Determinants of Health and their Effect on Health Policy

Determinants of Health and their Effect on Health Policy â€Å"International Healthcare Policy† Assignment 2 Task 1 Determinants of Health Demographic distributions of populations Demographics of a certain population can be the greatest factor that can affect the health status of the said groups of people. Demographic factors include employment status, income, education, housing, age and gender. Of all of these factors, income has the most significant impact on health indirectly (National Advisory Committee on Health and Disability, 1998). It is an established fact that income and the quality of health are correlated. Low income usually leads to poor health, and sufficient to high income leads to good health. Not only health, but income also has an effect on mortality and morbidity rates, affordability to access health care services and hospital admissions. The reason for this significant impact is that income determines the quality of other factors, such as education levels, adequate housing, and access to consistent nutritious food. Educational attainment is also an important determinant of health, as with employment status. This is mainly because educational attainment determines the employment status, and consequently income levels. In most cases, high income means affordability of goods and services that give benefit physically, mentally and socially. Employers only hire qualified people, and the more skilled a person is the higher the pay for that person. Educated people are usually at the top of the skilled workforce, and they have a high employment rate and wage rate. Adequate housing also has an impact on health. Overcrowding, cold and damp conditions are detrimental to health of the occupants; adequate housing eliminates these factors. As mentioned earlier, adequate housing can only be afforded if income is sufficient. Adequate income can provide for a sufficiently spacious house far from pollution and risk factors that may lead to the detriment of health. Gender and age have their special impacts on health. Each group have their own particular sets of diseases and vulnerabilities, and therefore health care services that are provided to them must also be given accordingly. These demographic factors also affect the planning, implementation and evaluation of health care interventions. Because of the peculiarities of each demographic group, the health care intervention must be planned in such a way that it will cater to the vast majority of its subjects. This may be difficult in the implementation phase, as some demographic groups may resist the changes brought about by the said interventions. It is usually preplanned that each demographic group has its own particular policies that help the intervention fit in that demographic group, minimising conflicts and ensuring the success of the intervention. For example, a nationwide intervention is planned by the government. It is known by the government that the intervention covers all citizens, and that its citizens are divided into groups according to their income, education levels, and other factors. The government then plans to put more of its resources into the implementation of the intervention on the unde rprivileged population, and lowering the resources spent on the rich citizens. Political Values It was found out that political values have an influence on how people react to new information that they are exposed to (Diorio, 2014). This also includes new health policies implemented by the authorities. People may agree with or resist this information according to their values and beliefs. Depending on how health interventions are implemented, it may be easy or difficult for people to accept these interventions. If the interventions are in such a way that it gives a feeling of threat to freedom, people naturally resist this policy and implementation of these interventions is thus delayed. In the policy making level, differing political views may also interfere with the planning of the health care interventions. Nowadays, policy makers are usually divided by differing views and interests, especially if they belong to different parties. Religious beliefs In order to maximise healing and recovery, religious alignment must be taken into account. Different religious organisations have different sets of beliefs that may contradict the norms of health, and usually adherents of the said religions follow these beliefs strictly. Because of this, religious beliefs have significant impact on the implementation of health care policies and interventions. For example, Catholic groups may oppose the implementation of health policies regarding artificial contraception. If these religious groups hold a powerful sway on the policy makers, in these situations policies that may benefit the majority may be held in an uncertain status. In some countries, where the interests of the state and the religious groups are different, these problems may lead to the decline of the health of the majority of the population. Human Values Another intrinsic factor that may affect the implementation of health care interventions is human values. Each of us has our own set of values and principles that may affect our perception of changes in our surroundings. In a population-wide context, this can be a significant factor, especially in population groups that belong to particular ethnicities, each group with its own particular set of values and beliefs. In an event of an intervention, specifically in health care, human values may determine the success or failure of the said intervention. This is mostly due to the fact that for an intervention to be successful, the full cooperation of the beneficiaries of the intervention is required. If they resist the implementation because of conflicting values, the intervention may fail. Ethnicity Ethnicity and culture can have an impact on the implementation of health interventions, particularly in areas with diverse ethnic and cultural makeup. Each ethnic group have their own set of values and beliefs, which may have the potential of aiding or delaying health interventions. An ethnic group may quickly accept health care interventions, or resist the changes brought about by the change in policies. In some countries, ethnic groups that are in the minority are underrepresented in the government, particularly in policy making bodies. Policies may be made without considering the welfare of these groups. In such cases, implementation of a health care intervention may be hampered by the very people it benefits, just because of conflict of interests. Evaluation may also be difficult, because of the mentioned reasons; if a particular group doesn’t like the intervention, they may refuse to talk about it. Traditions Traditions are a significant part of the lives of most people. This is important since it identifies them as a member of a culture or ethnicity. Such, they adhere to these traditions religiously. Sometimes, traditions have an impact on the planning, implementation and evaluation of health care interventions. As with culture, these may be due to conflicts in the traditions and interventions. For example, an implementation that may reduce the mortality rate may be negated by traditions that encourages risk taking. Since the population group following the said traditions adhere to these traditions religiously, an intervention contradicting these traditions may be hard to develop, leading to possible failure of implementation. Public Attitudes Public concepts of what health is One important factor in the success if an intervention is the cooperation of the public in accepting and adhering to the changes brought about by the said intervention. However, their perception of the intervention is influenced by their views on what health really is. If the intervention leads to a significant change that is the same with what the public views as healthy, it may become successful. For example, a health care intervention on reducing the incidence of diabetes may be successful if the public is aware that diabetes is a serious disease, and that preventing such illness is important. However, if the intervention is expected to create a change that does not conform to what the people sees as healthy, problems in the implementation may happen. For example, in some cultures, obese people are viewed as healthy and give a status of opulence. These obese people plan to stay that way, as they are not concerned being viewed as unhealthy. A planned intervention that aims to reduc e the incidence of obesity and hypertension in these cultures may lead to failure. Public concepts of what illness is Another important factor is the public’s view of what illness is. Illness is described as a state of being that is below what is considered normal or healthy. Across cultures and races, there is a wide variety of