Qualitative research Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Qualitative research - Assignment Example The results generated in the article on infertility are detailed, rich, and products of valid processes. The valid process is the ingredient of in-depth comprehension of the topic under investigation. A sample size of twenty participants remains reliable in terms of data generation with proper links to cause-and-effect relationships. Important in this context was the topic of choice. Comparatively, Vickers holds that physicians do not study nutrition as a science in the same way that nutritional therapeutics do. Therefore, physicians do not practice nutrition as part of conventional medicine. Conventional settings only allow dieticians to work with specific groups of patients. Such cases include obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular risk features, and swallowing problems as well as those with digestive problems. Physicians only extend nutritional interventions to the treatment of rare metabolic condition and those involving gross nutritional deficiencies. However, other nutritional interventions do not apply to conventional medical practices. Physicians end up categorising them as complementary medicine. The source highlights various examples of nutritional supplementation (Vickers 2001). They include The article on fertility was a product of a qualitative study that followed a phenomenological technique that explored experiences of infertile women in their sexual lives. On the other hand, the article on unconventional approaches to nutritional medicine highlighted, albeit qualitatively, the differences in the study of nutrition by physicians and nutritional therapeutics. The article identifies the variance in undertaking the study under conventional and unconventional settings. The article on infertility only sampled twenty participants. However, the article on unconventional approaches to medicine took the universal approach of collecting information across the globe from various sources under the

Positivist, Interpretive and Constructivist Approaches in Social and E Literature review

Positivist, Interpretive and Constructivist Approaches in Social and Educational Studies - Literature review Example Reference to two chosen research articles will be used to illustrate how research styles are used today.   Those articles are,† Does the Auditory Saltation Stimulus Distinguish Dyslexic From Competently Reading Adults?† by Joanna Kidd and John Hogben (2007) and â€Å"In Maturation of Visual and Auditory Temporal Processing School-Aged Children† by Piers Dawes and Dorothy Bishop (2008). The attempt will be made through discussion to determine whether the approach used was positivist, interpretive or constructivist or a combination thereof.   The articles will also be compared to the qualitative and quantitative methods and whether they are empirical or non-empirical in a method. Ethics will be touched on as a necessary part of any research that is done today. To begin, let us discuss the different methods presently available for use in designing and carrying out research such as that noted above. In any research, there is a method used and though we would often think that the scientific method would always be used, that may not be true. The method of study is usually determined prior to the study being done. Will the study be empirical or non-empirical? Will it be Quantitative or Qualitative? What about positivist or interpretivist or maybe constructivist?   Sometimes the study itself will determine the method to be used. Sometimes there is a particular method or paradigm particularly appreciated by the researcher. Interpretive research is oftentimes seen as descriptive or summarizing in the method. This type of research obtains its data indirectly through other than direct research methods. The data may come from such places as academic books, policies, laws, or regulations (Xinping, 2002). Most of this type of research is done in a library with resources found there. The interpretive approach is described as often speculative, philosophical or impressionistic. The results of the research are not often used as any direct assistance to any future work.

Input and Output Report Essay Example for Free

Input and Output Report Essay Field Names Customer ID (the unique reference number given to any customer that has travelled with First Travel) Customer_ ID Title (the title of the customer e.g. Mr, Mrs etc. I have done this in a drop down menu so that no other text can be given) Title Customer First Name (the first name of the customer) First_ Name Customer Last Name (the last name of the customer) Last_ Name Billing Address (the house number and street of the customer) Address City (the city/town in which the customer lives) City Post Code (the post code of the customer-I have inserted an input mask which ,means only six characters can be entered in with 3 digits and three letters) Postal_Code Email Address (the email address of the customer) Email _Address Holiday Reference(the holiday reference number is given to those customers that are travelling) Holiday _ Ref Destination (the arrival airport of the customer, it will be given as a three letter code) Arrival_ Airport Hotel (the hotel the customer is staying at) Hotel Payment Made (this field