Philosophy of life Essay

The meaning of life, defined by Victor E. Frankl, is the will to find your meaning in life. It is not the meaning of life in general, but rather the specific meaning of a person’s life at a given moment. He believes that if you are approached with the question of â€Å"what is the meaning of my life† or in this case, â€Å"life is meaningless,† then you should reverse the question to that person asking the question. For example: What are you bringing to me? What are you as an individual contributing to this life? This forces the person in question to take a look at themselves and to ultimately be responsible. Frankl says that if you are a responsible member of society than the meaning of life transcends from yourself rather from your own psyche. He also says that if we for some reason cannot find meaning within ourselves it has to be from some outside source. This is referred to as service. And an example of this is love. Victor Frankl describes three ways in which we can discover the meaning of life; Creating work-doing a deed, experiencing something-someone, and by the attitude we take toward unavoidable suffering. There are several reasons why a person could be feeling that their life is meaningless or has no meaning. According to Victor Frankl these reasons could be existential frustration, existential vacuum, and the meaning of suffering. Frankl breaks down the meaning of existential frustration as so, it can be referred to as existence itself ? the specifically mode of being, the meaning of existence, and striving to find concrete meaning in personal existence, which is the will to meaning. Existence itself, in simpler terms is just existing and the human mode itself. The meaning of existence is the question in which we often ask ourselves; Why are we here? When we strive to find concrete meaning in personal existence, we are looking for the personal meaning for existence. Basically what Frankl is saying is that when we are dealing wit the existential frustration we are looking for given meaning that isn’t there. (There is no meaning). On the other hand there is the existential vacuum, which is when you cannot find meaning in your life. Frankl says that the existential vacuum manifests itself mainly in the state of boredom. It’s when you feel that you have no structure in your life, no one telling you what to do, your not learning anything, and basically your not doing anything with your life. Because of this you’re going to become a conformist or a totalitarian, which is either doing what everyone else does or doing what people tell you to do. You’re not thinking for yourself. You’re also going to become bored. In the state of boredom the person can start to see life as meaningless, esp. the person questioning the meaning of their life. They start to question themselves and wonder what their purpose and meaning of their life is. This boredom can be a result of condition called Sunday Neurosis. Sunday Neurosis takes place when a person has worked hard all week long or for many days on end. (We know this as a result of tension; it’s what drives us and keeps us going. It promotes meaning and gives us goals. It is not the same as stress, because stress is an overabundance of tension. ) Then a day comes along when you have nothing planned, nothing going on and you don’t know what to do with yourself. Therefore boredom results and when there is boredom there is no meaning. And when there is no meaning we fill that emptiness with negative things, like money, power, and pleasure, basically we get into trouble. The meaning of suffering is another reason why a person might be questioning the meaning of their life. Frankl says that one of the basic aspects of logotherapy that mans main concern is not to gain pleasure or to avoid pain, but to see the meaning of his life. This is why man is willing to suffer in order to find a meaning for his life. But he also says that suffering is not necessary to find meaning in life. Although suffering is inevitably unavoidable, and if it was it would be meaningful to remove it, because it wouldn’t make much sense not to do so. Another aspect about suffering is that it stops being suffering the moment we find meaning in it. Now that possible reasons for why a person may be feeling that their life has no meaning has been addressed, here are some possible solutions that Frankl might suggest. Once the person has discovered why their life is meaningless they need to rediscover their meaning that they lost. They could ask themselves a question like, what was I born with and what is the greater meaning in that? Because it is believed that you’re born with a meaning that every single person on this Earth is born with a meaning. Life doesn’t owe you anything. Basically you’re the responsible one for all the stuff you put out into the world during your life. Another thing that he might talk about is what the person does everyday. If they aren’t doing anything with their life he might suggest them getting involved with something to help create tension. Since tension drives us and pushes us to reach our goals, it helps give us meaning. Frankl also sees responsible-ness as the essence of human existence. He says that everyman has a specific, unique job in life that he is too fulfill an that no one else can do this or replace this one person in the same way. â€Å"As each situation in life represents a challenge to man and presents a problem for him to solve, the question of the meaning of life may actually be reversed. Each man is questioned by life and he can only answer to life by answering for his own life; he can only respond be being responsible. † Frankl also says, † Live as if were living already for the second time, and as if you had acted the first time as wrongly as you were about to act now! † If it was me taking this person, sitting them down, after analyzing what could have caused this sense of unmeaning in their life, I would look at the options of how to find meaning. I agree with Frankl when he talks about meaning as tension and responsibility. I also agree with him when he discusses his views on how everyone is born with meaning and that everyone has a set occupation or vocation on life. I believe that everyone is unique in his or her own way. Therefore why should everyone’s lives be the same and have the same meaning. They don’t. We are born with meaning and we have to find that meaning through our actions and our drive to live life and our interactions with the people and the things around us. Usually when I am presented with material in school I tend to form my opinion by looking at both sides if an issue, because there are usually two sides to every story. But by looking at Frankl and examining what he has to say about the meaning of life, suffering, love, frustration, boredom, tension, etc, I have rally gained a lot of knowledge that almost is common sense. If you sit and take the time to read the material through thoroughly you can see exactly where he is coming from. He’ll take a difficult situation, such as suffering, and turn it completely around. As far as suffering goes I try to do the same thing, in a way. When Mark Felice died last October it crushed me. But I tried to look at the positive side and say well, his suffering is over and he was here to teach us how to live to be stronger and better people. Through our suffering, over the loss of his life, we ended his suffering. This is kind of what Frankl does, he turns things around and makes you view things from a different perspective. I like his way of thinking because it’s not always something that I would think of off the top of my head. Overall, I enjoyed the book although it was difficult at times to read, but I think I gained knowledge from it and see different ways to look at things now.

