How Does Unconscious Differ From Consciousness Essays -

How Does Unconscious Differ From Consciousness? The QUESTION: How Does Unconscious Differ From Consciousness ? Consciousness and unconscious are two psychological terms that are commonly used in this field of study. Their importances mainly appear when psychologists deal with their patients because they will surely think about these two terms. To understand these two terms we must know their definitions. This step can enable us to recognize the difference between them. Consciousness is a psychological condition defined by the English philosopher John Locke as the perception of what passes in a man's own mind. While unconscious in psychology is the aspect of mental life that is separated from immediate consciousness and is not subject to recall at will. The history of consciousness is interesting because it was recently known just in the early 19th century the concept was variously considered. Some philosophers regarded it as a kind of substance, or mental stuff, quite different from the material substance of the physical world. Others thought of it as an attribute characterized by sensation and voluntary movement, which separated animals and men from lower forms of life and also described the difference between the normal waking state of animals and men and their condition when asleep, in a coma, or under anesthesia, the latter condition was described as unconsciousness. Other descriptions included an analysis of consciousness as a form of relationship or act of the mind toward objects in nature, and a view that consciousness was a continuous field or stream of essentially mental sense data, roughly similar to the ideas of earlier empirical philosophers. The method employed by most early writers in observing consciousness was introspection looking within one's own mind to discover the laws of its operation. The limitations of the method became apparent when it was found that because of differing preconceptions, trained observers in the laboratory often could not agree on fundamental observations. The failure of introspection to reveal consistent laws led to the rejection of all mental states as proper subjects of scientific study. In behaviorist psychology, derived primarily from work of the American psychologist John B. Watson in the early 1900s, the concept of consciousness was irrelevant to the objective investigation of human behavior and was doctrinally ignored in research. Neobehaviourists, however, adopted a more liberal posture toward mentalistic states such as consciousness. Neurophysiological mechanisms that consciousness depends on the function of the brain has been known from ancient times. Although detailed understanding of the neural mechanisms of consciousness has not been achieved, correlations between states of consciousness and functions of the brain are possible. Levels of consciousness in terms of levels of alertness or responsiveness are correlated with patterns of electrical activity of the brain waves recorded by an electroencephalograph. During wide-awake consciousness the pattern of brain waves consists of rapid irregular waves of low amplitude or voltage. In contrast, during sleep, when consciousness can be said to be minimal, the brain waves are much slower and of greater amplitude, often coming in periodic bursts of slow waxing and waning amplitude. Both behavioral levels of consciousness and the correlated patterns of electrical activity are related to the function of a part of the brainstem called the reticular formation. Electrical stimulation of the ascending reticular systems arouses a sleeping cat to alert consciousness and simultaneously activates its brain waves to the waking pattern. It was once supposed that the neurophysiological mechanisms subserving consciousness and the higher mental processes must reside in the cortex. It is more likely, however, that the cortex serves the more specialized functions of integrating patterns of sensory experience and organizing motor patterns and that the ascending reticular system represents the neural structures most critically related to consciousness. The brainstem reticular formation should not, however, be called the seat of consciousness. It represents an integrative focus, functioning through its widespread interconnections with the cortex and other regions of the brain. Unconscious also called Subconscious, the complex of mental activities within an individual that proceed without his awareness. Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, stated that such unconscious processes may affect a person's behavior even though he cannot report on them. Freud and his followers felt that dreams and slips of the tongue were really concealed examples of unconscious content too threatening to be confronted

District six museum essays

District six museum essays The purpose of the District Six Museum is to recreate, preserve and heal the memories of the original inhabitants and their families, so that the precious memories destroyed by apartheid and the Group Areas Act would never be forgotten. It was built to rekindle the good times, and the communities of District Six, do the people who once knew and loved it would never forget it. It is also to show others, what a flourishing community District Six really was before it was destroyed. I think that one of the most important exhibits in this museum is the 75 authentic street signs that are suspended off three ladder columns. I think that this is important because it revives the memories of the good times, the old inhabitants can remember what was situated in each street, what they did and what their purpose was. Another significant exhibit is the plastic floor map, which displays a map of the whole of District Six, including street names and buildings. People have had a chance to reclaim their property in District Six by writing their names and details on the maps, in the exact place where they used to live. This helps others understand what it was like to live in District Six. How the community was so diverse, yet so close. How the community functioned on a whole and who lived where. In conclusion, I would like to say that the Distinct Six museum was very educational and moving at the same time. It touched my heart when we heard a first-hand account of what it was like to live in District Six and then to have your house destroyed in front of your very eyes. It educates national and international visitors with its intricate and detailed exhibits which are impeccably preserved. It gives you so much information about its successful community and the devastation of the destruction, that it makes you wonder how heartbreaking it must have been. To have seen it all destroyed, and knowing deep down that there was n ...

Literature course Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Literature course - Essay Example Why are we joking about this? It is taking away from everything we are striving for. Why is it that the media, especially television, still picture women as cooks, cleaners, housekeepers and filling gender-specific roles. This disturbs me no end. I thought all along that we were trying to be a more open-minded society where women are known to be strong, able to occupy powerful positions and at times be even superior to men. (example of irony) We must never underestimate women. Remember Joan of Arc and how she led the French army in the war against the English and winning? Wasn’t it a woman- Cleopatra and not a pharaoh who ruled Egypt successfully for a time until the snake was her undoing? And today, we have women invading areas of human endeavor where men heretofore held sway. Most modern families have mothers who are both housekeepers and breadwinners at the same time. We now have women astronauts, company CEO’s, doctors, professors, etc. In American politics, Nancy Pelosi heads the House of Representatives, Condoleeza Rice is the U.S, roving ambassador and doing a wonderful job of mediating with the leaders of countries all over the world. And Hillary Clinton is running for the Presidency. Is America breeding a race of super-women? In the field of entertainment, both screen and stage, American actresses take the lead. In Religion, there are more nuns than priests; however, we still have to see the fairer sex wearing the Fisherman’s ring. (This is a metaphor wherein there is reference to St. Peter, the first Pope, the first one to wear the Fisherman’s ring.) There are still things which women can do better than the men and other things which only women can do and no man can. God meant for women to conceive, carry babies in their wombs and give birth. Then they create a loving and nurturing environment for the children and teach them proper

