quantity of outputs produced/ Quantity of inputs consumed Productivity measurement efforts to point out improvements in using the capital resources, that is, to motivate and evaluate efforts to produce more inputs with fewer inputs while maintaining quality. TFP is used to measure the firm productivity. It captures the growth, which could not be explained by changes in production inputs, thus it can serve as a traditional proxy of productivity improvement. However, there is a correlation between unobservable productivity shocks and optimal choices of input. There are at least two approaches to measure the TFP, which account for the sensitive of optimal input levels to the productivity shocks. First approach is the Olley-Pakes TFP measurement which uses investment as a proxy for productivity shocks (Olley and Pakes 1996). Another approach is the Levinsohn-Petrin TFP measurement which uses intermediate inputs as a proxy for productivity shocks (Levinsohn and Petrin 2003). In this study, I will use the Levinsohn-Petrin TFP measurement to control for the unobservable productivity shocks because of three reasons. Firstly, the dataset of firm investment is not available, thus the the Olley-Pakes TFP measurement will not be feasible. Secondly, even if the investment data is available, the estimation can be suffered from the truncated report â€Å"zero† investment of firms. Finally, the Levinsohn-Petrin TFP measurement is more acceptable than the Olley-Pakes TFP measurement because of it is built from production theory. Assuming a Cobb-Douglas function, TFP is often computed by estimating the equation: yit = ÃŽ ²0 + ÃŽ ²llit + ÃŽ ²kkit + ωit + ÃŽ µit (1) Where yit is firm’s output, lit is firm’s labor, kit is firm’s capital; y, l, k are all in the nature logarithm forms. i and t denote firm and time. ωit is a state variable, which measures productivity. ÃŽ µit is an error or a random productivity shock. Both ωit and ÃŽ µit are unobservable variables. According to Olley and Pakes (1996), the OLS estimates of (1) can be biased because choice of variable inputs can be depended on the firms’ beliefs about the state variable ωi. If there is serial correlation in ωi, the variable inputs such as labor, materials, etc will be positively correlated with ωi. In order to control the bias in OLS estimates, they suggest the following partially linear model: yit = ÃŽ ²0 + ÃŽ ²llit + ÃŽ ²kkit + ht(iit, ait, kit) +ÃŽ µit (2) in which ωit =ht(iit, ait, kit), ait is age of firm i at time t, iit is investment of firm i at time t. The unobservable variable ωit can be expressed by a function of observable variables. Levinson and Petrin (2003) point out that investment data at firm level is very lumpy (there are considerable adjustment costs). If it is true, the investment proxy will not smoothly respond to productivity shock. It violates the consistency condition. They propose the following modified model: yit = ÃŽ ²0 + ÃŽ ²llit + ÃŽ ²kkit + ÃŽ ²mmit + ωit + ÃŽ µit (3) mit is the logarithm of the intermediate inputs such as raw material, power, and electricity expenditures. Its input demand mit depends on the capital variable kit and productivity ωit mit = mt (kit, ωit) The demand of intermediate inputs mit is assumed to be monotonously increasing with ωit. It can be used as a proxy for unobservable variables. Therefore, the unobservable productivity ωit is expressed by the function of two variables kit and mit. ωit = mt (kit, mit) Substituting above equation to equation (3), the production function can be estimated. The coefficients of kit and mit can be recovered by GMM method with assumption that productivity is controlled by a first-order Markov process. ωit = E[ωit/ωit-1] + ÃŽ ·it ÃŽ ·it is an innovation to productivity which can be correlated with labor but uncorrelated with capital. The logarithm TFP of firm can be obtained from the residual of actual output and predicted output. 