Language Essay Essay

The importance of language Language is an important tool to have because it allows individuals to write, speak, and communicate their thoughts, and gives a unique diversity to each individual, and provides individuals with their own identity. There are multiple forms of language, and with language, the process of hearing language, speaking language, and learning language is easier. Language is the most efficient way of communicating your thoughts, and without language, everyday activities become much harder. We use language to let others know how we feel, what we need, and to ask questions about certain things. People rely heavily on language which most people take for granted. Language rises like a spring among the mountains, and learning to speak language properly and how it was meant to be spoken can increase your vocabulary substantially. An example from â€Å"Teaching New Worlds/ New Words† where Bell Hooks explained how white Americans haven’t yet acknowledged diverse language, and how language is being taken advantage of. Over the years, language has deteriorated greatly, because of people becoming more and more lazy and using shortened versions of words. Different forms of Language come and go like time spent through an hourglass, people often forget different forms of language that aren’t heavily promoted. In â€Å"Teaching New Worlds/New Words† Bell Hooks explained how black vernacular was dying off and being replaced by standard English. Language can be very confusing and difficult to understand, and is constantly changing. In â€Å"Politics and the English Language† George Orwell explained that how overtime politics has greatly influenced the English language in a negative way and filled it with euphemisms, â€Å"Modern English, especially written English, is full of bad habits which spread by imitation.† This quote explains that the English language has become monstrous because people are imitating the language they see, which may not be good language.

