Analysis of Cryptocurrency Marketplace †Free Samples to Students

Question: Discuss about the Analysis of Cryptocurrency Marketplace. Answer: Introduction Cryptocurrency refers to any digital asset that is designed to work as exchange medium using cryptographic methods to secure transactions (Dictionary.cambridge.org 2017). Cryptocurrencies also help in controlling the creation of additional currency units. These are considered to be a part of digital currencies, virtual currencies and alternative currencies. In this report is investigated the increasing use of cryptocurrency. This report analyses the growing industry of cryptocurrencies and the effect of it on the global scenario. The report will discuss the origin of the concept of these currencies and three such cryptocurrencies. In the following report, a paper on Bitcoin by Satoshi Nakamoto is discussed which discusses the origin of cryptocurrencies. This report goes on to draw comparisons on the capabilities and resources needed by personal and commercial users to mine such cryptocurrencies and sheds light on the viability and costs of bitcoin. This report further discusses the t hreat that these cryptocurrencies pose to the financial organizations that deal with hard currency, the ways in which these currencies are put to use by people with a criminal mindset. The report ends with the interest taken by the government of China in cryptocurrencies and implications of the same all around the globe. The cryptocurrency system is decentralized and is produced collectively by the total cryptocurrency system. A group or an individual named Satoshi Nakamoto created the underlying basic technical system of cryptocurrencies (Lemieux 2013). In case of cryptocurrencies, production is gradually decreased until there is a capping on the total amount of currencies circulating in the cloud. There are a number of such cryptocurrencies in use these days like Bitcoins, Ethereum, Litecoins, Auroracoins and many other such currencies. Background discussion based on a paper by Satoshi Nakamoto Cryptocurrency came into the being with the need of trusted third parties in the e-commercial financial transactions other than the existing financial institutions that deal in hard currency. The cost of transactions increase with the mediation cost involved in the transactions. There would be a certain amount of fraudulent practices that are unavoidable in case of electronic payments. The uncertainties of electronic payments can be avoided by making payments using physical currency. In case of electronic payments there must be present a trusted third party. Thus, a transaction medium is needed that allows willing parties the scope of engaging in a direct transaction between themselves without the need of any third party (Bitcoin.org 2017). These electronic payments are made using electronic coins that can be defined a digital signature chain. The coins are passed from owner to owner by digitally signing the previous transaction hash and the public key of the next owner. The payee has the freedom to verify the signatures but not the fact that the coin has not been doubly spent by the previous owner. This problem can be solved only if the parties involved are made aware of all the transaction history. The solution provided to the problem discussed is a timestamp server. The server works by widely publishing the hash of a certain block of things. A system of proof-of-work is needed to implement the distributed timestamp server. This also helps in solving the problem of deciding the representation of majority in decision-making. In case of hacking, a hacker needs to redo the proofs-of-work for all the blocks in order to actual nodes. There should be a properly run network that would track the progress of the node. In case of discrepancies the longer node is followed. There should be incentives for the nodes to remain honest towards the transaction. Any hacker who is greedy for more coins should find playing by the rules more profitable than adopting unfair means. The spent transactions of a certain bock should be removed after regular intervals to ensure saving of enough disk space to continue transactions. There are ways to provide for verification of payments made by a user. The user cannot check the transaction by himself but can find out whether the following nodes have accepted the transaction after linking the transaction to some place in the network chain. The verification of the transaction is deemed reliable as long as the network is controlled by the honest nodes in the chain. It becomes vulnerable if the network is controlled by a hacker. There are at least two outputs for every transaction. One output is dedicated towards payment while the other is used to produce returns towards the sender if there is any. Privacy of transactions can be maintained by keeping some of the publics keys of the transactions anonymous. A separate key pair should be used to prevent transactions to be linked to a common owner. Linking the other transactions could be traced back to belonging to one IP address if the owner of the key is revealed. Capabilities and resources required by small-scale and large-scale cryptocurrency users to mine the currencies In modern times, people find investing in equipment of digital currency mining profitable. They may set up the equipment and then spend months to mine the currencies while waiting for their investment return to set in. There are certain coins that are found to be profitable in terms of cost-benefit of the beginners. The mining of cryptocurrencies may be worth in case of it being a hobby but not for the sake of being a