Assess To What Extent Large Chain Stores Are Positive For National Research Paper

Assess To What Extent Large Chain Stores Are Positive For National Growth - Research Paper Example The growth of chain stores is of considerable importance when it comes to the growth and size of an economy. There are changes which have emerged due to growth of these stores. This has led to the globalization of the markets and the economic integration due to the introduction of custom unions, free trade areas, political economic unions and social changes which result from the common monetary and fiscal policies (Greenfield, 2011). There are different types of chain stores. These include the consumables and the non consumables stores which are used to stock different types of commodities. These stores are of considerable importance to the nation. Greenfield (2011) asserts that to begin with they have led to the improvement of health sector in the economy. It has been due to this that we have changed the nature of conduct within the place of work. This has led to changes in the political behaviors of dictatorship in the government. This has been due to the misconduct by the wealthy merchants taking their business without considering the health of the workers and their care towards the society members. Secondly these stores have led to environmental conservation. This is due to the organized storage of stock thus avoiding pollution in both air and water. This has led to the conservation of the environment and health for the citizens. In addition, they have led to proper and well organized distribution of goods and services. This is due to the mass production by large companies in the world. Most of these companies are anticipating high returns, and they thus effectively and efficiently struggle to make high profits due to the increase in consumption behavior of the consumers (Howard, 2011). Distribution is a key factor to consider in the modern business. This has been due to the increased competitive nature of suppliers and distributors. Lebhar (4) asserts that consequently, advertising of products is also another factor to adopt due to the rising modern market ing strategies in the field of business. Chain store is managed by observing the degree in which to employ the salesmanship. Salesmanship is employing the convincing power in marketing of the product. However, the business has enhanced the availability of commodities to the customers. This has made it so easy for individuals to acquire goods because of the single roofing whereby one can select the desired product out of the multiple products in the store. The collaboration among many business enterprises has led to capital adequacy in investing especially to the green field investors. Capital is a significant factor to consider in doing a business since it enables an entrepreneur to acquire the factors of production which include land and labor. These are the main resources in production (Lebhar 8). The resources are endowed differently in different countries in the world, and thus chain stores are enjoying together the absolute advantage in production and avoid the comparative disa dvantage caused by factor distortion. This has led to franchise in the international market. In addition, the size of the economy must grow, and there is a significant impact on social living which results from varied opportunities in employment. This leads to eradication of poverty and place individuals in a better position to acquire goods and services (Lebhar 10). They thus

International Banking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 2

International Banking - Essay Example Studying the prospects and challenges for Islamic banking could reveal useful lessons for a reorientation of Western conventional banking. A key feature of the conventional banking system as practiced today is that it is based on interest. This is an amount of money that is paid on deposits at banks and levied on the loans they provide. This system is designed to benefit money lenders whereas borrowers are made to bear the risks entirely. Consequently, this system facilitates exploitation and many borrowers become burdened by rising values of their debts. Occasionally the problems become so extensive that financial crises occur. The Islamic financial system is characterized by the strict prohibition of riba, which is the charging, paying and receiving of interest on money loaned. The Quranic injunction is in chapter 2, verse 275, which states, â€Å"Allah has allowed the sale and has prohibited interest†. The prohibition extends to both the lending and taking of money involving interest or partaking in any other way in an interest based transaction. The justification is that the charging of interest results in an imbalance and it therefore promotes exploitation whereas the Islamic system is designed to ensure balance, fairness and justice (‘adl) in all financial dealings. Actually, Islamic finance is not unique in its prohibition of interest but it has perhaps developed the most sophisticated system to help implement interest-free banking. As Lewis (2007) noted, usury was prohibited in all the major religions but people then made it acceptable. For example, it is also prohibited in Exodus (22:2 5). In addition, the shariah (Islamic law) advises to avoid gharar (uncertainty), qimar (speculation) and greed. In short, shariah compliant financial products and services do not involve any interest and speculation and uncertainty is minimised as far as possible. Instead, the Islamic system of finance is based on the principle of shirakah, which

Development of Diabetes Register

Development of Diabetes Register The national DEMS aims to support diabetic health professionals in providing real-time information when and where it is required. Electronic medical records (EMRs) are an important means of enhancing patient wellbeing through inaccuracy reduction and to enhance clinical care quality (Lester, Zai et al. 2008). EMRs have previously been effective in refining diabetes management and enhancing organizing of care among multi disciplinary teams (Lester, Zai et al. 2008). Accomplishing interoperability between EHRs and registries will be progressively more vital as the utilisation of registries and EHRs develops considerably (Gliklich and Dreyner 2010). The typical viewpoint regarding establishing a diabetes register is by assembling electronic patient files held by GPs medical centre’s of diabetic patients (Morris, Boyle et al. 1997). Another alternative is to gather patient records electronically from multi sources to a central source in order to achieve a more comprehensive register (Morris, Boyle et al. 1997). When setting up a diabetes register it should be carried out according to NICE guidelines which include: â€Å"Patients