Textbased Reading Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Textbased Reading Assignment - Essay Example And upon this departure, "happiness" is coined up as the response to its inquiring mind as its ultimate end of its quest for truth. The Epicurean teaching of happiness as described in the study of philosophy entails the idea or that collaborates with the theory of "imperialism" (i.e. a form of knowledge acquired or is that knowledge perceived by the use of our senses or the process called sensation). It is by the reason of providing the idea of "casualty" (The principle of cause and effect relationship) in viewing or in understanding the concept of happiness in the Epicurean teaching, as of that which is motivated by the direct encounter to the corporeal world (material world) or the things seen or being felt present in the reality. And thus, this encounter with the corporeal world gives us the effect or the idea of both "pleasure and pain". Moreover, in realizing what does Epicurus mean by saying that pleasure is our "primary native good" connotes of that "good" in relation to "feeling" as a means or tool of its criterion for happiness. In this manner, the role of sensation provides as the key to understand in having the concept of "pleasure" as that which satisfies one's (individual) need. Pleasure then takes place upon describing certain stances that serve as an appetite towards living or its existence. Thus, the Epicurean concept of pleasure as a "primary native good" gives us the idea of understanding as the first step of its hierarchy of attributing towards a self fulfilment or a happy life. According to the Epicurean teaching, pleasure should not always be the choice or our option to select at. It is because it entails (in Epicurean concept) the idea of consisting "Primary and Congenital good". To illustrate such concept, in understanding the idea of "primary good", it gives us the thought of a skin form or level of understanding the concept of "pleasure" as a matter of "feeling". And thus it leads us to the idea of "sensation" that construct upon this concept of primary. The Congenital good persuade upon the concept or the idea of understanding to what is there seen not present in the reality but only find in its existence in the "world of forms or ideas" (the word "world of form" originates in the Platonean Concept). Thus, its essence (the nature of its being) provides us the thought of that is innate to its characteristics. And thus, evaluating these two factors (Primary and Congenital good) speaks of a subjective interpretation or judgement because of its approach of arriving of its own idea. As stipulated in the Epicurean doctrine, "A person who does not have a pleasant life in not living sensibly, nobly and justly, and conversely the person who does not have these virtues cannot live pleasantly (Epicurus, Leading Doctrines, p. 53, 5th paragraph). In view to this quotation, indicates that the Epicurean teaching doesn't agree that it is possible to lead a virtuous but unpleasant life. To depart from these lines, pleasure connotes a connection to moral virtues of man or a person that is associated to hi being. Moral good then construct a definition towards a good life. Therefore, such concept perceives or illustrates an idea that it is impossible "to be" and "not to be" at the same place and at the same time. The researcher's analysis unto this study to the Epicurean way of teaching of understanding pleasure relating to morality, as with regards to the impossibility of having virtuous and yet

Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 90

Assignment Example t the rate might not take past performance into consideration, or same level of performance may be marked for all the attributes or raters have different opinions about different performance levels. 2. The Barnard’s theory states that managers situated in the decision-making positions of the organizations have no authority until his/her subordinates accept his/her decisions. For example, the government wants the department of defense to initiate start working on a task, if the department does not accepts the task; the government does not have authority and vice-versa. 3. System I type management have the ability to provide reward, punishment to their subordinates (Babcock 129). They have this ability due to the position they hold in the organization. This type of management is used to motivate workers to work on a specific task. System II type management is used in Engineering settings where the manager has to help the subordinates through his expertise. 4. In some cases, management fails to adopt the dilemma of authority being equal to responsibility. This dilemma is not followed while delegating tasks to subordinates. A subordinate may be assigned a task or responsibility but he may not have the equal authority to get the task completed. In such scenarios, the subordinate has to use tactics such as persuasion and personal power to get the job done. 5. Engineers undergo heavy training, they are taught about every technicality of the job and in vocational schools, they learn about every single details of doing a task perfectly. They do not have the skills of being flexible on work or use different techniques for working; these are the reasons due to which they fail to manage in organizations. On the other hand, students in the business environment are taught to be flexible and are allowed to do a certain task in any effective and efficient manner and this is why these managers are more