interpretation on how ill is considered ill. As with public perception on health, the public only does things that will put them into a more healthy state, away from illnesses. If an intervention leads to reduction of an illness that the public perceives as significant enough, the public will cooperate with the intervention, greatly increasing the chance of complete success of the intervention. On the other hand, if the said intervention doesn’t lead to a change that the public considers significant enough, it may fail. For example, if the public doesn’t consider strep throat as significant enough, a campaign to reduce the incidence of rheumatic heart disease may not reach its full potential. The importance the public put on health As with public concepts of health, the success of health care interventions also depend on the importance the public puts on health. People have their own sets of priorities, which they consider important. If a health care intervention is implemented, and these people do not consider it as a significant benefit, they will give the least priority to the intervention. Overall, the intervention will be a failure. In some cases, information dissemination and encouragement is included in the intervention, in order to increase awareness of the importance of the intervention. This will ensure the prioritisation of the intervention, increasing its chances of success. Public attitudes towards health and medical professionals In most nations, the public has great respect towards health and medical professionals. In these situations, a planned intervention may increase in effectiveness if these medical professionals endorse or complements what is advocated by these interventions. The public will usually listen to and follow the advice of these medical professionals, due to the fact that they recognise the expertise of these professionals in the field of health care. The public usually follows what they perceive to be beneficial to them, and it can be concluded that they will follow and cooperate with the planned interventions, if these professionals say to the public the benefits of the said interventions. Influences of Policies on Health Intervention Effective health policies are essential in the planning, implementation and evaluation of health care interventions. Essentially, effective policies greatly improve public health through this fact. Policies such as smoke ban and seat belt regulation improved the quality of health of the public. These policies are usually effectively implemented by the government. The national policies, particularly those health care policies, greatly complement the health care interventions. As the government has the manpower and resources to effectively implement policies and interventions, health care interventions planned by the government are usually successful. In the case of international policies, health care interventions depend on whether they conform to the international policies or whether they are in conflict with these policies. As international policies are universally recognised, it will be success for the intervention if the international policies agree with it. The same can be said with cultural and social factors and policies. The success or failure of an intervention depends on whether the intervention agrees or disagrees with the policies followed by the people. In this case, it is not the law mandating the disposition of the intervention; it is the public that will determine its success of failure. It can be concluded that policies are essential in determining the success of any health intervention. Implementing any intervention in a country with well-established health care policies, such as New Zealand, will almost always result in a successful intervention, completely attaining its goal of benefiting the public as a whole. Conclusion In conclusion, various factors greatly affect the success or failure of an intervention. It is not only the ones who plan that can affect the disposition of the intervention; it also greatly depends on the beneficiaries of the intervention, which is the public. The authorities plan, implement and evaluate the interventions they make to ensure its success. No matter how well it is made, full cooperation in the part of the public is still essential in determining its success.

Islamic Economics and Secularism

Islamic Economics and Secularism Secularism is the assertion that governmental practices or institutions should exist separately from religion and/or religious beliefs. In other words, secular system is based on the materialistic and individualistic views with less socio economic justice and only concern to the worldly matters. Meanwhile, Islamic economics is a system that identifies and promotes an economic order that conforms to Islamic scripture and traditions. Thus, the above statement of differentiation between Islamic economics and secularism by only certain characteristics is untrue as both of them are mutually exclusive. The Islamic economics differs from secular system not by prohibition of interest, gambling and other unjust transaction only, but it is more than that. Islam is a way of life, and since economy is also a part of mans life, thus, the Islamic principles is absorbed and fully utilized into the economic transaction and practices. Therefore, the statement of Islamic economics as a discipline is nothing more than the secular system without interest, gambling and other unjust transactions where value creation is of the halal kind is not valid; and the justification will be discussed here. The justification To emphasize the difference, the following points underline the key difference between Islam and this secular system, in particular, and other social and political systems, in general are highlighted. The first point is, Islam differs from secularisms theories and perspectives in its ideological and doctrinal bases. Islam is a Divine Message with a special conception of the universe, life and man. It basically disagrees with secular views, which have their roots in their materialistic vision that has no religious base, nor any belief in Allah. Capitalism is merely concepts on devoid of spiritual and moral values. The difference between it and Islam is obviously great. Islam has an all-embracing ideological and legislative make-up. In it, no barriers are to be found between morals, laws, worships, concepts and existence. There are significant differences among them in terms of emphasis they place on material or spiritual goals and the role of moral values and government intention in ordering human affairs. While material goals concentrate primarily on goods and services that contribute to physical comfort and well-being, spiritual goals include nearness to God, peace of mind, inner happiness, honesty, justice, mutual care and cooperation, family and social harmony, and the absence of crime and anomie. These may not be quantifiable, but are, nevertheless, crucial for realizing human well-being may lead to a neglect of spiritual ingredients. The greater the difference in emphasis, the greater may be the difference in the economic disciplines of these societies. Besides, in its aims and objectives, Islam is distinguished from secularism on the basis of contents and the legal organization of life. It treats related subjects in separate ways with specific points. The ultimate goal of Islam is to worship and seek the pleasure of Allah. In implementing the divine law and adhering to the divine order, a Muslim demonstrates he is a worshipper. His objective is to seek the reward and pleasure of Allah, the Exalted. Even in the context of economy activity, men should obey the guideline of ethical behavior so called Akhlaq which emphasizes on the real spirit of Islam over and above legal limits. Contrarily, the human objective in capitalist society is purely a materialistic one, expressed in terms of materialistic gain regardless of the cost and fall out on society. Even though there is a sort of analogy between Islam and other systems in certain respects, Islam has its own way and method of implementing its economic concepts and objectives. For example, Islam believes in social justice and so it adopts just principles in distribution and production growth. Capitalism attempts to call for similar concepts, which can be seen as generally logical and which man, by no means, can shun. But in trying to develop the conceptions and implement them, we will find the difference between Islam and secular systems in both method and way. In capitalism, freedom knows no boundaries. In theory, individuals can do what they desire to. In doing so, it believes that the non-existence of limits or restrictions results in economic freedom, in competition and the increase of production. But to achieve a suitable and satisfactory economic level is for all people, makeshift and inexorable laws have to be