What is religion

What is religion? There are many definitions for the term â€Å"religion† in common usage. On this web site, we define it very broadly, in order to include the greatest number of belief systems: â€Å"Religion is any specific system of belief about deity, often involving rituals, a code of ethics, and a philosophy of life. † Thus we include here all of the great monotheistic religions, Eastern religions; Neopagan religions; a wide range of other faith groups, spiritual paths, and ethical systems; and beliefs about the existence of God(s) and Goddess(es). We recognize that most people define â€Å"religion† in a much more exclusive manner. Christianity: There are many definitions for this term as well. Again, we use an inclusive definition: â€Å"An individual or group is Christian if they sincerely, thoughtfully and devoutly believe that they are Christian. † This generates a lot of angry Emails from some visitors to this site who are insistent on excluding the Jehovah's Witnesses, Roman Catholic Church, the Mormons and some other denominations as sub-Christian, quasi-Christian non-Christian, or anti-Christian. We treat Christianity in greater detail than other religions, simply because about 75% of North Americans identify themselves with that religion. Christians outnumber the next largest organized religions, Judaism and Islam, by about 40 to 1 in the U. S. and Canada. We are not in any way implying that Christianity is superior or inferior to other religions. It is simply much more popular. Destructive, doomsday cults: These are fortunately few in number, and are listed elsewhere. Information for these essays was extracted from reliable sources, and believed to be accurate and reasonably unbiased. Where possible, they have been reviewed by a group (typically 3 or more) of persons who follow the belief before the material is placed online. â€Å"World† Religions: There are many, long established, major world religions, each with over three million followers. We have shown the five largest North American religions in bold: Baha'i Faith Buddhism Christianity; Christian groups, denominations and families (Amish to The Way) Confucianism Hinduism Islam Jainism Judaism Shinto Sikhism Taoism Vodun (Voodoo) 1 Neopagan Religious Faiths Neopagan faiths are modern-day reconstructions of ancient Pagan religions from various countries and eras. They experience a high but diminishing level of discrimination and persecution in North America. They were once rarely practiced in public for reasons of safety. This is rapidly changing for the better. Asatru (Norse Paganism) * Druidism Goddess Worship Wicca Witchcraft Notes: Many followers of Asatru regard themselves as â€Å"Heathens† rather than â€Å"Neopagans. † Many followers of these religions refer to themselves as â€Å"Pagans. † We use the term â€Å"Neopagan† because it is less ambiguous. Pagan† has a variety of unrelated meanings. Other organized Religions These are smaller religions, with a well defined belief in deity, humanity and the rest of the universe. Of the many hundreds of faith groups in the world, we have chosen these because of their historical significance, or because of the massive amount of misinformation that has be en spread about them in North America: Caodaism Damanhur Community Druze Eckankar Elian Gonzalez religious movement Gnosticism Gypsies Hare Krishna – ISKCON Ifa, the religion of the Yoruba people of West Africa Lukumi Macumba Mowahhidoon Native American Spirituality Rom, Roma, Romani, Rroma, (a. k. a. Gypsies) Santeria Elian Gonzalez religious movement Satanism; The Church of Satan Scientology Unitarian-Universalism The Creativity Movement (formerly called World Church of the Creator) The Yazidi branch of Yazd? ism Zoroastrianism what is RELIGION? The English word â€Å"religion† is derived from the Middle English â€Å"religioun† which came from the Old French â€Å"religion. † It may have been originally derived from the Latin word â€Å"religo† which means â€Å"good faith,† â€Å"ritual,† and other similar meanings. Or it may have come from the Latin â€Å"relig? e† which means â€Å"to tie fast. † Defining the word â€Å"religion† is fraught with difficulty. Many attempts have been made. Most seem to focus on too narrowly only a few aspects of religion; they tend to exclude those religions that do not fit well. It is apparent that religion can be seen as a theological, philosophical, anthropological, sociological, and psychological phenomenon of human kind. To limit religion to only one of these categories is to miss its multifaceted nature and lose out on the complete definition. † All of the definitions that we have encountered contain at least one deficiency some exclude beliefs and practices that many people passionately defend as religious. For example, their definition might include belief in a God or Goddess or combination of Gods and Goddesses who are responsible for the creation of the universe and for its continuing operation. This excludes such non-theistic religions as Buddhism and many forms of religious Satanism which have no such belief. Some definitions equate â€Å"religion† with â€Å"Christianity,† and thus define two out of every three humans in the world as non-religious. Some definitions are so broadly written that they include beliefs and areas of study that most people do not regard as religious. Some define â€Å"religion† in terms of â€Å"the sacred† and/or â€Å"the spiritual,† and thus require the creation of two more