Link between Household Debt and Savings

Link between Household Debt and Savings Many analysts and business executives are becoming apprehensive with the recent rises in the consumer debt burden, defined as the level of consumer debt relative to ability to repay which may predict an economic growth slowdown. A higher debt reduces the credit worthiness of households who would then experience financial anguish caused by unfavourable economic shock, such as the loss of a job or large uninsured medical expenses. In the event of this situation, they would be less disposed to spend on consumer goods, particularly big ticket items such as automobiles and home computers. Consequently, the reduction in consumer spending would hurt economic growth as firms cut back on the production of consumer goods and laid off workers. Households have spent in excess of income, in part because increased house prices have led to increased household wealth. The rise in house prices reflects an adjustment to sustained low inflation and interest rates, among other factors. However, activity in the housing market cannot be sustained at the pace seen in recent years. As the housing market cools, growth in consumer spending should ease and household saving rise, resulting in a tendency for the current account deficit to fall, everything else equal. The increase in household debt also partly reflects the removal of government controls of the financial system over the past two decades. Based on the results of empirical works of many authors, most studies favour the hypothesis that the causality is from economic growth rate to growth rate of savings. Based on the empirical results, the main conclusion of this study is that income class of a country does play an important role in determining the direction of causality. A rising consumer debt burden also might predict future activities in broad methods of economic activity, such as real gross domestic product. A decline in consumer spending on durable goods would lower real GDP growth because such spending is a large constituent of real GDP. 1.2 Objectives and Organisation of the dissertation Many tests have been carried out by many authors throughout the world to see if there is a link between household debt, household savings and economic growth and hence, analyse its impact on the discussed variables. A panel cross country analysis has been carried out on 25 countries to determine how household savings and debt may act as a deterrent for economic growth. Chapter 2 reviews the literature and empirical evidence pertaining to the works of various authors concerning economic growth, household debt and household savings. The next chapter deals with the review of variables of interest to us, which will be used in the empirical testing part, hence, the household savings as a proportion of disposable income, household debt as a proportion of GDP per capita, growth rate of Real GDP per capita, consumption share of GDP per capita, price level of GDP, investment share of GDP per capita, interest on savings will be scrutinized in the chapter. In Chapter 4, the Haussman tests have been mostly used to predict the impact of these independent and exogenous variables on the dependent variable of economic growth. Finally in Chapter 5, we conclude on the subject and make some policy recommendation and alongside cite some limitations of the work carried out. 2.1 THEORETICAL LITERATURE When there is a positive change in the level of production of a countrys goods and services over a certain point in time, it is referred to as economic growth. It is also influenced by many factors but one of the pinnacles of economic history is the impact household saving and debt has on economic growth. Most working papers and journal articles on cross countries studies assume a positive relationship between household saving and economic growth and an adverse relationship between consumer debt and economic growth. The difference between a households disposable incomes (primarily wages obtained, proceeds of the self-employed and net property returns) and its consumption (spending on products) is known as household saving. When the household saving is divided by household disposable income, the household savings rate is computed. When a household uses more than it obtains as expected income and funds some of the spending through credit (growing debt), through returns coming from the sale of resources, or by making cash and deposits, there is usually a negative savings rate. These discrepancies are fairly due to institutional distinctions between countries. These include the degree to which old-age pensions are financed by government rather than through personal savings, and the level to which governments offer insurance against sickness and unemployment. The age composition of the population is also significant, as the elderly tend to run down financial assets obtained during their working life. This implies that a country with an ageing population will generally have a low household saving rate. The conformist view is that savings contribute to higher investment and hence higher GDP growth in the short run (Bacha, 1990; DeGregorio, 1992; Jappelli and Pagano,1994). The central idea of Lewiss (1955) traditional development theory was that increasing savings would accelerate growth. Kaldor (1956) and Samuelson and Modigliani (1966) studied how different savings behaviors induced growth. On the other hand, many recent studies have concluded that economic growth contributes to savings (Sinha and Sinha, 1998; Salz, 1999;Anoruo and Ahmad, 2001). Over the last 10-15 years, household saving rates have increased in Austria, Germany and Sweden and remained stable in Belgium, France and Switzerland. A downward trend over the same period has occurred in Canada, Italy, Japan, Korea, Poland and the United States. (OECD (2010), National Accounts of OECD Countries, OECD, Paris) The main factors contributing to differences among countries are listed below: The income effect: in general higher income leads to a higher saving rate; The wealth effect: profits or losses on financial and non-financial assets and liabilities affect built up wealth, and thus probably expenditure, but not on income. Higher wealth may then lower the saving rate; Credit facilities: in countries (e.g. UK and US) where consumption credit was easier to finance, saving rates may be comparatively lower; Institutional factors such as differences in social security schemes, especially pension schemes and the tax system; The proportion of own-account entrepreneurs and small unincorporated enterprises, within the household sector, because producers may have a different saving behaviour; Households expectations as regards the future economic situation; Cultural and social factors. Hondroyiannis (2004) analyses the long term and short term causal factors of aggregate private savings in Greece using data for the time frame of 1961-2000. By considering the financial and demographic advances during this phase, the long run savings utility which is susceptible to real interest rate, public funds, liquidity, old dependency ratio and fertility changes, is approximated on the foundation of an absolute life-cycle hypothesis. The significance of short-run divergences is obtained using vector error-correction model estimation. The empirical evidence proposes the continuation of a stable long-run savings function in Greece both in the long- and short-run periods and the policy inferences of such an association are accessible. According to Barba and Pivetti (2008), rising household debt in USA made low wages and increasing aggregate demand to arise simultaneously. In the USA, according to the figures of the Federal Reserve Board, consumer credit outstanding reached 25% of disposable personal income (DPI) in 2006. This was the peak of an upward trend that has characterised the period since the first half of the 1980s, following 15 years during which the consumer credit-income ratio averaged around 18%. Increasing household debt in developed countries like USA has been mostly due to the noticeable fall in household savings and this had an adverse effect on economic growth. Salotti (2009) claims that the current account is inclined by changes in US private savings which aid to generate and maintain world imbalances. A panel of 18 developed countries for the time dimension of 1980-2005 is used to check this claim by examining the components of total household savings. They merge two lines of literature: the first line from consumer theory, bearing in mind particularly the `wealth effect, the second line from aggregate private savings theory. Unit root and cointegration tests are performed to evaluate the most suited method for estimation of the long run savings function and to derive the cointegrating relationship. The group means FMOLS is exercised to approximate the model. The empirical evidence goes in line with the theory where a rise in wealth should adversely affect the household savings. In addition, when significant descriptive variables, such as national savings and populace dependence ratios, are incorporated in the model, material wealth becom es the only type of wealth to (inadequately and negatively) control household savings in developed countries. Howitt, Agnion, Comin and Tecu (2009) wanted to test if a country can grow more rapidly by saving further as they believe that household saving is of deep concern as it allows entrepreneurs to undertake their business and also reducing the agency cost that usually acts a hindrance for foreign investors. Since domestic saving counts for improvement, and consequently growth, it thus allows the home industrialist to put equity into this joint enterprise, which reduces an organization setback that would else discourage the foreign shareholder from contributing. In rich countries, domestic entrepreneurs are already known with limit know-how and consequently do not need to draw foreign outlay for investment, so domestic saving is not important for growth. The higher the household savings and the lower the household debt a country has, the more economic growth it can at least forecast to make. The finding is based on a cross-country non-overlapping panel over the period from 1960 to 2000. T hey use a sample of 118 countries, all those for which there exists data on per-worker GDP and on the saving rate. The cross-country regression shows that lagged savings is positively related with productivity growth in poor countries but not in rich countries. 