enforced, based upon such theories as the laws of wages, supply and demand etc. Unlike this, Islam adopts its own methods. It never opens the gates for individual selfishness to flourish like in capitalism. Islam believes in individual ownership, community ownership and state ownership, as it is expounded in the books of fiqh, traditions and in the Holy Quran. In case selfishness and urges of greed prevail, and to prevent exploitation and economic injustice from sweeping over the community, Islam has laid down lawful and moral restrictions related to ownership, investment and consumption in defense of manipulation and deprivation. Besides, Islamic economic takes great emphasize on the role of the market, families, society and government in determining a success in economy. The market is not the only institution where people interact in human society. They also interact in the family, the society, and the government, and their interaction in all these institutions is closely interrelated. There is no doubt that the serving of self interest does help raise efficiency in the market place. However, if self-interest is overemphasized and there are no moral restraints on individual behavior, other institution may not work effectively family may disintegrate, the society may be uncaring, and the government may be corrupt, partisan, and self-centered. Example if both the parents try to serve just their own self-interest and not willing to make sacrifices for the sake of proper care and upbringing of children demands, this family may disintegrate and children not get enough love from them. Lack of willingness to make such sacrifice can lead to a decline in the quality of the human input of all other institutions, including the market, the society and the government. It may also lead to a fall in fertility rates below the replacement level, making it difficult for the society not only to sustain its development but also its social security system. Furthermore, while secular economics generally considers the behavior, tastes and preferences of individuals as given, Islamic economics does not do so. It places great emphasis on individual and social reform through moral uplift. Moral uplift aims at the change in human behavior, tastes and preferences and, thereby, it complements the price mechanism in promoting general well-being. Before even entering the market place and being exposed to the price filter, the consumers are expected to pass their claims through the moral filter. This will help filter out conspicuous consumption and all wasteful and unnecessary claims on resources. The price mechanism can then takes over and reduce the claims on resources even further to lead to the market equilibrium. The two filters can together make it possible to have optimum economy in the use of resources, which is necessary to satisfy the material as well as spiritual needs of all human beings, to reduce the concentration of wealth in a few hands, and to raise savings, which are needed to promote greater investment and employment. Without complementing the market system with morally-based value judgments, we may end up perpetuating inequities in spite of our good intentions through inaction, non-choice and drifting. The other distinction that differentiate between these two is Islamic economic emphasize on the importance of the Hereafter. This is where the concepts of the innate goodness of human beings and of the Hereafter come in concepts which conventional economics ignores but on which Islam places a great deal of emphasis. Because of their innate goodness, human beings do not necessarily always try to serve their self-interest. They are also altruistic and are willing to make sacrifices for the well-being of others. In addition, the concept of the Hereafter does not confine self-interest to just this world. It rather extends it beyond this world to life after death. We may be able to serve our self-interest in this world by being selfish, dishonest, uncaring, and negligent of our obligations towards our families, other human beings, animals, and the environment. However, we cannot serve our self-interest in the Hereafter except by fulfilling all these obligations. This serves to provide a motivating mechanism for sacrifice for the well-being of others that conventional economics fails to provide. The innate goodness of human beings along with the long-run perspective given to self-interest has the potential of inducing a person to be not only efficient but also equitable and caring. Therefore, as a guideline, Shariah is designed as a set of rules and regulations that aims of protecting public interest and the welfare of the people in this life and hereafter. The objective of the Shari`ah is to promote the well-being of all mankind, which lies in safeguarding their faith (din), their human self (nafs), their intellect (`aql), their posterity (nasl) and their wealth (mal). Whatever ensures the safeguard of these five serves public interest and is desirable. The guideline of Islamic economics is in the discipline of muamalat, which presents a framework for conduct in the civil arena. It deals in part with economic functions in an Islamic society but not comprehensively with factors impacting upon economic behavior since it is concerned solely with legal relationships between members of the society. In fact, the goals of the Islamic economics include fulfillment of the basic needs for food, clothing, shelter, medical care and education for all humans, ensuring equal ity of opportunity to all preventing concentration of wealth and reducing inequality in the distribution of income and wealth so as, among other things, wealth does not become a means of domination of man by man, ensuring to all the freedom to pursue moral excellence, and ensuring stability and economic growth to an extent necessary for realization of the above-mentioned goals. Conclusion Islam is a way of life. Being a Muslim means one will absorb the whole philosophies of Islam in everything he does in life. So do economics. The difference between Islamic economics compared to secular ideology is not just on prohibition of interest, gambling and other unjust transactions where value creation is of the halal kind. The unique principles that make Islamic economics differs lies on its ideological and doctrinal bases, the, basis of contents and the legal organization of life, the way Islam implements its economic concepts and objectives, the emphasize on the role of the market, families, society and government, the value on individual and social reform through moral uplift, and the importance of the Hereafter. Question No. (2) Introduction Worldview can be defines as a set of implicit or explicit assumptions about the origin of the universe and the nature of human life. Meanwhile, from Islamic point of view, worldview is a metaphysical survey of visible as well as the invisible worlds including the perspective of life as a whole, is not a worldview that is formed merely by the gathering together of various cultural objects, values and phenomena into artificial coherence, or can be considered as vision of reality and truth. Islamic worldview is in fact a dual worldview, this world of action and accountability for the actions in the next, while the secular worldview is focusing on worldly rather than spiritual. The core elements of Islamic and Secular worldviews: A comparison. There are a few similarities between Islamic and Secular worldview in general, even though there will be differences if we look in depth. Both are concern on the allocation and distribution of resources and both emphasize the fulfillment of material needs, even though in Islamic economics there is an equal emphasis on the fulfillment of spiritual needs. Besides, both recognize the important role of market mechanism in the allocation and distribution of resources, but in addition, Islamic economics argues that the market may not by itself be able to fulfill even the material needs of all human beings. This is because it can promote excessive use of scarce resources by the rich at the expense of the poor if there is undue emphasis on the serving of self-interest. Instead of some similarities, there are a lot of differences between these two worldviews, and we will be discussing through it here. Firstly, the secular and materialist worldviews attach maximum importance to the material aspect of human well-being and tend generally to ignore the importance of the spiritual aspect. In contrast with this, Islamic worldviews give attention to both the material as well as the spiritual aspects of human well-being. Islam sees both these aspects material and spiritual of human existence as unitary wherein the material and the moral considerations as well as the here (Now) and Hereafter of human life are inextricably entangled. Apart from that, the secular worldview looks at happenings in the