definitions. Sometimes, definitions of â€Å"religion† contain more than one deficiency. However, this definition contains an element of controversy, because it implies that religions, and thus perhaps deity/deities, are created by humanity and not the reverse. A less contentious meaning might be the sum total of answers to the problem of our relationship with the universe, we call religion. â€Å"Religion is any specific system of belief about deity, often involving rituals, a code of ethics, a philosophy of life, and a worldview. † A worldview is a set of basic, foundational beliefs concerning deity, humanity and the rest of the universe. Thus we would consider Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Na tive American Spirituality, Wicca, and other Neopagan traditions to be religions. We also include Agnosticism, Atheism, Humanism, Ethical Culture etc. as religions, because they also contain a â€Å"belief about deity. Their belief is that they do not know whether a deity exists, or they have no knowledge of God, or they sincerely believe that God does not exist. Some people do not consider their personal spiritual path to be a religion. Many conservative Christians refer to Christianity not as a religion but as an intensely personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Many Native Americans believe that their spiritual beliefs and practices are not a religion in the normal sense of the term. They form a integral and seamless part of their very being, totally integrated into their life experience. Agnostics and Atheists often do not regard their beliefs to be a religion. To most, Atheism and Agnosticism simply represent a single belief about the existence or non-existence of a supreme being. They do not necessarily include ethical matters. The New Age is sometimes referred to as a religion. However, it is in reality a collection of diverse beliefs and practices from which a practitioner may select those that appeal to her/him. The individual often grafts these beliefs and practices onto an established religion. â€Å"True religion is not about possessing the truth. No religion does that. It is rather an invitation into a journey that leads one toward the mystery of God. Idolatry is religion pretending that it has all the answers. † â€Å"†¦ just because you don't bow on your knees and worship an idol or an invisible being, does not mean you are not a Satan worshiper. The worship of any other god (s) is the same thing. There are no other gods. They are demons and Satan is in control of them. â€Å"Yes, Christianity is the one true religion. That may sound awfully dogmatic and narrow-minded, but the simple truth is that Christianity is the only true religion. Jesus said that He alone was the way to the Father (John 14:6), that He alone revealed the Father (Matt. 11:27; Luke 10:22). Christians do not go around saying Christianity is the only way because they are arrogant, narrow-minded, stupid, and judgmental. They do so because they believe what Jesus said. How many religions are there in the world from which to locate the â€Å"true† one? According to David Barrett and team, there are 19 major world religious groupings in the world which are subdivided into a total of about 10,000 distinct religions. Of the latter, there were 270 religions and para-religions which had over a half million adherents in the year 2000 CE. Within Christianity, they have identified 34,000 separate groups (denominations, sects, individual unaffiliated churches, para-church groups, etc) in the world. â€Å"Over half of them are independent churches that are not interested in linking with the big denominations. † 1 Even considering a single religion, Christianity, within a single country, there are often thousands of individual â€Å"Christian confessions and denominations. 4,684 groups in the U. S. ,364 in South Africa. 2,079 in Nigeria. 1,581 in Brazil. 1,327 in South-central Asia. Among other English-speaking countries, there are: 828 groups in the UK. 469 in Canada. 267 in Australia 175 in New Zealand. 2 Differences in the beliefs and practices of various faith groups: Probably the one area where religions differ the most is over the nature of deity. Various groups teach Agnosticism, Animism, Atheism, Strong Atheism, Deism, Duotheism, Henotheism, Monism, Monotheism, Panentheism, Pantheism, Polytheism, the Trinity, and probably some others that we have missed. Perhaps the next greatest range of beliefs are about the fate of people after death: whether there is simple annihilation, some form of energy-less existence as taught by the ancient Hebrews, Purgatory as taught by the Roman Catholic Church, Heaven or Paradise as taught by many religions, Hell which is also taught by many faiths, Limbo, reincarnation, transmigration of the soul, nirvana, an alternative world much like Earth, and probably some other places or states that we have missed. There is also a great range of beliefs and practices among different religions over other theological beliefs, ritual, organization, family structure, personal sexual behavior, and other topics. For example, differences exist on matters such as: abortion access, adult celibacy, animal sacrifices. ppearance factors (shaving, jewelry), birth control usage, calendar, clergy celibacy, clergy gender, clergy organization, meeting day, documentation, family power sharing, family types, gender of deities, homosexual rights, meeting place, nature of deities, nature of humanity, new year date, number of