Does the rotation of auditors improve the quality of auditing Essay - 1

Does the rotation of auditors improve the quality of auditing - Essay Example Australia is collecting more empirical data on the subject to make a decision to make it mandatory or not. India recently envisaged that audit partner should be rotated compulsorily and there should be atleast 50% rotation of the audit team compulsorily. For listed companies, auditor rotation is made compulsory in Portugal on an explain or comply basis. Public companies in Slovenia are given a choice to choose either to rotate partner or audit firm rotation once in five years. Audit partner rotation instead of audit firm rotation is made mandatory by countries like Netherlands, Germany and UK. Administrators in Germany, US and UK are of the view that possible advantages of compulsory rotation of auditors do not overshadow its perils and costs. (Ewelt-Knauer, Gold & Pott 2012:5) The research study will analyse in detail whether the rotation of auditors improves the quality of auditing or not with available literature evidence on the subject. What is the problem? The main issue is whet her mandatory auditor rotation will result in enhancing the auditor’s independence or not and does the rotation of auditors improve the quality of auditing? How are you going to answer it? For answering the research question, this research essay will make use of secondary research evidence available on the subject like information available in the books, journals, previous empirical studies, etc. Coherent development of arguments: According to Lee Metcalf report, it was a great concern that big audit firms lacked independence, which has created doubt about their certification of financial data to public and investors. Further, long association of an auditor and a company may result in aligning with company’s management and hence, the independence of such an auditor has become really doubtful. Thus, Metcalf report recommended to the Congress of USA to introduce mandatory auditor rotation to minimise the corporate frauds. (PCAOB 2011:10). What is audit quality? Some stud y suggests that there is a direct association between audit quality and audit tenure. According to Simon & France (1988), long run audit tenures enhance the audit quality, mainly because of auditee-specific knowledge benefited by the auditors over the time. Daly, Hamilton and Strokes (2003) investigated whether audit partner rotation is linked with transformation in audit quality and found that a partner change or rotation is not poignantly linked with a change in the audit opinion released. Further, rotation of a partner does not result in more chances to issue a qualified audit report. Thus, this study report suggests either the rotation of the firm or a partner does not have required audit quality advantages that supporters vehemently argue. (Campbell & Houghton 2005:78). Vanstraelen (2000) found that long-term audit tenures resulted in high audit quality. Deis & Giroux (1992) found that long run audit tenure lessens the adherence with GAAS. Copley & Doucet (1993) found the audit tenure, and the audit firm association has a direct effect on audit quality. Knapp (1991) exposed that audit committee members observed that long audit tenure erodes audit report quality and their independence. Dopuch, King and

Romanticism and Russia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Romanticism and Russia - Essay Example The basic premise of Romanticism is that everything cannot be explained by reason or logic. Romanticism also upholds the fact that the human emotion is pure and expressing it was important. This was a reaction to the previous movement which is Enlightenment. Enlightenment emphasizes the power of logic and the scientific method over anything else. The romantics, on the other hand, looked for deeper and more meaningful meanings other than numbers and the like. The romantics are more sensual and more rooted to conveying human emotion (Moscovici, 3). And in contrast with the Neo-Classicists, the Romanticists in not just an observer to the creations of the divine but now a creator of fragile meaning and beauty. Romanticists also point out the frailties of the human beings, hence, the common themes of depression and despair on romantic literature (Moscovici, 9). It also asserted the importance of the individual and personal experiences, making a unique hero, because promotes originality. E xamples of this would be Frankenstein and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Romanticism also posits relativism in all aspects. There are no absolute truths unlike in Classicism or Enlightenment. For romantics, there is no right and wrong, even in aspects of morality, but each society was encouraged to make their own sets of rules . According to the Romantics, the theories of Enlightenment prevent emotions and creativity, turning man into a robot and man must liberate himself from these chains – through romanticism. Romanticists are also socially involved, as well as politically (Melani). However, they were also a bit aloof as they often distance themselves from the public, preferring to live in far flung areas. As noted, these romanticists express their own thoughts and feelings and as noted earlier too, this period was happening almost in the same era when the French Revolution also took place (late 1700s). Many authors tried to uphold romanticism in the revolution and the revolu tion, also partly owes some of its principles on Romanticism. With this, artist took stands, wrote works with highly politicized subjects. In other countries, like Germany for example, romanticism boosted nationalism by letting nationalism have an intellectual anchor. Romanticism links various branches of knowledge, from art and humanities to social sciences, psychology, politics and in philosophy . II. Russian Revolution There are two Russian Revolutions. The first one was in 1905, but it did not really gain momentum and failed to revolutionize the government, so to speak. This essay will focus on the 1917 revolution. The 1917 revolution transformed Russia into the Union of Soviet Socialists Republic from monarchy. This had two phases, one led by the peasants and the other phase led by the Bolsheviks (Palmer, Colton and Kramer, 725). The 1917 happened during the last phases of the World War 1. The World War 1 happened in 1914 and Russia was in it. Most of their resources were put o n the efforts for the World War 1 and many soldiers died. On March of 1917, when it was said to be one of the coldest and snowiest winters in St. Petersburg, many people were starving as the weather kept them from city markets (Banks, et al, 535). Workers, most of them hungry, lined up for hours just to get bread. These workers are quite impoverished compared to the Russian monarchy. They have very little money and they hope to spend it on little loaves of bread out in the cold (Banks, et al, 535). The people protested yet again (just like in 1905, Bloody Sunday) when the skies cleared. For four days, people went out in the streets of St. Petersburg and shouted statements like â€Å"Down with the government!†, â€Å"Down with war!†