demographics adjustable risk factors medicine prescribed Attendance at practice or diabetes outpatient clinic† (OKelly, Foy et al. 2008). The set of accessible data sources is the most important factor in determining the capabilities of disease surveillance system. The purposed Irish diabetes register will utilise information from PCRS and NCSS data sources. PCRS contains information regarding prescribed drugs and medicines typically taken by diabetics such as statins (cholesterol lowering medications) this information is gotten from the General Medical Services Scheme. T2D patients can be identified by their need to use oral diabetes prescriptions such as oral anti-hyperglcaemic which can be taken on their own or with insulin (OShea, Teeling et al. 2013). The scheme affords entitled persons access to free health care as well as prescription medication (OShea, Teeling et al. 2013). The PCRS gathers the information on â€Å"dispensed prescribed medication† a monthly basis from the scheme, these medications† are coded using the WHO Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) classification system† (OShea, Te eling et al. 2013). As well as checking these data sources, hospital diabetic clinics might contain patients not already on the national register. â€Å"Patients with medication treating T2D can be identified using the prescription of oral anti-hyperglycaemic agents alone or in combination with insulin as a proxy for disease diagnosis†. Diabetes register aids the identification and tracking of clinical outcome (Lester, Zai et al. 2008). The registry can be kept up-to-date in an automatic manner when run against laboratory results and GP practice EMR (Lester, Zai et al. 2008). The registry needs to up-to-date and not to contain stagnat data. Initially is it perceived that there will be two data sources: NCCS and PCRS. Hospital diabetes clinics – extracted to register Regarding the laboratory system, patient whose records contained information regarding glycated haemogloblin, plasma glucose, urinary microalbumin and serum creatinine were considered to be diabetes as well as oral glucose tolerance test confirming the diagnosis of diabetes or outpatient plasma glucose concentration of greater than 11.1 mmol/l (Morris, Boyle et al. 1997). All laboratory results applicable to diabetes care are available electronically; patients could be identified and included in the register. Registries typically gather information from various data sources, this is typically done by collecting information from various sources and linking the information across data sources, either with identifiers intended for linking or by recorded attributes of the patients to whom the information match up to (Gliklich and NA 2010). Most general method for record linkage typically depends on the presence of unique identifiers (Gliklich and Dreyner 2010). Once verified that the information is correct, it will be necessary to verify that the data can be uploaded correctly onto the Diabetes register. Look at hipe extract as an example Gathering of data from an assortment of data sources capitalizes on the available data on each diabetic patient and ensures comprehensiveness. The National Cancer Screening programme/ schemes provide data on . Data includes demographics, history of, treatment. This data is stored electronically on NCCS database whish a password protected designed database. The hospital system has a record of patients registered Duplicate patients records are avoided by the use of an report based on similar surnames, forenames and hospital numbers. Data of birth comparison. As data is collected from a number of sources it necessary to remove duplicate records. â€Å"Currently there is no unique number assigned to individuals accessing health and social care in Ireland which would enable the accurate identification of individuals†. â€Å"Therefore cases are cross-matched from the different data sources. A range of variables, including names, gender, county of residence, data of birth are used to match the data†. [dissertation Benefits realization information technology in a national surveillance system, Patient demographics download All systems to remain in sync. A patient enters a hospital is registered on the PIMS and that information is then sent to laboratory system. Healthlink server , the vendor provides the code handles how the file gets sent from nimis software suite The laboratory system requires an interface to PAS system to enable demographics and clinical information for common patients to be shared between the two systems. HL7 interface facilitates the transfer of demographic information between the PAS and laboratory systems. Information from PAS is extracted and formatted using iSoft Integration Engine. The laboratory system will communicate with the Integration Engine using HL7 messaging over TCP/IP sockets Patient information is entered or modified in PAS. The resultant transaction is recorded in PAS audit service. The audit service is continually monitored by iSoft Integration Engine which is configured to look for relevant transactions. For each transaction, the associated information is extracted from PAS and formed into the appropriate HL7 message for immediate onward transmission to laboratory system. The laboratory interface continually listens for HL7 messages from PAS. When a message is received it is analysed to check its purpose and check that the information is correct. If the patient number referenced in the message is unknown to laboratory system then the patient will be registered otherwise the patient details will be updated based on the contents of the message. Systolic blood pressure Diastolic blood pressure HbA1c Creatinine Microalbumin Patients attending Hospital diabetes clinics, Graphically representation on the main screen. Health care professionals perceive that there is not enough time in the day to carry out their workload. There needs to be effort made to ensure quick data review and efficient action (Lester, Zai et al. 2008). A graph will be generated to display on screen to demonstrate changes in weight and blood pressure to emphasize the importance of the data. The report function enables automatic printout of letters to GPs, episode details and annual review for filing in the patients case notes, referral letters to other specialities. Auditing All transactions within the system will be audited. This means that transactions will be recorded with a snapshot of the data and the user performing the action. The system needs an audit function to facilitate audit. Validation Data entry validation are used to minimize the risk of errors; duplication entries. Performance The system will be utilised on the National Health Network which will facilitate reliable and robust network on which the system to work on.