2. Financial development and firm productivity The important role of financial development in raising productivity and promoting economic growth has been mentioned in many public researches. In traditional growth theories, the role of financial development in growth is through factor accumulations, which are regarded as the main force behind economic growth. Financial development can contribute to total factor productivity growth by increasing marginal productivity of capital (Goldsmith 1969). According to McKinnon and Shaw (1973), financial development also can improve efficiency of capital allocation so as to increase the aggregate saving rate and investment level. However, in traditional growth model, the impact of financial development on growth is limited due to diminishing return to scale of capital. Some recent researches also highlight the relationship between financial development and productivity growth. Jeanneney, Hua and Liang (2006) analyze data from 29 Chinese provinces and find out that financial development has contributed significantly to TFP growth through its positive effect on efficiency in the period from 1993 to 2001. Dabla-Norris, Kersting and Verdier (2010) use firm level dataset and find out that the positive effect of innovation on firm productivity is contributed from financial system. Firms enjoy the maximum benefits from innovation in countries with well-developed financial system. Minjia Chen (2012) examine a panel dataset of Chinese manufacturing firm from 1998 to 2007 also show that financial factors are highly essential to firms’ total factor productivity growth. At micro level, financial development affects productivity growth by various channels. A firm with better financial health tends to bring higher productivity level. Beck et al (2005) suggest that firm with high liquidity is expected to be resilient to financial and non-financial shocks. Similarly, entrance to large external finance can help a company reduce the level of credit constraints, therefore increase their ability and existence in the market (Aghion et al 2007; Levine 2005). 4. Overview of Vietnam SMEs In Decree 90/2001 ND-CP from 2001 to 2009, SME is defined as an independent business establishment which registered capital not exceeding 10 billion VND or annual average number of workers not exceeding 300. From 2009 up to now, SME is defined as: Small and medium enterprises are business establishment which have registered their business according to the law and are divided into three levels of size: very small, small and medium depend on the sizes of their total capital or their average number of workers (total capital is the priority standard). In term of size of employees, nearly 98.34% of firms are small or medium enterprises in 2012. These firms contributed to 40-60% GDP of Vietnam and over a half of total labors in 2011. SME has important role in Vietnam economy. The SME survey has been conducted by the Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM), the Institute of Labour Science and Social Affairs (ILSSA) under the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs of Vietnam (MoLISA) and the Development Economics Research Group (DERG) of the University of Copenhagen. The research group selects ten provinces including: Hanoi, Hai Phong, Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), Ha Tay, Phu Tho, Nghe An, Quang Nam, Khanh Hoa, Lam Dong and Long An. The sample covers around a third of manufacturing firms in Vietnam and seems to be the best quality to represent the characteristics of SMEs in Vietnam. 5. Methodology 5.1. Model Model: TFPit = ÃŽ ±0 + ÃŽ ±1 TFPi,t-1 + ÃŽ ±2 ln LIQUIDITYit + ÃŽ ±3 ln LEVERAGEit + ÃŽ ±4 ln SIZEit + ÃŽ ±5 ln AGEit + ÃŽ ±6 ln COMit + ÃŽ ±7 ln HUMANKit + ÃŽ ±8 ln FOWNit + uit Where i and t are index firm and time, respectively, uit is the stochastic error term. The lagged TFP variable is important due to Levinson and Petrin (2003) estimation method. The authors assume that firm productivity follows a first-order Markov process. Therefore, the lagged TFP variable must be taken in the model for controlling the serial correlation. About the variables of financial development at firm level, my econometric specification contains two proxies of a firm’s financial quality: liquidity (LIQUIDITYit) and leverage ratio (LEVERAGEit). A firm with better financial health tends to bring higher productivity level. Beck et al (2005) suggest that firm with high liquidity is expected to be resilient to financial and non-financial shocks. Similarly, entrance to large external finance can help a company reduce the level of credit constraints, therefore increase their ability and existence in the market (Aghion et al 2007; Levine 2005). Besides, we also control for several firm-specific characteristics to examine firm productivity performance. Firms’ size (SIZEit) intends to control for the impacts of