Sigmund Freud Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Sigmund Freud - Essay Example To apply The Big Five personality traits to just Freud's professional persona would be to do him and the assessment a great injustice. This author intends to evaluate Sigmund Freud's personality based correspondence he kept with his most intimate companions, and his reactions to different conflicts. Neuroticism involves characteristics of anxiousness, anger-hostility, depressiveness, self-consciousness, impulsiveness and vulnerability. People who score extremely high on Neuroticism tests are extremely nervous hypersensitive; easily angered, continually depressed, easily embarrassed, extremely impulsive and easily overwhelmed by stress. Those who score very low for Neuroticism lack an appropriate amount of anxiety, are unable to express anger, unable to appreciate losses, indifferent to the opinions of others, restrained or restricted, and dull to danger. Extraversion is characterized by: warmth, gregariousness, assertiveness, activity, excitement-seeking, and positive emotions. Often people who score high as extraverts on personality exams are inappropriately affectionate, unable to tolerate being alone, domineering, pushy, driven; frantic; distractible reckless, careless, giddy; and they lose control of their emotions. Those who score low can't develop intimate relations; they are socially isolated, resigned, ineffective, sedentary and passive, dull, monotonous, solemn, and unable to enjoy things. People who have aspects of neuroticism in their personality tend to have traits of extraversion as well. Those characterized with a significant openness to experience fantasize a lot; they are idealistic and often very emotional. These people are preoccupied with their daydreams, obsessed with unusual interests, governed by strong emotions, unpredictable; they are preoccupied by strange ideas and lack a guiding belief system. Those who have a low factor of this trait tend to have very sterile imaginations, don't appreciate culture or art, and they rarely have strong feelings about anything. Individuals with a detrimental lack of openness to experience avoid change, stick to routine, and are dogmatic and closed minded. Agreeableness is a factor synonymous with trust, straightforwardness, altruism, compliance, modesty and tender-mindedness. People with a high factor of agreeableness are very gullible, self-disclosing, and they are often victimized. These people have a high inclination towards being submissive. People with this as a predominant factor in their personality often say things like: I feel others' emotions, I make people feel at ease, and I take time out for others. This type of behavior is one that is very vulnerable to be exploited. Finally, conscientiousness involves competence, order, dutifulness, achievement striving, self-discipline, and deliberation. People with this trait are overly perfectionist, preoccupied with rules, workaholics and they have a single-minded pursuit of goals. All of the Big Five personality traits offer a spectrum for perfect analytical insight into one's character. In the case of Sigmund Freud, after a full assessment of his social behavior, it can be argued that both many aspects of Neuroticism and that of Extraversion are prevalently dominant in