Achilles As Hero Essay -- essays research papers

Achilles As Hero Despite the grand scope of Homer’s epics--which present warfare, heroism, adventure and divinity as forces that shape human destiny—The Iliad may be seen as an account of the circumstances that irrevocably alter the life of one man: Achilles, greatest of warriors. Through the course of the poem, Achilles goes through many ordeals, which changes his character immensely.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One example of such a character change is when he is quarreling with Agamemnon. Achilles and Agamemnon have an extreme amount of tension building between the both of them. Apollo has been wiping out the Achaean army for nine days (years) because of a priest’s daughter who has been kidnapped. Through some questioning, it is derived that the only way Apollo will stop killing the Achaean army is if Ag...

Literature Review Regarding Smoking Health And Social Care Essay

Harmonizing to Mackay and Eriksen ( 2002 ) , planetary ingestion of coffin nails has been lifting steadily since manufactured coffin nails were introduced at the beginning of the twentieth century. While ingestion is levelling off and even diminishing in some states, worldwide more people are smoking, and tobacco users are smoking more coffin nails. The Numberss of tobacco users will increase chiefly due to enlargement of the universe ‘s population. By 2030 there will be at least another 2 billion people in the universe. Even if prevalence rates fall, the absolute figure of tobacco users will increase. The expected go oning lessening in male smoke prevalence will be offset by the addition in female smoke rates, particularly in developing states. Harmonizing to Goddard ( 2008 ) , the prevalence of coffin nail smoke in Great Britain fell well in the 1970s and the early 1980s, from 45 % in 1974 to 35 % in 1982. The rate of diminution so slowed, with prevalence falling by merely about one per centum point every two old ages until 1994, after which it levelled out at approximately 27 % before restarting a slow diminution in the 2000s. The overall diminution in smoking prevalence since the mid 1970s has been due to a autumn in the proportions of both light tobacco users ( defined as fewer than 20 coffin nails per twenty-four hours ) and heavy tobacco users ( 20 coffin nails or more per twenty-four hours ) . The proportion of all grownups smoking on mean 20 or more coffin nails a twenty-four hours has fallen among work forces from 26 % in 1974 to 8 % in 2006 and from 13 % to 5 % of adult females over the same period. Meanwhile, smoking tendencies in Mexico shows a decrease during the last decennary of the twentieth century in smoke exposure, day-to-day smoking prevalence and smoke strength. This decrease has either been more intense or occurred entirely in work forces, depending on the analyzed index. Additionally, the most important decrease both in the prevalence of day-to-day active tobacco users and in smoking strength occurred in older age groups in both genders. Womans, for their portion, during the latter portion of the analyzed period present a reversal in the downward tendency in these smoke indexs, and in 2002, day-to-day female tobacco users smoked a greater sum of coffin nails than work forces. Nevertheless, work forces still present a worse smoke state of affairs than adult females in footings of both prevalence of day-to-day tobacco users and per centum of day-to-day tobacco users ( Franco-Marina, 2007 ) . Harmonizing to Shafey ( 2003 ) , the wellness load from smoking is non merely increasing, but it is besides switching to low-income and middle-income states ; whereas the prevalence of smoking continues to worsen in many Western markets, many Asiatic markets continue to turn ( as cited in Parkinson et al. , 2009 ) . This is true particularly when the ingestion of baccy has reached the proportions of a planetary epidemic. Tobacco companies are zigzaging out coffin nails at the rate of five and a half trillion a twelvemonth – about 1,000 coffin nails for every adult male, adult female, and kid on the planet. Asia, Australia and the Far East are by far the largest consumers ( 2,715 billion coffin nails ) , followed by the Americas ( 745 billion ) , Eastern Europe and Former Soviet Economies ( 631 billion ) and Western Europe ( 606 billion ) ( Mackay and Eriksen, 2002 ) . Harmonizing to National Health Morbidity Survey ( 1986 and 1996 ) , the happening of smoking between Malaysian grownups has enlarged from 39 % to 49 % ( as cited in Shahidan et al. , 2002 ) . National Health and Morbidity Survey ( 1996 ) besides states the prevalence of baccy usage is about 24.8 % : 49.2 % of work forces smoke, compared with merely 3.5 % of adult females ( as cited in Parkinson et al. , 2009 ) . Meanwhile harmonizing to statistic in PROSTAR ( 2007 ) , Malaysia had 3.6 million tobacco users in 2000 and this figure is expected to increase to 4.6 million