world from a rationalistic viewpoint, while excludes religious or ethical considerations. It promotes pursuit of self-interest as guiding human behavior and saw no conflict between individual and social interests. Besides, it makes a distinction between reason and revelation as the source of knowledge. It considers reason alone as its source, including economics. The secular worldview is conditioned by science alone i.e. any subject that goes beyond the limits of human reason is not acceptable. Furthermore, and more fundamentally, the secular man-made worldview can change infinitely at the discretion of man as his external stimuli and attitude change. However, Islamic view does not necessarily reject the role of reason in human development. They, however, recognize the limitations of reason and wish to complement it by revelation. Islamic worldview is based on the Quran and the Sunnah it is has a moral code of conduct. It grants freedom of action within the Shariah boundaries. It also emphasizes on justice and moderation as well as gives priority to social interest if it is in clash with individual interest. Islam invites people to observe and think but within the framework of Shariah. Thus, the Shariah, although flexible in certain areas is not replaceable and therefore, cannot be influenced by any human whim, while, at the same time; it promotes change and aims to influence human intentions, conduct and behavior towards the Straight Path. In addition, the Islamic worldview values reason as a source of knowledge, but in addition it assigns a role to sapience and revelation as inalienable sources. It is not a product of human tho ught resulting from any scientific inquiry: it is a divine direction leading to a unique way of life. It links the life in this world with life in the Hereafter. Thus, the Islamic worldview, although it respects the rational mind, is not confined to the limits of human reason or to observable scientific investigations (reality): it contemplates both, the observables and the non- observables. In other words, material science is the ultimate word under the Secular worldview, whereas under the Islamic worldview it is not. Furthermore, secularism often argue that maximum material well-being can be best realized if individuals are given unhindered freedom to pursue their self-interest and to maximize their want satisfaction in keeping with their own tastes and preferences. In their extreme form they do not recognize any role for Divine guidance in human life and place full trust in the ability of human beings to chalk out a proper strategy with the help of their reason. In such a worldview there is little role for values or government intervention in the efficient and equitable allocation and distribution of resources. When asked about how social interest would be served when everyone has unlimited freedom to pursue his/her self-interest, the reply is that market forces will themselves ensure this because competition will keep self-interest under check. Differently, for Islamic worldview, they do not totally reject the need for individual freedom or the role that the serving of self-interest can play in human development They, however, emphasize that both freedom and the pursuit of self-interest need to be toned down by moral values and good governance to ensure that everyones well-being is realized and that social harmony and family integrity are not hurt in the process of everyone serving his/her self-interest. Looking from the economic point of view, the secular economics claims to be value free, which in fact it is not because not to have a value is itself a value. Conversely, Islamic economics has moral and ethical values of which it cannot brook any violation. In Islam freedom to choose values is restricted, yet it had already been properly aligned in the Holy Quran and the prophets Sunnah. While pursuit of self-interest is the invisible hand that regulates economies in secular economy, Islamic economists mostly reject this view out of hand and equate it with selfishness. This does not seem valid. Islam approves the pursuit of self-interest because it is instinctive with human beings. Muslims perform their religious obligations in their own interest. It need not equal selfishness, especially if Shariah norms were observed. In addition, secular economist claimed that if available resources are scarce they must avoid waste and maximize production. As a consumer they should attempt to derive maximum satisfaction from their limited incomes. Islam is not opposed to maximization per se. however, maximization is value-neutral; what is maximized, how and to serve what ends are the deciding factors. While the profit maximization is the main intention in doing business in secular economy, Islam is aiming towards primacy of justice and social welfare. Besides, while conventional or secular economics generally considers the behavior and tastes and preferences of individuals as given, Islamic economics does not do so. It places great emphasis on individual and social reform through moral uplift. Moral uplift aims at the change in human behavior, tastes and preferences and, thereby, it complements the price mechanism in promoting general well-being. Conclusion In sum, the concept of worldview that guides and regulates an economy is visionary, contextual, and flexible within limits. The basic differences between the secular (capitalistic) and the Islamic economic worldviews center on the issues concerning the foundation and ideology in the system, reason-revelation interface, the sort of values entertained and promoted, as well as how it differ in economic contextual. Question No. (3) Overview The economic problem is one of the fundamental economic theories in the operation of any economy. It asserts that there is scarcity, or there are finite resources available that are insufficient to satisfy all human wants. The problem then becomes how to determine what is to be produced and how the factors of production (such as capital and labor) are to be allocated. In short, the economic problem is the choice one must make, arising out of limited means and unlimited wants. The economic problem is most simply explained by the question how do we satisfy unlimited wants with limited resources? The premise of the economic problem model is that human wants are constant and infinite due to constantly changing demands (often closely related to changing demographics) of the population. However, resources in the world to satisfy human wants are always limited to the amount of natural or human resources available. The economic problem, and methods to curb it, revolves around the idea of choice in prioritizing which wants can be fulfilled. Concepts of Economic problems There are three concepts that associated with the economic problems discussed above: (1) needs, (2) wants, and (3) choice. Human needs are material items that people need for survival, such as food, clothing and some form of housing. In Islamic point of view, needs comprehend five foundations, namely (a) Religion, (b) Physical self, (c) Intellect or Knowledge, (d) Offspring, and (e) Wealth. Until the Industrial Revolution, the vast majority of the worlds population struggled for access to basic human needs While the basic needs of human survival are important in the function of the economy, human wants are the driving force which stimulates demand for goods and services. In order to curb the economic problem, economists must classify the nature and different wants of consumers, as well as prioritize wants and organize production to satisfy as many wants as possible. One assumption often made in mainstream neoclassical economics is that humans inherently pursue their self-interest and the market mechanism best satisfies the various wants different individuals might have. These wants are often classified into individual wants, which depend on the individuals preferences and purchasing power parity, and collective wants, those of entire groups of people. Things such as food and clothing can be classified as either wants or needs, depending on what type and how often a good is asked for. Wants are effective desires for a particular product, or something which can only be obtained by working for it. The economic problem fundamentally revolves around the idea of choice, which ultimately must answer the problem. Due to the limited resources available, businesses must determine what to produce first to satisfy demand. Consumers are considered the biggest influences of this choice, and the goods which they want must also fit within their budgets and purchasing power parity. Solving the economic problems from Islamic perspective. The first point is about the concept of ownership of wealth in Islam. It states that all wealth belongs to God, and human beings hold them as trustees of God. It is up to the individual to decide how much of this excess