Read the case first, and then answer the question Assignment

Read the case first, and then answer the question - Assignment Example Various factors facilitate the formation of a merger between two organizations. While it gives the organizations the strength to compete against other firms in the industry, it also brings in more expertise into the firm, increasing their productivity and output. There is increased quality of services and innovation in a merger. When the two financial giants merged, there was an increase in synergy, which is the reduction of duplicate departments, lowering operational costs and subsequently increasing their revenues. In a merger, there is increased market share, resulting from the absorption of the competitor, thus reducing the level of competition between them the companies. A merger reduces the level of taxes remitted to the authorities, as the merger remits tax as a single business entity. However, as the giants seek to merge; several issues require ironing out to avoid a crash of issues. Through the process of creating a merger, â€Å"management of software/processes for process ing of information for effectiveness of organization† is an important factor to put into consideration. There is more to the creation of a merger between two financial giants than the listed advantages. Although the financial culture consideration is one of the most important factors for these giants, considering their IT cultures is equally as important. Among the factors to put into consideration is the type of the IT approaches the firms maintain. One could have a decentralized policy, while another could have a centralized policy. IT plays a big role in information integration, which strategically differentiates them from the competitors. In order to deliver their brands, banks heavily rely upon their It structures. After a merger, one of the firms has to consider adopting IT policies of the other firm. Alternatively, the two firms could decide on the creation of new IT policies. Through IT integration, financial firms try to select and implement the best application exist ing in the market. The search is not confined to the bank that already used the application. The biggest concern is the applicability and the suitability of the system in the resultant business. As the team searches for this particular application, they should show more concern for the customer retention. During the merger process, systems have to change, as some become inferior and others less effective. However, during this important process, it is necessary to ensure that members keep on receiving their services. The transition process should not negatively influence the quality of services provided to the customers. Although a system could appear to be superior to the other due to its capacity, it could provide lower quality services to the customers. How best the transition team handles this effect determines the success of the merger process. It is important to note that as the financial organizations seek to create a merger; these processes pose the biggest danger to the succ ess of such a merger. Not only does the process affect customers, employees too are negatively affected. For instance, it could affect employee productivity and service delivery. Adapting a new application essentially translates to fewer skills in its operation. Training could solve such an issue, though with little certainty. How well the employees respond to organization change is the biggest determinant. Poor response leads to poor application

MPH 504 - Epidemiology (Module 5 - CBT) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

MPH 504 - Epidemiology (Module 5 - CBT) - Essay Example However this also eliminates high number of HIV infected individuals due to reduced sensitivity causing undesirable social and health problems (such as risk of spreading the disease and delay for the treatment). To overcome the problems of both extremes A is the most suitable OD ratio to establish the cutoff. 6. Director of Blood Bank: HIV is a deadly disease with no cure. Therefore the intention of screening the donated blood samples against HIV is to totally protect blood receivers from being infected with HIV. Therefore director of Blood Bank has to set the cut off where he can eliminate almost all the HIV infected blood samples. In other words he has to attain 100% sensitivity. Thereby he has to draw the cutoff line for OD ratio at B eliminating the risk of possible false negatives. However this decision dramatically reduces the specificity by increasing the number of false positives. This leads to rejection of higher number of healthy blood samples. Investigator: The investigator needs to select high risk HIV infected individuals to test the efficacy of his potentially toxic antiviral drug through a clinical trial. Since the antiviral drug is potentially toxic he has to select only HIV infected individuals without any false positives. Consequently he has to achieve 100% specificity eliminating all false positive. In doing so he should draw the cutoff line for OD ratio at C. However as a result of this decision he has to reject high number of HIV infected individual who tested negative due to low sensitivity resulted from the newly defined cutoff. This makes him recruit a larger sample (than expected) to get the required number of eligible