will be added in Excel) N/A Total Amount (this field will be added in Excel) N/A Outstanding Payment(this field will be added in Excel) N/A Design and creation of Database Spreadsheet 3.1 Data Capture Form for Invoice 3.2 Data Capture Form for E-Ticket Data Captured Field Names Customer ID (the unique reference number given to any customer that has travelled with First Travel) Customer_ ID Title (the title of the customer e.g. Mr, Mrs etc. I have done this in a drop down menu so that no other text can be given) Title Customer First Name (the first name of the customer) First_ Name Customer Last Name (the last name of the customer) Last_ Name Billing Address (the house number and street of the customer) Address City (the city/town in which the customer lives) City Post Code (the post code of the customer-I have inserted an input mask which ,means only six characters can be entered in with 3 digits and three letters) Postal_Code Email Address (the email address of the customer) Email _Address Holiday Reference(the holiday reference number is given to those customers that are travelling) Holiday _ Ref Departure Airport (the departure airport of the customer, it will be given as a three letter code) Departure _ Airport Arrival Airport (the arrival airport of the customer, it will be given as a three letter code) Arrival_ Airport Flight Time (Outbound) FTO Flight Time (Inbound) FTI Hotel (the hotel the customer is staying at) Hotel 3.3 Unique Excel Additions Unique Excel Additions Descriptions Formula MIN The MIN function finds the minimum value in any range. I my case it finds the holiday with lowest price. =MIN(RANGE) MAX The MAX function finds the maximum value in any range. I my case it finds the holiday with highest price. =MAX(RANGE) AVERAGE The AVERAGE function finds the average value in any range. I my case it finds the average price of a holiday. =AVERAGE(RANGE) ABOSOLUTE CELL REFRENCING (ABR) ABR uses a fixed cell to link to, so the formula can be replicated over a range. In my case I used it to find the insurance and VAT prices. =(CELL)*$(letter of cell)$(number of cell)

The medias impact on politics, government and elections.

The medias impact on politics, government and elections. The Medias Impact on Politics, Government and Elections. The Media is a complicated part of the American Government knotted with the practice of democracy. Like anywhere in the world, in America too, media is the primary source for any news or happenings. This primary source, even though it is so important, has a vast influence on what the public thinks about certain things, about politics, and public opinion. In addition, the media gives the public an idea of what is important and who is important. the media decides what is imperative in terms of setting the national agenda and what to do to affect the public opinion about candidates. A major way the media manipulates the public opinion is by making the public aware of certain facts in regard to government choices and information. Everyday the press releases exclusive information about the government to the public which influences public opinion. People all over the nation get influenced by what the media tells them. if the media would not do what it does, it would take forever for the entire nation to get educated on whats happening in the country and about political events. Nowadays, it is very easy to get instant updates on governmental processes because of the internet, radio, television and other communication technology. The media influences the public opinion by agenda setting also. Since there are a lot of rising concerns in America, the media has to chose which ones they will go over. The public believes that the issues that the media goes through the most are the most important. For instance, if the media lays emphasis on health care or gun control, that is what the public is going to believe is most important. Once the public considers a certain topic to be of major concern, it is then initiated into the legislature quickly. The media has the power to make an impression that particular issues are of more importance as compared to others. These issues are moslt related to strategy, scandal and personal lifes of politicians. These issues capture the less interesting stories because the audience is not as interested in them and media agencies do not make as much money. The most peculiar way the media manipulates the public opinion is by portraying the characteristics of the candidates via TV and radio. The media has set forth certain expectations from candidates like good looks, good speaking skills to large groups of people. Public might not acknowledge the fact that they too look for those certain things in candidates but they do, even if it is unintentional because that is what the media has literally taught the media to do so. Even if one candidate had better policies that the other who could only speak better, the public would chose the one who has the better speaking skills rather than the one who has better policies. The media also manipulates public opinions by their capability to express their views in a certain tone to their viewers. Most of the times, a news agencys personal opinions are expressed in their reviews and articles. When the public reads and listens to their views, they believe that what they say holds