he should give back for the cause of God. In other word, after earning wealth through fair and lawful means, one should satisfying their personal genuine and legitimate needs in a moderate and prudent way. After doing so, they should spend it for the cause of Allah; example is for the welfare of the poor and less fortunate people. Besides, payment of zakat that is obliged to each Muslim gives the same function here. Thus, helping others in such ways would at least fulfill the basic human needs; our first economic problem discussed above. Furthermore, because of Islam differentiates between the basic needs and luxuries, thus, there exists no concept of relative scarcity of resources in Islam. The resources available on earth are sufficient to secure the basic needs (food, clothing and shelter) of fifty billion human beings. Such a misunderstanding has concealed the reality that starvation, poverty, and economic backwardness, result from misdistribution exasperated by man-made laws and systems. Proper distribution of resources will be sufficient enough to satisfy the basic needs of human, yet, Islam teach the followers to be grateful on what he has or own. In Islam, public revenue from oil and natural resources would be used to secure the needs of the whole Muslim ummah. The Khilafah would provide public and vital resources without charge to cover the needs of every individual and family, and monopolies that multinational corporations maintain to dictate the lives of the people would dissipate. Its contribution in developing the Islamic societies Implementing those principles discussed above can contribute in development of Islamic societies, as well as for the nation as a whole. When every Muslims contribute with the intention to help others, let say the contribution is gathered by the state, thus, with sufficient funds, the state would be able to provide for basic necessities of life such as food, clothing, shelter, education and healthcare to every citizen at a reasonable standard. The state would also discharge all of its duties of state welfare and would set up all big projects for economic development. Indirectly, it would provide employment to all those who are jobless. Besides, the state can performs such welfare activities like maintains social services, wages Jihad against the foreign aggression, maintains facilities like railways, road, waterways, bridges, as well as provides protection to the individual in respect of his life, honour and property. So whatever remains with a person after satisfaction of his needs in a moderate way, he would hand over this surplus to the state. Furthermore, because of Islam differentiates between the basic needs and luxuries, thus, teach the Muslim to fulfill the basic needs, and in the same time, must moderate in luxuries. Wealth is a test by God, and Muslims should strive to pass this test by not becoming worshipers of hoarded wealth. By passing this test, will increase ones faith and godliness. In addition, the affectivity with which the Islamic economic systems correctly defines economic problem and secures the needs of every individual, and eliminates all forms of economic and social corruption, would enable fuel for Islamic policy of the state that would enable the Khilafah to easily spread Islam ideologically throughout the world. Conclusion The economic problems that basically arise from scarcity are faced by all humans in this world. Human, by his nature, always has unlimited wants, yet own limited resources to fulfill his needs and wants. Choices must be made in accordance to his own preferences and priorities. However, Islam, as a unique religion, found some ways to control, if not totally solve this economic problems by its principles and guidelines to be practiced by Muslims as a way of life. Cooperation and implementation by the governing bodies such as state can help in the development of Islamic societies. Question No. ( 5 ) What is poverty? Generally, poverty can be defined through two distinct concepts: the absolute and the relative poverty concepts. The absolute poverty is usually associated with some income level required to sustain a minimum standard of living. That income level, defined as poverty line income is often used to determine whether an individual is poor or otherwise. The individual is considered poor if his income is below poverty line income. Meanwhile, the relative poverty concept is associated with the existence of an income gap between the poor and the non-poor. As long as there is a difference in income levels of any two individuals or groups, those with a lower income are considered poor. However, in Islamic point of view, one is considered poor if he does not possess sufficient necessities to fulfill his basic needs in each of the five foundations for good individual and social life, namely: (a) Religion, (b) Physical self, (c) Intellect or Knowledge, (d) Offspring, and (e) Wealth. All the five foundations or needs must be fulfilled, and if only one of the needs is not fulfilled, then one is still considered poor. In addition, poverty is also associated with the concept of nisab, which is one of the two prerequisites for a Muslim to pay the zakah. Using Below Poverty Line (BPL), this method functions as the basis of ownership of nisab, which limit makes one eligible for the payment of zakat. Anyone with wealth on or over the nisab is responsible for the payment of zakat. Thus, for those who wealth is below nisab are zakat recipients and they are treated as poor. Causes of Poverty. Several causes that may lead to poverty are considered, as follows: Exploitation of Economy Economic exploitation can be defined as the act of using another persons labor without offering them an adequate compensation. Thus, when the compensation received is inadequate to support life, one is unable to fulfill one or more of basic needs, and this can lead to poverty. Political Poverty can happen when one major party, usually politician or region that have authority or power on decision-making through out the country that often causes development problems. For example, in these situations politicians make decisions about places that they are unfamiliar with, or lacking sufficient knowledge about the context to design effective and appropriate policies and programs, leads to political instability. Interest/Riba/Corruption Unreasonable rate of interest due to loan made can burden borrower. Example is when International Monetary Fund (IMF) donors keep the exchange rates in their favor, it often means that the poor nations remain poor, or get even poorer. Meanwhile, corruption inhibits development when leaders help themselves to money that would otherwise be used for development projects. As a result, poverty can exists when people lives in scarcity due to not getting development that supposedly enjoyed by them. Warfare The material and human destruction that caused by warfare is a major development problem. Drop in average income due to strike in the well-being of the average Iraqi citizen in the aftermath of the war, leads to damages to the infrastructure and social services, such as health care and access to clean water. Agricultural Cycles People who rely on fruits and vegetables that they produce for household food consumption (subsistence farmers) often go through cycles of relative abundance and scarcity. For many families that rely on subsistence production for survival, the period immediately prior to harvest is a hungry period. During these periods of scarcity, many families lack sufficient resources to meet their minimal nutritional needs. Natural Disasters Immediate destruction caused by natural events such as hurricanes, droughts, earthquake, flooding as well as environmental forces often cause acute periods of crisis by destroying crops and animals. Thus, people may loss their homes and properties, and lack of resources even to fulfill their basic needs of living. Developing countries often much more suffer at the hands of natural disasters, because limited resources inhibit the construction of adequate housing, infrastructure, and mechanisms for responding to crises. Prohibited industries Prohibition industries such as gambling, alcohol and tobacco can encourage one to waste their money for these unlawful activities. Worsen situation, one may borrow money in order to satisfy this bad habits, and this can lead to poverty. Role of Citizen in Alleviating Poverty from Islamic Perspective. Being Muslim every citizen has some responsibilities; Muslims in the world are some of the richest. If this wealth is used as per the direction of Allah we can alleviate poverty. Islam as system and way of life is based on collective responsibility of society, ethics and principles. If  we follow it we will be able remove the poverty from the society. Some of the citizens roles in alleviating poverty are as follows: 1.  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   Zakah- Zakah is the fourth of five pillars of Islam and hence is obligatory on every Muslim, who fulfills the stipulated conditions, to pay. Being a pillar of Islam, it has to be paid and collected whether the destitute and the poor exist in society or not. As such it is indeed a permanent source of revenue for the alleviation of the destitute and the poor. 2.  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   Sadaqa Sadaqat is a very wide term and is used in the Quran to cover all kinds of charity. It is as simplest as when one gives smile, acts of loving kindness, utters a kindly word to others or even greeting