The Making of Australia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Making of Australia - Essay Example Generally, the voyage from Britain to Australia lasted eight months, two of which were spent in various ports awaiting repairs and supplies (Inglis, p. 6). The voyage took its toll on the convicts, many of whom perished on the way. One of the voyages of the Second Fleet was especially dangerous: from Britain to Australia, 26% of the prisoners had died, and 488 others had dysentery, scurvy, or other infectious diseases (O'Brien, p. 168). It was a regular occurrence for convicts on ships to be seen "lying, some half and others nearly naked, without either a bed or bedding, unable to turn or help themselves" (O'Brien, p. 169). Ironically, many convicts who survived the voyage to Australia often fainted when they arrived and came into contact with the fresh air, only to die in the hospitals for prisoners, which provided slipshod medical treatment at best. In our own time, rehabilitation is often seen as the key to change convict behavior for return to society. In the era of penal colonies in Australia, though, punishment was used as the primary modifier of behavior. The most common method of punishment was flogging. The tradition of "punchgut" grew out of the practice of flogging a prisoner and then leaving him in the harbor to get extremely hungry (Inglis, p. 6). Punishment was not only reserved for prisoners who had committed crimes or offenses; instead, a convict's fate in Australia depended largely upon how "docile he was and on many things over which he had no control" (Inglis, p. 8). In New South Wales, "between 1833 and 1836, one male convict in every four was flogged each year, receiving an average of more than forty lashes" (Inglis, p. 8). More serious crimes could result in hanging; these crimes generally involved the murder of another inmate, or of prison personnel. Murder among the convicts was common, as knives became a popular way to gain revenge for thefts (Lagrange, p. 180). The guillotine was another popular method of execution, and it was common for executed prisoners to have their headless bodies rowed out to sea and dropped into the ocean, where the sharks would eat the corpse; in fact, this became known as the "standard form of burial of a convict" (Lagrange, p. 180). Punishment was how the convicts were kept as docile as possible in the colonies. There are some who argue that the convicts had a life similar to slaves in some of the crueler systems. However, there are others that argue that the convicts were not sent to Australia arbitrarily; rather, the convicts had to have committed a crime to be sent on the long voyage halfway around the world. Clearly, in the last century and a half, sensibilities about the proper treatment of prisoners have changed dramatically, and it is now only those societies that are considered backward or uncivilized that have such cruel prison conditions. Moreton Bay was selected as a site for those convicted of the most heinous crimes, and so the harshest conditions were reserved for these prisoners. The physical discipline went to new

Marketing analysis or external scanning Assignment

Marketing analysis or external scanning - Assignment Example The major customer groups within this industry include autistic children and children with behavioral health issues. The size of the target market is pretty big in Jeddah and overall in Saudi Arabia at present. The target market for this business includes children with problem of autism and those having behavioral disorder problems. The critical needs of this target market include friendly environment, continuous peer to peer relationship, and frequent involvement in social activities. These needs are not met usually for autistic children which paves the way for us to open a gym for them where they can exercise all what they need. The expected market share for this business covers a big portion of health industry as there is hardly any renowned gym working in Jeddah for autistic children. As far as the pricing issue is concerned, it will depend on the behavioral condition and learning potential of the children being admitted to the gym. For children who require intensive care and training, the level of pricing will be a bit higher than those who will require less supervision. There will also be discount for siblings and cousins of the first child admitted to the gym. The market share for the gym will be high because there is not well-renowned gym operating at present in Jeddah for autistic children. Our strengths will include interactive facilities, creative and friendly environment, and the only big gym operating in Jeddah. Weaknesses will include lack of funds for the business at the start and lack of experience. As far as the challenges for the idea of a gym for kids with Autism is concerned, some of them include increasing the number of children in order for the business to achieve success and the variety of ways to deal with children with autism and their behaviors. There do not appear any major barrier that can hinder

The Marketing Concept Essay Example for Free

The Marketing Concept Essay When one thinks about marketing, many different things come into mind; however, the actual definition of Marketing Concept is: â€Å"identifying consumer needs and then producing the goods or services that will satisfy them while making a profit for the organization.† (Gitman McDaniel, 2008) Basically, the marketing concept comes down to being able to offer the consumers something that they find valuable. Value is the key term that comes into play. The marketing concept consists of: 1. â€Å"Focusing on customer wants so the organization can distinguish its production from competitor’s offerings. † (Gitman McDaniel, 2008) 2. â€Å"Integrating all of the organization’s activities, including production, to satisfy these wants.† (Gitman McDaniel, 2008) 3. â€Å"Achieving long-term goals for the organization by satisfying customer wants and needs legally and responsibily.† (Gitman McDaniel, 2008) Many businesses from around the globe have already started to take advantage of this concept. From Disney’s Fast Pass to Enterprise Rent-A-Car, companies are adjusting their old business models and techniques in order to accommodate the needs and desires of their customers. This has enabled them to step above the competition and to set themselves apart from others in their industry. The marketing concept focuses on the above mentioned items for a reason, in order to increase the businesses’ bottom line and to satisfy their current customer bases, while drawing new customers because of their exceptional customer service model. References Gitman, L.J., McDaniel, C. (2008) The Future of Business: The Essentials; South-Western, Cengage Learning; Ohio.