by 2025 ( as cited in Kim et al. , 2009 ) . Although there are no precise national estimations of young person smoke in Malaysia, findings from several studies suggest youth smoke may be on the rise ( Parkinson et al. , 2009 ) . However, harmonizing to Thambypillai ( 1985 ) ; Shamsuddin & A ; Haris ( 2000 ) ; Naing et Al. ( 2004 ) and Ahmad et Al. ( 1997 ) , the tendencies in smoking among striplings have non changed mu ch. Studies conducted in assorted vicinities showed that the prevalence of smoke among male young persons were between 17-36 % and 1-5 % among females in the same group ( as cited in Lim et al. , 2006 ) . Surprisingly, about one billion work forces in the universe smoke – approximately 35 % of work forces in developed states and 50 % of work forces in developing states. Tendencies in both developed and developing states show that male smoke rates have now peaked and, easy but certainly, are worsening. However, this is an highly slow tendency over decennaries, and in the interim work forces are deceasing in their 1000000s from baccy. In general, the educated adult male is giving up the wont foremost, so that smoke is going a wont of poorer, less educated males ( Mackay and Eriksen, 2002 ) .2.1 Reasons for SmokingHarmonizing to Baker et Al. ( 2002 ) , most tobacco users offer similar grounds for their smoke. Typically, they report that smoke is an habit-forming wont that they enjoy and that relieves stress. Most tobacco users besides see it as loosen uping and utilize it as a header mechanism. The power of nicotine to both provide good feelings and extenuate bad feelings is richl y demonstrated. This is consistent with the research done by KaAYikci et Al. ( 2008 ) whereby people smoke to loosen up or alleviate their emphasis and to hold pleasance. Furthermore, British American Tobacco Malaysia ( 2010 ) states that the pharmacological consequence of nicotine – a mild stimulating consequence non unlike that of caffeine, and a mild loosen uping consequence – is an of import portion of the smoke experience. Baker et Al. ( 2002 ) besides stated that light tobacco users tend to smoke more for societal grounds while heavy tobacco users are more likely to describe that they smoke because of the habit-forming nature of baccy. Meanwhile harmonizing to Jarvis ( 2004 ) , experimenting with smoking normally occurs in the early teenage old ages and is driven preponderantly by psychosocial motivations. For people who merely started smoke, a coffin nail is a symbolic manner of stating that they are no longer their female parent ‘s kid and a manner of demoing that they are mature. Childs who are attracted to this adolescent averment of sensed maturity or defiance tend to come from backgrounds that favour smoke ( for illustration, with high degrees of smoke in parents, siblings, and equals ; comparatively deprived vicinities ; schools where smoke is common ) . They besides tend non to be wining harmonizing to their ain or society ‘s footings ( for illustration, they have low ego regard, have impaired psychological well-being, are fleshy, or are hapless winners at school ) . Harmonizing to Parkinson et Al. ( 2009 ) , males were more likely than females to believe that smoking makes immature work forces and immature adult females look more attractive and that smoke is a mark of being modern. However, males and females were merely every bit likely to believe that smoking helps command organic structure weight. This finding contradicts with Western surveies by Cavallo ( 2006 ) , which typically report that female young person worry more about their weight and are more likely to describe smoking to command their weight than are males ( as cited in Parkinson et al. , 2009 ) .2.2 Review of Related StudiesThe smoke rate for university pupils is lifting bit by bit in Turkey every bit good as the universe ( KaAYikci et al. , 2008 ) . A research by Cooper et Al. ( 2004 ) said that there is an addition for the rate of smoke in Turkey in which 64 % of the addition is among the work forces and 23 % of it is adult females. Abolfutuoh et Al. ( 1998 ) states 40 % of the pupils in Education Council are heavy tobacco users and merely 23 % of the Medicine Council pupils smoke. Meanwhile, Kader and Alsadi ( 2008 ) found that most of the pupils are light tobacco users ( 50.6 % ) . They besides said that pupils in the medical school tend to smoke less than their friends in other modules. Surprisingly, a survey by Kypri and Baxter ( 2004 ) said that the smoke form is higher among Maori adult females than work forces, in which the adult females tend to smoke daily. Sharker ( 2005 ) in his survey about cognition, attitude and pattern on smoke among pupils and staff in Universiti Putra Malaysia states that 13.7 % from respondents who smoke comes from pupils while 9.9 % was comes from the staff. He besides found that Indians and Malays were among the highest per centum due to cultural groups which comprises of 12.7 % and 