deities, origin of the universe, prayer, pre-marital sex, role of women, sacred texts, suicide, surgical modifications to the body, special clothing, symbols, etc. More details To our knowledge, no two religions teach the same message or expect the same practices from their followers. One would be hard pressed to find two faith groups within the same religion which have identical teachings and practices. If a â€Å"true religion† exists, then it would probably have to be one or a few faith groups within one of the 10,000 religions. All of the other religions and faith groups would be in error. What do faith groups teach about their own status? Most religious groups teach that their own beliefs and practices are the only true set, and that all other faith groups contain some degree of error. For example, the largest single faith group in the U. S. in Canada, and in the world is the Roman Catholic Church. According to the Times News Service, a year 2000 statement by the Church titled â€Å"Dominus Iesus† implies that â€Å"Churches such as the Church of England, where the apostolic succession of bishops from the time of St. Peter is disputed by Rome, and churches without bishops, are not considered ‘proper' churches. † Only the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Churches are â€Å"churches in the proper sense. † They suffer from â€Å"defects. † Dominus Iesus further states that religions other than Christianity are considered to be â€Å"gravely deficient. Their rituals can constitute â€Å"an obstacle to salvation† for their followers. 3,4 Other faith groups are either more inclusive or more exclusive than the Roman Catholic Church regarding the â€Å"truth† status of other faith groups. Which, then, is the true religion? Because religions are so different, only one could be the â€Å"true religion. † Perhaps none are. Within the â€Å"true religion† there may be more than one faith group that are sufficiently accurate in their beliefs and practices that all could qualify as â€Å"true. † The problem is how to find out which religion and which faith groups have this status. Some methods of determining the â€Å"true† religion are conduct an opinion poll. Unfortunately, beliefs differ around the world: In Saudi Arabia, the government claims that 100% of the population is Muslim. So there is probably a very high probability that a given citizen picked at random would firmly believe Islam is the true religion and that theirs is the true faith group. India is about 80% Hindu. There is a very high probability that any given citizen believes that their tradition with Hinduism is the true religion. The U. S. is about 75% Christian. The population in the American â€Å"Bible belt† is significantly higher than that. There is a very high probability that any given citizen in South Carolina, for example, believes that their denomination within Christianity is the true religion. It is obvious that one's personal beliefs about the true religion is largely a function of the country in which one happens to have been born, the area of that country, and the beliefs of one's parent(s): Pray to God 5 and ask to be enlightened. The founder of the Mormon movement, Joseph Smith, did precisely this. Mormons believe that God and Jesus Christ appeared to him side by side, and told him that none of the then existing Christian denominations were the true religion. He was instructed to create a new denomination to restore Christianity to its first century CE purity before it fell into heresy. This method appears to be unreliable. When people pray to God for enlightenment, most seem to conclude that their own religion and faith group is the true one. If people could access the will of God on this matter, then a vast majority of the world's population — the folks who pray — would realize that their faith group was not the true one. They would gradually migrate to the true religion. There would eventually be only one religion and one tradition within that religion left standing. Otherwise, people would be rejecting the will of God. All the other 11,000 religions and their tens of thousands of denominations or traditions would be phased out. The OCRT, the group that sponsors this web site, conducted a pilot study to determine whether a person can assess the will of God through prayer. We used a controversial topic: whether God favors same-sex marriage for homosexuals and some bisexuals. The answer that we found was that people appear to be unable to assess the will of God through prayer. Communication from God: God could initiate a direct communication to humanity. In order to be convincing, it would have to be totally unambiguous, clear and convincing. One example might be for God to rearrange a few thousand stars to spell out in the evening sky the name of the true religion. Unfortunately, at least within the Judeo-Christian traditions, God seems to be progressively withdrawing from humanity. He walked in person with Adam and Eve. Later, he only appeared in rare occasions as at Mount Sinai. Still later, he communicated with humans only through prophets. Most Christians believe that Jesus Christ is God and walked among humans in first century CE Palestine. However, he was seen by only a miniscule percentage of the human race. Now, access to God is through prayer. Unless God were to take the initiative, it appears that there is no way for humans to determine which religion is â€Å"true. â€Å"

Article questions