The Personality of Macbeth :: Macbeth essays

The Personality of Macbeth Macbeth is first presented as a mature man of definitely established character, successful in certain fields of activity, and enjoying an enviable reputation. One must not conclude that all Macbeth's actions are predictable. Macbeth's character is made out of potentialities and the environment, and no one, not even Macbeth, can know all of his inordinate self-love. Macbeth is determined by a desire for temporal and mutable good. Macbeth is driven in his conduct by an inordinate desire for worldly honors; his self emulation lies in buying golden opinions from all sorts of people. One must not deny Macbeth a human complexity of motives. For example, his fighting in Duncan's service is magnificent and courageous. Macbeth also rejoices in the success that crown his efforts in battle. Macbeth's services are also for his own glory. Macbeth says, "The service and the loyalty I owe, In doing it, pays itself." While Macbeth destroys Duncan's enemies, such motive work but are obscured in his consciousness by more vigorous urges. Macbeth by nature violently demands rewards. Macbeth fights courageously so he may be reported as a "valor's minion" and "Bellona's bridegroom." Macbeth values success because it brings fame, new titles, and royal favor. As long as these mutable goods fulfill his desires, which is the case until he covets the kingship, Macbeth is an honorable gentleman. Once Macbeth's self-love demands a satis faction that cannot be honorably obtained, he employs dishonorable tactics to gain his selfish desires. As Macbeth returns victoriously from battle, his self-love demands recognition of his greatness. The demonic forces of evil that drive Macbeth, symbolized by the witches, suggest to him to obtain the greatest mutable good he has ever desired, the kingdom. The witches observe Macbeth's expressions to understand the passions that are driving his dark desires he is so valiantly attempting to suppress. The witches predict Macbeth will be king. The witches can not compel Macbeth to do evil deeds, but they can use Macbeth's desire to become king to pervert his judgment of reason to corral him to choose temporal good. Macbeth's imagination and passions are so vivid under these evil impulses that "nothing is but what is not." Macbeth's reason becomes so impede that he judges, "These soliciting cannot be evil, cannot be good." Still Macbeth is provided with so much natural good that he is able to control his imagination and decide not to attempt any act that involves criminal actions.

Reflexive Substantion of an One-Way Ascendancy of Mathematics over Ethics :: Mathematics Math Papers

Reflexive Substantion of an One-Way Ascendancy of Mathematics over Ethics ABSTRACT: Russell and Popper are concordant with Plato with respect to the independence of mathematics upon the sensations. Beth shares the opinion of the complete independence between the world of science and mathematics and that of psychology. Essenin-Vol'pin's opinion is of an ascendance of ethics and jurisprudence over mathematics. For the first time, the position of Plato, Russell, and Popper are substantiated in this paper through Hegel's reflexive natural scientific method. The external activation of numbers into interaction through arithmetical operations, adopted by him, has been taken as a basis of this substantion. This is the reason why mathematical rules of reasoning are exact-they represent a pure product of the 'third world.' The rules of ethics and the related humanities are their reflective approximate reverberations. Ascendancy of the rules of such types of science over mathematics is impossible due to the irreversibility of the reflexion. The problem of the interaction between the psychical and the thinking worlds as reverberations of the material one has been treated much earlier by ancient philosophy. Plato excludes any dependence of mathematics, it being the most brilliant representative of the mental world, of the sensations. Russell [1] (I. pp. 237-238) is concordant with the above. He considers that the mathematical truth is "applicable solely to the symbols," the symbols being "words," that "do not signify anything in the real world." Thus, the correct opinion, pointed out, remains unsubstantiated, since nowhere is it related to the philosophical categories. In the substantion, offered by this paper, we proceed from the assumption that the variety of the mathematical symbols, at any rate, is reduced to and ensues from the aim: namely-to study the quantitative characteristics of "the qualities" from "the being." That connects the mathematical symbols with "the real world," i.e.-it reveals the possibility of a substantiating, since those characteristics interact. Following the construction of the foundations of mathematics, we should agree that the interaction among its concepts (i.e. the rules of the mathematical reasoning) is reduced to the interaction among the natural numbers. Hegel defines them reflexively [2], [3] ensuing from "the qualities" of "the beig" which (conversely) indicates that the mathematical truth denotes something "in the real world." Russell has pointed out that "Hegel's philosophy is very difficult-he is ...the most difficult to grasp of all great philosophers" [1] (III., p. 337), thus associating him with the philosophers "willing to spread confusion in mathematics" [1] (III. Reflexive Substantion of an One-Way Ascendancy of Mathematics over Ethics :: Mathematics Math Papers Reflexive Substantion of an One-Way Ascendancy of Mathematics over Ethics ABSTRACT: Russell and Popper are concordant with Plato with respect to the independence of mathematics upon the sensations. Beth shares the opinion of the complete independence between the world of science and mathematics and that of psychology. Essenin-Vol'pin's opinion is of an ascendance of ethics and jurisprudence over mathematics. For the first time, the position of Plato, Russell, and Popper are substantiated in this paper through Hegel's reflexive natural scientific method. The external activation of numbers into interaction through arithmetical operations, adopted by him, has been taken as a basis of this substantion. This is the reason why mathematical rules of reasoning are exact-they represent a pure product of the 'third world.' The rules of ethics and the related humanities are their reflective approximate reverberations. Ascendancy of the rules of such types of science over mathematics is impossible due to the irreversibility of the reflexion. The problem of the interaction between the psychical and the thinking worlds as reverberations of the material one has been treated much earlier by ancient philosophy. Plato excludes any dependence of mathematics, it being the most brilliant representative of the mental world, of the sensations. Russell [1] (I. pp. 237-238) is concordant with the above. He considers that the mathematical truth is "applicable solely to the symbols," the symbols being "words," that "do not signify anything in the real world." Thus, the correct opinion, pointed out, remains unsubstantiated, since nowhere is it related to the philosophical categories. In the substantion, offered by this paper, we proceed from the assumption that the variety of the mathematical symbols, at any rate, is reduced to and ensues from the aim: namely-to study the quantitative characteristics of "the qualities" from "the being." That connects the mathematical symbols with "the real world," i.e.-it reveals the possibility of a substantiating, since those characteristics interact. Following the construction of the foundations of mathematics, we should agree that the interaction among its concepts (i.e. the rules of the mathematical reasoning) is reduced to the interaction among the natural numbers. Hegel defines them reflexively [2], [3] ensuing from "the qualities" of "the beig" which (conversely) indicates that the mathematical truth denotes something "in the real world." Russell has pointed out that "Hegel's philosophy is very difficult-he is ...the most difficult to grasp of all great philosophers" [1] (III., p. 337), thus associating him with the philosophers "willing to spread confusion in mathematics" [1] (III.

