Barth vs. Brunner and Natural Theology

The concept of natural theology pertains to the belief that natural gifts are provided from conception and installed mainly on human mind. Furthermore, it states that the revelations are provided on the general prospect of humans, and not merely on special individuals. In this theory, revelations are said to be revealed not only from the Scriptural basis or even from Jesus Christ .As for the theory’s concern, the scholastic tradition of natural theology had provided their simple explanation why the Scripture and Jesus Christ received some sort of special revelation . According to natural theologians, the rationale for the provision of such special revelation is nothing more than an unexplainable event or beyond human reason . As far as the history of theology is concerned, one of the most highlighted debates comes from Karl Barth and Emil Brunner, dating from 1914 .From the concepts and theological principles introduced by Barth and Brunner comes the great and prolonged theolo gical debate, forthcoming from the quarters of â€Å"dialectical theology†, particularly from Barth’s radical rejection of the notions of General Revelation and Natural Religion or Natural Theology, including the â€Å"point of contact† and the rest. By far, this argument has been known as the Barth-Brunner conflict . Due to the strong influence and very much detailed argument brought by Barth, the conflict between the two theologians has greatly affected the stand point of today’s theology.This controversy has dominated the theological discussion of to-day, and has affected literally every problem . In this study, the primary discussion revolves in covering the issues brought by the debates of Barth and Brunner, and the theological concepts embedded in their proposed principles. From the point of view of the study, the first thing to discuss is the concept of natural theology in order to determine the rationale for its rejection. Next, the study centers on the conflicting theologian, Karl Barth and Emil Brunner.Lastly, the study provides the analysis of their argument to explore the primary stand points from both theological perspectives. Discussion The Concept of Natural Theology In general, the Reformers were less enthusiastic about natural theology, in part because they rejected much of the scholastic tradition, in part because it tended to render special revelation, and particularly Scripture, less necessary, and in part because it granted fallen human beings powers of correct reasoning that the Reformers themselves saw as corrupted by sin .According to the traditional scholastic movement, the concept of natural theology only provides its significance by illustrating human sin and their never-ending need to survive – more like an instinctive theological description – however, with little standing ground in justifying how these humanistic needs pursue . It is not the place here to enter into the historical, psychol ogical and theological reasons for the development of this great controversy. The historical reason is the adamant opposition that had to be shown to Nazi ideology and the wrong and dangerous theology of the German Christians.Barth rendered here an immeasurable service to sound theology and the cause of the Church as a whole . A form of natural theology that is worth defending takes its cue from core theological interpretations of the nature of God and the world. The concept of natural theology comprises of three theoretical perspectives that are derived mainly on nature that correlates with the divinity of God. The word ‘natural’ in the expression ‘natural theology’ is meant to mark a contrast between nature and revelation.The concept of Natural theology does not imply natural in the perspective of being a non-complex and unsophisticated belief, but rather, the natural theology is the product of a fairly sophisticated state of western theism and would have been foreign to many great religious thinkers before the Middle Ages. The concept of natural theology was realized during the era wherein theologians tried to logically obtain the answers to divine existence while at the stage of reflecting their religion.At this point of Middle Age, theologians obtain the elements that have been established already beforehand, and those that can provide unaided rationale for those parts that they believed to be unnatural. Hence, they coined and develop the natural theology, which somehow contradicts the existence of natural activities through single-handed or chose ones. As for the theory, it mainly exemplifies that everyone is chosen in their own account of being an image created after God . The concept of natural theology allied with Nazism most especially during the time of Jews massive discrimination.Significantly, the natural theology, even from the early times, pointed its fingers to chosen individuals, such as the Jews, wherein the theology contradicts the fact that these people are chose. The possibility of natural theology has been denied by some theologians and by some philosophers. The theological arguments against natural theology are mostly concerned with the relationship between reason and faith: they urge the uselessness of reason as a means to salvation and of philosophical speculation as a step on the road to heaven .One of the essential criticism that served as ground basis for the concept of natural theology is the fact that these principles are essentially from the philosophical perspectives, which in the end obtained vast arguments and criticisms against natural theology itself. In particular, the theologians of Natural perspective drew heavily on natural philosophy to show how the hand of the Creator could be discerned in the Book of Nature as well as the Book of Scriptures.By contrast, those still wedded to a more traditional order in Church and State tended to be wary of natural theology and the forms of natural philosophy interlinked with it as obscurities from a theology based on Divine revelation . On the other hand, the significance of Natural theology is its ability to provide an analysis of the human situation and the question of God implied in it. One side of the traditional arguments for the existence of God usually does this, in so far as they elucidate the dependent, transitory, and relational nature of finite human existence.But, in developing the other side of these arguments, natural theology tried to derive theological affirmations from the analysis of man’s finitude . The natural theology concentrates mainly on the natural imagery of men as earthly beings being linked to God’s image. As for the theory, it mentions that every human being possesses the right to obtain revelation from God for everyone is from the same image, which is God. Somehow, these two rationales are deemed as the primary arguments that render the argument of the Natural theology.F irst, natural theology should not claim to operate with an account of pure, objective, ahistorical reason . For man’s reasoning cannot be considered absolutely pure from intention for man by his own nature is deprived from complete purity; hence, contradicts the statement of natural theology itself. Second, natural theology should not offer a philosophical metaphysics as a way of mediating between faith and the world . From these concepts, the argument against natural theology settles in. Different theologians, most significantly Karl Barth realizes the wrong ideations brought by the theology.From the perspective of Thomas Aquinas (1225—1274), he claimed that there are certain truths that are attainable by the powers of â€Å"reason properly applied, and others that are beyond the reach of reason, and are known only through revelation†. From Aquinas’ theology, the concept attaining revelation and reason conjoins to further discover the truth and absolute reasoning . The concept of nature in the doctrines of theology can be misleading and contradictory for its very meaning can be a profound statement of obscurity, which can also contribute to the eclipse of God’s imagery .As for the theory of Natural origination, it is a major concept where philosophy of religion interrelates theological aspects. Philosophies of religion scrutinizes what the sheer existence of the universe entails what it forces us to conclude, and likewise what its order entails. Protestantism is usually against the concept of natural theology for they claim that God, whose existence is demonstrated, is not the Christian God. For Protestants, God Himself should not concern in Himself in providing His existence for He in fact exist above all.Whether natural theology is to be dismissed and why is a major area of investigation in Christian theology. Roman Catholic somehow defended the concept of natural theology for they believe that there are essential differen ces between what we can know of God by means of natural theology and what we know of God by revelation. Currently, natural theology tends to act and to be used as a tool that metaphorically provides clergy and students some rigorous proof to demonstrate God’s existence .Emil Brunner In 1914, Brunner published a work entitled Nature and Grace wherein his main argument coincides mainly on the generational theology’s task of reverting back to the concept of natural theology . Brunner, being one of the main characters of natural theological concept, obtained his idea of natural theology from the concept of imago Del or in translation would mean, â€Å"Image of God†. Human nature is constituted in such a way that there is an analog with the being of God .Considering the sinful nature of human beings as installed already in their instinctive characteristic, Brunner stated that the ability of human beings to discern the presence of God is still there by the concept or reasoning that God remains in the natural environment. Within the context of human beings as sinners, still their innate nature are capable of recognizing the presence of God and are still aware of their guilt before God. All these linkage are brought by the concept of natural stand present in man from the time of his creation and image pattern.Hence, as Brunner concluded, this linkage brings forth revelation to every man with no special disposition present, such as sinner or holy, rich or poor, or any other means. Brunner significantly pointed out that God can manifest His revelation to anyone with no consideration on human characteristic since human beings are all created out of his natural image . As per Brunner’s defense on natural theology, greatly point out the significance of the doctrine of the incarnation to revelation: in Christ may be seen the personal self-disclosure of God .From Brunner’s ground basis, it is the story of creation that serves as the fore gr ound of this theological belief. He reasoned that there are considerably three rationales that offer support for the theory of Natural theology namely, human reason, and order of the world and beauty of the world . In the argument of Human Reason, considering that God’s existence can be found in His creation, and then it is acceptable to use the idea that God can be most likely found in the highest peak of His creation, which is human reason .The next argument Brunner introduced is the ordering of the world, wherein the prime philosopher concerned is Thomas Aquinas. Considering that the natural pattern in the environment is unquestionably and extremely organized, this phenomena been emphasized to be from God . Brunner did no go as far in denouncing the philosophical approach to God. Nevertheless, Brunner stated that the attempt to derive knowledge of God from creation, which is the theology of natural religion, is ultimately not being helpful in theological doctrine.He even a dmitted that the knowledge of the Creator forms as a component of our existence. However, Brunner concluded that this knowledge component placed to human beings as God’s creation does not follow that human beings know God completely, since such philosophical intelligence does not end in communion with God . Brunner’s theology has been linked very much within an existentialist, dialectical framework and focused mainly on the uniqueness of existential, personal understanding. He even continued with basically anthropological starting point.Lastly, the concept of beauty present in the world has also been emphasized as an argumentative statement in Brunner’s ideologies. According to these theologians, the presence of beauty in surrounding world is the primary depiction of God’s existence through the nature’s beauty . Another focus entailed by Brunner in his beliefs is in faith of having personal encounter between the one who hears the Word, believer, or human being per say, and the God who speaks and draws near in grace, as distinct from an acceptance of abstract propositions of belief.Christianity thus sets forth â€Å"truth as encounter†, Brunner’s primary effect and influence thus far had come through his writings of â€Å"The Mediator and The Divine Imperative† and in Brunner Oldham perceived the chances and events for creating an innovative and urgently required dialogue between evangelical theology and the contemporary human sciences — vital if the churches were to address seriously the current world context . Enveloped in Brunner’s appeal to nature is an idea, which can be traced back to Luther, known as â€Å"the orders of creation. †The generation Nineteenth-century German Liberal Protestantism had utilized this perspective as their basis, and further developed a theology, which permitted the German culture, including a positive assessment of the state, to become of primary signif icance theologically . Brunner had used this idea of the â€Å"point of contact† back in 1927, and it is integral to his understanding of human nature. For Brunner, human nature is constituted in such a way that there is a ready made point of contract for divine revelation. Revelation thus addresses itself to a human nature, which already has sonic Idea of what that revelation is about.For example, take the gospel demand to â€Å"repent of sin,† Brunner argues that this makes little sense, unless human beings already have some idea of what â€Å"sin† is. Karl Barth: Analysis of the Argument During the twentieth century, Karl Barth (1886—1968) initiated the so called spiritual argument or attack in the theoretical concept of natural theology. For this reason, the theologian ties between him and another leading ‘neo-orthodox