God. † subsequently, end off with how my saint taught e to always a positive outlook for the world, and also to put our trust In God. Saint Teresa of Avail had once stated â€Å"l never liked gloomy saints, always try to be cheerful everyday. † This taught me that having a negative split may lead you to have a not so good day, whereas if we are more cheerful we then always think positive and we eliminate the people/things that make us unhappy. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. † This beatitude embodies my saint because Saint Teresa at one point in her life wanted to come a martyr, meaning she refused to fear death when it came to her faith. â€Å"Blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God† I believe my saint was pure in heart because it was also noticed from another's perspective that she was friendly and saw the good in others.Lastly, my saint left us with a quote saying, always find t hat those who walked closest to Christ were those who had to ear the greatest trials† this quote means that on earth there will come a time where we will be given consequences for our belief, but this shows that God gives his hardest battles to his strongest soldiers. We who abide in Christ will be saved all we need to do here on earth is put our trust in God and never give up our faith.So all in all, Saint Teresa of Avail was a very strong woman, strong mentally and spiritually and now it is our duty as believers to live a strong Christian mental and spiritual life as well. In conclusion, Saint Teresa of Avail left us with another quote saying, â€Å"it is love alone that gives worth to all things. † Therefore we need to love to give our life on earth some worth, which I believe is to live the life we love and love the life we live, all In a Christian positive, spiritual manner.

Marketing Plan For Product And The Managers - 1211 Words

Second, marketing helps the business find out customer needs, use different selling plan to improve the sale of the goods or services and then satisfy the needs. Marketing design the plan for the product and the managers can follow the four condition, product, price, place and promotion, means the 4Ps of marketing, to decide the final plan. Understanding the customer needs are important in marketing. Because different type of customers have different needs. Then, customer always be the main focus into the marketing plan (Chapman 2011, p. 125). However, before the managers decide the marketing plan, they need to understand the six main type of market. Because choosing the correct market is important for a product. And it affects the following part of the marketing plan, such as decision of selling place or the plan of promotion. Then, the six types of market are resource market, industrial market, intermediate market, consumer market, mass market, and niche market. Those types of mark et are totally different and the managers need to choose it carefully when they decide the marketing plan (Chapman 2011, p. 138-139). In addition, there are four main elements influence the customer’s buying behaviour. On psychological, the influence only affect individual, then the buying motives, personality and personal education also affect the buying behaviour. Next, on sociocultural, the culture of the country, customer’s social class or family culture might affect the active of buying.Show MoreRelatedGlobal Marketing Of Cholesterol Lowering Drugs As Therapy776 Words   |  4 Pagesglobal marketing is consistently increasing, the marketing manager must be knowledgeable in the category of global marketing. Global marketing encompasses how marketing to one area of the world differs from the other parts of the world creating markets to the toughest to reach customers. 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How Nail Polish Works and What Its Made Of

Nail polish is a type of lacquer thats used to decorate fingernails and toenails. Because it has to be strong, flexible, and resist chipping and peeling, nail polish contains a number of chemicals. Heres a look at the chemical composition of nail polish and the function of each of the ingredients. Chemical Composition of Nail Polish Basic clear nail polish can be made from nitrocellulose dissolved in butyl acetate or ethyl acetate. The nitrocellulose forms a shiny film as the acetate solvent evaporates. However, most polishes contain an extensive list of ingredients. Solvents Solvents are liquids used to mix other ingredients in nail polish to yield a uniform product. Usually, the first ingredient(s) in nail polish are solvents. Once you apply the polish, the solvents evaporate away. The amount and type of solvent determine how thick a polish is and how long it will take to dry. Examples of solvents include ethyl acetate, butyl acetate,  and alcohol. Toluene, xylene,  and formalin or formaldehyde are toxic chemicals that were once common in nail polish but are rarely found now or found only in low concentrations. Film Formers Film formers are chemicals that form the smooth surface on a coat of nail polish. The most common film former is nitrocellulose. Resins Resins make the film adhere to the nail bed. Resins are ingredients that add depth, gloss,  and hardness to the film of nail polish. An example of a polymer used as a resin in nail polish is tosylamide-formaldehyde resin. Plasticizers While resins and film formers give polish strength and gloss, they produce a brittle lacquer. Plasticizers are chemicals that help keep polish flexible and reduce the chance