economies of scale on firm productivity (Balk 2001). Firms’ size (SIZEit) and Firms’ age (AGEit) have been found to be linked to firms’ productivity (e.g. Palangkaraya, Stierwald and Yong, 2009) and are used widely in analyzing firm productivity. Oliner and Sichel (1994; 2000) indicate high-tech capital intensity (COMit) as another determinant of TFP. High-tech capital accumulation has been proven to be an essential factor for raising productivity by improving operational efficiency, profits and, finally, productivity growth (Siegel and Griliches 1992). Another determinant should be considered that is human capital intensity. Since the 1990s, developing countries in Asia, including Vietnam, have been focused on investing human capital, e.g education and training, to achieve higher economic growth. Therefore, it may be interest to estimate the extent of human capital intensity account for TFP. The last important determinant of firm productivity is mentioned widely in many researches of Arnold and Javorcik (2009), Benfratello and Sembenelli (2006), Germa et al. (2004) and Griffith (1999) is foreign ownership (FOWNit). These researches suggest that foreign owned firms are potential to have superior managers, information network and ease to connect international market. Therefore, foreign firms are supposed to get higher productivity than domestic firms. 5.2. Research hypotheses Hypothesis H1: Financial quality (liquidity ratio) will have positive relationship with firm productivity. A firm with high liquidity tends to bring higher productivity level. Hypothesis H2: Financial quality (leverage ratio) will have positive influence on firm productivity. 5.3. Data sources All data sources are available at the Survey of Small and Medium scale manufacturing enterprises (SMEs) in Vietnam, from 2003 to 2009. It gives data about production and financial characteristics of firms such as gross revenue, capital, number of labors, materials, profits, liquid assets, fixed assets, liabilities, equity†¦ The measurement of TFP: requires information on a firm’s gross output and production inputs. Net output is measured by net sales of manufactured goods. There are three inputs in the empirical model: labor, capital and intermediate materials. Labor is the number of employees working for a company. Intermediate materials include components used in the manufacturing process. Capital is measured by the value of land, building as well as machinery, equipment, excluding the depreciation of assets. Financial development variables: First variable is liquidity, which is measured by the ratio of liquid assets to total assets. Second variable is leverage ratio that is measured by the ratio of liabilities to equity. Control variables: Firm size is measured by the total sales of a firm. Firm age is measured by the number of years a firm in operating. If a firm goes in an industry for less than one year, it is set up for zero. High-tech capital accumulation is measured by the number of computers used for each worker. The proportion of skilled labor to total workers of a firm serves as the proxy of human capital investment. Finally, the ratio of investment capital undertaken by foreign parties relative to the total registered capital is used as a proxy of foreign ownership. Finally, the ratio of actual investment capital of foreign parties compared to the total registered capital is served as a proxy of foreign ownership. References: Aghion, P., T. Fally, and S. Scarpetta. 2007. Credit Constraints as a Barrier to the Entry and Post-entry Growth of Firms. Economic Policy 22: 731–119. Arnold, J.M., and B.S. Javorcik. 2009. Gifted Kids or Pushy Parents? Foreign Direct Investment and Plant Productivity in Indonesia. Journal of International Economics 79: 42–53. Balk, B.M. 2001. Scale Efficiency and Productivity Change. Journal of Productivity Analysis 15: 159–183. Beck, T., A. Demirguc-Kunt, and V. Maksimovic. 2005. Financial and Legal Constraints to Firm Growth: Does Firm Size Matter? Journal of Finance 60: 137–177. Bencivenga, Valerie R. and Bruce D. Smith, (1991), Financial intermediation and endogenous Control Unobservables†, Review of Economic Studies, Vol. 70, No. 2, 317-41. Benfratello, L., and A. Sembenelli. 2006. Foreign Ownership and Productivity: Is the Direction of Causality So Obvious? International Journal of Industrial and Organization 24: 733–751. Dabla-Norris, Kersting and Verdier, (2010), Firm productivity, innovation and financial development, International Monetary Fund. Girma, S., H. Gà ¶rg, and E. Strobl. 