theologian, Emil Brunner (1889—1966) broke due Barth’s attack on Brunner’s theological concepts .Such actio n is very much important for Barth’s perspective in that it shows the importance of natural theology’s attempt to further provide an illustration of Christianity’s attaining its peak on German civilization; hence, the sole purpose of Barth is to negate the ally status of natural theology to the concept of Nazism . Barth’s criticism is that it goes beyond any rejection of natural theology that is based on claims that it is invalid, unpersuasive, or unnecessary .From Barth’s argument, he exemplified that God has indeed revealed His identity to human beings; hence, it should be natural for humans to be convinced on God’s existence. It is already insignificant to have God’s existence justified in other forms for He already chosen to be revealed in the form of His triune son, which is Jesus Christ . A natural theology that proceeds from a different starting point must inevitably compromise and distract in relation to the primary theologica l task.Even worse, it may threaten to subvert the true nature of the faith by the introduction of foreign and ethically dangerous materials . Barth’s last consideration to reject the principles of natural education lies with the fact that such form of theology is a potential ally to compensate the needs of German ideations against Jews and other racial backgrounds. By far, the theoretical principle of Natural theology hinders the acknowledgement of Jesus Christ. From the perspective of Barth’s argument, natural theology is a human attempt to initiation subversions for human’s necessity for revelation.The theology, by its very purpose and significance, attempts to learn more about God in a manner and under conditions specified by humans’ ways and not by God Himself . In Barth’s view, the concept of natural theology is very much compromised in historical, philosophical and theological significances. The great Scottish theologian Hugh Ross Mackintosh once summarized the questions centering on revelation as follows: â€Å" religious knowledge of God, wherever existing, comes by revelation; otherwise we should be committed to the incredible position that a man can know God without Has willing to be known .† The main idea embedded in Barth’s desire to counter the theology of natural perspective is for the purpose of safeguarding the integrity present in divine revelation against human attempts to Construct their own notions of God. As for Barth’s perspective, he argues that revelations from God do not simply occur to anyone, unless God chose to. It is neither inborn nor chosen to be possessed by me, but it is God’s choice to reveal Himself to an individual. Revelation, indeed, is out of human’s power but solely rely to God’s preference.Although deeply distrustful of all apologetic instincts, Barth appears to make a minor but important concession in his discussion of natural theology. In its proclamation of God’s self-revelation, the Bible does not ignore the details of the cosmos or the physical world as these are known from empirical observation and human experience. In their own way, they attest the divine truth . However, this event does not simply occur or free for man to manipulate. It is not a separate line of enquiry that can simply alter or displace human perspectives from the original faith .On the contrary, its function in Scripture is to incorporate within a single framework all that attaches to human existence in the cosmos. The argument of Barth provides an extended and systematic criticism of natural theology. The main conflict thrown by his argument argues that such theology, â€Å"which comes to humanity from nature†, expresses the humanity’s â€Å"self-preservation and self-affirmation† in the face of God . Barth views the concept of natural theology as a safeguarding perspective to cover human being’s longing to jus tify self against God and for the provision of independent intellectualities.His conflicting idealism against this theology rests on his fundamental belief that it undermines the necessity and uniqueness of God’s self-revelation. From the logical statement introduced by Barth’s argument, if knowledge of God can be achieved independently of God’s self-revelation in Christ, then it follows that humanity can dictate the place, time and means of its knowledge of God . The perspective of Barth against natural theology institutes a close relationship between the theology itself and the subject of human independence against religion and divine supervision.Considering Barth’s familiarity in the concept of natural theology, he confirms and expresses the human desire to find God on our own terms . The central concept on Barth’s argument had been scrutinized by the religious community; hence, considering his argument against natural theology. However, other t heologians have been having this assumption of Barth’s initiating a scientific theology despite of his overcorrection of the Reformed theological position, and that an informed recovery of an older position is overdue.A scientific theology offers such reappropriation and the second of these merits dose attention . It is a simple fact of historical theology chat the Reformed theological tradition has not, on the whole, opposed natural theology. Conclusion The argument of Barth and Brunner with the subject of natural theology has been present from and long influenced the condition of catholic beliefs and perception against the occurrence of God’s existence and the value of human self-justification and intellectual identity.The natural theology mainly states that the existence of God is in the physical form of nature itself, considering its organization, beauty and man’s intelligence, which are derived from God’s imagery. However, Barth refuted this theology and stated that God’s existence is in the form of Jesus Christ. He contradicts the theology due to its self-justification, and tendency to form ally with Nazism. Bibliography Allen, D. and Springstein, E. O. Philosophy for Understanding Theology (Westminster John Knox Press, 2007) p. 19 Clements, K.Faith on the Frontier: A Life of J. H. Oldham (Continuum International Publishing Group, 1999) p. 272 Gonzales, J. L. Essential Theological Terms (Westminster John Knox Press, 2005) p. 118 Grenz, J. Theology for the Community of God (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2000) p. 50 Huyssteen, W. V. and Shults, F. L. The Evolution of Rationality (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2006) p. 392 Kenny, P. and Kenny, A. . The God of the Philosophers (Oxford University Press, 1979) p. 2 Kraemer H, Religion and the Christian Faith (James Clarke & Co., 2003) p. 356 McGrath, A. E. An Introduction to Christianity (Blackwell Publishing, 1997) p. 162 McGrath, A. E. Christian Theology: An Introduction (Black well Publishing, 2006) 170 McGrath, A. E. The Science of God: An Introduction to Scientific Theology (Eerdmans Publishing, 2004) p. 84 Porter, et. al. R. The Cambridge History of Science (Cambridge University Press, 2003) p. 270 Scott, P. A Political Theology of Nature (Cambridge University Press, 2003) p. 40 Tilich, P. Systematic Theology (University of Chicago Press, 1963) p. 14 Barth vs. Brunner and Natural Theology IntroductionThe concept of natural theology pertains to the belief that natural gifts are provided from conception and installed mainly on human mind. Furthermore, it states that the revelations are provided on the general prospect of humans, and not merely on special individuals. In this theory, revelations are said to be revealed not only from the Scriptural basis or even from Jesus Christ .As for the theory’s concern, the scholastic tradition of natural theology had provided their simple explanation why the Scripture and Jesus Christ received some sort of special revelation . According to natural theologians, the rationale for the provision of such special revelation is nothing more than an unexplainable event or beyond human reason . As far as the history of theology is concerned, one of the most highlighted debates comes from Karl Barth and Emil Brunner, dating from 1914 .From the concepts and theological principles introduced by Barth and Brunner comes the great and prol onged theological debate, forthcoming from the quarters of â€Å"dialectical theology†, particularly from Barth’s radical rejection of the notions of General Revelation and Natural Religion or Natural Theology, including the â€Å"point of contact† and the rest. By far, this argument has been known as the Barth-Brunner conflict . Due to the strong influence and very much detailed argument brought by Barth, the conflict between the two theologians has greatly affected the stand point of today’s theology.This controversy has dominated the theological discussion of to-day, and has affected literally every problem . In this study, the primary discussion revolves in covering the issues brought by the debates of Barth and Brunner, and the theological concepts embedded in their proposed principles. From the point of view of the study, the first thing to discuss is the concept of natural theology in order to determine the rationale for its rejection. Next, the st udy centers on the conflicting theologian, Karl Barth and Emil Brunner.Lastly, the study provides the analysis of their argument to explore the primary stand points from both theological perspectives. Discussion The Concept of Natural Theology In general, the Reformers were less enthusiastic about natural theology, in part because they rejected much of the scholastic tradition, in part because it tended to render special revelation, and particularly Scripture, less necessary, and in part because it granted fallen human beings powers of correct reasoning that the Reformers themselves saw as corrupted by sin .According to the traditional scholastic movement, the concept of natural theology only provides its significance by illustrating human sin and their never-ending need to survive – more like an instinctive theological description – however, with little standing ground in justifying how these humanistic needs pursue . It is not the place here to enter into the histori cal, psychological and theological reasons for the development of this great controversy. The historical reason is the adamant opposition that had to be shown to Nazi ideology and the wrong and dangerous theology of the German Christians.Barth rendered here an immeasurable service to sound theology and the cause of the Church as a whole . A form of natural theology that is worth defending takes its cue from core theological interpretations of the nature of God and the world. The concept of natural theology comprises of three theoretical perspectives that are derived mainly on nature that correlates with the divinity of God. The word ‘natural’ in the expression ‘natural theology’ is meant to mark a contrast between nature and revelation.The concept of Natural theology does not imply natural in the perspective of being a non-complex and unsophisticated belief, but rather, the natural theology is the product of a fairly sophisticated state of western theism an d would have been foreign to many great religious thinkers before the Middle Ages. The concept of natural theology was realized during the era wherein theologians tried to logically obtain the answers to divine existence while at the stage of reflecting their religion.At this point of Middle Age, theologians obtain the elements that have been established already beforehand, and those that can provide unaided rationale for those parts that they believed to be unnatural. Hence, they coined and develop the natural theology, which somehow contradicts the existence of natural activities through single-handed or chose ones. As for the theory, it mainly exemplifies that everyone is chosen in their own account of being an image created after God . The concept of natural theology allied with Nazism most especially during the time of Jews massive discrimination.Significantly, the natural theology, even from the early times, pointed its fingers to chosen individuals, such as the Jews, wherein the theology contradicts the fact that these people are chose. The possibility of natural theology has been denied by some theologians and by some philosophers. The theological arguments against natural theology are mostly concerned with the relationship between reason and faith: they urge the uselessness of reason as a means to salvation and of philosophical speculation as a step on the road to heaven .One of the essential criticism that served as ground basis for the concept of natural theology is the fact that these principles are essentially from the philosophical perspectives, which in the end obtained vast arguments and criticisms against natural theology itself. In particular, the theologians of Natural perspective drew heavily on natural philosophy to show how the hand of the Creator could be discerned in the Book of Nature as well as the Book of Scriptures.By contrast, those still wedded to a more traditional order in Church and State tended to be wary of natural theology a nd the forms of natural philosophy interlinked with it as obscurities from a theology based on Divine revelation . On the other hand, the significance of Natural theology is its ability to provide an analysis of the human situation and the question of God implied in it. One side of the traditional arguments for the existence of God usually does this, in so far as they elucidate the dependent, transitory, and relational nature of finite human existence.But, in developing the other side of these arguments, natural theology tried to derive theological affirmations from the analysis of man’s finitude . The natural theology concentrates mainly on the natural imagery of men as earthly beings being linked to God’s image. As for the theory, it mentions that every human being possesses the right to obtain revelation from God for everyone is from the same image, which is God. Somehow, these two rationales are deemed as the primary arguments that render the argument of the Natura l theology.First, natural theology should not claim to operate with an account of pure, objective, ahistorical reason . For man’s reasoning cannot be considered absolutely pure from intention for man by his own nature is deprived from complete purity; hence, contradicts the statement of natural theology itself. Second, natural theology should not offer a philosophical