that it will crack or chip, which they do by linking to polymer chains and increasing the distance between them. Camphor is a common plasticizer. Pigments Pigments are chemicals that add color to nail polish. An astonishing variety of chemicals may be used as nail polish pigments. Common pigments include iron oxides and other colorants, such as youd find in paint or varnish. Pearls Nail polish that has a shimmery or glittery effect may contain pearlescent minerals, such as titanium dioxide or ground mica. Some polishes may contain bits of plastic glitter or other additives that produce a special effect. Additional Ingredients Nail polishes may contain thickening agents, such as stearalkonium hectorite, to keep the other ingredients from separating and to make the polish easier to apply. Some polishes contain ultraviolet filters, such as benzophenone-1, which help prevent discoloration when the polish is exposed to sunlight or other forms of ultraviolet light.

Utilitarianism in Government - 1653 Words

In its political philosophy utilitarianism provides an alternative to theories of natural law and the social contract by basing the authority of government and the sanctity of individual rights upon their utility, or measure of happiness gained. As an egalitarian doctrine, where everyone’s happiness counts equally, the rational, relatively straightforward nature of utilitarianism offers an attractive model for democratic government. It offers practical methods for deciding the morally right course of action - â€Å"...an action is right as it tends to promote happiness, wrong as it tends to diminish it, for the party whose interests are in question† (Bentham, 1780). To discover what we should do in a given situation, we identify the various†¦show more content†¦One major point of contention, however, is that it is often difficult, if not impossible, to measure and compare the values of certain benefits and costs. How does one assign value to human life, or time , or artistic pleasures such as literature and music? Mills response was to introduce variables to pleasure. While Bentham concentrated on quantity (the pleasures duration, intensity, etc), Mill stressed quality. Adding the feature of quality to pleasure differentiates â€Å" higher†, intellectual pleasures from common, physical ones. He argues in his famous quote â€Å"It is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied; better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied. And if the fool, or the pig, are of a different opinion, it is only because they only know their own side of the question†. This reasoning is not very satisfactory if we consider how subjective (and elitist) it can be. Who is to determine which activities are more high-brow or low-brow, and what makes a competent judge? Mill states it should be person who has experience of the activities in question, but a key aspect of utilitarianism it the requirement of making these judgemen ts impartially and impersonally. With the diversity of this world it is highly unlikely that the tastes and preferences will all align in accord. Even if we attempt to make our decisions based on how others would be affected, it is impossible for us to know or measure theShow MoreRelatedJeremy Bentham And Utilitarianism1461 Words   |  6 PagesJeremy Bentham was an English philosophy (1748-1632) who challenged the idea of the Social Contract theory, which states that the people create a social contract to agree to form of government. Bentham opposed the idea of natural rights and followed the idea of utilitarianism. Utilitarianism is the idea that political and moral decision should not be based on natural rights, but based on which choice produces the â€Å"greatest good for the greatest number†. 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Strategic Business Ethics and Social Responsibility

Question: Discuss about the Strategic Business Ethics and Social Responsibility. Answer: Introduction: Yes, Google has implemented a strategy that serves all its stakeholders. Stakeholders are the entities that have an interest in the business operations of the company. The stakeholders of the company include advertisers, government, users, employees, investors and communities. The company provides an opportunity to its users to customize their searches for the purpose of searching information needed by them. Besides this, advertisers can also bid high to provide advertisement on the websites (Dettmer, 2003). This results in increasing the profits of the company and increases its shareholder value. Majority of the sales revenue of the company is generated by the advertisements on different products and services of the company. It also provides an opportunity to companies to display their advertisements as a sponsored links on their products. In addition to this, the company offers a shuttle system to its employees that run on biodiesel (Shankar, et al. 2012). Besides this, it also practiced sharing of the cars on the campus by the employees to roam around. In addition to this, the company has also provided bicycles to the employees to go from one department to other in the campus. In addition to this, it has also developed different tools that are required by non- profit organizations for the purpose of granting money. Users are the top priority stakeholders of the company. The company offers diversified range of products to its users in order to meet their customized needs and wants (Cooper and