2004. Exports, International Investment, and Plant Goldsmith, Raymond W. 1969. Financial Structure and Development. New Haven, Conn: Yale University Press. Greenwood, Jeremy and Bruce D. Smith, (1997), Financial markets in development, and the development of financial markets. Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control 21: 145-81. Review of Economic Studies 58: 195-209. Griffith, R. 1999. Using the ARD Establishment Level Data to Look at Foreign Ownership and Productivity in the United Kingdom. Economic Journal 109: F416–F442. Levine, R. 2005. Finance and Growth: Theory and Evidence. In Handbook of Economic Growth Vol. 1, pp. 865–934, edited by P. Aghion and S. Durlauf. Amsterdam: North-Holland. Levinsohn, J., and A. Petrin. 2003. Estimating Production Functions Using Inputs to control for Unobservables. Review of Economic Studies 70: 317–341. Minjia Chen, (2010), Financial Effects and Firm Productivity: Evidence from Chinese Manufacturing Data. Oliner, S., and D. Sichel. 1994. Computers and Output Growth Revisited: How Big Is the Puzzle? Brooking Papers on Economic Activity 1994: 273–334. Oliner, S., and D. Sichel. 2000. â€Å"The Resurgence of Growth in the Late 1990s: Is Information Technology the Story?† Journal of Economic Perspectives, Vol. 14, pp. 3–22. Olley, S., and A. Pakes. 1996. The Dynamics of Productivity in the Telecommunications Equipment Industry. Econometrica 64: 1263–1289. Palangkaraya, A., Stierwald, A. and Yong, J. (2009), â€Å"Is Firm Productivity Related to Size and Age? The Case of Large Australian Firms†, Journal of Industry, Competition and Trade, Vol. 9, No. 2, 167-95. Performance: Evidence from A Non-parametric Test. Economics Letters 83: 317–324. Schumpeter, Joseph A, (1911), The Theory of Economic Development. Cambridge Mass: Harvard University Press. Siegel, D., and Z. Griliches. 1992. Purchased Services, Outsourcing, Computers, and Productivity in Manufacturing. National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper 3678; Output Measurement in the Service Sector, edited by Z. Griliches. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Sylviane Guillaumont , Jeanneney, Ping Hua Zhicheng Liang, (2006), Financial Development, Economic Efficiency, And Productivity Growth: Evidence from China, The Developing Economies, Institute of Developing Economies, vol. 44(1), pages 27-52. Thangavelu, Shandre M., (2013), Financial Health and Firm Productivity: Firm-level Evidence from Viet Nam, ADBI Working Paper Series. Zhenhui, Sudeshna, (2013), Financial Development and Total Factor Productivity: Evidence from India’s manufacturing sector, Georgia College State University.

Sunday, January 19, 2020

Dentist Essay -- essays research papers

The Trip to the Dentist Office   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Thinking to myself, is there any way I could jolt back in my car and head back for home, I enter the tall thin tan colored brick building and walk over to the elevator, hoping that the last half hour of scrubbing my teeth to death pays off. Nervously, I push the up button and patiently wait. The elevator door promptly opens and I am engulfed, the door closes, up I go. Once on the second floor, I exit the elevator and immediately I can smell the mixture of the wintergreen flavored tooth paste and the overwhelming aroma of bleach out in the hall, along with the sound of the teeth grinding drills which gives, no longer the feeling of the dentist office but of road construction area. With the opening of the outer door, the blast of cool air hits me giving a feeling of being naked in the cold brutal winter. I walk in and add my name to the list on the long sign in sheet. â€Å"Andrew,† the slim silver haired woman behind the winter white frosted glass slide wind ow, sees me and lets me know that the dentist will be ready in a split second.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  While I wait hesitantly for the dental assistant in her crisp clean creme colored uniform to announce my name, I look at the tiny tropical turquoise splashed fish in the large crystal clear tank sitting in the corner of the room. The sleek silent fish dart about playing hide and seek with the plastic mermaid figure sunken deep at the bottom of the tank wit...