2.0 EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE Empirical evidence deals mainly with the previous works of various authors all around the world. There have been many works carried out by different authors and they reached certain conclusions which may be further developed and their results vary among the countries. The first case considered is on the United States of America (USA) and then they further scrutinise what happened in the developed and emerging countries. 2.1 STUDIES ON THE USA As noted in Thomas and Towe (1996), research into household saving/consumption behaviour in recent years has inclined to centre on probing for long-run relationships between saving (or consumption) and selected macroeconomic variables. In large part, this shows the fact that the data involved have been found to be non-stationary. This implies that conventional statistical methods cannot be used to test relationships between movements in the savings rate and other (non stationary) macro variables. This approach also implies that short-run movements in the savings rate may be driven by deviations from the long-run relationship between saving and its fundamental determinants. Callen and Thimann (1997) studied the empirical determinants of household saving in USA using cross sectional and panel data from 21 OECD countries for 1975-95.) They find that household saving fell from 13% during 1975-81 to only 11% in 1982-89 but it has then stayed stable in general. Variables that capture the structure of the tax system and the financing and generosity of the social security and welfare system are added to the set of potential explanatory variables. The results indicate that there is an central role for public and corporate saving, growth, and demographics in controlling household saving, while some role is also established for inflation, unemployment, the real interest rate, and financial deregulation. The results also propose that the tax and the social security and welfare systems have an important impact on household saving. Bà ©rubà © and Cà ´tà © (2000) examine the structural factors of the household savings rate in Canada over the previous 30 years, using co integration techniques. The main result is that the real interest rate, expected inà ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡ation, the ratio of the all-government à ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ scal balances to nominal GDP, and the ratio of household net worth to personal disposable income are the most significant causal factors of the trend in the personal savings rate, as calculated in the National Income and Expenditure Accounts (NIEA). The outcomes also recommend that the fast fall in the NIEA personal savings rate in current years mainly shows a change in the trend constituent of the savings rate, rather than a temporary different approach from the trend. Tipett (2010) uses many methodological approaches and draws on longitudinal data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 and also uses multilevel logistic regressions to investigate the relationship between the hypothesized mechanisms and the probability of holding non-collateralized debt. Analysis of Survey of Consumer Finance data shows that the amount of household debt increased faster than household asset increases (see also Bucks, Kennickell, Moore, Fries, and Neal 2006; Kennickell 2009), and Keister (2000) shows that overall wealth has been growing at the same time that the percentage of households with zero or negative net worth has also been rising. 2.2 STUDIES ON DEVELOPED ECONOMIES Carroll and Weil (1994) present Granger-causality tests for 38 countries for which they have fine data, and show that increases in growth radically head increases in saving. Dekle (1993) presents comparable Granger causality regressions for a group of fast-growing countries and finds that growth positively Granger-causes saving in every country in his sample. Edwards (1995) looked at data from a panel of 36 countries over the period 1970-92. Using lagged population growth, openness, political instability, and other lagged variables as instruments, he concludes that the rate of output growth has an important, positive effect on saving. Andersson (1999) believes that the worldly interdependence between saving and output has been measured in recent empirical studies which obliged some authors to question the conventional idea of a causal chain where saving precedes growth via capital accumulation. As divergent to the previous studies, which have mostly used panel-estimation processes, the tests of causal chains are performed in time-series sets. Saving and GDP are approximated in bivariate vector autoregressive or vector error-correction models for Sweden, UK, and USA, and tests of Granger non-causality are executed within the estimated systems. The core results shows that the causal chains linking saving and output vary across countries, and also that causality linked with amendments to long-run dealings might go in diverse directions than causality associated with short-term instabilities. Jappelli and Padula (2007) reconsidered savings inclinations in Italy, summarizing existing empirical evidence on Italians motives to save, relying on macroeconomic indicators as well as on data drawn from the Bank of Italys Survey of Household Income and Wealth from 1984 to 2004. The macroeconomic data indicate that households saving has fallen considerably, although Italy continues to class above most other countries in terms of saving. The microeconomic data show a strong correlation between the propensity to save and the level of current income, as well as a strong correlation between income and indebtedness. International panel data put forward that saving is robustly linked with the growth rate of income, and that saving changes parallel growth change, as shown by Attanasio, Picci and Scorcu (2000) using the 150 countries of the World Bank Saving Database. 2.3 STUDIES ON EMERGING MARKETS Emerging markets are economies which are currently in the process of fast growth and industrialisation. There are at present 28 emerging markets in the world with the economies of China and India being considered certainly as the two largest. New conditions were surfaced in recent years to portray the largest developing countries such as  BRIC  standing for  Brazil,  Russia,  India, and China. The relationship between savings and economic growth has received increased notice in recent years especially in developed and emerging economies [see Bacha (1990), DeGregorio (1992), Levine and Renelt (1992), and Jappelli and Pagano (1994)]. This might not be distinct to the central foundation of Lewiss (1955) traditional development theory that increasing savings would accelerate economic growth. Research efforts by Kaldor (1956) and Samuelson and Modigliani (1966) examined how different savings behaviours would induce economic growth. Caroll and Weil (1994) used five year averages of the economic growth rate and savings for OECD countries and found that economic growth Granger caused savings. However, the reverse was obtained when dummies were included in their estimation. Using Granger causality tests, findings by Sinha and Sinha (1998) and Sinha (1999) found that economic growth rate Granger caused the savings growth rate for Mexico and Sri Lanka respectively. Jappelli, Tullio and Marco Pagano (1994) test whether the measures of liquidity constraints help to explain the international differences in national saving rates, as forecasted by their model. They also test an outcome of that model, namely that the effect of growth on saving is greater where liquidity constraints are more determined. The data cover a panel of 19 countries (all the main OECD countries are included) and are drawn from Modigliani [1990]. Observations are averages of annual data for three periods: 1960-1970, 1971-1980, and 1981-1987). Findings show that the two variables are negatively linked (the correlation coefficient for the entire sample is -0.55). They have empirically measured the soundness of three propositions, namely that liquidity constraints on households raise the saving rate, strengthen the effect of growth on saving, and promote productivity growth in models in which growth is endogenous. Using cross section data between 1960 and 1997 and Granger causality methodology, Anoruo and Ahmadi (2001) observed the causal relationships between the growth rate of domestic savings and economic growth for seven African countries -namely Congo, Cote dIvoire, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa and Zambia. Their studies established that savings are co-integrated in all of the countries except for Nigeria and that economic growth Granger-causes the growth rate of domestic savings for all the countries considered except Congo where reverse causality was obtained. Matos (2002) used among other parameters, the ratio of residents funds deposited in the financial system to aggregate monetary asset M2 (1947-2000) as a proxy of financial development, empirical tests support the view that it is vital to maintain the publics confidence in domestic financial assets to improve GDP growth prospects. This ratio may reflect an intangible asset of the financial intermediaries, i.e. the general publics confidence that contracts between customers. Kwack and Lee (2005) investigate the extent to which income growth and uncertainty and demographic factors affect the domestic real saving rate in Korea. They test an extended life cycle hypothesis and demography hypothesis with Korean time series data from 1975 to 2002. The results of the tests show that the aggregate saving rate is positively affected by the moving average of the growth rate of income and the variance of the income growth. The positive effect of the income growth differs from the negative effect found household survey data were used. Adebiyi (2005) employed quarterly data spanning between 1970 and 1998 to examine savings and growth relationships in Nigeria using Granger causality tests and impulse response analysis and concluded that growth, using per capital income, is sensitive to, and has an inverse effect on savings. Mohan (2008) believes that household savings in India has contributed significantly to its economic growth which recorded a steady rise over the last decades. Mohan found some empirical relations whereby in the argument that high levels of debt-GDP lead to high interest payments relative to GDP, which crowd out government capital expenditure and reduce the overall saving rate, two relationships are of critical importance: the responsiveness of