Edgett, 2009). The company designs its products and services by considering the needs and wants of the users. The company provides high salaries and incentives to its employees in order to retain them with the company. Human resources are considered valuable resource for the company (Aubin and Carlsen, 2008). Google has made efforts to bring changes in its privacy policy and identifies different methods for the purpose of protecting the personal information of the users. There is a heavy reliance on the tracking along with other activities carried out by the Google for the purpose of maintaining its profitability. It has regularly updating its privacy policies in order to comply with the needs and wants of the users related to the private and personal information shared with the company. In addition to this, in the year 2012, the company has combined all the information collected from different products and services provided by it to the users for the purpose of protecting the information provided by the users (Klosek, 2007). This step also helps in maintaining the confidentiality of the information provided by the users. Besides this, Google has provided the option of turning off some of the options that results in collecting the information regarding the users. The new privacy policy does not have any impact on the volume of data rather it facilitates in increasing the commitment of the company towards maintaining the privacy of the information provided by the user (Strandburg and Raicu, 2005). This new privacy policy facilitates in using the information provided by the users by all the products and services offered by the company in order to keep a track on the changing needs and wants of the customers which in turn results in an increase in the profitability of the company. Besides this, the company should provide a option to its users regarding the locking of the password which results in keeping the users information safe and protected. Besides this, the company should take consent of the users for the purpose of sharing of the private and personal information of users with third parties. This results in building trust and loyalty among the users of the Google products and services and results in maintaining the profitability of the company (Zheleva, Terzi and Getoor, 2012). Google is a multinational company that has expanded its operations in various countries around the globe. This is the reason that it has to abide by the rules and regulations as per the different laws and regulations practiced in different countries. There is a significant impact of the rules and regulations of the government on the operations of the Google. There is a presence of strict rules and regulations related to internet in China. There was a presence of great opportunity for Google in China but due to presence of many rules and regulations there is a negative impact on the business operations of Google. The government of China has blocked various sites that are offered by Google due to presence of problems in the search engine of the company (Trepte and Reinecke, 2011). These results in the exit of Google from the Chinese market due to presence of many hackers and shift it to Hong Kong. The other problem faced by Google is problems related to tracking and privacy violations. Google has scanned data related to the users through wireless networks. Besides this, in UK, the company has gathered private information of users through a special detection equipment fitted in vans for the purpose of location based services. The company has to make payment of all fines for the occurrence of the violations made by the company (Custers, et al. 2012). In addition to this, it is tedious task to understand all the rules and regulations of the countries by the company. There is a need of acquiring censorship to enter into a Chinese market and the search engine is blocked by the government in the nation. It also has a slow speed and inconsistent for the users due to which the company has lost its market in the country in a steady pace. Nowadays, companies has made their own industry standards in which the company provide do not track option to the users which results in limiting the information collected related to the personal and private information of the users (Solove, Rotenberg and Schwartz, 2006). References Aubin, D.D.S. and Carlsen, B.J. 2008. Attract, Engage Retain Top Talent: 50 Plus One Strategies Used by the Best. AuthorHouse. Cooper, R.G. and Edgett, S.J. 2009. Product Innovation and Technology Strategy. Stage-Gate International. Custers, B., et al. 2012. Discrimination and Privacy in the Information Society: Data Mining and Profiling in Large Databases. Springer Science Business Media. Dettmer, H.W. 2003. Strategic Navigation: A Systems Approach to Business Strategy. ASQ Quality Press. Klosek, J. 2007. The War on Privacy. Greenwood Publishing Group. Shankar, V., et al. 2012. Handbook of Marketing Strategy. Edward Elgar Publishing. Solove, D.J., Rotenberg, M. and Schwartz, P.M. 2006. Privacy, Information, and Technology. Aspen Publishers Online. Strandburg, K.J. and Raicu, D.S. 2005. Privacy and Technologies of Identity: A Cross-Disciplinary Conversation. Springer Science Business Media. Trepte, S. and Reinecke, L. 2011. Privacy Online: Perspectives on Privacy and Self-Disclosure in the Social Web. Springer Science Business Media. Zheleva, E., Terzi, E. and Getoor, L. 2012. Privacy in Social Networks. Morgan Claypool Publishers.

