Social Entrepreneurship Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 4

Social Entrepreneurship - Essay Example ng an increasing trend these social enterprises are not practicing on ethical grounds and are needed to consider ethical principles while executing their decisions. People’s confidence in the integrity and honesty of these social enterprises is decreasing day by day and lack trust these enterprises consider social benefits while conducting business activities. As proposed by Rhode & Packel (2009), numerous factors impact the ethical decision making within all sorts of organizations and in order to solve the problem of rising misconduct, an in depth analysis of such factors is needed. The proposed factors include moral awareness, moral decision-making, moral intent and moral action. And individuals vary on these grounds causing cognitive biases that lead to the development of unethical behaviour. Being a part of business enterprise, the organizational culture and structure also helps in manipulating individuals’ acts and decisiveness on moral grounds. The authors also pr ovided the main areas where ethical considerations may arise in a non-profit organization such as social enterprise. These include conflicts of interests, compensations, publication & solicitation, investment policies, financial integrity, strategic management and accountability. Thus in order to encourage ethical decision making, certain guidelines provided may be followed such as ensuring effective and efficient codes of conduct as well as compliance programs, encouraging effective management of financial affairs and incorporating an ethical culture that inhibits immoral conducts. But all these measures would be ineffective if the ethical reasoning does not descend from the people occupying leading positions. The importance of ethics can’t be neglected in any sort of organization or personal decision making but its significance in non profit sector can’t be neglected as it forms the basis of societal gain and its violation may result in hurting not only the economy but also the social

Memorable School Experience Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Memorable School Experience - Essay Example It was not long before school became a strong social outlet and I began to experience great success in my courses. I excelled academically and was barely cognizant of a group of students in courses I had that were quickly failing. One day I showed up and they had transferred to another class. I went on for much of the year concentrating on school. While I experienced relative success, towards the end of the year I increasingly felt something was missing in my life. While at the time I thought it was simply the need of a more robust social life, in retrospect I recognize that even at this early age I was experiencing a slight crisis of personal meaning. At nights I would sit by myself and think about the purpose of even being successful in school or life. Like a miniature Camus or Sartre, I gradually came to believe that there was no real meaning to life and that the books and schoolwork I had so diligently devoted myself to was nothing but me fooling myself that things mattered. I so ught out ways to counter this depression. Increasingly I looked to others thinking they new the answers. It was this that led me to one-day talk with the kids who had dropped out of my courses a few months earlier. To me it seemed as if they similarly rejected school and found a different path. One day during lunch I ate with them and then walked with them as they went behind the school. There was a pasture next door where they would sneak away and smoke marijuana. As we were returning I turned my head and noticed the school resource officer standing right beside us; he had watched us the entire time. I ended up receiving a week-long suspension. At the time I was truly furious with what had happened, but today I realize it was a turning point in my life. I consider Hartman’s story when he writes, â€Å"I became a bulldog and I spoke --truly spoke, clearly-- for the first time† (Hartman). After this incident I too found my voice. While at times I continued to question l ife, I learned to find my own meaning and appreciate everyday for what it is. My favorite teacher in high school was my junior year English teacher Mr. Harvey. Before enrolling in his course English had always seemed to be to be a study of grammar, structure, vocabulary, and ancient texts that held little resemblance to my modern existence. Throughout my junior year of high school I came to gain a much deeper appreciation for literature and poetry, and the ways that writing empower our lives. The first day of class we walked in and after head administered an introductory talk had everyone in the class stand up. We then walked into procession to a desk he had at the front of the room; we were instructed to step onto the desk and then jump off. The intention was so that the class would become more comfortable with jumping into the intellectual unknown. Throughout the semester Mr. Harvey regularly came up with novel and unique teaching methods. One day the class would be outside at the lake writing poetry, the next day we’d be analyzing Sylvia Plath indoors. While the course was filled with excitement, in retrospect perhaps the things I appreciate most about Mr. Harvey were the things I disliked at the time. Regularly he would choose a student’s essay and place it on a projector and correct it in front the entire class. Everyone dreaded having his or her essay being chosen, albeit the individual