changes in the saving ratio with respect to changes in the fiscal deficit levels; and the responsiveness of government capital expenditure to changes in the level of interest payments. Mohan (2006) experienced the path of causality between economic growth and savings in different economic income classes. The ADF test indicates that both log GDP and log GDS have unit roots in the level data. In the presence of unit roots, the variables need to be differenced in order for the series to be stationary. Without differencing the data, a causality tes t would lead to misspecification. To examine the direction of causality between saving and economic growth in Nigeria during the time frame 1970-2007, Oladipo ( 2009) used the Toda and Yamamoto (1995) and Dolado and Lutkepohl (1996) TYDL methodology. The variables of interest for savings and economic growth are positively co-integrated indicating that there exists a steady long run equilibrium relationship. Furthermore, the findings also revealed a unidirectional causality between savings and economic growth and thus the corresponding role of FDI in growth. In order to establish the link between economic growth and saving in Nigeria during the time frame of 1970-2007, Abu (2010) used the Granger-causality and co-integration techniques. There exists co-integration and long-run equilibrium between the variables savings and economic growth according to the Johansen co-integration test. There is also the causality runs from economic growth to saving, implying that growth triggers and Granger produces saving. Hence, the Solows hypothesis that saving leads to economic growth, and recognize the Keynesian theory that it is economic growth that leads to higher saving, is discarded. CHAPTER 3-DATA ANALYSIS 3.1 Sources of data The economic growth rate, household debt and household saving rate, price level are available on the Global Finance website. The interest on savings, consumption and investment are available on the Nationsmasters website, the World Bank website and the Penn World Table website. 3.2 The Econometric Model In this section, a model is developed to measure the impact of household debt and household saving among other factors, on economic growth. The model for growth for country i in time t is as follows: EGit= ÃŽÂ ± +ÃŽÂ ²1 HDit + ÃŽÂ ²2 HSit + ÃŽÂ ²3 Rit + ÃŽÂ ²4 Pit + ÃŽÂ ²5 Cit+ ÃŽÂ ²6 Iit + Uit Where EGit= Growth Rate of Real GDP per capita at constant prices HDit = Household Debt as a % of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) HSit= Household Savings as a % of Disposable Income Rit = Interest on Savings Pit= Price Level of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Cit= Consumption Share of CGPD (GDP PER CAPITA) Iit= Investment Share of CGDP (GDP PER CAPITA) Uit = the disturbance term 3.3 Economic Growth When per capita GDP or any other means of calculating total income rises, economic growth arises and this is usually registered as the yearly rate of change in GDP. Economic growth results from advances in productivity in terms of more production of goods and services with the same factors of production. The dependent variable economic growth is measured by real GDP per capita. At times, total GDP figures are not reflective of the actual performance in the economy. Hence, GDP per capita is a better measure as it is liable to fewer errors and some errors tend to affect population estimates and thus they have offsetting impacts. Furthermore, the natural log of real GDP will be taken into account to avoid any large outliers. Screen-shot-2009-09-01-at-14 3.4 Household Saving Household saving can be defined as a percentage of household disposable income which is not consumed and household savings rate can be calculated on gross or net basis. Depreciation is considered in the net savings rate which is more commonly used compared to the gross savings rate. Comparisons of savings rate among countries become hard by these two different measures of gross and net savings rate due to distinct social security and pension programmes, variable tax schemes which have an impact on disposable income. The household savings rate of a country can be affected by age of the economys population, the accessibility of credit, general wealth issues, cultural and social factors. Nevertheless, household savings rates are still a good a measure of an economys income in relation to consumption over time. A country can finance its debt domestically if it has a relatively high level of household savings. High debts levels funded mostly by foreign creditors are less persistent than high debts levels financed by internal savings. Consumption allows GDP to grow and this is a significant factor in economic expansion. With the existence of financial crisis, the whole economy could be dampened with lower consumption due to higher debt and lower savings level. A larger portion of GDP growth should then come from FDI, exports and government expenditure. Household saving is the most essential domestic source of funds to back capital outlay and this is a substantial boost for economic growth on the long term basis. Household savings rate vary greatly among countries as shown in the chart. This is partially due to the level pensions schemes are financed by government rather through personal saving and also to the extent governments offer insurance against sickness and unemployment. savings01 Considering the time dimension in the table above, the savings rate were relatively steady or somehow rising mildly in France, Austria, Italy, Norway and Portugal but have been decreasing in United States, Canada, Japan and Australia. If the social security and insurance payments of USA are considered, its savings rate would be striking. 3.5 Household Debt When a country has a substantial degree of household debt, it increases its inclination to financial crisis and this acts as a hindrance for economic growth. There have been forecasts about house bubbles which were caused and thus creating the countries to be overheated. A large portion of the economic growth was centred on household consumption which was backed by loans from banks. When banks noticed the lack of credit worthiness from consumers who even lost their confidence in the financial system, there had been strict controls over the lending conditions for loans. As a result, the ongoing vicious circle preceded a major decline in economic growth following the fall in consumption and repayments of debts. Analysing the graph results with the conclusion that USA is not the only main country having experienced the worst GDP slowdown but many other countries like Iceland and Portugal are following suit with the level of household debt actually rising substantially. It would not be logical for a country burdened by a large level of household debt to expect its economic performance to flourish in the coming years. HouseholdDebtSelectedCountries household-debt-vs-savings Source:   Lew Rockwell 3.6 Rates of interest The rate of interest has a great influence on the given level of aggregate disposable income which is divided between consumption and saving. However, it cannot be predicted with conviction that a lower interest rate would imply more disposable income will be dedicated to consumption and less to saving or vice versa. As a matter of fact, there can be a rise or fall in the total amount saved following a change in interest rate and this depends on the income and substitution effects and their strengths of their net effects. A higher level of future consumption arises at the detriment of present consumption with substitution effects due to higher interest rates and thus resulting in more savings in the present period. On the other hand, a consumers future income compared to his present income can be increased following higher interest rate and this leads to higher consumption by borrowing from future income and hence, less is saved. However, this may not be necessarily the case for lower income earners who would save only a small part of their incomes even when interest rates are high. The substitution effect will then outweigh the income effect and there will be a direct link between income and rate of interest. For some people who prefer to save a greater portion of their incomes, the income effect may offset the substitution effect and thus higher interest rates would result in lower present savings level real-interest-rates 3.7 Price level/Inflation One of the theoretical concepts of economics says that when there is a change in the price level, this may affect consumption and savings positively or negatively. It is usually believed that households confidence in money erodes when there is inflation and hence, they have the tendency to save more since inflation actually raises the variance of expected real income. The fact that consumers have greater preference for unplanned increases in savings compared to withdrawals, it usually incites consumers to save more when inflation is high. There is also an indirect effect of inflation whereby the real value of nominal asset is diminished and thus the real value of liquid assets decreases the net household wealth. Real consumption is often reduced and savings rate increases. 080625_global_inflation (1) 3.8 Consumption The total value of goods and services purchased by people aggregated over time is called consumption and it is usually the greatest GDP component. A countrys economic performance is often assessed on its consumption levels. Different income earners would be consuming differently depending on their standard of living and purchasing power. Consumption is usually determined by current income, accumulated savings and expectations on future income. Consumption and consumer debt trends 3.9 Investment When an owner usually acquired property for the purpose of generating income like plants and equipments, this is called investment as it is spending on income-generating assets. If a country wants to achieve long term sustainable economic growth, it should be able to the rates of accumulation of capital be it human or physical so that it can result in more efficient assets and so that the whole population can have access to those assets. With the help of financial instruments, markets, and institutions, the extent to which information, enforcement and transactions costs can have their impact on savings rates, investment decisions, technological innovations and steady-state growth rates can be improved. Average annual investment growth in the first six quarters of recovery Source: National Bureau of Economic Research; National Inco