secondary income. Cryptocurrencies may generate a small income of almost a couple of dollars daily. Some of the cryptocurrencies such as Feathercoins, Dogecoins and Litecoins are easier to mine. A significant amount of profit can be earned from cryptocurrency mining only if a huge amount is invested into the business. Mining cryptocurrencies generally aim to provide for bookkeeping of coins. It aims to reward the miners for their accounting services. It tries to keep the miners costs down. There are a few things required for the mining of cryptocurrencies apart from high levels of curiosity on the part of the miner. Coin base A coin base is a database that is free and private (Marian 2013). It is a container that is protected by a password. It stores a miners earnings and keeps a ledger of the transactions held from all over the network. Mining software package A miner needs to have access to a free software package for mining (Cryptosource.org 2017). This mining software must be built of stratum and cgminer. Mining pool membership The miner must have a membership of an online pool for mining. This is a miners community in which miners combine and link their computers to gain an increment in the profitability and stability of income. Currency exchange membership The miner must be a member of an online forum of currency exchange. This would enable them to exchange their conventional cash for virtual coins and vice versa. Internet connectivity The miner needs to be connected to a high speed internet connection that is reliable. An ideal internet connection for mining cryptocurrencies should function at a speed of 2 megabits per second or higher. Hardware setup A miner needs to possess a cool location for setting up the hardware and a cooling system for cooling the computer as and when required. A custom-made computer or desktop is required for mining. It is recommended to abstain from using the current working computer of the miner because the miner may not be able to use the system for any other purposes while the mining is under process. The miner would also need a mining ASIC chip. This chip would provide the accounting services and the mining works. The miner needs a motherboard with three PCI-E slots for video cards (Cryptosource.org 2017). Bitcoins, on the other hand, can be mined by the large scale users only. The mining process involves a series of steps. These steps finally help encouraging the miners to compete with each other to come up with hashes that help meet the needed criteria. The miners of Bitcoin use a specific kind of software to solve mathematical problems. They are issued Bitcoins in exchange for the solved problems. This helps in providing a smarter way of issuing the currency thereby creating incentives for a larger number of people to mine the currencies. Cryptocurrency Introduction date Values Market trends Bitcoin 3rd January, 2009 1 bitcoin = around 4214.41 USD Prices have gone higher since October, 2015 (Worldcoinindex.com 2017). Litecoin 7th October, 2011 1 litecoin = around 51 USD Prices have gone higher since May, 2017 but have been fluctuating in the past 30 days (Worldcoinindex.com 2017). Ethereum 30th July, 2015 1 ethreum = around 292.3 USD Prices have gone higher since April, 2017 but have been fluctuating in the past 90 days (Worldcoinindex.com 2017). Costs and viability of bitcoin mining Bitcoins have been the first decentralized cryptocurrency that has been fully implemented. It is owned or controlled by no one and is open-source (Bitcoin.org 2017). The e-payments through these cryptocurrencies are facilitated based on validation and mathematical proof. Bitcoins can be exchanged for other services, products and currencies and vice-versa. These transactions are direct and take place between two users. Though fast, these transactions are irreversible in nature. These are transparent transactions yet anonymous In the present day scenario, it has become necessary for national banks to develop their own cryptocurrencies. The People's Bank of China, a national bank of China is on its way to become the first nationalized bank to develop as well as run a digital currency of its own. There are reports that suggest the use of some prototypes of the transactions between the national digital currency and some commercial banks of the country. In the present day scenario, though, China is reported to have banned the initial coin offerings or ICOs (Forbes.com 2017). This ban has hurt the local operators mostly. Cryptocurrencies may lead to eradication of the need for the financial organizations dealing with hard currencies (Bollen 2013). An increase in the number of users of cryptocurrencies is expected in near future. Thus it can be predicted that there will be a substantial amount of decline in the number of payments made and received through conventional methods. During recent times, there has been a rise in the number of criminal activities involving cryptocurrencies. Criminals prefer the cryptocurrencies due to the provision of irreversible and private payment windows (Bitcoin.org 2017). PESTEL analysis and Porters Five Forces model The following table provides a PESTEL analysis of Bitcoin, the first decentralized cryptocurrency. Political analysis No government body is in control of this currency. Financial institutions of many countries of the world are barred from accepting these cryptocurrencies (Heid 2013). There are some countries like Canada, United States and EU that are considered Pro-bitcoin. Transactions involving bitcoins are generally allowed between two private parties. Economic analysis Market capitalization of bitcoins extends beyond 