metaphysics as a way of mediating between faith and the world . From these concepts, the argument against natural theology settles in. Different theologians, most significantly Karl Barth realizes the wrong ideations brought by the theology.From the perspective of Thomas Aquinas (1225—1274), he claimed that there are certain truths that are attainable by the powers of â€Å"reason properly applied, and others that are beyond the reach of reason, and are known only through revelation†. From Aquinas’ theology, the concept attaining revelation and reason conjoins to further discover the truth a nd absolute reasoning . The concept of nature in the doctrines of theology can be misleading and contradictory for its very meaning can be a profound statement of obscurity, which can also contribute to the eclipse of God’s imagery .As for the theory of Natural origination, it is a major concept where philosophy of religion interrelates theological aspects. Philosophies of religion scrutinizes what the sheer existence of the universe entails what it forces us to conclude, and likewise what its order entails. Protestantism is usually against the concept of natural theology for they claim that God, whose existence is demonstrated, is not the Christian God. For Protestants, God Himself should not concern in Himself in providing His existence for He in fact exist above all.Whether natural theology is to be dismissed and why is a major area of investigation in Christian theology. Roman Catholic somehow defended the concept of natural theology for they believe that there are essent ial differences between what we can know of God by means of natural theology and what we know of God by revelation. Currently, natural theology tends to act and to be used as a tool that metaphorically provides clergy and students some rigorous proof to demonstrate God’s existence .Emil Brunner In 1914, Brunner published a work entitled Nature and Grace wherein his main argument coincides mainly on the generational theology’s task of reverting back to the concept of natural theology . Brunner, being one of the main characters of natural theological concept, obtained his idea of natural theology from the concept of imago Del or in translation would mean, â€Å"Image of God†. Human nature is constituted in such a way that there is an analog with the being of God .Considering the sinful nature of human beings as installed already in their instinctive characteristic, Brunner stated that the ability of human beings to discern the presence of God is still there by the concept or reasoning that God remains in the natural environment. Within the context of human beings as sinners, still their innate nature are capable of recognizing the presence of God and are still aware of their guilt before God. All these linkage are brought by the concept of natural stand present in man from the time of his creation and image pattern.Hence, as Brunner concluded, this linkage brings forth revelation to every man with no special disposition present, such as sinner or holy, rich or poor, or any other means. Brunner significantly pointed out that God can manifest His revelation to anyone with no consideration on human characteristic since human beings are all created out of his natural image . As per Brunner’s defense on natural theology, greatly point out the significance of the doctrine of the incarnation to revelation: in Christ may be seen the personal self-disclosure of God .From Brunner’s ground basis, it is the story of creation that serves as the fore ground of this theological belief. He reasoned that there are considerably three rationales that offer support for the theory of Natural theology namely, human reason, and order of the world and beauty of the world . In the argument of Human Reason, considering that God’s existence can be found in His creation, and then it is acceptable to use the idea that God can be most likely found in the highest peak of His creation, which is human reason .The next argument Brunner introduced is the ordering of the world, wherein the prime philosopher concerned is Thomas Aquinas. Considering that the natural pattern in the environment is unquestionably and extremely organized, this phenomena been emphasized to be from God . Brunner did no go as far in denouncing the philosophical approach to God. Nevertheless, Brunner stated that the attempt to derive knowledge of God from creation, which is the theology of natural religion, is ultimately not being helpful in theological doctri ne.He even admitted that the knowledge of the Creator forms as a component of our existence. However, Brunner concluded that this knowledge component placed to human beings as God’s creation does not follow that human beings know God completely, since such philosophical intelligence does not end in communion with God . Brunner’s theology has been linked very much within an existentialist, dialectical framework and focused mainly on the uniqueness of existential, personal understanding. He even continued with basically anthropological starting point.Lastly, the concept of beauty present in the world has also been emphasized as an argumentative statement in Brunner’s ideologies. According to these theologians, the presence of beauty in surrounding world is the primary depiction of God’s existence through the nature’s beauty . Another focus entailed by Brunner in his beliefs is in faith of having personal encounter between the one who hears the Word, believer, or human being per say, and the God who speaks and draws near in grace, as distinct from an acceptance of abstract propositions of belief.Christianity thus sets forth â€Å"truth as encounter†, Brunner’s primary effect and influence thus far had come through his writings of â€Å"The Mediator and The Divine Imperative† and in Brunner Oldham perceived the chances and events for creating an innovative and urgently required dialogue between evangelical theology and the contemporary human sciences — vital if the churches were to address seriously the current world context . Enveloped in Brunner’s appeal to nature is an idea, which can be traced back to Luther, known as â€Å"the orders of creation. †The generation Nineteenth-century German Liberal Protestantism had utilized this perspective as their basis, and further developed a theology, which permitted the German culture, including a positive assessment of the state, to become of pr imary significance theologically . Brunner had used this idea of the â€Å"point of contact† back in 1927, and it is integral to his understanding of human nature. For Brunner, human nature is constituted in such a way that there is a ready made point of contract for divine revelation. Revelation thus addresses itself to a human nature, which already has sonic Idea of what that revelation is about.For example, take the gospel demand to â€Å"repent of sin,† Brunner argues that this makes little sense, unless human beings already have some idea of what â€Å"sin† is. Karl Barth: Analysis of the Argument During the twentieth century, Karl Barth (1886—1968) initiated the so called spiritual argument or attack in the theoretical concept of natural theology. For this reason, the theologian ties between him and another leading ‘neo-orthodox theologian, Emil Brunner (1889—1966) broke due Barth’s attack on Brunner’s theological concepts .Such action is very much important for Barth’s perspective in that it shows the importance of natural theology’s attempt to further provide an illustration of Christianity’s attaining its peak on German civilization; hence, the sole purpose of Barth is to negate the ally status of natural theology to the concept of Nazism . Barth’s criticism is that it goes beyond any rejection of natural theology that is based on claims that it is invalid, unpersuasive, or unnecessary .From Barth’s argument, he exemplified that God has indeed revealed His identity to human beings; hence, it should be natural for humans to be convinced on God’s existence. It is already insignificant to have God’s existence justified in other forms for He already chosen to be revealed in the form of His triune son, which is Jesus Christ . A natural theology that proceeds from a different starting point must inevitably compromise and distract in relation to the primar y theological task.Even worse, it may threaten to subvert the true nature of the faith by the introduction of foreign and ethically dangerous materials . Barth’s last consideration to reject the principles of natural education lies with the fact that such form of theology is a potential ally to compensate the needs of German ideations against Jews and other racial backgrounds. By far, the theoretical principle of Natural theology hinders the acknowledgement of Jesus Christ. From the perspective of Barth’s argument, natural theology is a human attempt to initiation subversions for human’s necessity for revelation.The theology, by its very purpose and significance, attempts to learn more about God in a manner and under conditions specified by humans’ ways and not by God Himself . In Barth’s view, the concept of natural theology is very much compromised in historical, philosophical and theological significances. The great Scottish theologian Hugh Ross Mackintosh once summarized the questions centering on revelation as follows: â€Å" religious knowledge of God, wherever existing, comes by revelation; otherwise we should be committed to the incredible position that a man can know God without Has willing to be known .†The main idea embedded in Barth’s desire to counter the theology of natural perspective is for the purpose of safeguarding the integrity present in divine revelation against human attempts to Construct their own notions of God. As for Barth’s perspective, he argues that revelations from God do not simply occur to anyone, unless God chose to. It is neither inborn nor chosen to be possessed by me, but it is God’s choice to reveal Himself to an individual. Revelation, indeed, is out of human’s power but solely rely to God’s preference.Although deeply distrustful of all apologetic instincts, Barth appears to make a minor but important concession in his discussion of natural theol ogy. In its proclamation of God’s self-revelation, the Bible does not ignore the details of the cosmos or the physical world as these are known from empirical observation and human experience. In their own way, they attest the divine truth . However, this event does not simply occur or free for man to manipulate. It is not a separate line of enquiry that can simply alter or displace human perspectives from the original faith .On the contrary, its function in Scripture is to incorporate within a single framework all that attaches to human existence in the cosmos. The argument of Barth provides an extended and systematic criticism of natural theology. The main conflict thrown by his argument argues that such theology, â€Å"which comes to humanity from nature†, expresses the humanity’s â€Å"self-preservation and self-affirmation† in the face of God . Barth views the concept of natural theology as a safeguarding perspective to cover human being’s lon ging to justify self against God and for the provision of independent intellectualities.His conflicting idealism against this theology rests on his fundamental belief that it undermines the necessity and uniqueness of God’s self-revelation. From the logical statement introduced by Barth’s argument, if knowledge of God can be achieved independently of God’s self-revelation in Christ, then it follows that humanity can dictate the place, time and means of its knowledge of God. The perspective of Barth against natural theology institutes a close relationship between the theology itself and the subject of human independence against religion and divine supervision.Considering Barth’s familiarity in the concept of natural theology, he confirms and expresses the human desire to find God on our own terms . The central concept on Barth’s argument had been scrutinized by the religious community; hence, considering his argument against natural theology. Howeve r, other theologians have been having this assumption of Barth’s initiating a scientific theology despite of his overcorrection of the Reformed theological position, and that an informed recovery of an older position is overdue.A scientific theology offers such reappropriation and the second of these merits dose attention . It is a simple fact of historical theology chat the Reformed theological tradition has not, on the whole, opposed natural theology. Conclusion The argument of Barth and Brunner with the subject of natural theology has been present from and long influenced the condition of catholic beliefs and perception against the occurrence of God’s existence and the value of human self-justification and intellectual identity.The natural theology mainly states that the existence of God is in the physical form of nature itself, considering its organization, beauty and man’s intelligence, which are derived from God’s imagery. However, Barth refuted thi s theology and stated that God’s existence is in the form of Jesus Christ. He contradicts the theology due to its self-justification, and tendency to form ally with Nazism.BibliographyAllen, D. and Springstein, E. O. Philosophy for Understanding Theology (Westminster John Knox Press, 2007) p. 19.Clements, K. Faith on the Frontier: A Life of J. H. Oldham (Continuum International Publishing Group, 1999) p. 272.Gonzales, J. L. Essential Theological Terms (Westminster John Knox Press, 2005) p. 118.Grenz, J. Theology for the Community of God (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2000) p. 50.Huyssteen, W. V. and Shults, F. L. The Evolution of Rationality (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2006) p. 392.Kenny, P. and Kenny, A. . The God of the Philosophers (Oxford University Press, 1979) p. 2.Kraemer H, Religion and the Christian Faith (James Clarke & Co., 2003) p. 356.McGrath, A. E. An Introduction to Christianity (Blackwell Publishing, 1997) p. 162.McGrath, A. E. Christian Theology: An Introducti on (Blackwell Publishing, 2006) 170.McGrath, A. E. The Science of God: An Introduction to Scientific Theology (Eerdmans Publishing, 2004) p. 84.Porter, et. al. R. The Cambridge History of Science (Cambridge University Press, 2003) p. 270.Scott, P. A Political Theology of Nature (Cambridge University Press, 2003) p. 40.Tilich, P. Systematic Theology (University of Chicago Press, 1963) p. 14.