A New Life :: Personal Narrative Divorce Family Essays

A New Life After about eight years of my mother’s searching to replace the love once received from my father and my hopes of my parents getting back together, she fell in love with someone new, shattering all my hopes. Assuming this new love wanted to replace my father, I put up an emotional wall. Eventually, this wall crumbled down when I realized that my parents were happier apart than when they were together. Even though my mother and father no longer had a relationship, the one between my mother and me matured drastically. This occurred after I finally accepted that she, too, needed love, a love that her children alone could not give her. After my parents divorced, my mother became lonely. Finally, she decided to start dating. My mother had never really dated before my parents got married, so it seemed rough at first. For the first time, my mother relied on me for approval. I took on the parental role and, therefore, terminated any unapproved relationships, since her date could end up as my new father. I finally decided to introduce her to one of my friend’s fathers of whom I did approve. I had no intention of them getting married. I just wanted her to date someone who would treat her right and I knew he would. As time passed, they began to see more and more of each other and I noticed a drastic change in my mother’s attitude. She began acting like a teenager. She even got that giggle that girls get when they get a crush. I felt positively overjoyed at seeing my mother like this. About two months after they began dating, she came home late one night and said she had a surprise for us. My sister and I continued to play our Nintendo game not thinking anything of the surprise she had mentioned. However, our game of computerized Monopoly came to a sudden end. I could not believe what I was hearing. After only two months of dating, my mother and Mike started talking about marriage. My mind went blank and I could not even get out congratulations. Apparently assuming I disapproved, my mother stormed out of the room, angered and hurt. She avoided me the next day, unsure of what to say to me. The following day after school I remained in my room. My mother brought Mike over to talk with me.