11.6 % severally ; meanwhile Hindus and Muslim were among the highest per centum due to spiritual group which equal to 13 % and 11.9 % severally. Harmonizing to Azlan ( 2006 ) in his survey on smoke among secondary school pupils in Kuantan, the smoke per centum was 43 % ; with 63.5 % comes from males and 17.5 % comes female. This survey is rather similar to the survey done by Rapeah et Al. ( 2008 ) whereby about half of the respondents in her survey on factors act uponing smoke behaviors among male striplings in Kuantan were tobacco users ( 45.8 % ) and Malays were lend up to 53.1 % . A cross-sectional survey of 16-year old secondary school pupils in Kota Tinggi territory reported that 29.7 % from the respondents were found to be smoking and the highest per centum of male tobacco users comes from FELDA ( Federal Land Development Authority ) countries which comprises of more than 50 % ( Lim et al. , 2006 ) . Meanwhile, the survey done by Shahidan et Al. ( 2002 ) on smoking wonts among secondary school pupils in Kedah reported that the mean age for smoke and non-smoking groups were 16 old ages old the research has reveal that the age of onset smoke among respondents began every bit early as 13 old ages old. Harmonizing to KaAYikci et Al. ( 2008 ) , 40.2 % of the concluding class pupils at the AtatA ©rk University smoked. 56.5 % from that said that they smoke to let go of tense while 24.6 % fume for pleasance. Abolfutuoh et Al. ( 1998 ) states that wonder was the chief ground for induction of smoke among pupils in medical pupils at the University College of Medicine and pupils of the College of Education. There are findings found in a research by Kader and Alsadi ( 2008 ) that say the pupils smoke because it helps them to concentrate every bit good as quiet them down. They besides said that pupils smoke because they besides want to get by with emphasis and societal anxiousnesss. Kypri and Baxter ( 2004 ) besides stated that pupils smoke because it helps them to loosen up. Harmonizing to Shahidan et Al. ( 2002 ) , â€Å" matured, attractive and posh † are among the grounds pupils start smoking with per centum of 70.0 % , 62.2 % and 54.0 % severally. Meanwhile, Sharker ( 2005 ) found that the chief ground for the oncoming of smoke among pupils and staff in Universiti Putra Malaysia was â€Å" merely for merriment † and it was comprises of 54.2 % . In add-on, Azlan ( 2006 ) revealed that the chief ground for pupils to smoke is because of the influences of friends. Rapeah et Al. ( 2008 ) states that the most common ground given by the respondents for get downing smoke was â€Å" wanted to seek † ( 68.9 % ) followed by â€Å" equals influence † ( 56.1 % ) . However, about 70 % of the tobacco users did non hold that they smoked because they wanted to be voguish. There are besides findings found in a research by Khairani et Al. ( 2007 ) that say the most frequent grounds for originating smoke were wonder ( 69.3 % ) and peer force per unit area ( 51 % ) while emphasis ( 70 % ) was reported as the commonest ground for go oning smoke followed by dependence ( 49 % ) . KaAYikci et Al. ( 2008 ) stated that one of the factors that encourage the pupils to smoke is the parents of the pupils. Most of the pupils who smoke have male parents and brothers who smoke every bit good. Friends are besides one of the factors that lead to smoking wont among the pupils. These findings are rather similar with the survey by Shahidan et Al. ( 2002 ) which conducted in Kedah. Their research stated that influence of equals and household members who smoke played an of import function in act uponing pupils to smoke. Student whose household members are tobacco users are more than twice at higher hazard of smoking compared to those whose household members are non tobacco users meanwhile pupil whose equals smoke are about six times higher of smoke compared to those whose equals are non tobacco users. Lapp goes to the survey by Khairani et Al. ( 2007 ) , which found that there was a important association between adolescent smoke and smoke among household members. Sharker ( 2005 ) reported that the prevalence of smoke was associated with age, economic position, race, spiritual, household and equal groups smoking wonts. These findings are consistent with the survey done by Azlan ( 2006 ) on the prevalence of smoke among secondary school pupils and its associated factors in the territory of Kuantan. Meanwhile, harmonizing to Lim et Al. ( 2006 ) , holding many close friends who smoke, sibling who fumes and low academic accomplishment were positively associated with smoke. There are besides findings found that the type of category watercourse, equals ‘ smoke, and attitude towards smoking were significantly associated with the respondents smoking position ( Rapeah et al. , 2008 ) . Meanwhile wonder, desire to demo off and peer force per unit area are the chief factors that lead to the smoke wont of the pupils ( Abolfutuoh et al. , 1998 ) .