Kitchen Remodeling

Kitchen Remodeling Network Diagram Critical Analysis Boston University OL MET AD 642 Art & Science of Project Management Week 3. 2 – Network for Party Project Abstract This article examines the Critical Path, Slack, and sequencing of activities for the Kitchen Remodeling Project. It furthers the discussion on whether adding additional slack helps set realistic goals or proves detrimental to the progress of the project. A detailed analysis is also provided on the relationship between the Critical Path and Slack.I created a Network Diagram for my Personal Kitchen Remodeling Project. During the creation of my Network Diagram, I ran into the issue of having too many activities to sequence. Accommodating granular detail on the Network Diagram became unmanageable, especially for not using Microsoft Project. For example, in the WBS, I broke down the node ‘Secure Workers’ into different skill set (Carpenter, Electrician etc). I simplified this into one activity labeled â €Å"Secure Workers† and identified predecessors and successors.I also consolidated installation of appliance into a single node and assigned it a number of days in totality. The total project duration on the Critical Path came out to 83 days on the forward pass, starting at day 0. Backward pass was calculated using customer’s expected completion time of 73 days. The Critical Path, with the longest path and shortest time fell on the path with the least amount of slack equating to -10 days. This means that to meet the customer’s expected completion date, the project would have to start 10 days in advance of the currently scheduled start date.If the project cannot start in advance, activity duration on the Critical Path would need to be adjusted in order to meet the customer’s expectations. The key take away from this assignment was that all activities on the Critical Path always have the same Slack, -10 in this example. After much contemplation, I understoo d this is for when the Latest Finish is moved forward, all activities on the Critical Path require adjustment by the different between the Latest Finish and Earliest finish of the last activity on the Critical Path.Completion of the Critical Path made me question how the PM would know whether the least amount of slack on the Critical Path is sufficient to complete the project on time, while maintaining quality. Ideally, every PM wants to finish the project at the earliest date possible, but adequate time allocation for each activity and in between activity sounds just as crucial. A Project Management Institute article comments that small buffers should be added in between activities and parallel work for resources committed to the critical path should be avoided.To stay ahead, there may be the urge to start all activities as soon as possible, this could be detrimental to the progress in the long run. â€Å"To the extent possible, avoid having the same people work on the parallel ac tivities is one of the tenants of critical chain project management. This means restraint in starting activities. Small buffers at the end of ‘feeding chains’ merging with deterministic critical path minimize risk of project delays. † (Schuyler, 2000) The reality is that there is never a comfortable amount of slack available for any activity on the critical path.As a new PM, I’m likely to believe that adding enough buffer time would alleviate pressure and help set reasonable targets. To which PMI annotates, â€Å"The core theme in critical chain project management is to avoid wasting slack. The reality is that there isn’t a confident amount of slack available to waste. Focusing on project values provides a better perspective for making decisions. † (Schuyler, 2000) References John Schuyler, PMP, (March 2000). Optimizing Project Plan Decision. PM Network. pp. 65-69.