In his articles, Zinsser takes a negative view of the college Essay

Pressures that an individual feels affect his disposition towards life. The pressure may be taken as positive or negative depending on the weight it brings a person. Most of the time pressures are viewed to bring about negative effect to the person but some just do not realize that it is the pressure felt by an individual which motivates him to finish a goal. For example, a student is pressured to finish his assignment that is about to be due and if he is not able to finish it, he will be able to receive a low mark. The student then strives hard to finish that assignment on time so that he will not be given low mark by his professor. Sometimes, pressure may also cause a student to do the assignment for the sake of doing it because if he does not submit the assignment on time, he will be able to get a low mark. In short, pressures also bring about negative outputs. In the essay by Zinsser, he had taken a negative view of the college pressures he identified. He identified pressures such as economic pressure, parental pressure, peer pressure, and self-induced pressure. He had discussed that this college pressures had been a hindrance for the college students to enjoy their peer activities, to choose their own college courses to pursue and to do whatever things they find interesting and more enjoyable to do. The pressures he had identified are considered as hindrance for the students to pursue their chosen dreams. He discussed that the pressures had been affecting the students but he didn’t realize that these pressure in the long run will be viewed as valuable for the student. The pressure which Zinsser considered as problems and hindrances for student s will be an important aspect in realizing their true dreams. Economic pressures of the society today should not be viewed negatively or as a hindrance that could consummate a college student who is trying hard to be able to finish his college studies. Otherwise, economic pressures such as the increasing trends of insurances, postage, oils, cost of boarding and tuition fees. Instead of viewing the pressures negatively, the students should be able to consider it as a challenge that they should be able to get through in order to survive in the world where they chose to live. Economic pressures serve as a challenge for the college students to try harder in pursuing their dreams to come true. Yes, it is very true that the economic pressure nowadays greatly affects the situation of the students who are financially unstable but it should not be considered a hindrance for them to pursue whatever they aim to achieve in life. As the competition for scholarships and grants is becoming very tougher and tougher nowadays because of economic deficits felt by large companies, it is really hard to secure one in order to continue studying for college. However, securing a scholarship or grant for a student who really needs to get a scholarship will not be difficult if he have a strong drive or motivation. Nothing is impossible for a person who is really interested and who is really motivated to achieve a goal. Students who are not financially unstable don’t experience the economic pressure that is experienced by the students who are financially constrained. They are more affected with the pressures they feel from their parents. Parents of these students decide that their children must enroll to a law school or a medical school. The reason behind these is that they wanted to make sure that their children get the best education in order for them to have a secured future. Secured future for them is enrolling in a law school or a medical school because these field of education promises large lump of money. Although some people have a negative view towards the pressures a child receive from his parents, these pressures still could cause good effects to the children in the long run. If we make an analysis, in the short run, the pressures that parents give their children may not provide good impacts to them but in the long run, it will be able to do them good. Why? In the long run, the children will little by little accept the fate that their parents had given them and will eventually provide them good results. The student may not be really interested in the field that his parents like him to pursue but as he goes along the way, he will eventually mature and will realize that his parents want him to have the best education for him to be able to have a secured future. As he matures, he will then realize that he is more than fortunate that his parents could provide him the best education they could ever offer unlike the unfortunate children that need to work in order to go to school. Because of the decision his parents made for him when he entered college, he then realizes that the pressures his parents had given him had offered him positive results and it did not turned out to have caused him negative results. Self induced pressure should also be viewed as a valuable and important thing in the building the future of a student. In school, he is pressured to do surpass the efforts that his classmates exert to be able to get high marks. Studying hard as well as exerting so much effort in school is a good trait a student must possess. The students learn in a way that he also has exerted effort. In this case, after graduating, he will be ready to surpass all the pressures of his work. He will not have the feeling of difficulty because he had been equipped with the right knowledge he gained when he was studying. Peer pressures felt by a student is also a valuable thing that he could use when he will seek his first job in the future. Pressure from peer is compared to the pressure that he will feel when he is already employed and will tae orders from his boss. At first, pressures given by peers to a student is not beneficial because it distracts the concentration of the student in studying but eventually in the long run, he will be able to get used in the pressures he feels from his peers. In this way, pressures from work in the long run will not be considered as a hindrance from him to also excel in his work in the future. He had been trained with the pressures his friends had given him and in return, the pressures of his work in the future will not be a problem anymore because he will deal it with enthusiasm. Pressures that a student undergoes during a certain part of his life particularly in his college life are very important and valuable. They should not be viewed negatively because it is a process wherein training is executed. The student is trained to become a real equipped person to be battling in the future in his work as well as in his own life and family. If in his college life, he had been used to pressure, the pressures he will be undergoing in the future will not be a burden for him to succeed instead, it will be regarded as a challenge that is to be solved with patience and perseverance. Works Cited: Zinsser. William (1978). College Pressures. The Norton Reader. Norton-Simon Publishing.

Pressure groups essays

Pressure groups essays A pressure group is any group of people who endeavour to persuade the government or government decision making, without becoming the decision makers or apart of the decision making process. Pressure groups do not seek to form government nor do they develop comprehensive policy platforms. There are two different types of pressure groups; they are either sectional or altruistic pressure groups. Sectional pressure groups operate on the specific interests of their members. They are identifiable sub groups of society that centre on achieving selective benefits for their members. An example of a sectional group is the Australian Hotels association. An altruistic or promotional pressure group exists and functions in the interest of and focuses on community values. They work for the public good as they believe it will benefit the broader community. An example of an altruistic pressure group is the Australian Wilderness Society. The Australian Hotel Association is a sectional pressure group which was formed to protect and develop the interests of Australias hotel industry. They function to promote the interests of its members such as taxation, excise duty, industrial relations and tourism. The membership of the pressure group is closed, meaning that membership is restricted to those registered under the Workplace Relations Act 1996. The membership has a hierarchy of elected individuals as there is a National Board of the AHA, the governing council and there is also a President of each branch. The Wilderness Society is altruistic pressure group functioning to protect, promote and restore wilderness and natural processes across Australia. Membership of this altruistic pressure group is open which means any person who believes in the values and goals can join up. The membership of the Wilderness society is based on volunteers from across the nation, and rely on donations t...