0.008% of the global GDP of 78 trillion dollars which amounts to almost 6 billion dollars. There exist 21 million bitcoins in the present days with almost 15359800 of the total number in circulation. The ability of the federal government of conducting monetary policies remain unaffected by the cryptocurrencies (Brenig, Accorsi, and Mller 2015). Bitcoin is widely used in the global market by more than 88000 merchants. Socio-cultural analysis The driving force behind the popularity of the cryptocurrencies is the anonymity of operations (Clarke and Tooker 2017). These cryptocurrencies have wide range of reaches and helps in savings by skipping the cost of processing that can be incurred in the traditional payment methods. The increase in the number of merchants adopting this technology of payment results in the increase of the number of customers availing the same. Technological analysis Block chains or the public ledger of Bitcoins need to be leveraged Environmental analysis An increase in the requirement of computational power is experienced with the growth of demand of the cryptocurrencies. Miners try and find alternative sources of electricity such as the cheap variety of coal in old places of production (Zohar 2015). Bitcoin is associated with 1.5 tonnes of carbon-dioxide emission. Legal analysis Any kind of regulatory measures against Bitcoins are hindered due to the decentralized nature of the cryptocurrency (Chuen 2015). This legal scenario is on its way to change. Many countries like USA, EU and Canada are working on measures to impost regulations on the cryptocurrency usage. In order to sustain itself in the market, a cryptocurrency must follow the five forces model of management by Porter. According to this model, the threats to the business due to new entrants must be removed. The threats due to the substitutes present in the market must also be removed. A business firm must be aware of the rivalry intensity among the other firms functioning in similar businesses. The firm should also keep an eye on the power of bargaining of the customers and the suppliers (E. Dobbs 2014; Rothaermel 2015). Conclusion Despite the issues and challenges faced, the landscape and scope of cryptocurrencies are still on its way of evolution. In the present day, cryptocurrencies are almost in the same footing as the concept of internet was back in the year 1990. The concept is in its formative stages and would need to go through a number of changes to be established as an alternate transaction method for the common man. Bitcoins may have earned the title of the first ever decentralized cryptocurrency but it might not be able to earn for itself the title of one of the major future cryptocurrencies. Despite its shortcomings, the open technology platform of bitcoins has been the forerunner of a smoother and more seamless digital economy globally. References Bitcoin.org 2017. [online] Available at: https://bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf [Accessed 3 Oct. 2017]. Bitcoin.org 2017.Bitcoin - Open source P2P money. [online] Bitcoin.org. Available at: https://bitcoin.org/en/ [Accessed 5 Oct. 2017]. Bitcoin.org 2017.Press - Bitcoin. [online] Bitcoin.org. Available at: https://bitcoin.org/en/press [Accessed 4 Oct. 2017]. Bollen, R., 2013. The legal status of online currencies: are bitcoins the future?.Browser Download This Paper. Brenig, C., Accorsi, R. and Mller, G., 2015, May. Economic Analysis of Cryptocurrency Backed Money Laundering. InECIS. Chuen, D.L.K. ed., 2015.Handbook of digital currency: Bitcoin, innovation, financial instruments, and big data. Academic Press. Clarke, C. and Tooker, L., 2017. Social finance meets financial innovation: contemporary experiments in payments, money and debt.Theory, Culture Society. Cryptosource.org 2017.Part 1: Hardware Requirements. [online] CryptoSource. Available at: https://cryptosource.org/mining/hardware-requirements/ [Accessed 5 Oct. 2017]. Cryptosource.org 2017.Part 2: Software Requirements. [online] CryptoSource. Available at: https://cryptosource.org/mining/software-requirements/ [Accessed 5 Oct. 2017]. Dictionary.cambridge.org 2017.cryptocurrency Meaning in the Cambridge English Dictionary. [online] Dictionary.cambridge.org. Available at: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/cryptocurrency [Accessed 5 Oct. 2017]. Dobbs, M., 2014. Guidelines for applying Porter's five forces framework: a set of industry analysis templates.Competitiveness Review,24(1), pp.32-45. Forbes.com 2017.Forbes Welcome. [online] Forbes.com. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/kenrapoza/2017/09/06/chinas-ico-ban-doesnt-mean-its-giving-up-on-crypto-currencies/#7d3c90767aeb [Accessed 5 Oct. 2017]. Heid, A., 2013. Analysis of the Cryptocurrency Marketplace.Retrieved February,15, p.2014. Lemieux, P., 2013. Who Is Satoshi Nakamoto?.Regulation,36(3), p.14. Marian, O.Y., 2013. Are Cryptocurrencies' Super'Tax Havens?. Rothaermel, F.T., 2015.Strategic management. McGraw-Hill Education. Worldcoinindex.com 2017.Bitcoin price | index, chart and news | WorldCoinIndex. [online] Worldcoinindex.com. Available at: https://www.worldcoinindex.com/coin/bitcoin [Accessed 4 Oct. 2017]. Worldcoinindex.com 2017.Ethereum price | index, chart and news | WorldCoinIndex. [online] Worldcoinindex.com. Available at: https://www.worldcoinindex.com/coin/litecoin [Accessed 4 Oct. 2017]. Worldcoinindex.com 2017.Litecoin price | index, chart and news | WorldCoinIndex. [online] Worldcoinindex.com. Available at: https://www.worldcoinindex.com/coin/litecoin [Accessed 4 Oct. 2017]. Zohar, A., 2015. Bitcoin: under the hood.Communications of the ACM,58(9), pp.104-113.