Book Keeping Essay

Book keeping it also referred as the keeping of book. Book keeping is the process of keeping full, accurate, up-to-date business records. Proper methods can help businesses effectively manage cash flow, stay abreast of profit and losses, and develop plans for the future based on financial trends. Furthermore, keeping accurate book is required by both federal and local tax agencies. The book keeping process involves making a record of the monies received by a business as well as the monies paid out. It encompasses money a company owes to vendors, employees, tax agencies, contractors, and any other individual or entity. Likewise, accurate records of amounts owed to a company by outside individuals and organizations are also recorded in a company’s books. Though necessary and beneficial to business owners, the task can be very time consuming. With no exceptions, every monetary amount that is paid or received must be recorded. Additionally, accuracy is of the utmost importance, making keeping the books in a rushed manner a very bad idea. As business owners are often lacking in time, many choose to hire professional bookkeepers to keep company records well maintained. Of the many reasons for keeping accurate records, business and income taxes are among the most important. In the United States, for example, the Internal Revenue Service requires business owners to keep financial records that are complete and up-to-date. State and city tax agencies may require businesses to maintain accurate records as well. In fact, a business owner who fails to keep acceptable financial records may be liable for significant monetary fines or other penalties. A company’s books are used to determine the amount of taxes the company must pay, and they are also used in preparing tax returns. Sometimes, a tax agency may decide to investigate the information reported on a return or other type of tax-related document. In such cases, business owners are required to present accurate records for the tax agency’s inspection. Failure to do so could lead to hefty fines, penalties, or in severe cases, imprisonment. Although hiring bookkeeping professionals may be a good idea for many companies, not all business owners can afford to do so. This is particularity true of smaller, home-based, or start-up businesses. Fortunately, there are many computer programs designed to make the task of keeping the books manageable and less time consuming. Many programs handle all of the calculations for the user, taking the worry out of keeping accurate figures. Available even to those on tight budgets, this software makes record keeping easy. (N. Madison, 2013, Wise Geek.)[online] ACCOUNTING CYCLE The accounting cycle is often described as a process that includes the following steps: identifying, collecting and analyzing documents and transactions, recording the transactions in journals, posting the journalized amounts to accounts in the general and subsidiary ledgers, preparing an unadjusted trial balance, perhaps preparing a worksheet, determining and recording adjusting entries, preparing an adjusted trial balance, preparing the financial statements, recording and posting closing entries, preparing a post-closing trial balance, and perhaps recording reversing entries. Cycle and steps seem to be a carryover from the days of manual bookkeeping and accounting when transactions were first written into journals. In a separate step the amounts in the journal were posted to accounts. At the end of each month, the remaining steps had to take place in order to get the monthly, manually-prepared financial statements. Today, most companies use accounting software that processes many of these steps simultaneously. The speed and accuracy of the software reduces the accountant’s need for a worksheet containing the unadjusted trial balance, adjusting entries, and the adjusted trial balance. The accountant can enter the adjusting entries into the software and can obtain the complete financial statements by simply selecting the reports from a menu. After reviewing the financial statements, the accountant can make additional adjustments and almost immediately obtain the revised reports. The software will also prepare, record, and post the closing entries. (Harold,A.2013,Accounting Coach.)[online]. SOURCE DOCUMENTS Source documents are documents, such as cash slips, invoices, etc. that form the source of (and serve as proof for) a transaction. In other words, they are the first documents that exist relating to a transaction. Invoices, cash slips, receipts, check counterfoils, bank deposit slips ,credit notes ,debit notes ,voucher , purchase orders and even internet payment confirmations are all source documents. For example: Invoices Credit Notes Receipts Voucher Purchase orders BOOK OF PRIME ENTRY Book of prime entry is book used in recording transaction. Books of prime entry are also known as books of original entry or subsidiary books. Types of books of prime entry: Books of prime entry are also known as either ‘journals’ or ‘daybooks’. The term ‘day book’ is, perhaps, more commonly used, as it more clearly indicates the nature of these books of prime entry – entries are made to them every day. The commonly used books of prime entry are: Sale Day Book /Sale Journals –Sale journals is to record credit sales. Purchases Day Book/Purchases Journals –Purchases journals is to record credit purchases. Sales Return Day Book/Return In Journals –Return in journals is to record returns from customers. Purchases Return Day Book/Return Out Journals –Return out journals is to record returns to suppliers. General journal/The journal –The journal is to record other transactions. The cashbook is a combined account of the cash account and the bank account. It is the only one of the six daybooks that is both an account and a daybook at the same time. Apart from the cashbook, all the other double-entry accounts are kept in one of the three ledgers. Example for 3 Column Cash Book LEDGER (T-ACCOUNT) The ledger is a collective term for the accounts of a business. (A ledger of accounts is like a school of fish). The accounts are in the shape of a ‘T’ and thus are often referred to as ‘T-accounts’. In this step we take all the debits and credits (journals) relating to one account – let’s say ‘bank’ – and draw up an account for bank that shows all the transactions relating to it. The different types of ledgers most businesses use are: Sale Ledgers –Sale ledgers is to record customers account balance. Purchases Ledgers –Purchases ledgers is to record suppliers account balance. General Ledgers –General ledgers is to record miscellaneous account. Example: PETTY CASH BOOK The petty cash book is used to record the changes to the petty cash fund – both money put into the fund and money taken out. The fund is commenced with a petty cash advance cheque and topped up with a reimbursement cheque at the end of each petty cash period.The petty cash book is prepared from the petty cash vouchers, as well as the details from the advance and reimbursement cheque butts. The petty cash book is prepared from: –advance (and/or reimbursement) cheque butt/s –completed and authorised petty cash vouchers. The totals can be checked by cross-adding related column totals.The total of the vouchers (Cash Payments column total) added to the balance left in the petty cash fund (Balance column) should always equal the imprest amount. TRIAL BALANCE A sheet displaying all the accounts of a business, drawn up as a trial (test) of whether the total of all the debit balances equal the total of all the credit balances (A balance is the amount of an item at a point in time. For example, The balance in the bank account on the 1st of January was $5,000.). The trial balance is prepared as a final check just before the financial statements are drawn up. The trial balance is our penultimate step in the accounting cycle. Example for Trial Balance: FINAL ACCOUNT Final accounts are all of the financial statement for a business or company at the end of the fiscal or calendar year, on whichever the business calendar the company operates. The statements for the final accounts show the gross profit and net income of the company. A number of accounts are included, such as the profit and loss statement for the business, the balance sheet, and the trading account. The profit and loss statement tracks all of the income that comes into the company, as well as the expenses that the company pays out. The profit and loss statement covers a specific period — typically the fiscal year, but it can also cover the calendar year. It shows how revenue becomes net income, and whether or not the company made money for the year. While the company tracks these figures throughout the year, the final accounts include the statement for the cumulative fiscal or calendar year. The balance sheet is another one of the business financial statements that are prepared as part of the final accounts process when the year closes out. The balance sheet provides a quick look at how the company is doing at that specific moment in time, at the end of the year. In addition to assets and liabilities, a balance sheet also includes information on shareholder equity. Trading accounts cover profits and losses incurred from trading securities. Many companies invest in stocks, bonds, mutual funds and other types of investment funds. The final accounts for the trading account show the amount of gain or loss from these investments at the end of the year that the company runs on. Final accounts and the statements that make up these accounts typically help companies to prepare their various tax returns. If the company accountant prepares the tax statements, then the accountant prepares these statements for his or her own use. If the company hires an outside accountant or accounting firm, then the statements for the final accounts are handed over to the third party, so they have the information they need to prepare the company’s tax returns and any of tax paperwork that is required. (Kristie,L and Wilborn,C.2013,Wise Geek)[online] INCOME STATEMENT A financial statement that measures a company’s financial performance over a specific accounting period. Financial performance is assessed by giving a summary of how the business incurs its revenues and expenses through both operating and non-operating activities. It also shows the net profit or loss incurred over a specific accounting period, typically over a fiscal quarter or year. Also known as the â€Å"profit and loss statement† or â€Å"statement of revenue and expense.† Example for Income Statements: STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION A statement of financial position, also known as a balance sheet, is a financial document that provides an overview of an entity’s finances at a given point in time. These statements are commonly used by companies large and small, but they can also be applied to personal finances, for people who want to generate a document that they can use to review their financial situation for the purpose of making budgeting decisions or financial plans. Many accounting software programs have mechanisms to automatically create one. There are two main areas on a statement of financial position. One covers the assets, everything owned by the person or company, including real estate, cash in hand, contents of bank accounts, and so forth. The other side includes the liabilities, funds owed. A statement usually breaks these sections up into several categories for ease of reference, so that people can quickly look up a topic of particular interest, such as accounts payable or overdue loans. The liabilities also include the ownership equity or the shareholder equity in the business. The assets should equal the liabilities once the ownership or shareholder equity has been factored in, and if they do not, it is a sign that the financial statement is out of balance. This is in accordance with the accounting equation, which states that assets = liabilities + ownership or shareholder equity. Incidentally, this explains the term â€Å"balance sheet,† which reflects the idea that the two sections of the sheet should be equal or balanced. Commonly, a statement of financial position will be generated at the end of every month. Looking up past months can provide information about how a company’s finances are progressing, and these documents can also be compared with statements from the same month in prior years. Using this document, decisions can be made about the next steps to take. If, for example, a company has a lot of assets, it may be a sign that it can comfortably expand because it has the available capital to do so. Companies that are publicly traded must provide public disclosures about their financial health, including statements of financial position. These are provided to shareholders by request and are also commonly published to make them readily accessible to prospective investors. If a company has a website, they might be found on a section of the website that includes documents that the company is required to disclose by law. (Smitch,S. and Wallace,O.2013,Wise Geek)[online] Example for Statement of Financial Position: CONCLUSION Book keeping is important to proper accounting records because proper methods can help businesses effectively manage cash flow, stay abreast of profit and losses, and develop plans for the future based on financial trends. Furthermore to complete the financial account, accounting cycle are used. The accounting cycle included source of document, books of prime entry, ledgers, trial balance and the final accounts. REFERENCE 1. Anon.2013,Book of Prime Entry and Ledgers.[online].Available from World Wide Web: http://principlesofaccounting2.com/topics/books-of-prime-entry-and-ledgers/ [Accessed 05/07/2013] 2. Anon.2013,The Accounting Cycle.[online].Available from World Wide Web: http://www.accounting-basics-for-students.com/accounting-cycle.html [Accessed 05/07/2013] 3. Anon.2013,Income Statement.[online].Available from World Wide Web: http://www.investopedia.com/terms/i/incomestatement.asp [Accessed 05/07/2013] 4. Beanne,O.2013,The Complete Accounting Cycle.[online].Available from World Wide Web: http://youraccountingcoach.blogspot.com/2013/01/the-complete-accounting-cycle.html. [Accessed 25/01/2013]