Functionalist and Interactionalist Perspective on Illegal Drugs Essay

Functionalist and Interactionalist Perspective on Illegal Drugs The war on drugs in our culture is a continuous action that is swiftly lessening our society. This has been going on for roughly 10-15 years and has yet to slow down in any way. Drugs continue to be a problem for the obvious reason that certain people abuse them in a way that can lead to ultimate harm on such a person. These drugs do not just consist of street drugs (marijuana, cocaine, ecstasy), but prescription medications as well. Although there are some instances where drugs are being used by subjects excessively, there has been medical research to prove that some of these drugs have made a successful impact on certain disorders and diseases. One of the most obvious reasons why drugs are still around is because it is such a profitable business. In our society, marijuana, cocaine, xanax, and ecstasy are convenient and readily available to purchase almost anywhere you go. Those who sell drugs can make anywhere from five hundred to three thousand dollars a day. This income is tax-free and requires little to no labor efforts whatsoever. Those involved in this lucrative trade are taking somewhat of a risk, but because dealing drugs is so common in our society the chances of getting caught aren’t as high as expected. Drug trafficking alone serves for about 40 percent of all organized crime activity with this number increasing everyday as drugs become more and more popular. With the economy being so bad most find it easy to turn to selling drugs as an acceptable mean of income. Although drugs are used in an illegal aspect for the most part, there are accounts of medical research to prove the positive effects on some patients with long-term diseas... ...f actual reality. They are no longer able to face day to day activities without having that drug in their life. Many factors contribute to the reasons why drug use still exists in America today. It provides needed job titles, it is an on going process for medical research, and acts as a contribution to help certain people in their own personal ways. Drugs have been around for nearly two decades and as the years progress, the war on drugs seems as if it has no intensions of slowing down. This problem will only continue to intensify in an inferior situation. In using both the functionalist and interactionist perspectives, several imperfections such as addiction and the fact that people use drugs in illegal ways are identified. Ultimately, it is only us as a society as a whole who can take the responsibility and can change this issue †¦ for better or for worse. Functionalist and Interactionalist Perspective on Illegal Drugs Essay Functionalist and Interactionalist Perspective on Illegal Drugs The war on drugs in our culture is a continuous action that is swiftly lessening our society. This has been going on for roughly 10-15 years and has yet to slow down in any way. Drugs continue to be a problem for the obvious reason that certain people abuse them in a way that can lead to ultimate harm on such a person. These drugs do not just consist of street drugs (marijuana, cocaine, ecstasy), but prescription medications as well. Although there are some instances where drugs are being used by subjects excessively, there has been medical research to prove that some of these drugs have made a successful impact on certain disorders and diseases. One of the most obvious reasons why drugs are still around is because it is such a profitable business. In our society, marijuana, cocaine, xanax, and ecstasy are convenient and readily available to purchase almost anywhere you go. Those who sell drugs can make anywhere from five hundred to three thousand dollars a day. This income is tax-free and requires little to no labor efforts whatsoever. Those involved in this lucrative trade are taking somewhat of a risk, but because dealing drugs is so common in our society the chances of getting caught aren’t as high as expected. Drug trafficking alone serves for about 40 percent of all organized crime activity with this number increasing everyday as drugs become more and more popular. With the economy being so bad most find it easy to turn to selling drugs as an acceptable mean of income. Although drugs are used in an illegal aspect for the most part, there are accounts of medical research to prove the positive effects on some patients with long-term diseas... ...f actual reality. They are no longer able to face day to day activities without having that drug in their life. Many factors contribute to the reasons why drug use still exists in America today. It provides needed job titles, it is an on going process for medical research, and acts as a contribution to help certain people in their own personal ways. Drugs have been around for nearly two decades and as the years progress, the war on drugs seems as if it has no intensions of slowing down. This problem will only continue to intensify in an inferior situation. In using both the functionalist and interactionist perspectives, several imperfections such as addiction and the fact that people use drugs in illegal ways are identified. Ultimately, it is only us as a society as a whole who can take the responsibility and can change this issue †¦ for better or for worse.