Direct and Indirect Impacts on Health in New Zealand

Direct and Indirect Impacts on Health in New Zealand Nina Grace A. Martinez ASSESSMENT 2 This report is about the different direct and indirect impacts on health in New Zealand and in which these determinants will affect the inequalities in health. Determinant Factors In order to improve the health status of the population and reduce health inequalities in New Zealand, it is important to identify and understand the main factors that protect and promote good health. These factors are known as the determinants of health. Some of these factors are income and poverty, employment and occupation, education, housing, and culture and ethnicity. Social networking is also a factor and of increasing interest. There is now good evidence that social, cultural and economic factors are the most important determinants of good health. Demographic distribution There are 4,579,228 people in total here in New Zealand. It is estimated that there is an increase of one person every 5 minutes. Statistically, there is 1 birth in every 8 minutes and 49 seconds, 1 death in every 19 minutes and 2 seconds and a net migration in every 8 minutes and 25 seconds. For life expectancy, statistically more females live longer than males, approximately 83% females and 79% males. This is due to the higher number of males who are introduced early to smoking, alcohol and drugs. It happens even within the family, inside their own houses wherein, as narrated by you (Ms. Alma Villanueva), that a seven (7) year old child, if I’m not mistaken, was already been using drugs. Income Income is the most important determinant of health and is strongly related to health and well-being. On average, household income in New Zealand declined between 1981 and 1993, with single parent, Maori and Pacific households experiencing the greatest income reductions. The link between poverty and ill health is clear; with exemptions like the most financially incapable families experience the highest rates of illness and premature death. Greater income inequality within society may also be associated with increased overall mortality. Both poverty and income inequalities increased in New Zealand over the past decade. Having less income will lessen an individual or families access to health care. All other problems correlate with low income household. A person will be hesitant to seek for any medical treatment fearing what the cost might be. He or she is more concern on what to put on the table. Employment Employment also plays a particular part in health. Income and employment goes hand in hand as a determinant for health. When a person is unemployed, obviously he or she has a low income or none at all. This will be a factor for him or her to even sustain for him or herself more so with the access to health if he or she is ill. Employment not only affects a person’s physical health but also his or her mental health because being unemployed may bring depression and other psychological ailments due to lack of food and any means to sustain his or her health and well-being and limited or no access to health care services. Even though it is important to have jobs for good health, there are also some occupation related risks that can jeopardize an individual’s health and well-being like causing him or her injuries while at work. Education Low level of education is associated with poor health. Education goes alongside with income and employment as it determines one’s status in society and economy. Having good or higher educational level will make one more productive in terms of having a job and making more income thus more literate and are able to comprehend with any medical treatments needed for one’s well-being and health. Educated people can make healthier decisions in life about health-related habits such as diet and exercise. Statistically speaking, around 20% of New Zealand adults have poor literacy skills. Housing Houses here in New Zealand are very expensive. The high cost of houses is making it difficult for families with low income to budget their expenses for food, education, transport and health services. Because of the high cost of houses, families tend to overcrowd in one house thus making them more susceptible to diseases like respiratory infection or meningococcal disease. Culture and Ethnicity/Traditions/Religious beliefs Cultural factors have its positive and negative influence on health. Like for example, Maoris have a higher number of mortality rate than in New Zealanders because Maoris are more passive in their attitude towards health and most of them lack education and some have no jobs at all thus they have no access to health care services. Maori people experience more health problems thus their mortality and morbidity rates are higher compared to non-Maoris. These are all due to poor socioeconomic status. Some cultures also have their different ways of treating or dealing with any physical ailments. Like for example in my home country, the Philippines, we have different traditions or cultural practices in dealing with illnesses. One of which is consulting a â€Å"quack doctor† or faith healer wherein this particular faith healer is said to be an expert in curing any unexplainable illness. We Filipinos are believers of the supernatural beings in this world. Especially those who are on a below-average familial status, they are those that strongly believe in faith healers or the supernatural beings. For them, any illness is associated with â€Å"na engkanto† or witchcraft. That being said, any traditions or cultural practices has its impacts on health. Consulting faith