MBA Entrepreneurship Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

MBA Entrepreneurship - Essay Example The company seeks to provide storage facilities to the residents of the area along with additional packing, and moving services. Also, it seeks to ensure that the possessions of people are well protected and cared for. The market for the service is somewhat competitive in the sense that there are a few large scale competitors who can make it hard to launch and develop the storage facility. However, most of the competitors operate in certain particular areas and so none has a monopoly over the whole of Hong Kong. The market plan therefore, at least in the short run, is to start the storage facility business from a densely populated area (Kwun Tong) where there are a lesser number of competitors and a greater demand. In the long run, the company may concentrate on the spreading of the business to other areas. Over the past few years Hong Kong has progressed in terms of economic growth with an average GDP increase of 5% each year. (HKs Current Economic Situation) Although this has been beneficial for the domestic companies of Hong Kong (our company included) because of the increase in the domestic demand, however it is also true that the economic prosperity of Hong Kong has attracted many foreign investors. The presence of such investors poses a threat in the form of the competition that they generally provide. In order to overcome the consequent harsh operating conditions that have arisen, the company has concentrated on certain objectives. The company has formulated certain objectives keeping in mind certain observations from the past. This includes the clarification of the goals of the business that has to be started as Bergsman (2004) relates. The company is keen to invest in mini storage facilities often referred to as the self storage facilities. Self storage facilities consist of self storage spaces that are

He implications of asymmetric information for the function of markets Essay

He implications of asymmetric information for the function of markets at both the microeconomic and macroeconomic levels - Essay Example The situation where the market produces more or less than the ideal or the optimal amount of a particular good, it is regarded as the market failure in terms of economics There are several factors that results in the market failure like externalities and monopoly power, and asymmetric information.Еhe implications of asymmetric information for the function of markets at both the microeconomic and macroeconomic levels.In an analysis of the competitive market structure it is always assumed that the buyers and the sellers have perfect knowledge about the market. But in reality this does not happens. When the available information about any product is more with someone than the others then the arisen situation is of market failure and the phenomenon is termed as â€Å"asymmetric information†. The information about the product is an important factor and if the quality of the goods could be judged about whether it being excellent or inferior then the price would have adjusted acc ording to the quality differences. Asymmetry and Market failure and the need of the government intervention A. Market failure and the used car market The situation of information asymmetry leading to market failure is best understood by the example of used cars. In a transaction of a used car, a seller would always know more than the buyer. Considering a case of a second hand Chevrolet Malibu which would cost $15,000 in an ‘average’ condition, if the condition of the car is ‘excellent’, that would cost $18,000 and if the condition of the car is ‘poor’, the car will be priced at $12,000.... without any excellent car will be ready to pay not more than $13500 that is the average price of the cars, which are either in average or poor condition. This in turn will prevent the average car owners from offering their car at such a low price. So at the end the market forces will adjust itself to equilibrium for the poor cars at the selling price of $12000. This is an example of market failure where the market for the excellent and average cars does not exist due to the asymmetry of information. This is a situation of quality uncertainties where the high quality goods are driven out by the low quality goods. (Chauhan, n. d, pp. 224-225) This is explained with the help of a diagram: PH SH P E P’ E’ DH DH’ DH† 0 Q’ Q Figure 1 (a) PL p’ e' SL p e DL’ DL 0 q q’ Figure 1(b) Source: Chauhan, n. d, pp. 224-225 In the diagram Figure 1 (a) DH represents the demand for high quality goods, SH, the supply for high quality goods. They int ersect at the point E where the quantity OQ must be demanded and it must be supplied at OP price. Due to the asymmetry of information, the same amount OQ is demanded at a lower price E†. As the buyers are uncertain about the quality of the product they treat the high quality good as the low quality good and hence the demand curve shifts downwards to DH’. At this lower price some of the seller refuses to sell the product which causes the supply to fall from OQ to OQ’. Hence the new equilibrium is at E’, where the DH’ intersects S H. The OQ amount of high quality goods is sold at a price OP’.As there exists quality uncertainty the demand curve is expected to further slide down to DH† which does not intersect with the supply curve SH at all. This shows how the market for high quality goods fails. In the figure 1(b),

Response Journal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Response Journal - Essay Example The explosion also killed 11 people instantly leaving several others seriously injured and in addition to blackening the Gulf coast (Taylor par. 2). It is two years since the disaster occurred and its devastating effects are still being felt. Experts reveal that all oil, approximated at about five million barrels, leaked spreading from the coast of Mexico to Florida. Houston is arguably the place that felt most of impacts of the incident which affected mainly wildlife and the environment, thereby raising ethical issues (Taylor par. 4). The main ethical problems present in this situation were to do with the destruction of the environment and wildlife by humans in the Gulf of Mexico and its environs. For instance, environmentalists reveal that the spill interfered with aquatic life as several marine animals were killed as a result. The other ethical issue that arose is that BP and its subcontractors were only concerned with cost saving without adequately assessing the hazardous risks. This in itself becomes unethical issue since BP concentrated only on cost saving and failing to put measures in place to ensure that their drilling processes were safe. The BP oil spill is also seen as an ethical issue for the reason that the company failed to minimize the impacts of the disaster for all those who were affected. The spill interfered with businesses and coastal beaches that are dependent on fishing and tourism. Furthermore, the oil spill was not only a health concern for residents of Houston but also to coastal businesses that lost millions of dollars due to the disaster. Oil that spilled underwater also affected all the aquatic animals throughout the gulf raising ethical concerns (Taylor par.6). In conclusion, the BP oil spill problem seems to have been caused by negligence on the parts of engineering who were building the deep-water horizon. To solve this problem, BP should always adhere to ethical practice when handling

Comparison between two books Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Comparison between two books - Essay Example This study aims at examining and analyzing the approaches used by two books in explaining criminological issues and the criminal justice system in America. The two books are Criminological Theories and Rebuilding Justice. In the third chapter of Criminological theories, the book discusses biosocial and biological theories of crime. The basis of these theories is the view that it is possible to observe and measure individual differences and that defects in individuals’ genetic and biological make up can predetermine one’s criminal behavior (Ronald and Christine, 2013). Contemporary biological theories have tended to put more focus on differences in genetic and biological factors and how they interact with the external environment. The traditional theories stipulate that crime occurs as a result of biological abnormalities in individuals and the individuals therefore have no choice of their own to avoid criminal acts. Notable proponents of these theories include sociologists such as Cesare Lombroso, Ferrero William, Charles Goring, and Sarnoff Mednick among others. Some of the biosocial and biological theories include the evolutionary theory that states that genetic criminal behavior is p assed down to the next generations through the evolutionary process of natural selection; the biosocial arousal theory states that the level of arousal of an individual works according to the social environment around them (Ronald and Christine, 2013). Individuals with a lower arousal level are less capable of learning fast and moving at pace with the wider society and will thereof resort to criminal activities. Biological theories approach the criminal justice system in a different view. Punishment is viewed as a way of deterring individuals from committing crimes, but it cannot effectively change the individuals’ biological characteristics that predispose them to criminal

Compare and contrast two leaders Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words - 1

Compare and contrast two leaders - Essay Example Hitler was instrumental in German Nationalist movement, who is accused for exterminating Jews, and depicted by historians as devil incarnate. In this context, words of Konrad Heiden hold true. â€Å"For years, Mein Kampf stood as a proof of the blindness and complacency of the world. In its pages Hitler announced –long before he came to power—a program of blood and terror in a self revelation of such overwhelming frankness that few had the courage to believe it†¦That such a man could go so far towards realizing his ambitions—that is a phenomenon the World will ponder for centuries to come† (Konrad 1969). Mohandas Gandhi was born on October 2, 1869, to Karamchand Gandhi, at Porbandar, an obscure town in Gujarat. He had a very good childhood as his father occupied high office of the province. In his childhood Gandhi was very timid, shy, and introvert and not smart and good at studies. He got married at the early age of thirteen, as was the custom of his community, which affected his education a little bit. Somehow he completed his high school education and joined college, but his performance was not satisfactory and subsequently dropped out just after three months. His family adviser suggested that studying law and obtaining barrister title from England was rather easy and he was sent to England. After completing his law study in England he returned to India. He was not a successful lawyer in India, and hence his brother arranged to send him to South Africa in pursuit of his career as a lawyer. Adolph Hitler was born to Alois Hitler on 20th April, 1889 in Braunau-am-Inn, Austria near German border. His father was a senior custom official who retired from civil service when he was only six. Adolph was very intelligent and ambitious to be a painter. As his father was in civil service, he was educated in the best school of that time. His father wanted him to follow his career and reach great heights in civil

The French Revolution Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The French Revolution - Research Paper Example deas included unfair taxation, the gap that existed between the poor and the rich social groups and the American Revolution and finally independence declaration of America (Noonan, 1999). The people in the third estate social group had very little rights whether socially or politically. However, some of the educated persons such as doctors and lawyers, belonging to third estate social class were in a position to read all the upcoming new ideas made by the government from some philosophers such as John Lacke, Rousseau, and Montesquieu. These philosophers talked about a democratic government possessing freedoms and natural rights. Eventually, the people belonging to the third estate social group began questioning the France government using the standards stated by the philosophers and began to demand for equality and democracy in the country (Noonan, 1999). Unfair taxation was an economic cause of the revolution. Third estate comprised of doctors, lawyers, merchants, and peasants who faced heavy taxation in many things while the richest estates paid little or no taxes. This was unfair treatment considering that people from the richest estates had a lot of money, large plots of land and positions in the government and good interaction with the government. This unfair treatment of the third estate people angered them and made a prompt of the revolution. The social cause of the revolution was the large gap that existed between the rich people and the poor people. There were few members belonging to the first and second estates while third estate made up of the biggest population. However, the rich owned biggest portions of land while the poor had little portions of land yet they made the biggest population in the country. Prove of the gap between the rich and the poor, was unequal taxation for the rich and the poor. Politically, third est ate people did not have privileges and right to contribute in the then government yet the nobles and clergies had the right. The