Education in the 19th Century Essay

I. General Theme: * Nationalism in Europe grew stronger and with it was the belief in the power of education to shape the future of nation as well as individuals. * Spread of democratic ideas and of the application industry to science. * There were charity schools supported by the church and charitable organization. * Establishment of agricultural, commercial, scientific and industrial schools II. Specific Events and Facts 1. Increase in the number of Science Schools â€Å"The Nineteenth Century,† says Lavasseur, â€Å"is the first which has systematized and generalized the education of the people for the value of education in itself.† The Sheffield Scientific School of Yale University was established in 1847, the Lawrence Scientific School of Harvard in 1848, and the Chandler Scientific School of Dartmouth in 1852. The land grants of 1862 by Congress encouraged this system of education and scientific courses were added to the state universities, while Columbia organized its School of Mines, Washington University of St. Louis its School of Engineering, and in 1861 the Massachusetts Institute of Technology opened its doors. In 1871 the Stevens Institute of Technology was founded at Hoboken, and the Green School of Science was established as a branch of Princeton College. 2. Universities opened for women Women were not admitted to university examinations in England until 1867, when the doors of the University of London were thrown open, and, in 1871, Miss Clough opened a house for women students in Cambridge, which in 1875 became Newnham College. Women were formally admitted to Cambridge in 1881, and somewhat similar privileges were given at Oxford in 1884. The two earliest women’s colleges in the United States are generally reported to be Mount Holyoke, which dates from 1836, and was organized by Mary Lyon; but it had for its curriculum merely an academic course, and this is true of the  Georgia Female College, opened at Macon, Georgia, in 1839. The first institution in the world designed to give women a full collegiate course was founded at Poughkeepsie, New York, in 1861, by Matthew Vassar, and it was opened in 1865. 3. Co-educational schools The first co-educational institutions were Antioch and Oberlin Colleges; but during the last generation co-education has met with growing favor, until now more than half the colleges of the United States admit women as well as men. Having gained a collegiate education the women sought admission to the professional schools, which they have gradually secured, until now women lawyers and physicians are quite common in the larger cities, and women legislators and mayors win public favor in Colorado and Iowa.† 4. Education Act of 1870 in England â€Å"Foster Act† The 1870 Education Act stands as the very first piece of legislation to deal specifically with the provision of education in Britain. Most importantly, it demonstrated a commitment to provision on a national scale. The Act allowed voluntary schools to carry on unchanged, but established a system of ‘school boards’ to build and manage schools in areas where they were needed. The boards were locally elected bodies which drew their funding from the local rates. Unlike the voluntary schools, religious teaching in the board schools was to be ‘non-denominational’. A separate Act extended similar provisions to Scotland in 1872. 5. Education Act of 1891 in England The 1891 Elementary Education Act (5 August 1891) was another significant step in the process which the 1870 Act had begun, as it decreed that elementary education was to be provided free. The Act provided for ten shillings (50p) a year to be paid as a ‘fee grant’ by Parliament for each child over three and under fifteen attending a public elementary school. The schools were forbidden to charge additional fees except in certain circumstances. 6. French Model of Education System Moving into the 19th century, the objective of universities evolved from teaching the â€Å"regurgitation of knowledge† to â€Å"encourage productive thinking.  Two new university models, the German and the post-Revolutionary French, arose and made an impact on established models such as the Russian and Britain – especially the newer foundations of University College London and King’s College London. Such free thinking and experimentation had notably already begun in Britain’s oldest universities beginning in the seventeenth century at Oxford with the fathers of British scientific methodology Robert Hooke and Robert Boyle, and at Cambridge where Isaac Newton was Lucasian Professor of Mathematics & Physics. 7. Prussian Education System The educational system was divided into three groups. The elite of Prussian society were seen as comprising .5% of the society. Approximately 5.5% of the remaining children were sent to what was called realschulen, where they were partially taught to think. The remaining 94% went to volkschulen, where they were to learn â€Å"harmony, obedience, freedom from stressful thinking and how to follow orders.† An important part of this new system was to break the link between reading and the young child, because a child who reads too well becomes knowledgeable and independent from the system of instruction and is capable of finding out anything. In order to have an efficient policy-making class and a sub-class beneath it, you’ve got to remove the power of most people to make anything out of available information. The Prussian education system was a system of mandatory education dating to the early 19th century. Parts of the Prussianeducation system have served as models for the education systems in a number of other countries, including Japan and the United States. 8. Early Education Reading, writing, religion and arithmetic were only some of the subjects that were taught during the 19th century. 9. Fencing Fencing has a long history with universities and schools. At least one style of fencing, Mensur in Germany is practiced only within universities. University students compete internationally at the World University Games. The United States holds two national level university tournaments including  the NCAA championship and the USACFC National Championships tournaments in the USA and theBUCS fencing championships in the United Kingdom. 10. Johann Friedrich Herbart * Created an international attention and attracted thousands of European and American visitors. * They saw physically active children – running, jumping and playing with letter blocks. * Goal: Natural Development of the Individual Child * Learning begins with firsthand observation of an object and moves gradually toward the remote and abstract realm of words and ideas. Sources: http://www.oldandsold.com/articles35/19th-century-17.shtml http://www.publicbookshelf.com/public_html/The_Great_Republic_By_the_Master_Historians_Vol_IV/19thcentu_fh.html http://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/transformingsociety/livinglearning/school/overview/1870educationact/ http://www.educationengland.org.uk/history/chapter03.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_European_research_universities#European_university_models_in_the_19th_and_20th_centuries http://www.condorcet.com.au/en/studying-with-us/french-education-system/main-principles.aspx http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prussian_education_system http://feltd.wordpress.com/2010/09/16/the-prussian-german-educational-system/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fencing http://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/2319/Pestalozzi-Johann-1746-1827.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Heinrich_Pestalozzi http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/453469/Johann-Heinrich-Pestalozzi

Critical Thinking Reflection Paper Essay

The question that I selected is â€Å"Will receiving a college degree improve your career opportunities?† The obvious answer to this question is yes. However, I want to be sure of my answer by backing it up with critical thinking skills to determine that I have come up with the correct answer. One step to critical thinking is making sure that one’s answer can be well supported by factual information. A fallacy is an argument that is based on a weak argument with little to no supportive factual information. To make sure that my answer to the above question is a valid argument, I would need to conduct research and list all of the information that I find. I may look into statistical information such as the employment rate of those with college degrees as compared to those without a college degree in a particular career field. Another aspect of critical thinking is checking one’s answers and determining that they are well supported and well researched ideas. It is important to questions one own ideas and looking at them from a skeptical point of view to find any weaknesses in the argument. This process can be applied to any area of life where a decision must be made. To ensure that I continue to use critical thinking skills throughout my life I can practice using critical thinking for simple situations, therefore making critical thinking a habit rather than a forced thought.