healers or others with no medical background or knowledge will delay treatment or even cause further damage or worst, death, to patients because of malpractice. Another thing besides culture and tradition is religion. Religion plays a role in health as well. Some religious groups practice differently towards health. For example, Jehovah’s Witness people, they are not allowed to receive any blood transfusion, even if this will prolong the life of the person, still it is not allowed because it will be against their religious practice. Social Networking/Social Cohesion People with strong family, community and cultural ties have better health than people who are socially isolated. Socially isolated people are more prone to having mental or psychological problems. These people include single parent families, people with mental illness, people who are unemployed and those who are living alone and who are old. Being isolated from society or the community is depressing, making one vulnerable to any harm possible. Political Values Making policy that influence health is important. The New Zealand government is responsible for it. A policy about health and well-being of the community is very critical. These policies differ from country to country. One of the policies here in New Zealand is the National Drug Policy wherein its aim is to reduce or limit the supply and use of harmful drug related substances like alcohol, tobacco and illegal drugs. With this policy, the people of New Zealand are now more aware of its effects and consequences if they use or consume such harmful drugs or alcohol. This policy is pro health and enhancement of the people’s well-being. Public Attitudes on health Attitude is a person’s way of thinking or what he or she feels towards something or maybe even someone. An individual’s value is the backbone of his or her attitude. However he or she perceives health is completely because of how she or he views it. Behavior on the other hand is how that person acts or reacts to a particular situation. It is also influenced by the attitude that person has. It is known that New Zealand is a multicultural country. There is a mix of every race and ethnicity in New Zealand thus, each and every ethnicity, race or culture has its own beliefs and practices on health, and each has its own perception or attitude towards health. For example, the Maori people, majority of them are not educated; therefore most of them are illiterate thus making them unaware of what are the benefits of having access to health care services. Another example is the Pacific Islanders, wherein they believe that smoking cessation must come from within, meaning that there should not be any assistance from any programmes of the Ministry of Health to help someone, from the Pacific Islander group, to quit smoking. Others, however, are more aware of what illness and health is. Like the non-Maoris or other New Zealanders and even the migrants, because they are more educated and knowledgeable as to what illness can do to them and how important health is to all. Awareness is the key to good health and well-being of a person. However, for some who are aware, still there are hesitations to access health services because of the cost. Cost of the medical consultation and the medication. Another factor is the lack of availability or time to seek treatment. These are all due to the different determinant factors affecting health and well-being. The Maoris and Pacific Islanders or other ethnic groups that lack awareness should be taught of the importance of health. Make them aware of its effects and consequences if they do not access health care service when they are sick. Like for example the importance of immunization that provides protection from communicable diseases. Also the importance of screening programmes for Cancer for example. Screening is highly important to detect potential problems at an early stage especially with asymptomatic people. It can also provide or offer effective interventions. Awareness and prevention is key to a healthy well-being of a person. To access health, the people must first know that health services do exist. Health is strongly influence by a wide range of cultural, social, economic and environmental factors here in New Zealand. A person’s income, education, ethnicity, culture and social status can be very influential with his or her health and well-being. Without income and employment there will be issues concerning his or her basic needs, access to health, transportation and other needs. One must be educated to ensure jobs. Poverty and unemployment is rampant in New Zealand despite the booming outlook of its country. The government plays a vital role in formulating laws or policies derived from national and international laws that will then benefit or help the poor and unemployed people of New Zealand by subsidizing health services, providing free houses and free education for children of poor families. Prioritizing health on the agenda of the public policy will make the public more aware of the significance of health on the government and policy maker’s decisions. The participation of the public to the policy is a very strong factor to determine the success of the policy. Bibliography Health and Pacific Peoples in New Zealand. (n.d.). Retrieved from Statistics New Zealand: http://www.stats.govt.nz/browse_for_stats/people_and_communities/pacific_peoples/pacific-progress-health/influences-on-health-well-being.aspx The National Advisory Committee on Health and Disability. (1998). The social, cultural and economic determinants of health in New Zealand: Action to Improve Health.