Objective Morality Essay

My purpose in writing this is to argue for the existence of an objective morality based entirely on rational and scientific reasoning. By â€Å"objective morality† I do not simply mean that morality exists in the sense that various societies consider various actions to be immoral. What I mean is that certain actions are inherently right or wrong regardless of what any society thinks about them. In other words, I mean that there is an â€Å"objective morality† which exists independently of human beliefs and human civilization. There are many people who have the opinion that it is not possible to believe in such an objective morality without also believing in concepts such as God or an eternal soul. I believe that they are wrong. I will attempt to show that an objective morality exists and that this morality is the same regardless of which religion, if any, is correct. Many people believe that without a religious framework, the only possible conclusion is that all morality is nothing more than a human construct without any objective existence. In other words, what morality a person or a culture accepts is like picking a favorite flavor of ice cream. Some individuals prefer strawberry ice cream, other individuals prefer chocolate, and no person’s preference is â€Å"more correct† than another’s. In a similar manner, they argue, different individuals and different societies have various favorite moral belief systems, and just as with ice cream, no particular set of moral beliefs is â€Å"more correct† than any other. A common argument for this type of thinking is the following. Throughout history, different cultures have had vastly different moral systems. In fact, on almost any moral issue, it appears that there is absolutely no agreement or consensus shared by even a majority of the cultures throughout history. In addition to this, there appears to be no way to prove the superiority of one moral system over another using logic alone. So the only way in which one moral system can actually be the correct one is if religion is the tie breaker. That is, whichever value system the â€Å"correct religion† advocates is the correct value system. Otherwise, there is no way to decide between them. I believe that this type of argument is easily refuted. In order to argue for the existence of an objective morality, I will have to do more than just point out the flaws in lines of reasoning such as this. I will have to provide my own arguments that an objective morality does exist, and I will have to discuss where this morality â€Å"comes from†. I will also have to explain a process by which we can attempt to determine what it is. This is what I intend to do. I would first, though, like to take some time to point out some of the errors in the reasoning above. There are two points that the argument above makes. The first regards the lack of consensus regarding morality. The second involves the inability to prove the superiority of one moral system over another using logic alone. It is true that throughout history, different cultures have held vastly different beliefs about morality. These cultures have also held vastly different beliefs regarding natural physical laws. Consider, for example, the belief in gravity. Currently, it is believed that the phenomena which we call gravity is the result of the fact that objects with mass cause a curvature in â€Å"space-time†. Under this framework, we believe that a clock located in a high gravitational field will appear to run slower than an identical clock in a region with low gravity. We also believe, under this framework, that the path of something without mass, such as a beam of light, is affected by gravity. This was not always the case. At the beginning of the twentieth century, for example, it was believed that the phenomena of gravity is the result of the fact that all objects with mass exert an attractive force on each other. According to this view, the path of a beam of light should be unaffected by gravity and identical clocks should run at the same speed everywhere. This had not always been the case either. At an earlier time it was believed that the natural place for objects such as rocks was on the ground while the natural place for things like steam was up in the sky. According to this perspective, rocks fell to the ground while steam rose because everything tends to go to its natural place. If we do a more thorough examination, including all the cultures throughout all of history, we will find an even larger variety of opinions regarding the law of gravity. This does not, though, mean that there is no objective law of gravity which exists independently of human society. The beliefs in gravity which I described are attempts by human societies to approximate reality. Clearly, some approximations are better than others. Perhaps the current belief in the curvature of space-time is also incorrect and will later be replaced by an even better approximation. However, most people would have no problem agreeing that the curvature of space-time explanation of gravity is a better approximation to reality than the explanations which came before it. All that this shows is that even though different cultures hold very different beliefs about a certain issue, this does not necessarily imply that there is no objective reality behind these beliefs. The claim which I will be arguing for is that this is the same for morality as it is for gravity. All the moral beliefs which came before us and all the moral beliefs today are, in exactly the same way as in the case of gravity, approximations to the objective reality which exists independently of human beings. Although probably none of these approximations correspond to reality exactly, as with gravity, some approximations are better than others. For example, the value system of a society which condones slavery but condemns cannibalism is incorrect, but it is a better approximation to reality than that of a society which condones both slavery and cannibalism. The claim that no one has yet been able to prove the correctness of a particular moral system through logic alone is also correct. However, if we continue the analogy with gravity, we will realize that no one has also been able to prove the existence of gravity through logic alone either. The reason we believe that a rock will fall to the