true for everyones opinions. The media also conveys certain issues in certain ways that change the impression of the governmental agencies, politicians and politics. Adversely, most people hold a pessimistic view of governmental agencies, politicians and politics because of the media. This also caused the participation of the public in voting to go down on a national level. A major part of America has a negative, doubtful and cynical view of the government. The news agencies also change voting opinions because the media persistently attacks the public with negative connotations of the candidates and campaign agencies. The most obvious consequence is a major decline in voting rates at the ballot. The way the media portrays candidates and their campaigns decreases voter attendance because of the tactics applied by candidates and their campaigning parties. â€Å"voter attendance has drastically gone down from 75%-85% during the 19th century to lower than 55% in modern day elections.† (Lewis) This outcome of a reduced elector attendance discloses very pessimistic opinions towards the government from the citizens of America. â€Å"Electronic forecasting on or a day before the election has become the most commonly used method by the media for predicting election results.† (Bishop) This method discourages the citizens to vote for the candidate who they planned on voting for because the media shows them that the opposing candidate has more power and say among voters and electors in the nation. Electronic forecasting or exit polling has also become a method for news agencies and researchers to conduct mass surveys. â€Å"Another connotation to electronic forecasting is that the public assumes that a certain candidate is going to win because of what the media predicted and do not even bother electing for their choice since they are aware of who has the better change of winning.†(Bishop) The citizens insight if a particular prejudice and constructive media also becomes a factor for the decline in electors. â€Å"Recent research and data shows that the American citizens view the media and government as gradually lesser dependable.† (Rouner) Sponsorships and memberships to news groups are also seen as effecting the voting rates because they news group of agency may support a particular candidate which make all of its readers and reviewers to hold the same view. The media will constantly notify the public and to determine which issues are of prime concern. The citizens of America have a lot of reliance on the media to form their own opinions about issues. The media changes the publics opinions in both good and bad ways but if the media was to remain unbiased it would not change voting rates and behaviors drastically they way it has in the past few years. Works Cited Barrett, Laurence I. Getting down and dirty (presidential Campaign). Time March 1992: 28-30 Bishop, George F. Secret ballots and self-reports in an exit poll experiment. Public Opinion Quarterly 59.4 (Winter 1995): 568-569. Lewis, Peirce. Politics: who cares? (voter turnout for 1992 Presidential elections) (cover story). American Demographics 16.10 (Oct. 1994): 20-27 Rouner, Donna. How perceptions of news bias in news sources Relate to beliefs about media bias. Newspaper Research Journal 20.2 (Spring 1999): 41-50

ECON 4131, International Finance, Spring 2002, Exam 1 :: UMN Minnesota Business Economics Finance

Midterm Exam International Finance April 8, 2002 Answer all questions in examination booklets 1. (10 points) Use the BOP accounts guide on the last page of this exam to indicate where each of the following transactions should be recorded in the U.S. balance of payments (e.g.: â€Å"i3†, â€Å"e2†, etc.). Bear in mind that each transaction should generate a capital account and a current account entry. a) The U.S. buys $1m. of lumber from Canada b) Japan buys $500K of fish from an Alaskan fishing outfit c) The U.S. contracts a Panamanian flagged vessel for shipping on the Mississippi d) Mexican migrant workers wire $2m. home for Cinco de Mayo celebrations e) A Panamanian flagged ship purchases a $100K insurance contract from a U.S. firm 2. (10 points) The nation of Pecunia had a current account deficit of $2 billion and a nonreserve capital account surplus of $900 million in 1998. a) What was the â€Å"balance of payments† of Pecunia that year? What happened to the country’s net foreign assets? b) Assume that the foreign central banks neither buy nor sell Pecunian assets. How did the Pecunian central bank’s foreign reserves change in 1998? How would this official intervention show up in the balance of payments accounts of Pecunia? c) How would your answer to (b) change if you learned that foreign central banks had purchased $1.2 billion of Pecunian assets in 1998? How would these official purchases enter the foreign balance of payments accounts? 3. (15 points) Derive (show your work) the following, and provide a brief explanation: a) Uncovered interest rate parity b) Covered interest rate parity 4. (10 points) Define â€Å"neutrality of money† and discuss why money is thought to be â€Å"neutral† in the long-run. 5. (10) Define â€Å"Purchasing Power Parity† and discuss the reasons why it might or might not hold. 6. (15 points) In our formal model of exchange rate determination under â€Å"sticky prices† a) What do the two curves represent?