Mills Utilitarianism Sacrifice The Innocent For The Common Good Essa

Mill's Utilitarianism: Sacrifice The Innocent For The Common Good? Body of Essay : Mill's Utilitarianism: Sacrifice the innocent for the common good? When faced with a moral dilemma, utilitarianism identifies the appropriate considerations, but offers no realistic way to gather the necessary information to make the required calculations. This lack of information is a problem both in evaluating the welfare issues and in evaluating the consequentialist issues which utilitarianism requires be weighed when making moral decisions. Utilitarianism attempts to solve both of these difficulties by appealing to experience; however, no method of reconciling an individual decision with the rules of experience is suggested, and no relative weights are assigned to the various considerations. In deciding whether or not to torture a terrorist who has planted a bomb in New York City, a utilitarian must evaluate both the overall welfare of the people involved or effected by the action taken, and the consequences of the action taken. To calculate the welfare of the people involved in or effected by an action, utilitarianism requires that all individuals be considered equally. Quantitative utilitarians would weigh the pleasure and pain which would be caused by the bomb exploding against the pleasure and pain that would be caused by torturing the terrorist. Then, the amounts would be summed and compared. The problem with this method is that it is impossible to know beforehand how much pain would be caused by the bomb exploding or how much pain would be caused by the torture. Utilitarianism offers no practical way to make the interpersonal comparison of utility necessary to compare the pains. In the case of the bomb exploding, it at least seems highly probable that a greater amount of pain would be caused, at least in the present, by the bomb exploding. This probability suffices for a quantitative utilitarian, but it does not account for the consequences, which create an entirely different problem, which will be discussed below. The probability also does not hold for Mill's utilitarianism. Mill's Utilitarianism insists on qualitative utilitarianism, which requires that one consider not only the amount of pain or pleasure, but also the quality of such pain and pleasure. Mill suggests that to distinguish between different pains and pleasures we should ask people who have experienced both types which is more pleasurable or more painful. This solution does not work for the question of torture compared to death in an explosion. There is no one who has experienced both, therefore, there is no one who can be consulted. Even if we agree that the pain caused by the number of deaths in the explosion is greater than the pain of the terrorist being tortured, this assessment only accounts for the welfare half of the utilitarian's considerations. Furthermore, one has no way to measure how much more pain is caused by allowing the bomb to explode than by torturing the terrorist. After settling the issues surrounding the welfare, a utilitarian must also consider the consequences of an action. In weighing the consequences, there are two important considerations. The first, which is especially important to objectivist Utilitarianism, is which people will be killed. The second is the precedent which will be set by the action. Unfortunately for the decision maker, the information necessary to make either of these calculations is unavailable. There is no way to determine which people will be killed and weigh whether their deaths would be good for society. Utilitarianism requires that one compare the good that the people would do for society with the harm they would do society if they were not killed. For example, if a young Adolf Hitler were in the building, it might do more good for society to allow the building to explode. Unfortunately for an individual attempting to use utilitarianism to make for decisions, there is no way to know beforehand what a person will do. Furthermore, without even knowing which building the bomb is in, there is no way to predict which people will surely be in the building. A subjectivist utilitarian would dismiss this consideration and would examine only what a rational person would consider to be the consequence; however, even the subjectivist utilitarian must face the question of precedent setting. Utilitarianism considers justice and humane treatment to be good for society as a whole and therefore instrumentally good as a means to promoting happiness. Utilitarianism considers precedent to be important, but does not offer any method of determining exceptions. It is impossible to determine how much effect on precedent any given isolated action will have. In the case of determining whether or not to torture

Free Essays on Multiple Sclerosis (MS)

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a chronic, often disabling disease that randomly attacks the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord). The progress, severity and specific symptoms of the disease can not be predicted; symptoms may range from tingling and numbness to paralysis and blindness. MS is a devastating disease because people live with its unpredictable physical and emotional effects for the rest of their lives. MS is a well-known disease, but poorly understood. In the United States there are approximately 200 new cases diagnosed each week; MS is a common disease and not always caused by genetics. Therefore, I feel we all need to have a better understanding of this disease that has no cure yet. I hope to make MS more understanding in my paper. In my paper I will explain what MS is, who gets MS, what MS has to do with the metabolism, some new techniques being used to pinpoint genetic factors, what some of the symptoms of MS is, and some treatments for MS. Multiple Sclerosis Mul tiple sclerosis (MS) is a progressive disabling illness that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord (Bernard). Under normal conditions these nerve cells are surrounded by an insulating sheath made of fatty "myelin," which speeds the passage of nerve impulses. In MS, this myelin sheath is inflamed or damaged, disrupting nerve impulses and leaving areas of scarring (sclerosis). The disruption of nerve signals within the brain and spinal cord causes a variety of symptoms that may affect vision, sensation, and body movements. â€Å"These symptoms usually wax and wane through a series of relapses (episodes when symptoms suddenly get worse) alternating with remissions (periods of recovery, when symptoms improve).