ground is because that is what we have always observed when we have let go of rocks in the past. There is a little more to it than that, of course, but not much. Our current theory of gravity predicts many specific phenomena. These include rocks falling to the ground, planets orbiting the Sun, the creation of ocean tides by the moon, and identical clocks running at different speeds. The only reason why we do believe in our current theory of gravity is because every time we have observed these phenomena, what we saw corresponded with what the theory predicted. If we were deprived of these observations, we would have no reason to believe in gravity at all. There is no way, using logic alone, that a person can prove the existence of gravity or the superiority of one theory of gravity to another. It is only by using logical reasoning in combination with observation that a person can argue for the existence of gravity. Even then, it is not be possible to do so with total 100% assurance. The fact that the current theory of gravity has always made correct predictions in the past does not guarantee that the theory will give correct predictions tomorrow. What a person can do, though, is to show, by using logical reasoning in combination with observations, that our theory of gravity is most likely true. This is what I intend to do for morality. There are, of course, some differences in arguing for an objective moral law and an objective gravitational law. Perhaps one of the most significant is that it is possible to construct equipment which quantitatively measure the effects of gravity. That is, it is possible to construct a speed detector that tells you that a rock is moving with a velocity of ten meters per second at a certain moment in time. On the other hand, it is not currently possible to construct a morality meter which tells you that a certain action is wrong with an immorality of ten immorality units. Nevertheless, this is an obstacle which I believe can easily be overcome. I will explain the way in which I overcome this obstacle a little bit later. For now, I would just like to point out that the fact that we can not build such a detector does not automatically imply that an objective morality does not exist. It was not that long ago that we were unable to detect or measure the existence of electrons. This, however, does not imply that electrons did not exist in that time period. Electrons (objectively) existed regardless of whether or not we could build devices which detected them. The same, I believe, is true for morality. I have divided my discussion into four parts. The first part is this introduction. In the second part, I attempt to show that it is objectively wrong to torture another person for pleasure, and I discuss where this objective morality â€Å"comes from†. In this second part, I do not deal with something even as mildly complicated as torturing one person to prevent the suffering of another. Since I am trying to show that an objective morality exists independently of human beliefs, just showing that there exists one action which is objectively wrong should be sufficient to demonstrate my position that some objective morality exists. However, just believing that an objective morality exists should not be enough to satisfy anyone’s inquiry into the matter. In part three, I discuss how we can determine what this objective morality says about controversial moral issues. As in the case of gravity, I only claim to have a method to find good approximations to this objective moral law, not to get it exactly right the first time. By spending more time applying this method to a particular moral issue, we will obtain better approximations. I give examples of how this method can be applied to issues such as abortion, war, animal rights, and forcing your morality on others. I also discuss if an action which does not harm anyone can be immoral and if it is ever correct to say that one life is â€Å"worth more† than another. In addition, I give a method for establishing a belief about if another being possesses consciousness, which is useful in attempting to determine if we have an obligation to act morally towards that being. The fourth part is relatively independent of the rest of my discussion. In part four, I briefly discuss other alternative views about the nature and origin of morality. I touch on several topics. I discuss how a belief in God can be reconciled with the position which I advocate and why I think that it is not logically consistent to hold the opinion that a belief in God is necessary in order to believe in an objective morality. I discuss moral systems based on ideas like karma and perfect justice which are often associated with reincarnation. I also discuss a few other views regarding morality and what I think their flaws are. I talk about what I think is wrong with thinking of morality as just a social behavior which evolved to help our survival. I also discuss why I think that it is not possible to successfully base the foundation of a society on self interest or a social contract. I also mention why morality is much more than simply attempting to maximize a certain quantity such as happiness. Nowhere in my presentation do I discuss whether any particular religion is correct or incorrect. I limit my presentation to discussing the development of a belief in an objective morality without appealing to religious teachings. I do, though, show how my position can be reconciled with various religious beliefs. I also show how the definition of morality which I am about to give can be reconciled with the theory of evolution and natural selection. In addition, I discuss if moral beliefs improve in the long run with the passage of time. My definition of the word â€Å"morality† does not correspond to the way in which the word is usually used, but I believe that this definition closely approximates what â€Å"morality† is. In order to better explain my definition, I would first like to give an example of what â€Å"morality† is not. Suppose that a man comes home after shopping for food at a supermarket. When his son sees him, he comments on what good and moral people the owners of the supermarket must be. He remarks that the store owners must have been very kind and generous to give all this food to his family. How do you think that his father will answer? Clearly, the father