Racquetball :: essays research papers

Racquetball is played by two or four players. When played by two, it is called singles and when played by four, doubles. A non-tournament variation of the game that is played by three players is called cut-throat. Racquetball is a competitive game in which a strung racquet is used to serve and return the ball. The objective is to win each rally by serving or returning the ball so the opponent is unable to keep the ball in play. A rally is over when a player (or team in doubles) is unable to hit the ball before it touches the floor twice, is unable to return the ball in such a manner that it touches the front wall before it touches the floor, or when a hinder is called. Points are scored only by the serving side when it serves an irretrievable serve (an ace) or wins a rally. Losing the serve is called a sideout in singles. In doubles, when the first server loses the serve it is called a handout and when the second server loses the serve it is a sideout. A match is won by the first side winning two games. The first two games of a match are played to 15 points. If each side wins one game, a tiebreaker game is played to 11 points. The specifications for the standard four-wall racquetball court follow. (a) Dimensions. The dimensions shall be 20 feet wide, 40 feet long and 20 feet high, with a back wall at least 12 feet high. All surfaces shall be in play, with the exception of any gallery opening, surfaces designated as out-of-play for a valid reason (such as being of a very different material or not in alignment with the backwall), and designated court hinders. (b) Markings. Racquetball courts shall be marked with lines 1 1/2 inches wide as follows: 1. Short Line. The back edge of the short line is midway between, and is parallel with, the front and back walls. 2. Service Line. The front edge of the service line is parallel with, and five feet in front of, the back edge of the short line. 3. Service Zone. The service zone is the 5' x 20' area bounded by the bottom edges of the side walls and by the outer edges of the short line and the service line. 4. Service Boxes. The service boxes, used in doubles play, are located at each end of the service zone and are designated by lines parallel with the side walls.

John Stuart Mill and Utilitarianism Essay

Abstract The paper presents the life of John Stuart Mill through his biography. A glimpse on his exceptional life as a child was also included in his biography. Likewise, his major contributions as a philosopher and economist were also discussed. Since John Stuart Mill was a proponent of utilitarianism, the paper focuses its discussion on Mill and utilitarianism. The views of John Stuart Mill on utilitarianism and how it differs from Bentham’s views were given much attention in the paper. The history of utilitarianism was also presented to show how utilitarianism evolved. The confusions of many people, regarding who the real founder of utilitarianism, was clarified through the history of utilitarianism. Introduction John Stuart Mill (1806-1873), is a British philosopher-economist, who is the son of James Mill. He is one of the best 19th century thinkers. In economics, he was influenced by the theories of Adam Smith, David Ricardo and Thomas Robert Malthus, and his Principles of Political Economy is a little more than a restatement of their ideas. He had a great impact on 19th century British thought, not only in philosophy and economics but also in the areas of political science, logic, and ethics. He was a proponent of utilitarianism. He systematized the utilitarian doctrines of his father and Jeremy Bentham in such works as Utilitarianism (1863), basing knowledge upon human experience and emphasizing human reason. In political economy, Mill advocated those policies that he believed most consistent with individual liberty, and he emphasized that liberty could be threatened as much by social as by political tyranny. He is probably most famous for his essay â€Å"On Liberty† (1859). He studied pre-Marxian socialist doctrine, and, although he did not become a socialist, he worked actively for improvement of the conditions of the working people. Utilitarianism is a philosophy which has been around for centuries, and is still active and popular in the modern world. It is important not only in philosophy itself, but in disciplines such as economics, political science, and decision theory. To some people, Utilitarianism seems to be the only ethical philosophy which is obviously correct. To others, it seems to be quite misconceived, even reprehensible. Biography of John Stuart Mill. John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) was a British philosopher, economist, moral and political theorist, and administrator. He was the most influential English-speaking philosopher of the nineteenth century. His views are of continuing significance, and are generally recognized to be among the deepest and certainly the most effective defenses of empiricism and of a liberal political view of society and culture. The overall aim of his philosophy is to develop a positive view of the universe and the place of humans in it, one which contributes to the progress of human knowledge, individual freedom and human well-being. John Stuart Mill was born on May 20, 1806 in Pentonville, London. He was the eldest son of James Mill, a Scottish philosopher and historian who had come to London and become a leading figure in the group of philosophical radicals which aimed to further the utilitarian philosophy of Jeremy Bentham. His mother was Harriet Barrow, who seems to have had very little influence upon him. Mill was educated by his father, with the advice and assistance of Jeremy Bentham and Francis