† (Brunnscheiler) For many patients, a long history of MS attacks over several decades leads to slowly progressing disability, but for others the disability is more rapid and severe. MS is a life-long chronic disease diagnosed primarily in young a... Free Essays on Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Free Essays on Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a chronic, often disabling disease that randomly attacks the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord). The progress, severity and specific symptoms of the disease can not be predicted; symptoms may range from tingling and numbness to paralysis and blindness. MS is a devastating disease because people live with its unpredictable physical and emotional effects for the rest of their lives. MS is a well-known disease, but poorly understood. In the United States there are approximately 200 new cases diagnosed each week; MS is a common disease and not always caused by genetics. Therefore, I feel we all need to have a better understanding of this disease that has no cure yet. I hope to make MS more understanding in my paper. In my paper I will explain what MS is, who gets MS, what MS has to do with the metabolism, some new techniques being used to pinpoint genetic factors, what some of the symptoms of MS is, and some treatments for MS. Multiple Sclerosis Mul tiple sclerosis (MS) is a progressive disabling illness that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord (Bernard). Under normal conditions these nerve cells are surrounded by an insulating sheath made of fatty "myelin," which speeds the passage of nerve impulses. In MS, this myelin sheath is inflamed or damaged, disrupting nerve impulses and leaving areas of scarring (sclerosis). The disruption of nerve signals within the brain and spinal cord causes a variety of symptoms that may affect vision, sensation, and body movements. â€Å"These symptoms usually wax and wane through a series of relapses (episodes when symptoms suddenly get worse) alternating with remissions (periods of recovery, when symptoms improve).† (Brunnscheiler) For many patients, a long history of MS attacks over several decades leads to slowly progressing disability, but for others the disability is more rapid and severe. MS is a life-long chronic disease diagnosed primarily in young a...

So you didn’t get the jobâ€now what

So you didn’t get the job- now what In the course of your job search, you’ve probably come across someone who talks about how they lucked into some great opportunity, clicked with an interviewer right away, and basically walked away with a job offer on the spot. And you probably hate that person a little, especially if you’ve experienced what just about all of us have at some point: a rejection after going through the application process. Let’s face it: that rejection always stings, even if you know you weren’t a good fit or you didn’t have a good interview. Thinking you may not get a job and the confirmation of that fact feel like two different things. So how do you cope after you get the call, email, or deafening silence that confirms the worst?Mourn it a little, but then move on.This is a disappointment. It’s okay to embrace that, but it’s really not worth wallowing for too long. Whether you were the next choice on the list or dead last in the rankings, the end result is the same, so why dwell? Even if you had your heart set on this new gig and envisioned yourself getting that sweet, sweet offer letter, you can’t let the disappointment derail your progress in your job hunt.Don’t expect specific intel on why you weren’t hired.Unless you’re told directly that they didn’t hire you for X reason, you’re probably never going to know for sure exactly why you lost out on this job. Don’t look for closure from the company, because you might be disappointed in what you get. If you ask for specific feedback, you may get it, but it’s just as likely you’ll get a response like, â€Å"we decided to go in a different direction.†Remember that it doesn’t mean you’re un-hireable.It can be tempting to personalize the decision. Why didn’t they want to hire ME? What did I do to make this happen? Chances are, it wasn’t you, personally, who triggered the rejection. Maybe so meone else had a few more experience points or aced the interview. Just because this particular company decided not to hire you does not mean you’re fundamentally flawed as a candidate or that it will affect your chances on your next application.Consider it a chance to regroup.Getting a rejection is a chance to take an honest look at what happened at every step of the process (review your resume, reflect on the interview) and decide what you can improve for next time. It can make you leaner and meaner, and ready for the next job to come along. Were you as prepared as you could have been? Did the interview go well or were there things you’d change? Can your resume be more targeted and reflective of your top skills? These are important questions to ask after any job rejection.Not getting the job is also a chance to think about what your job search goals are. Did you really want this job? Do you want to continue looking for this specific kind of job after all? The bottom line is that this is a good chance to re-evaluate yourself- both as a potential employee and as a job seeker.After any job rejection, it’s important to remember that it’s not the end of the world. It’s a letdown for sure, but for whatever reason, this job just wasn’t right. At some point, the stars will align, and you’ll find an employer who thinks you’re a perfect match for their job opening. Don’t lose your motivation or your faith in yourself- see it as an opportunity to learn from the experience and move on to the next thing.