will answer that the supermarket owners did not give him the food because they were kind or generous people, but because it was in their self interest to do so. Although the store owners might indeed be good and moral people, this action is in no way any indication of this. They did what they did because they believed that the action would profit them, and for no other reason. This action, the father would conclude, says nothing about the morality of the store owners. I will now give my definition. All actions can be placed into one of two categories. Some actions can belong to both of these groups simultaneously. However, all actions must belong to at least one of these categories. The first group consists of all actions which we do out of self interest while not harming others. Simple examples of this are riding a bicycle or watching television. These are activities which we engage in because we believe that these activities will benefit us. If an action belongs exclusively to this category, then it is of the same type as that of the supermarket owners in the previous example, and has nothing to do with morality. The second group consists of two types of behavior. The first type is behavior which either harms or intends to harm others. The second type is behavior which we engage in, not because we believe that it will somehow benefit us in the long run, but because we believe that it will benefit others. This includes any action we do, and any action which we refrain from doing, not for ourselves, but for others. It is with this second group of behaviors with which morality is concerned. Morality, then, is engaging in behavior, not out of self interest, but because it is in the interest of others. This is how I define morality. Many people would argue that altruistic actions belonging to the second group which I described do not exist. That is, they would argue that every action every person does is done out of self interest. If a man gives money to charity, they say, he does so only because he gets a warm and fuzzy feeling inside. If a woman donates blood, it is only because doing so makes her feel good about herself. This line of reasoning claims that all these seemingly benevolent actions are really done out of self interest. That is, people engage in such activities only to get these good internal feelings which they want. I disagree with such thinking. Although it is correct that a woman who gives to charity will probably obtain a warm and fuzzy feeling from doing so, it is incorrect to assume that this is the only reason why she engages in this activity. This is an example of an action which can simultaneously fit both of the groups which I described. That is, this woman may be giving to charity both because she feels good after doing so and because she wants to help others. In this case, so long as it is not done entirely out of self interest, it is still related to morality. Some actions which people engage in fall exclusively into my second category, and could never be explained in terms of self interest. An extreme example of this is when a person, who does not believe in an afterlife, makes a split second decision to give up his life for others, as in a case of a soldier throwing his body on a live hand grenade in order to save his comrades. There is no way to argue that the soldier is doing this because he seeks a warm and fuzzy feeling inside, since he is not going to live long enough to enjoy it. Human beings often attempt to persuade others into behaving a certain way by pointing out that it is in their self interest to do so. A police officer may say, for example, that you shouldn’t steal because there is a good chance that you will go to jail if you do. Similarly, a mother may tell her son that he will be punished if he his found misbehaving. None of this, though, in any way influences anyone to become a moral person. It just tells people how to behave in their own self interest. The only lesson this would impart on the child is that if he wants to avoid punishment, he should not misbehave. This will not prevent him from misbehaving the moment he knows that his parents aren’t watching, or after he grows up and moves out of his parents’ house. Similarly, this type of reasoning will not convince a person not to steal if he finds himself in a situation where the chances of being caught are small or non-existent. Nor is there, based on self interest alone, much reason for police officers, judges, and law makers to not abuse the power of their positions. What religions often do with regards to morality is to argue that it is always in a person’s self interest to behave â€Å"morally†. Some religions teach, for example, that if you engage in murder, rape, or torture, you will go to Hell. Others teach that if you engage in such activities you are going to have a very unfortunate next reincarnation. Others may believe that there is no life after death, but that you will be punished in this life for engaging in improper acts. However, this does not really tell anyone to be a moral person. This, again, just tells people how to behave in their self interest. If a woman refrains from killing other people only because she does not want to go to Hell, or if a man gives to charity only because he does not want to be reincarnated as an insect, then these activities have nothing to do with morality. As in the case of the supermarket owner, these people are just acting in their self interest. A religious person can, of course, be acting morally if he engages in activities for the purpose of benefiting others as well as seeking a reward. It is just that, as with the supermarket owner, although an action may have the side effect of benefiting other people, it is not related to morality if seeking a reward or avoiding a punishment is the only motivation. But then the questions before us are the following. Without making an appeal to religion, why is it that we â€Å"should† behave â€Å"morally†? Why is it that we â€Å"should† engage in activities which benefit others and refrain from activities which harm others? In a situation where which course of action is moral is itself a matter of debate, how is it possible, without using religious concepts, to persuasively argue that a particular answer is in fact the correct one. It is these types of questions which I will attempt to answer.