Place. He was given an extremely rigorous upbringing, and was deliberately shielded from association with children of his own age other than his siblings. His father, a follower of Bentham and an adherent of associationism, had as his explicit aim to create a genius intellect that would carry on the cause of utilitarianism and its implementation after he and Bentham were dead. John Stuart Mill as a child was exceptional. At the age of three he was taught the Greek alphabet and long lists of Greek words with their English equivalents. By the age of eight he had read Aesop’s Fables, Xenophon’s Anabasis, and the whole of Herodotus, and was acquainted with Lucian, Diogenes Laertius, Isocrates and six dialogues of Plato. He had also read a great deal of history in English and had been taught arithmetic. At fifteen, John Stuart Mill undertook the study of Bentham’s various fragments on the theory of legal evidence. These had an inspiring influence on him, fixing in him his life-long goal of reforming the world in the interest of human well-being. At the age of seventeen, he had completed advanced and thorough courses of study in Greek literature and philosophy, chemistry, botany, psychology, and law. In 1822 Mill began to work as a clerk for his father in the examiner’s office of the India House. In 1823, he co-founded the Westminster Review with Jeremy Bentham as a journal for philosophical radicals. This intensive study however had injurious effects on Mill’s mental health, and state of mind. At the age of twenty-one, he suffered a nervous breakdown. This was caused by the great physical and mental arduousness of his studies which had suppressed any feelings or spirituality he might have developed normally in childhood. Nevertheless, this depression eventually began to dissipate, as he began to find solace in the poetry of William Wordsworth. His capacity for emotion resurfaced, Mill remarking that the â€Å"cloud gradually drew off†. In 1851, Mill married Harriet Taylor after 21 years of an at times intense friendship and love affair. Taylor was a significant influence on Mill’s work and ideas during both friendship and marriage. His relationship with Harriet Taylor reinforced Mill’s advocacy of women’s rights. He died in Avignon, France in 1873, and is buried alongside his wife. John Stuart Mill and the Classical School of Thought Classical economics starts with Adam Smith, as a coherent economic theory, continues with the British economists Thomas Robert Malthus and David Ricardo, and culminates in the synthesis of John Stuart Mill, who as a young man was a follower of David Ricardo. Among the classical economists in the three-quarters of a century, although they have differences of opinion between Smith’s Wealth of Nations and Mill’s Principles of Political Economy (1848), the members of the group still agreed on major principles. All believed in private property, free markets, and, in Mill’s words, that â€Å"only through the principle of competition has political economy any pretension to the character of a science. † They shared Smith’s strong suspicion of government and his ardent confidence in the power of self-interest represented by his famous â€Å"invisible hand,† which reconciled public benefit with individual pursuit of private gain. From Ricardo, classicists derived the notion of diminishing returns, which held that as more labor and capital were applied to land, yields after â€Å"a certain and not very advanced stage in the progress of agriculture steadily diminished. † Through Smith’s emphasis on consumption, rather than on production, the scope of economics was considerably broadened. Smith was optimistic about the chances of improving general standards of life. He called attention to the importance of permitting individuals to follow their self-interest as a means of promoting national prosperity. History of Utilitarianism Utilitarianism is a fairly old philosophy, and major elements of it are even older. The best known, and most prolific, utilitarian philosophers were Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832), and John Stuart Mill (1806-1873). In their time, utilitarianism was a significant philosophical movement in Britain, and the utilitarians were some of the leading social reformers of the time. John Stuart Mill, especially, is quite well known today. Many people seem to think, unfortunately, that utilitarianism began with Bentham and ended with Mill. This is quite wrong in two ways. First, Bentham was not the first utilitarian, although he did coin the word â€Å"utilitarianism†. Various pre-Benthamite philosophers were advocating utilitarian positions several decades before Bentham was born. Also, utilitarianism has a lot in common with ancient non-utilitarian philosophers, such as Mo Tzu and Jesus. Both of these people advocated a doctrine of universal love. These doctrines were not precisely stated enough to compare directly with utilitarianism, but they were definitely universalist and egalitarian, and had strong currents of consequentialism, welfarism, and (at least in the case of Mo Tzu) maximization. The second problem with the popular misconception is that there has been a great deal of development in utilitarianism since Mill. Some people are aware, for example, of the later developments of Preference Utilitarianism and Rule Utilitarianism. Mill is still usually regarded as the main resource on Utilitarianism, though. Part of the problem is that he wrote about it comprehensively, and there have been few good comprehensive books about utilitarianism since then. Modern utilitarianism is in many ways far more sophisticated than that of Mill. Most importantly, it has become connected with many developments in areas such as economics, political