STRATEGIC PLANNING Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

STRATEGIC PLANNING - Essay Example It was incorporated in 1985 (served only 5,000 passengers with 51 employees) to cater travelers from Waterford to London Gatwick, and since then it has experienced phenomenal business growth and expansion (now serving over 60 million passengers and have employees over 6,000) because of its highly effective low-priced business strategy. The company today enjoys the status of ‘World’s favorite airline’, has 41 bases and more than 1,100 routes across 26 nations and now has a fleet of more than 220 aircrafts of one kind (preferably Boeing 737-800 to minimize operational costs). As part of its expansion policy, the company will induct more than 100 new Boeing aircrafts in its fleet to cater the pool of over 65 million customers (expected) in near future. (Internet: Ryanair.com) Strategy of governments to maximize their revenue by bolstering the Tourism Industry and attracting more people from other countries would create demand of traveling services of Ryan Air. However, Ryan Air could be affected by various political factors such as the adoption of ‘protectionism of domestic industry’ approach by various nations across Europe and America. This is aimed to protect domestic jobs and employment opportunities by imposition of tariffs, taxes, anti-dumping duties etc. on operations of foreign airlines. This approach by different nations to secure their domestic airline(s) might increase the operational costs of Ryan Air, thereby resulting in reduction of demand. Changes in ‘licensing laws’ and increase in barriers to entry in new markets may also affect the airline’s growth strategy. Also, European Union has ‘abolished the duty-free access’ to airlines that would definitely increase the operational costs of Ryan air . Also, the European Business article (2007) pinpointed the fact that European Commission impeded the expansion of Ryan Air across

English - Argumentative Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Arguments in Favor of the Death Penalty - Essay Example This paper tells that criminals who have no regard to other people’s personhood must face this definitive penalty in order to maintain the community whose footing is in sheer violation, especially if they deliberately do this in distressing persistence thereby making it a routine. Some of the offenses that should be punished through death include repeated crimes, espionage, murder, rape and other sexual crimes, and treason. The death penalty should also be performed as part of martial justice. Any offender convicted of any of the above crimes should face execution executed as punishment over the offense. This is because as the criminal provisions deem them, such since he/she is a repugnant threat to the society. A key reason for supporting capital punishment rests of the morality of execution – once a human being applies force against an innocent person, in reality, he/she has affirmed the fact that that he/she does not conform to the principle of individual rights. It is a sign that he/she wants to live as a predator, to the disadvantage and obliteration of all the people around him/her – he/she is not prepared to live as a logical individual among other people. Rights stem from man’s nature as a logical being, and if a person decides on living irrationally, he/she has does not have rights. Executing such a harmful being is sensible. It is only just for the society if that individual is treated in line with his/her actions. Just as the reward should match the action, the punishment should also fit the crime. This concept is referred to as proportionality and it states that reaction should fit the action. As proportionality holds, the premeditated murder of a guiltless individual justifies a premeditated death penalty of the criminal by the state. The absence of justice would make people take justice in their own hands (Landauer & Rowlands, 2&3). Secondly, the capital sentence leads to deterrence. Deterrence refers to the notion that the state can mete out fear to potential and existing criminals by punishing criminals. An offender will dread being involved in a crime that is punishable by death (Robinson, 3). Without a doubt, the threat that a criminal will face execution prevents him/her from engaging in capital crimes and this works more effectively compared to imprisonment. Given that the society has the greatest interest in the prevention of such capital crimes as murder; it should make use of the death penalty, the strongest form of punishment, to dissuade criminals from engaging in such crimes. According to Tremoglie, in Britain, ever since the abolition of execution in the year 1964, cases of homicide have mounted from 0.68 for every 100,000 to 1 .42 for every 100,000 of the population. Reports from the Home Office indicate that there was an alarming rise in illegitimate killings from 300 to 565 and 833 in 1964, 1994 and 2004 in that order. As opposed to homicide and other illegal killings, the number o f criminals convicted for actual murder crime has as well been increasing rapidly. Tremoglie further notes that in 1965, the first year of death penalty abolition in Britain, fifty-seven and one hundred and seven cases were registered in ten years’ time. He confidently considers capital sentence as a definite deterrent to crime, seeing that criminals who were serving life sentences and later discharged from prisons committed seventy-one murders from 1965-1998. Another point in favor of the death penalty is the fact that it incapacitates the criminal – it takes his/her freedom away in such a way that he/she is not in a position to commit another crime.  