Impressionism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Impressionism - Essay Example It started as a movement in painting in France in the late 1860s and various artists such as Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro, Auguste Renoir, and Alfred Sisley are associated with the founding of this movement. The main features of impressionism as an art movement includes its emphasis on naturalistic landscape, subjective aspect of art, the topics of modern urban life and other commonplace subject matters, portrayal of light in its varying qualities, etc. Most essentially, this movement influenced and inspired trends in other areas such as sculpture, music, and literature. Specifically, impressionism influenced literature in various ways and helped in the growth of literature considerably. As Marlies Kronegger (1973) maintains, impressionism in literature built up its own style and techniques, although painting dominated all the other art forms during the period 1875-85. From the time it originated, it has been one of the prevailing literary styles existent in world literature today and the impressionist creations in various countries are derived from the same basic idea. (Kronegger, 33) Therefore, it is important to maintain that impressionism is one of the key literary terms today as it refers to the literary styles and techniques based on the general framework of impressionism as an art movement. This paper makes a comprehensive exploration of the term impressionism in order to define and explicate impressionism as an extremely valuable rhetorical tool in literature today.

Network operating systems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Network operating systems - Essay Example Novell was licensing Novell Directory Services to all comers, the idea being to seed the market and make NDS a de facto standard that will increase demand for Novell's directory-enabled applications. While these licensing deals didn't expected to produce much revenue at this point, that might change down the road if third parties start including NDS in products instead of building their own directories. As Robert Harbison says, "That's where Microsoft is really great. Microsoft shipped NT 4.0 with a sampler CD full of third-party applications from its ISVs. Novell has to do a lot more to help promote NDS applications." Distinguishing feature of Novell's approach to network operating systems is understanding of importance of middleware technologies, for example NDS' unparalleled cross-platform support is particularly appealing to Tivoli. "Microsoft has traditionally misunderstood the importance of certain middleware technologies and how important it is for them to be cross-platform in nature," says Tom Bishop. "Active Directory is fine for pure NT shops, but Novell's NDS strategy has some real appeal in the more heterogeneous environments that we target." It is mentioned by Breidenbach that NDS is now available on Hewlett-Packard's HP-UX, IBM's AIX, Caldera's Linux and The Santa Cruz Operation's Unix, Sun Solaris and IBM's S/390. NT is already supported by NDS, but only in environments with at least one NetWare server. A version of NDS that runs directly on NT without NetWare was due out in summer of 1999; it would enable users to build pure NT networks but still employ NDS. This approach of Novell differs a lot from Microsoft's Active Directory Technology that is available only for Windows platform. As a result, Novell's NDS can be implemented on various operating systems but do not help to promote Novell's operating system Novell Netware, while software products of Microsoft run only in Microsoft Windows environment. Another distinguishing feature of Novell's approach to network operating systems is collaboration with switch vendors. As Breidenbach writes, part of Novell's strategy for boosting NDS' role in enterprise nets is getting switch vendors on board. The company has been scoring big with the likes of Lucent, Nortel Networks and Cisco announcing varying degrees of support for NDS. At the same time Microsoft do not work with switch vendors so close. 2 Given all this good technical stuff, why is Novell close to bankruptcy and Microsoft Networks are taking over the planet I think that the main reason of Novell's difficult financial situation is thoughtless marketing strategy. It was a mistake trying to enter desktop operating systems market. Failure in this attempt had caused loss of trust of many potential customers. Breidenbach writes about this in the article. "Novell was on top and got dethroned," says high-tech marketing guru Geoffrey Moore. "When that happens, the market is extremely reluctant to reenfranchise such a company, even if it has the best product." "And the number of ISVs is meaningless," Moore adds. "The issue is what the power players are doing. Cisco and Microsoft have the strongest positions, so a solution that doesn't have their endorsement isn't likely to get very

Gregorian Calender Essay Example for Free

Gregorian Calender Essay In everyday life, individuals function with a calendar. Calendars help organize daily events, special events, upcoming events, holidays, seasons, etc. Today in the United States the modern and common calendar that is used is known as the â€Å"Gregorian Calendar†. Previous to the Gregorian calendar, the â€Å"Julian Calendar† was used. Both calendars are similar in some ways as well as different in others, along with sharing some advantage and disadvantages to make one calendar more useful in today’s modern world. Gregorian Calendar The â€Å"Gregorian Calendar† is currently the most internationally accepted calendar, (TimeandDate, 2013). Other known names for the calendar can be known as â€Å"Western Calendar† and â€Å"Christian Calendar†. Pope Gregory XIII first introduced his findings of this new calendar in February of 1582, which the calendar was then named after him. The days of the calendar were put together strictly from a solar plan. The calendar has 365 days in the year that make up the 12 different months. Each of the 12 months is irregular in the number of days that each contain. Seven of the months hold 31 days, five of the other months have 30 days, and the month of February has the least amount of days being 28. Although the month of February composes of 28 days, every 4 years â€Å"Leap Year† occurs adding an extra day to the year making February have 29 days in the month. Every three months of the calendar the seasons change of the 20th day of the month. This calendar is the most constant and stable calendar at the moment. Julian Calendar Before the â€Å"Gregorian Calendar† was the â€Å"Julian Calendar† which also replaced the â€Å"Roman Calendar†. One of the reasons it has been known that the â€Å"Roman Calendar† was replaced was due to how complicated it was. Previous to the â€Å"Julian Calendar† the â€Å"Roman Calendar† was known to be complicated with how to figure when the seasons should begin and what days should be kept or added. To help fix the problem, Julius Caesar worked with an astronomer by the name of Sosigenes to put together a calendar based more on the Sun and Earth. This calendar became known as the â€Å"Julian Calendar† which is rather similar to the calendar that is accepted and used today. It has the commonly used 365 days of the year that are also divided into the 12 different months. Every four years, leap year occurred in one of the months just like it does in today’s calendar. Advantages and Disadvantages Between both calendars there are some advantages and disadvantages to how the calendars work. A disadvantage that others feel from the calendar is the days’ holidays may land on. Some holidays such as Christmas or Thanksgiving cannot be changed which can lead to them landing in the middle of the work week. Holidays falling on days like this can prevent individuals from making plans to be around loved ones due to work or school schedules. Another disadvantage is the irregular days of the month. Not every month has the same number of days and sometimes it can interfere with a budget or the cost of life. However, an advantage is the way the calendar is setup. Seasons are always every three months no matter what and the holidays never change. This type of stuff is always guaranteed and cannot be changed. Most Useful in Modern Society Both calendars are really close in similarity. In a way both calendars actually could be used in modern day society since individuals are so familiar with how both calendars work. However, since people are just more familiar with the term â€Å"Gregorian Calendar† and since this calendar is currently more up to date, the â€Å"Gregorian Calendar† would most likely be more useful in todays’ culture. Although there are many other types of calendars used in the world that can be compared to the â€Å"Gregorian Calendar†, this calendar has been found to be the most â€Å"internationally accepted civil calendar† of today, (TimeandDate, 2013).