science, and decision theory. Utilitarianism has always enjoyed an essentially unique position as the only philosophy which applied to all areas of human endeavor in a reasonably straightforward endeavor, and committed to specific positions on how conflict between various interests should be resolved. In Mill’s time, utilitarianism was strongly linked to economics, although the two disciplines subsequently diverged. Today, Preference Utilitarianism as a theory underlies many ideas in the sciences, and has been formalized to a degree that Mill never dreamed of. The idea of utility maximization even has applications entirely outside of philosophy, such as its use in artificial intelligence to represent how a computer could make trade-offs between different goals. Utilitarianism today exists both as a powerful kind of formal reasoning, and as the philosophy which says that such reasoning should define the moral ideal in human affairs. Utilitarianism can even be formally derived from a set of four reasonable seeming axioms, something that no other major philosophy can claim. The modern state of utilitarianism in relation to other philosophies is actually quite unusual. Most philosophies exist in theoretical isolation, based on ideas which have little in common with ideas in other disciplines. Other disciplines, in turn, don’t have much formal contact with them. Most major philosophies have a significant presence in politics and social issues, with people explicitly referring to issues such as rights and equality when debating how society should be organized. Utilitarianism, on the other hand, exists mostly in the background of popular discourse. People who claim to follow other philosophies often make utilitarian arguments when it suits them, and utilitarian arguments are often used by people who wouldn’t claim to follow any specific philosophy at all. Many philosophers make sure to explicitly place their ideas in opposition to utilitarianism, as if it were always lurking in the background ready to pounce on the unsuspecting theory. In part, this may be because utilitarianism is a sort of philosophical hydra, growing a new position for each one that is dismissed. While specific utilitarian ideas are vulnerable to attack, the underlying sentiments have proven amazingly resilient and have evolved to remain entirely current. Throughout the twentieth century, many philosophers confidently predicted that utilitarianism had been devastated, and would soon fall out of favor – only to be disproved when it remained as popular as ever. Utilitarian perspectives have also been quietly adopted in domains ranging from economics, political science, and decision theory to cognitive science and artificial intelligence. This has given modern utilitarianism a powerful formulation like no other, and a strong applied tradition. The old questions of how to measure utility, and how to maximize it most effectively in practice, have been extensively researched outside of philosophy. The result of this is that while other philosophies often talk in general terms of how they should be applied, and have problems in resolving conflicts between various principles, utilitarianism is at the cutting edge of rigorously applicable principles. Which is still, it should be mentioned, far from perfect. John Stuart Mill on Utilitarianism Utilitarianism is the most influential moral philosophy in the last two centuries. Jeremy Bentham is the acknowledged founder of utilitarianism. He admitted however that he took over the principle of utility from David Hume. By stating categorically that there is an ultimate good – a summum bonum, John Stuart Mill, the most famous utilitarian, laid the foundation of his moral philosophy. According to Mill, all moral actions should be aimed at attaining this good. Mill insists that this good is happiness. According to the Greatest Happiness Principle, †¦ the ultimate end, with reference to and for the sake of which all other things are desirable – whether we are considering our own good or that of other people – is an existence exempt as far as possible from pain, and as rich as possible in enjoyments, both in point of quantity and quality†¦ ( Boyce, p. 36) Mill states his teological position by insisting that the rightness of an action is determined by the actual consequences. It cannot be done by simply examining the nature of the act alone. The real value of our actions depends on whether it promotes the good or not. The creed which accepts as the foundation of morals Utility or Greatest Happiness Principle holds that actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness. Wrong, as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness. By happiness is intended pleasure, and the absence of pain, by unhappiness, pain and the privation of pleasure. (Boyce, p. 36) Mill differs radically from Bentham on two important points. He is vehemently against the purely quantitative treatment of the principle of utility. According to Mill, we have to admit that some pleasures are intrinsically superior to others. He disdainfully said: 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, is of a different opinion, it is because they only know their own side of the question. The other party to the comparison knows both sides. (Solomon, p. 310 ) To confirm his point, Mill cites Epicurus (341-270 B. C. ) who also espoused the view that while the good life is the life of pleasure, he does not mean only bodily and sensual pleasure alone. These are higher forms like intellectual and spiritual pleasure. According to both philosophers some pleasures are intrinsically superior to others. When there are some issues that arise about the criterion for judging the quality of