The Meaning of Life Essay Example for Free

The Meaning of Life Essay What is the meaning of life. The meaning of our lives, the purpose, and the dreams both dashed and realized, and the expectations forced upon us by others. In other words how do you translate what life is? Translation means to explain in simple terms. What is it supposed to be about? There are different answers for different people at different times in their lives. A persons lifetime is filled with self-examination. Why am I here? What am I doing? Is this as good as it gets? You have a beginning. Youre in the middle, and your story hasnt ended yet. If one would recognize the greatest things we have in life, they would not be asking this question. These great things are faith, hope, and love. Faith is the one that can keep one from asking questions. If God wanted us to know something, then we would know it. In most religions, Christian ones in particular, the question of meaning in life is inextricably wrapped up in a relationship with God. Living in, for, with, and through him. Therefore, how one answers the meaning of life question bears directly the existence of God. Soren Kierkegaard said to be the father of existentialism maintains that there are three basic answers to the question of the meaning of life. He called these stages of life, because he believed that people progressed from one stage to the next. Whether or not that is true, there do seem to be at least three fundamental outlooks on life. One is a life devoted to pleasure. This value perspective can be shown by a person whose only concern is for what they are doing now. They would rather gain from pleasures in life without any regards to how they might affect their future. Another stage is those choosing ethical and moral paths. People who are honest and loyal demonstrate this in their everyday lives. Finally, there is a live religiously. This has been the popular way of life for many of us. It is going to church and practicing your faith Stace argues, the present age has begun to weaken faith in God. The concept of a supernatural person has begun to seem unlikely to many people. The Bible no longer seems as respected for many Catholics. While many people say they believe in God they are beginning question whether faith and God are the answer to the meaning of life. Most of us whether we choose to admit it or not show that material things are what we base our lives around. These ideas are at the heart of existentialism, which is a view of life that says that human beings are the creators of their own sense of meaning or purpose. The most famous existentialist, John Paul Sartre in his books and novels developed several themes that portray existentialism. The first is the notion that existence precedes essence. A legacy of traditional philosophy has been that we have a fixed human nature. Sartre challenged that we have no such set purpose or meaning. Our real meaning or who we are is a result of our decisions. We are what we decide. The second associated concept is the importance of human freedom. Sartre believed that every human being has the freedom to live life as we choose to. He believed that we are often terrified by our freedom, and in fact frequently do not want to take responsibility for our own actions. This attitude Sartre called bad faith. Bad faith is an act of self-deception in which we rationalize our actions as being caused by circumstances instead of being self-caused. Basically blaming others for our own deceptions and mistakes. The third major concept of existentialism is the idea of the Absurd. The philosopher Albert Camus popularized this concept. The concept of the absurd is promoted by atheistic existentialist, such as Sartre and Camus. The similarity between Christian and atheistic existentialist is the significance of human freedom and the belief that we are the makers of our own lives One of the most significant pieces of the decline of religious faith is the continuing awareness that there may not be any purpose in life. Both Albert Camus, and Stace, write from this perspective. They believed that traditional Christians have found security in the belief that their lives are invisibly directed or orchestrated by God. That we have assumed that God has a plan for our life, that things happen for a purpose. But as we experience, if we do, the decline of faith or the reality of God in our lives, we come to realize that perhaps we are more responsible than God is for what happens to us. We begin to realize or suspect that it is we, not God, who is the creator of our lives. We are responsible for who we become. Of course, there are always going to be those people who doubt everything God stands for. For them, the body dies and eternity is darkness, I suppose. The fight is going to be, perhaps even as it has been a battle between those who reject God and the, and those who know that God is real. The soul is ones conscience. Without the acknowledgement of that soul, there is no inner voice that helps guide him in the decisions that he makes. Yet, the soulless atheists still seek to discover the meaning of life, and this is where the battle is fought. They are simply stating that there is no meaning to their lives they have no soul, there can be no meaning. Theists realize life isnt fair. People arent created equal. Atheists believe that until all people actually are equal, life is meaningless, and this is the connection we have to make for them. People are not equal, people will never be equal, and if this equality is the requirement for accepting the meaning of life, then life will always be meaningless. If ambition brings about advantage, those advantages must be neutralized. This is the goal of the atheist. If there is nothing but darkness after life, the goal must be to create heaven on earth. Everyone has questioned their purpose in life for example in his article, My Confession, Leo Tolstoy has gone through his life without ever really questioning the meaning. Then he periodically questioned it until one day he eventually could not picture himself living anymore until he came up with an answer to his questionings. All the things he was thought to be living by no longer made any sense or had any meaning at all to him. He tried to answer his question many different ways, but whichever way he went he kept coming up with a dead end. He first thought the answer must be his family. Although he loved them very much, as humans they are confronted with the same questions he is. They are living this lie right along with him pretending that they have all the answers, or just simply ignoring the questions. He next thought the answer to be in his work. Eventually, coming to the realization that with all of his success in art and poetry he had become distracted. He was using art as a decoy. Without knowing his answers to the meaning of life, it was wrong and useless to depict these lies to others. He soon felt as if life had stopped, and was even contemplating suicide when he came to the realization that faith is present in each one of us and is what makes our lives meaningful. Everyone must believe they have a purpose here, for if they didnt they would not be living at all. For life to have true meaning, that meaning must come external to the individual and be somehow consistent with life as a whole. Christians would argue that only God could grant this. It is the helping hand, which guides us through life with an honest and loving heart. Jesus is the only man to lead a true, meaningful life. His life is really the only life of meaning and it is only through him that we have the opportunity to live meaningful lives. Without accepting this answer, one will have only difficulty for the rest of their lives, especially in answering the question of the meaning of life. If you accept this answer, however life is much simpler, because your search is over. Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life? John 14:6. The way the truth and the meaning of life itself. There are scriptural accounts of people claiming to see God, and while a witness is more proof than no witness is, there is no way to scientifically verify these statements. They must be accepted purely on faith. Some say that the existence of humans or planetary balance is proof that God exists. These do not prove He exists. Christians believe God is in control of everything in the universe, and created the same. God created all beings, and every atom in this universe. We know God exists because He says He does. The bible is His word, left for us to read. Psychologist Viktor Frankl wrote in Mans search for Meaning that we should not ask what we expect from life, but what life expects from us. He was making the point that people must deal with what daily tasks are put in front of them. Instead of arguing and complaining, we have to take action. Our strength is shown through the soul survival of the hardships we face. Which brings us to the problem philosopher John Hick was facing. In his article, The Problem of Evil he asks the question, if God is perfectly loving, he must wish to abolish evil. But evil exists; therefore God cannot be both omnipotent and perfectly loving. The very fact that there is such suffering gives good cause to doubt not only the value of the whole human race, but also the existence of God. A God that can be said to care in the slightest for whats been created, any God who has power over all things, who is anything other than a horrible monster who finds cruel unusual joy in squeezing every last drop of suffering out of them. It would rule out anything even vaguely resembling the God that Christians speak of. A God who deserves our utter hatred not our worship. However, Hick found that although harsh and painful, evil did have purpose in the world. He stated in his article, the finest characteristics of personal life must have a good deal in common with our present world. It must operate according to general and dependable laws: and it must involve real dangers, difficulties, problems, obstacles, and possibilities of pain, failure, sorrow, frustration, and defeat. Without these sufferings, we would not be able to know what happiness and love really was. Evil provides us with the possibility of soul making, and according to free will, we must choose our fate. The Laws of nature must be abided by without them the world could not exist. God may be creating the lesser of the evils. There must be suffering in order for God to give inner strength that compensates for loss, and gives the sufferer inspiration to live faithfully and effectively. What God provides are the resources so we can face the suffering and make something positive come from it. He gives the direction and power to make these resources work. He gives hope and wisdom to find the way past the suffering, and to learn from it. John Paul II gave us an outline of what is believed to be the salvific meaning of suffering. Suffering as he wrote in the Apostolic Letter Salvifici Doloris, cannot be transformed and changed by a grace form outside, but from within? This question of human suffering is not answered directly by God. As man begins to share in the sufferings of Christ, the answer is discovered within in him. Suffering changes and can either increase or decrease, and in those moments Christians become aware of Gods closeness. We are given inner peace and spiritual joy when we suffer generously. When we are suffering we are never alone we are with Christ. With Christ everything has meaning whether its moments of happiness and peace or of pain and suffering. Nothing in life can be fully explained without God. . Look to the bible and Jesus gives us the answer. Love God with your whole heart, mind, body and soul. Love your neighbor as yourself. If you do this, you are following all the commandments. Humble yourself and give the praise and glory to our creator. God the Father our creator is love and he loves you very much. God created us to worship him and he deserves all the praise because he is the first and the last. He has no beginning and no end. Just look around and take in all the beauty he has created. Everyone is special and made in the image of God. We are nothing without our creator. Sin will keep us from God for he is pure and perfect. It is hard to let go of pleasure and putting ones self first. However, the key to peace and happiness is to surrender your freewill to God, the author of life, and he will give you complete, happiness, peace, contentment and purity you are looking for. That is what we were created for. God is made evident every day when the sun comes up, and there is still air to breathe, and you made it through the night. One cannot believe that everything we know was created by accident. Things are just too perfect to have happened by chance. Man is too corrupt a creature to have invented the beautiful things in the world, as in faith, hope and love. He allows evil in this world because He wants us to have the opportunity to choose either Him or evil, thereby proving our love for Him. If His were the only game in town, then there would not be a free will conscious choice for Him. It is evident that the meaning of life has to far to complex for any one to fully understand or agree on the same answer. All these ideas of these different philosophers are not necessarily inaccurate, just incomplete. All pieces to a puzzle that one has no way of fully figuring out. No one has seemed to accomplish this yet in life. There are so many obstacles that we face as we try to achieve a higher good. Many of these are based in the fact that we are human beings, and because of that are flawed by the ways of our culture. Things such as self-doubt, worry, ignorance, and the values put into our heads since the day we were born all are roadblocks on our way to a higher level. Also being human beings makes vulnerable to the ways of the world around us, so it is not easy to block these things out of our lives. This life is a stage in which we are to develop our minds, bodies, and souls to their highest potential in preparation for the afterlife. Only God could ever really show anyone true meaning.