What is meant by fiscal policy

Economy is the sum total economic resources of a certain region which enable it to provide services and goods to its inhabitants. These resources may include: infrastructure, land, trade, labor, manufactured goods, capital, and medicine among others. Global Economy thus can be seen as the sum total of the world human and physical resources that enhance survival of its inhabitants.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on What is meant by fiscal policy? specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In this century every country in the continent has seen an economic recession which basically affects the livelihoods of the people for instance increased food prices. This is one the reasons why countries develop policies that may enable them improve their economy. Policies such as fiscal policy, sustainable food production, green cities and sustainable housing for city dwellers have been developed. Michl (54) defines Fiscal policy as, â₠¬Å"the use of government expenditure and revenue collection (taxation) to influence the economy.† According to Dwivedi instruments of fiscal policy include the following, â€Å"Surplus budgeting, Government expenditure, Taxation, and Public borrowing (602). These instruments may have different effects on the economy.† For instance, surplus budgeting means reducing the government expenditure slightly below the revenue thus creating surplus. On the other hand government expenditure is the allocation of revenue to various areas of the economy for example education and health. Taxation is the collection of money from the citizens directly or indirectly in which they don’t expect direct returns and public borrowing is borrowing in the form of loans either from the public or external sources. The above instruments are adjusted in order to create a desired effect on the economy; as an illustration if the government increases expenditure in infrastructure development it expects that in the long run it will attract investors which in return create jobs and revenue in form of taxation. Depending on the economic state of a nation, the policy makers adjust each of the fiscal policy instruments so as to focus on the desired outcome. How fiscal policy can be used to aggregate demand An expansionary fiscal policy tends to increase the amount of liquid income that citizens have hence improving the purchasing power which implies more money will be disposed to the economy. According to Reuters (4), â€Å"The aggregate demand will increase and thus reduce the deflation gap which may be caused by growth or unemployment.† The figure below shows a the effect of fiscal policy on aggregate demand;Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Aggregate demand is dictated by investors and consumers of such goods and services from the investments. This means that the fiscal policy adopted mainly tends to increase the desire for investors to invest and the available market to have the power to purchase. Fiscal policy has a short term positive effect but on the long term if it is not checked it may cause undesired effects. How effective is the fiscal policy? Is a question that needs to be carefully studied if economies will have to continue using this policy as a measure to react to economic recession. Thomas R. Michl (81) notes that, â€Å"fiscal policy were unlikely to succeed in combating unemployment because the jobs gained through the government spending would be cancelled out by jobs lost in the investment goods industries by crowding out.† Thus fiscal policy may not be the best tool to use when economic recession is caused by natural economic factors. It is rather better to let the factors that contribute to the economy to regulate themselves naturally. For example, consumption may be affected by inflation by making consumers avo id unnecessary purchases and the desire to create more wealth thus having a positive effect on both investment and consumption which are the key instruments on aggregate demand. Furthermore, increasing taxation may not affect consumption because the goods in which taxation may be imposed may be a necessity whose consumption must remain the same. For example increasing the cost of transportation may not be affected by taxation as much because it is a necessity in wealth creation. Another undesired effect arises from the increase in government spending without increasing taxes; this might lead to a recession and undesired deflationary gap. Australian budget The following is the fiscal policy stance of the Australian government for the financial year 2010-2011. According to Australian Government Website, â€Å"The Australian government budget website describes the government’s fiscal stance to comprise of: achievable budget surpluses, on average, over the medium term, keep taxa tion as a share of GDP below the level for 2007-08 (23.5 per cent of GDP), on average, and improve the Government’s net financial worth over the medium term.