pleasure. Mill argues that: If I am asked what I mean by difference of quality of pleasures, or what makes one pleasure more valuable than another, merely as a pleasure, except its being greater in amount, there is but one possible answer. Of two pleasures if there is be one to which all or almost all who have experience of both give a decided preference, irrespective of a feeling of moral obligation to prefer it, that is the more desirable pleasure. If one of the two is, by those who are competently acquainted with both, placed so far above the other that they prefer it, even though knowing it to be attended with a greater amount of discontent, and would not resign it for any quantity of the other pleasure which their name is capable of, we are justified in ascribing to the preferred enjoyment a superiority in quality so far outweighing quantity as to render it, in comparison of small account. (Solomon, pp. 297-298). The example given by Mill is Socrates who is acquainted with both bodily pleasure and intellectual pleasure. If you ask which pleasure is more desirable, obviously, according to Mill, Socrates will choose intellectual pleasure. So the criterion for judging which pleasure is better than another must be made by a judge who has experienced both kinds of pleasures. Indeed, Mill is calling for an inter-subjective consensus of people who experienced both types of pleasure. The introduction of quality of pleasure added undue complication to Bentham’s quantitative calculus. The higher pleasure consists of the more intellectual, artistic and even spiritual, like reading poetry, speculating about the nature or the cosmos, enjoying of music and the visual arts etc. as opposed to the more sensual and physical, like eating good food, indulging in sex and other physical stimulation. It must be mentioned though, that Mill is not excluding the lower pleasure from consideration. But obviously, he personally prefers the higher pleasures. Remember that it is the pig that provides the model for lower pleasure; in contrast, it is Socrates who exemplifies the quest for higher pleasures. Mill’s proof on the soundness of the principle of utility: The only proof capable of being given that an object is visible is that people actually see it. The only proof that a sound is audible is that people actually hear it; and so the other sources of our experience. In like manner, I apprehend, the sole evidence is it possible to produce that anything is desirable that people do actually desire it†¦ no reason can be given why the general happiness is desirable, except that each person, so far as he believes it to be attainable, desire his own happiness. (Solomon, p. 319 ). This proof has been the subject of debate among utlilitarian scholars. According to Solomon, the most generous interpretation of Mill’s proof are the following: one’s own happiness or pleasure is the only thing desired by each person; the general happiness or the happiness of all is the only thing desired for itself by all; the only test of something being desirable is its being desired; the general happiness is the only thing desired in itself; and lastly, the only test of the rightness or wrongness of actions is their tendency to promote the general happiness (the greatest happiness for the greatest number). Summary and Conclusion John Stuart Mill, being a philosopher and an economist had a great impact in the 19th century british thought not only in the field of philosophy and economics but also in other areas of political science, logic, and ethics. His exceptional childhood because of his father’s rigorous training had injurious effects on his mental health, and state of mind. Nevertheless, his father was able to create a genius in him that would carry on the cause of utilitarianism and its implementation after the death of his father and Bentham. One of the important works of John Stuart Mill was Utilitarianism, which argues for the philosophy of Utilitarianism. This philosophy was primarily formed by Jeremy Bentham, but Mill’s father James Mill was also a proponent. Utilitarianism holds that actions are good in proportion to the amount of happiness produced and number of people happiness is produced in. Mill’s main innovation to Utilitarianism is the idea of a hierarchy of pleasures. Bentham had treated all forms of happiness as equal, whereas Mill argued that intellectual and moral pleasures and developments were superior to more physical forms of pleasure. His views are of continuing significance, and are recognized to be among the deepest and certainly the most effective defenses of empiricism and of a liberal political view of society and culture. The overall aim of his philosophy is to develop a positive view of the universe and the place of humans in it, one which contributes to the progress of human knowledge, individual freedom and human well-being. His views are not entirely original, having their roots in the British empiricism of John Locke, George Berkeley and David Hume, and in the utilitarianism of Jeremy Bentham. But he gave them a new depth, and his formulations were sufficiently articulate to gain for them a continuing influence among a broad public. References: ACUNA, A. E. 2001. Philosophical Analysis. 5th Edition. U. P. Department of Philosophy. Diliman, Quezon City. Autobiography by John Stuart Mill. http://www. utilitarianism. com/jsmill. htm. BOYCE, W. D. 1978. Moral Reasoning. University of Nebraska Press. London. MONTGOMERIE, I. 2000. A Utilitarian FAQ. http://www. ianmontgomerie. com /manifesto/utilitarian. SOLOMON, R. C. Morality and the Good Life. 1984. McGraw-Hill Book Company. New York. Webster’s Family Encyclopedia. 1999. Vol. 6. Archer Worldwide Inc. Great Neck, New York, U. S. A.