The Morgan Report 1991: Crime prevention strategies

The Morgan Report 1991: Crime prevention strategies The Morgan report of 1991 identified the local authority as being central to the delivery of crime prevention strategy. How successful have local authorities in fact proved to be in implementing this strategy? There can be little doubt that crime and crime prevention strategies are two of the most socio-political important issues facing Britain in the contemporary era. The crime prevention strategies that were in place for the vast majority of the twentieth century were established to deal with nineteenth century social and political problems pertaining to urban expansion – itself a direct cause of industrialisation and the expansion of technology in the Victorian era (Elmsley, 2003:66-84). Yet the social and political problems facing late twentieth century and early twenty first century pose new logistical problems that old and outmoded crime prevention strategies have proved unable to solve. Globalisation, migration and the triumph of liberal political ideology have all conspired to radically alter the concept not only of policing but also of human rights. This, in turn, has had a major effect upon the implementation of crime prevention strategies – most notably with regard s to the de-centralisation of policing. It is the aim of the following essay to analyse the consequences of this shift from central to local control with regards to the delivery of crime prevention strategies in modern Britain. Before we can commence our analysis, though, we need to look at the specific policy context in order to establish a conceptual framework for the remainder of the discussion. Although the de-centralisation of policing was officially enshrined in the Crime and Disorder Act of 1998, the impetus behind this reform was located in the Morgan Report of 1991, which was set up by the Home Office to look at the delivery of local crime prevention strategies. The subsequent report made two recommendations that have since formed the backbone of the central government’s anti-crime and disorder approach. Firstly, the report recommended the implementation of â€Å"the two concepts of community safety and (increasingly) crime and disorder reduction to signify a comprehensive and targeted local approach to crime control† (Hughes and Edwards, 2005:19). Secondly, the report recommended that the state establish a clear statutory responsibility for local authorities – constituting the genesis of the multi-agency, ‘partnership’ approach to crime prevention. This, then, is the birth of the de-centralisation of policing and crime prevention with local authorities being charged with taking a more ‘hands-on’ role with regards to policing in the context of less high-risk crime such as youth crime and social disorder with the state remaining responsible for the policing of more high-risk crimes such as the contemporary ‘war’ against terrorism. As Anthony Giddens (the chief social policy advisor to the Blair government after New Labour first came to power in 1997) duly notes, â€Å"professional policing involves mainly concentrating on serious issues† (Giddens, 1998:88). Thus, although the kind of policing envisaged for local authorities remained very professional in focus after 1998, we should also be aware that the local authority was expected to deal with the less serious issues facing contemporary crime. As such while we should interpret local authorities as indeed being central to crime prevention we shoul d take care to understand the nature of the crimes that these authorities were expected to assist preventing. It should also be noted that this development did not constitute a United States style federal or quasi-federal approach to crime prevention in modern day Britain. Rather, the Home Office and the Home Secretary remain the key centres of arbitrary legal and political power with regards to the implementation of crime prevention strategies in the UK and decisions taken by these centralised bodies remain the definitive ruling in all criminal proceedings. This is an important point to remember when attempting to deduce the ultimate success or failure of local authorities in reducing crime and social disorder. As is the case with education and health care, the New Labour government can be seen to have presided over a situation best characterised as ‘policy overkill’ – creating conflicting spheres of interest and influence with regards to social policy without necessarily offering anything substantial or ‘new’ (Fulbrook, 2001:243-259). It is essential, therefore, to understand that the increased relevance that has been attached to statutory local authorities is part of the government’s broader strategy of initiating multi-agency partnerships between public sector services (such as local authorities), private enterprises and public initiatives (such as community watch or neighbourhood management). In theory, these multi-agency partnerships should involve a free exchange of ideas between each of the public, private and voluntary sectors, mirroring the democratic environment in which they have all been conceived. In this way, it is hoped crime can be tackled by utilising the logistical resources of the state, the financial resources of business and the knowledge-based resources of local communities. However, as Gordon Hughes (1998:76) observes, the reality has tended to be less a reflection of democratic ideals and more a manifestation of corporate ethos with the concept of both ‘multi-agency’ and the ‘community’ lost within the broader parameters of the de-centralisation of policing and anti-crime powers. â€Å"This slippage between the terms ‘multi-agency’ and ‘community’ is somewhat problematic. It glosses over the key feature of multi-agency crime prevention which is that it is chiefly a ‘top-down’, neo-corporatist strategy from both central and local state regimes. In this strategy situational crime prevention techniques predominate and there is minimal ‘bottom-up’ communal participation and minimal popular democratic ownership.† This is an important point to remember and one that has a direct impact upon the limitations of local authorities with regards to effectively delivering crime prevention measures. Because of the two-tier structure of the multi-agency partnerships – whereby the capital of private enterprise and the political capital of the public sector are elevated over and above the ‘grass roots’ advice of community leaders and neighbourhood managers – local authorities are frequently unable to formulate local policies that are devised to combat crime within any one specific local authority. Dialogue between the agencies is in many cases limited. This clearly impacts upon the ability of local authorities with regards to fighting crime as the impetus behind crime prevention strategies remains rooted in the top tier of decision and policy making, located at central government and think-tank level. Moreover, where there is dialogue between the often competing agencies involve d within the multi-agency framework, the language is shrouded in protocol characterised by excessive paperwork, red tape and bureaucracy. The Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships (CDRP) initiative, for instance, dedicates little attention to implementing crime prevention strategies, preferring to donate more time to analysing and developing ‘strategic assessments’ to use as theoretical ‘toolkits’ in the fight against crime and social disorder (Home Office, 2007). We should consequently note the way in which the existence of the partnership strategies themselves, coupled with the policy overkill of the New Labour government, has directly contributed to excessive red tape and bureaucracy at the exact moment when greater initiative needs to be taken at a grass roots level. Until this underlying chasm between theory and practice has been bridged, we ought to expect local authorities to continue to deliver crime prevention strategies that are wholly out of synch with the social realities of policing everyday life in a diverse, multicultural society (Clements, 2008). None of this, we should note, is to conclusively state that the decentralisation of crime prevention strategies has been a failure throughout Britain. Rather, the point being highlighted above has been that the partnership scheme comes with inherent structural weaknesses that cannot help but hinder the broader initiative of tackling crime. However, measuring in real terms the ultimate success or failure of local authorities’ drives to reduce crime is also an inherently difficult task. Not only are facts and figures manipulated by both the local authorities themselves, the mass media’s intense interest in crime and social disorder as a mainstream journalistic story means that facts and figures are similarly manipulated by the media in order to sensationalise a story (Jewkes, 2004). The mass media’s over-riding commercial desire to ‘sell’ a story completely negates any sense of unbiased, impartial journalistic integrity. Thus, much in the same way as t he neo-corporatist undercurrent pervades through the two-tier structure of multi-agency partnerships in the community so the same corporatist, capitalist dimension affects the measurement of success or failure with regards to crime prevention strategies. We must also take note of the way in which statistics can trick the spectator outside of the ideological parameters of political engineering and outside of the sphere of influence of the global mass media. For instance, the statistics for ‘all crime’ committed in England and Wales appears to show a clear reduction in the number of crimes being committed per one thousand persons with the figure falling from 26.4 per one thousand people between April and June 2005 to 24.9 per one thousand people between January and March 2006 (Home Office Website; first accessed 10.06.08). These crimes, though, cover the entire spectrum of criminality with many of these crimes falling within the jurisdiction of the Home Office and the Home Secretary. Specific target groups such as young offenders, on the other hand, have witnessed vast increases in the numbers of crimes being committed since the Morgan Report and the implementation of the Crime and Disorder Act. The UK charity TheSite.org (first accessed 11.06.08) notes how the number of fifteen to seventeen year olds currently being held in custody has doubled in the last ten years. All of these figures are easy to manipulate and rather than offering conclusive evidence as to the success or failure of the multi-agency initiative, these figures only serve to further cloud the reality of devolution of crime prevention strategies in contemporary Britain. Conclusion The recommendations contained with the Morgan Report, in addition to the Crime and Disorder Act in which these recommendations were encapsulated, were correct in citing the need to expand the concept of crime prevention to incorporate local authorities. Furthermore, because of the nature of power in a social democracy in the contemporary era, this shift from voluntary to statutory status, incorporating a multi-agency approach, was also a necessary move (Phillips, 2001:163-181). However, as we have seen, this multi-agency approach has predominantly conspired to further cloud what were already murky issues with regards to responsibility, accountability and the implementation of the broader anti-crime strategy. Not only has bureaucratic procedure hampered the process of cooperation and conciliation between the private, pubic and voluntary sectors that make up these multi-agencies, there has also been a lack of foresight with regards to the arbitration of political and judicial power. For instance, where the local authorities are expected to initiate measures to tackle such measures as anti-social behaviour, it is the centralised state that continues to set the quotas with regards to immigration figures, housing as well as setting the budget which decides the amount of policemen that are able to patrol the streets. The recent strike over police pay highlights the extent to which local authorities’ hands are tied when it comes to tackling crime at a regio nal level. Furthermore, the lack of communication recently exposed with regards to the police and hospitals over the release of the number of victims being admitted with stab wounds further underscores the ground that needs to be made up before we can say that the local authorities are truly in charge of tackling crime in contemporary, decentralised Britain. Consequently, we need to acknowledge first and foremost the structural weaknesses inherent in the multi-agency approach to crime prevention. Furthermore, we need to acknowledge the rapidly changing nature not only of crime but also of society in the twenty first century and the impact that this is bound to continue to have upon contemporary policing methods. It is, in the final analysis, much too soon to attempt proclaim the ultimate success or failure of a project that should still be understood as being in its embryonic stage. References All Crime Statistics for England and Wales, April 2005 to March 2006, in, Home Office Website; http://www.crimestatistics.org.uk/tool/ Clements, P. (2008) Policing a Diverse Society: Second Edition Oxford: Oxford University Press Developing a Strategic Assessment: An Effective Practice Toolkit for Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships and Community Safety Partnerships (2007) London: The Home Office Elmsley, C. (2003) The Birth and Development of the Police, in, Newburn, T. (Ed.) A Handbook of Policing Uffculme: Willan Publishing Fulbrook, J. (2001) New Labour’s Welfare Reforms: Anything New? , in, The Modern Law Review, Volume 64, Number 2, 243-259 Giddens, A. (1998) The Third Way: The Renewal of Social Democracy Cambridge: Polity Press Hughes, G. (1998) Understanding Crime Prevention: Social Control, Risk and Late Modernity Maidenhead: The Open University Press Hughes, G. and Edwards, A. (2005) Crime Prevention in Context, in, Tilly, N. (Ed.) A Handbook of Crime Prevention and Community Safety Uffculme: Willan Publishing Jewkes, Y. (2004) Media and Crime: A Critical Introduction London and New York: Sage Phillips, C. (2001) From Voluntary to Statutory Status: Reflecting on the Experience of Three Partnerships Established under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, in, Hughes, G., McLaughlin, E. and Muncie, J. (Eds.) Crime Prevention and Community Safety: New Directions London and New York: Sage Young Offenders, in, The Site.Org Website; http://www.thesite.org/homelawandmoney/law/introuble/youngoffenders