† According to Marc (55), â€Å"The government will further allow the tax receipts to recover naturally as the economy improves and hold growth in spending to 2 percent a year until the budget returns to surplus.†Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on What is meant by fiscal policy? specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The government puts into consideration any physical calamities that may occur so as to mitigate its effects on the budget as fast as possible. The table below shows budget aggregates and their projections. According to a research done by the Melbourne Institute the Australian (8), â€Å"Inflation pressure is rising.† The report indicates that ‘inflation rates increased from 3.2 percent to 4.5 percent in the months of Ma rch and April respectively.’ As an assertion to the research report, Michael Chua, a research fellow at the Melbourne Institute said, â€Å"This month’s report indicates inflation pressure is mounting after a relatively stable period.† (8) This implies that the fiscal stance may have not been achieved as much in terms of inflation control. Australian inflationary measures The Australian high dollar rate has seen the mining industry gain whereas other areas of the economy like tourism and local imports have been affected negatively. Thus inflation has been experienced. The government though optimistic, has fears of the return of economic recession in America and the Europe. The current inflation pressures on the Australian government can be mitigated by disaster preparedness as one of the major effects of inflation. The Australian consumer is also expected to reduce expenditure so as to create a balance thus combat inflation. The Reserve Bank of Australia (9) sai d that, â€Å"It remained concerned about the outlook for domestic inflation and said it was too soon to know if demand would soften enough to restrain price pressures over time.† It also expressed its fears on the ‘unsettled global financial markets.’ The Australian government put in place a fiscal policy for the financial year 2010-2011; was the policy the most appropriate? According to the Australian, â€Å"these fiscal rules mean we are on track to return the budget to surplus.† The country expected to go back on track and achieve a 2 percent surplus on its budget. So far the government can only brag about a 1 percent surplus. This means that despite the government not hitting on its minimum target, it has brought back a surplus budget after the global economic recession.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The gains made are attributed to the tough spending measures the government imposed in its fiscal policy. The government further intends to retain the strict measures, which it argues will help it deliver a surplus within three years of the deficit peaking as a share of the economy. It further argues that this will be a smaller duration as compared to the four years it used in the 1980’s. Overall, the economy has improved slightly which may be attributed to the strong Australian dollar which has improved revenue from the mining industry. Michl (66) argues that â€Å"High interest rates discouraged the consumers from borrowing consequently less expenditures.† In one way or the other the government has achieved its goals; however, there are no air tight policies. The negative effects are the failure to mitigate inflation which is a major dissatisfaction on the citizens. In conclusion, fiscal policy is the control of government expenditures against taxation. There are fou r major instruments for implementing fiscal policy that include the following according to Michl (5), â€Å"Surplus budgeting, Government expenditure, Taxation, and Public borrowing.† Each of these instruments can be controlled in a particular way so as to achieve the expected results. The government would reduce tax rate thus it will enhance compliance and collect more taxes, increase the lending rate thus reduce purchasing power, reduce government expenditure which may cause unemployment or reduce public borrowing hence reducing the national debt margin. The fiscal policy adapted by the Australian government seems to have worked mainly through the stringent rules imposed on the stimulus package. Works Cited Australian Government Website. budget.gov.au, 2010. Web. Australian Government Website, Geoffrey. Business with The Wall Street Journal. theaustralian.com.au/business, 2011. Retrieved Dwivedi, D N. Macroeconomics: Theory and Practice. New Delhi: Tata McGraw Hill, 2010. P rint. Marc, Robinson. Medium Term Fiscal Policy Issues and Challenges in Australia, Melbourne: Queensland U of T, 2001. Print Michl, Thomas R. Macroeconomic Theory: a Short Course. New York: M. E. Sharpe, 2002. Print. Reuters, CNBC First in Business World Wide. cnbc.com, 2011. Web. 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