Saturday, January 11, 2020

Blue Ocean Martix – Genentech

WK3Assgn2ANeddermeyer General Discussion a. Create a â€Å"measurement matrix† in Excel that identifies, categorizes, and ranks as many relevant performance measurements as you think are important to your chosen company's business strategy. b. Write a one- to two-paragraph summary of why you think these are the important measurement criteria and why you've ranked them in the order you have. Categries| Rank| Quality| 1 – High Prority| People| 2- Medium Priority| Safety| 3 – Low Priority| Growth|   | Measurement| Category| Rank/Priority| Employee Satisfaction| People| 1| Workplace Safety/Injury incidence| Safety| 1|Number of current patents| Growth| 2| Medications in the pipeline| Growth| 1| Excess Medications in warehouse| Growth| 1| Employee Attrition rate| People| 1| FDA Approvals for indications| Growth| 1| FDA denials for indications| Growth| 1| Sales| Growth| 1| Customer feedback| Quality| 1| Effectiveness of treatments| Quality| 1| Sustained customer base (%loyal customers)| Quality| 1| Waste of supplies| Quality| 1| Research & Development products| Growth| 1| % of market share| Growth| 1| % of staff Qualitifcations completed| Safety| 1| Successful regulatory surveys| Quality| 1| Net income| Growth| 1| Revenue| Growth| 1|Ranking in industry| Growth| 1| Litigation volume| Growth| 2| Project timelines for product development| Growth| 1| Timeline for drug manufacturing| Growth| 1| Operating Margin| Growth| 1| Workman Compensation cases opened/closed| Safety| 1| Identification of metrics is a fundamental component of measuring the effectiveness of a business plan or a strategic plan. Metrics help organizations understand the current business climate, the competitive positioning and assists in planning. I did not realize the level of difficulty in the selection of metric until thinking about which metrics would be important to the business I selected.Genentech Inc is Biotechnology Company comprised of scientific professionals, sale staff, researchers, administrative staff and educators. Patents and exclusivity of the manufacturing of the medications, large volume drug sales, and a robust research/development program drives the company to succeed. In addition to the aforementioned metrics, I also selected workplace safety and injury rates as additional metrics because of the potential lost revenue from having to retain placement staff or costs associated with payments to injured staff.Much of my selection was based on some of the categories indicated in Hess’ description of worthwhile metrics. I struggled with the prioritization portion of this assignment as I felt most of the metrics needed to be identified as a high priority performance indicator. Reference Attaway, F. (2012). Organic growth interview. Obtained from Walden University Coursework. Schulz, W. C. (2007), Towards a More Precise SWOT Analysis: SCOT Analysis & Competitive Potential, Unpublished Teaching Note. (5p) Hess, E. D. (2007). The road to or ganic growth: How great companies consistently grow marketshare from within. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Friday, January 3, 2020

Diversity Of The Health Care System - 1635 Words

Diversity in the Healthcare Setting Healthcare, ever changing, has advanced to an era of progression in which it is becoming more and more common for radical change in all varieties of aspects of the process within which the health care system runs to occur. For many of us, there is the ever so present idea that constant change is necessary not only to stay competitive in regards to any other competitors in the same field of service, but also to also provide groundbreaking and innovative equalized opportunities and treatment of all. As modern day society becomes increasingly aware and active on the topic of equality, it is important for health care providers to remember that it is essential for there to be diversity within the culture imbedded in healthcare delivery systems. Many of the reasons that make the issue of culture a topic worth mentioning include, but are not limited to, the potential positive and/or negative impacts culture and diversity can have on the healthcare deliver y system, the importance in staying up to date and staying competitive with other healthcare systems, and the internal factors that have a hold in the change of culture and whether or not it can be successfully maintained within the health care organization. As stated by B.E. Smith’s article Leadership Diversity: The Path to Value-Based Care, â€Å"Increasing the racial, ethnic, gender and generational diversity of health care leadership is essential for the provision of culturally competent,Show MoreRelatedCultural Diversity For The Health Care System1640 Words   |  7 Pagesto adopt multiculturalism as a national policy (Government of Canada, 2012). 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