Controversial Ads Essay Example

Controversial Ads Essay Example Controversial Ads Paper Controversial Ads Paper Essay Topic: Controversial Every second of the day, no matter where you are, you are influenced by advertisements. As we drive down the highway listening to the radio we hear advertisements through commercials and look out the window to see huge billboards. When surfing the internet advertisements pop up, and while watching television advertisements are viewed even more. These advertisements focus on catching the eye of the beholder. Some focus their attention towards adults, some towards kids, and some are accidentally catching both eyes. The advertisement industry has now started to promote sex and comedy as a way to sell their items. Billboards now show scantily clad women over one hundred feet tall on the sides of highways and sexual oriented advertisements now pop up on the internet while visiting various sites. Television now has a Miller Lite commercial with women wrestling in water and Budweiser had a commercial with frogs speaking to promote beer. Trojan Condoms advertises with exploding geysers to promote their condoms. Monetary gains may be occurring because some believe sex and comedy sells, but because of these advertisements our children are being influenced to act inappropriately at a very young age. Children do not need to be influenced by this advertising. The Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth at Georgetown University released December 17 a report saying that Americas youth has been overexposed to alcohol advertising (Craig). Beer companies absolutely advertise toward adolescents. One has to think about who the Budweiser frog campaign was for. The WB has alcohol ads during Dawsons Creek and Smallville, and thats a thirteen to eighteen year old audience. It could be because its prime time, but its questionable. (Craig) Why do companies need to aim alcohol towards the youth of our world today? These alcohol companies know exactly what they are doing. It was found that if you look at the profit margins of alcohol manufactures, a significant portion are underage consumers. They know theyre advertising for adolescents (Craig). Under aged drinking accounts for nearly fifty-three billion dollars worth of revenue for alcohol companies each year. (Miller) Twenty-two million teenagers some seventy-seven percent of all twelve to eighteen year-olds in the U. S. (we didnt even count kids under twelve or between nineteen and twenty) watch television after 9 p. m. when booze ads routinely grace the airwaves. (Miller) The Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth at Georgetown released a study reporting that alcohol companies were reaching Americas youths with advertising more effectively than they were with adults(Craig). Government agencies wonder why so many underage people drink. They allow these companies to purposely advertise towards the adolescents of our society. Why doesnt our government do anything about it? It is obviously because the alcohol tax is one of the biggest means of income that our government has. In 1995 the United States government received around nine and a half billion dollars in revenue from alcohol taxes. (Young) Our government should take a little bit more money out of this revenue to promote more safe drinking habits and teach more classes on why underage drinking is so hazardous. Not only is it wrong that these alcohol companies target our adolescents and the government does nothing about it, but it is wrong that these companies are influencing peoples moral character. Our moral integrity is being challenged every second of the day now. As a nineteen year old male, these advertisements promoting sex are very much what I want to see. But as a nineteen year old Catholic male, with some integrity, I do not believe that women should be perceived to the public in this way and I do not need to see this. When you have women wrestling in water ripping each others clothes off and men cheering them on, you have crossed the line in advertising. Women are not merely objects for which we compete, but are on the other hand an object of our affection. Women deserve the same amount of respect as any other human being upon this earth. If they are trying to advertise towards younger males with this, why dont they have men wrestle and advertise towards younger women? Obviously it is because of who they are targeting. These companies know men drink more than women. But by using them as objects of sex, they are declining them of all forms of respect. Our youth today is not only being affected by alcohol commercials, but also commercials promoting safe sex. One of the most often viewed commercials out there promoting safe sex is the Trojan Condoms commercial. During this commercial a geyser explodes in the background while two people are making out due to sensational pleasure. Sex is not something that should be taken so light heartedly by the youth of our world. Sex is something sacred, and a persons virginity should be held sacred until marriage. These horrific advertisements are portraying to our youth that sex is something that all should enjoy whenever they please. Yes we should all enjoy sex, but only at the right time in our lives. More teenagers today are becoming pregnant than ever before, and it is because our advertising world is telling them it is alright to engage in sexual acts at such a young age. In the 1980s around twenty-one percent of women fifteen to nineteen became pregnant. In the 1990s that number rose to around twenty-four percent for these fifteen to nineteen year old women. (Guttmacher Institute) Many teens are also contracting sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). The number of teens nationwide who are infected with an STD is staggering. A report from the Austin, Texas-based Medical Institute for Sexual Health finds that 1 out of 4 teenagers currently have or have had a sexually transmitted disease. (Albernaz) Some believe that a condom can protect them from the transfer of fluid. Well it does not. It is only there to reduce the risk of STDs and unwanted pregnancies. Why must we be put into these situations? There is no way to avoid them. Our life is judged in the end on how we live our lives today. The people involved in creating these horrific advertisements do not need to be destroying our chances to be judged righteously. They are condemning themselves and they do not need to condemn the lives of others. They may be looking for monetary gains, but what they need to be looking at is the effect they are having on the minds and actions of our worlds youth. Every year more and more people die in alcohol related accidents due to under aged drinking, and more and more youth pregnancies and STDs are occurring. It seems that these companies, by advertising to the youth, are advertising to promote under aged drinking and sexual acts reserved for marriage. Not only does it need to stop and but these advertisements need to stop now!

Audit Independence Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Audit Independence - Case Study Example This paper provides an insightful study into the role played by lack of competition in the audit marketplace in affecting auditor independence and the ways through which it can affect the audit quality. It also sheds light on the solutions actually implemented to resolve this problem as well the ones that have been proposed and yet to be implemented. Lack of competition in the audit marketplace is one of the most significant concerns among the regulators these days. Lack of competition in the audit marketplace refers to the fact that there are big four auditing firms predominantly involved in the provision of accounting services around the world encompassing approximately 78% of the total US publicly trading companies. There is a serious lack of accounting services firms in several markets and usually companies are left with no or few choices as to the selection of company auditor because of domination of these big four firms in their respective markets. For example, KMPG has a dominating position in providing auditing services to financial institutions whereas PricewaterhouseCoopers is dominant in the coal and petroleum industry (Bloom and Schirm, 2005). The events such as Enron and WorldCom led to the widespread notion of audit failure or audit incapacity to act as shareholders representatives and report any problems prevailing in the company. This lack of competition became a concern of crucial importance soon after the incidence of Enron and the termination of Arthur Andersen (Bloom and Schirm, 2005). There have been several causes behind the occurrence of such events that seriously shattered the image of auditing and accountancy service profession and directed the attention of regulators towards the notion of lack of competition in the audit marketplaces. Simunic and Stein (1995) elaborate that the market for professional accountancy services highly lacks competitiveness because of several rigid restrictions imposed by the government such as code of ethics, limit on fees and prohibition of advertisement etc. Such restrictions as well as the dominance of big four firms in the industry has been hampering the advent and success of new firms in the market leading to lack of competition. Apart from that, these firms are also involved in the provision of non-audit professional services to their client companies. Because of that fact that there happen to be a very few number of firms in the market, companies turn towards these four firms for both audit and non-audit professional services. Such involvement also contributes to concentration of a major part of these audit firms' income in the client company. This has been the major factor affecting the independence of auditors in providing an opinion on a client company's financial statements. Hence, lack of competition in the audit marketplace is considered to be acting as a threat to audit independence. Audit independence refers to the notion of complete freedom on the part of an auditor while presenting an audit opinion. Hemraj elaborate that "the function of 'public watchdog' demands that the auditor subordinates

LMU college essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

LMU college - Essay Example As a young person, I have a social life to lead, while at the same time I have my career goals to achieve. It is obvious that at this point, many people tend to suffer the effects of peer pressure from their fellow age mates, thus losing the focus of their career goals. However, for psycho-social development, it is imperative that a person at my age is subjected to a proper relationship with his peers to achieve a proper psycho-social development. This is a challenging situation for most youths and it requires application of critical thinking. Taking both scenarios in to consideration, I applied critical thinking, while using my intelligence integrated with character. To begin with, when I was making my daily time-table schedule, I began by giving the most imperative issues in life the highest priority: The most important issue in my life is my education at this time; this is followed by my psycho-social development, which basically involves spending time with relatives and friends. Therefore, on my daily schedule time table, I ensured that all issues ascribed to my academic work are given the first priority and adequate time. This was then followed by the time I spend with relatives and friends consecutively. Other miscellaneous activities such as watching movies, physical fitness sessions were given the last priority on my time-table; however adequate time was allocated for these activities. In order to be successful in formulating personal operational plans, one has to apply intelligence, while also taking into consideration his character: In my case, I applied my intelligence in creating a time-table and allocating adequate time for each daily activity. However, a great sense of care was taken in order to ensure that none of the activities collided with each other. My intelligence also played a crucial is evaluating what seems to be important in my life at this particular time and what