Capital Budgeting Worksheet Essay Example for Free

Capital Budgeting Worksheet Essay Read the scenarios below and select one to review and analyze. Determine the proposal’s appropriateness and economic viability. For all scenarios, assume spending occurs on the first day of each year and benefits or savings occurs on the last day. Assume the discount rate or weighted average cost of capital is 10%. Ignore taxes and depreciation. Proposal A: New Factory A company wants to build a new factory for increased capacity. Using the net present value (NPV) method of capital budgeting, determine the proposal’s appropriateness and economic viability with the following information: †¢Building a new factory will increase capacity by 30%. †¢The current capacity is $10 million of sales with a 5% profit margin. †¢The factory costs $10 million to build. †¢The new capacity will meet the company’s needs for 10 years. †¢The factory is worth $14 million over 10 years. Proposal B: New Equipment A company wants to buy a labor-saving piece of equipment. Using the NPV method of capital budgeting, determine the proposal’s appropriateness and economic viability with the following information: †¢Labor content is 12% of sales, which are annually $10 million. †¢The new equipment will save 20% of labor annually. †¢The new equipment will last 5 years. †¢The new equipment will cost $200,000. Proposal C: New Advertising Program A company wants to invest in a new advertising program. Using the NPV method  of capital budgeting, determine the proposal’s appropriateness and economic viability with the following information: †¢The new program will increase current sales, $10 million, by 20%. †¢The new program will have a profit margin is 5% of sales. †¢The new program will have a 3-year effect. †¢The new program will cost the company $200,000 in the first year.

Taxation System In Pakistan

Taxation System In Pakistan Taxation in Pakistan is a very complex system including more than 70 different taxes and nearly 37 different government agencies administer the tax system. Around 10 million people are registered to pay taxes but only 1.9 million people pay taxes [1]. In 2002, Transparency International studied 256 respondents, among which 99% were facing corruption regarding to taxation. Furthermore, 32% of respondents were paying bribes to lower their tax assessment, and around 14% reported receiving fictitious tax assessments [2]. Pakistan is one of the developing countries where tax to GDP ratio is very low. (Exhibit 1) From 1947 the sales tax was introduced at provincial level which was covering a limited area of commercial activities. In 1951 it was converted into a federal tax in 1951. The Government of Pakistan setup a National Tax Reforms Commission in 1985 to provide recommendations to improve the taxation system in Pakistan. The Commission submitted its final report in December 1986. As a result, the Sales Tax Act was introduced in 1990, it was a value added version named as General Sales Tax (GST). In 1995-96, GST was transformed into a complete VAT mode tax with its basic structures. In 1997-98 the tax base was extended to importers, retailers and wholesalers. GST was only covering the goods before 1990, which later on covered the services sector also. Tax collection was increased from 1990s to 2000s collecting US$ 2.67 billion in the recent years. Comparing With Some Similar Economies [3] The Indian economy is the 2nd fastest growing economy of the world and 12thlargest in term of exchange rate. Although, India does not have impressive track record in the growth of revenues, rising from6.8% of GDP in 1950s to 10.3% in 1990s and maximum of 12.9% in 2009. But the important thing is that the tax-to-GDP ratio is increasing constantly from 2004 onward. On the other hand, tax-to-GDP ratio in Pakistan has a declining trend from peak 13.2% to 8.9 in 2009. (Exhibit 2) Sri Lanka has been facing a worsened law and order situation since early 80sand economy of Sri Lanka showed a very low GDP growth. Although, tax revenues as compared to GDP has decreased in Sri Lanka but still they have high rate of 14.3% which is higher than Pakistan. Sri Lanka has coped with the problems in economy by focusing on its Tea exports, Tourism sector. Furthermore, government has also tried to improve the revenue collection. (Exhibit 3). Sweden is considered to have highest tax-to-GDP ratio in the world. Tax revenues in Sweden have touched a highest level over 50% of GDP. The personal income tax rate is highest in Sweden which is about 56.4%. Tax rate is progressive for the personal income in Sweden while in Pakistan we are facing a regressive taxation. (Exhibit 4) Reasons of low tax to GDP ratio in Pakistan There are several reasons why we are unable to collect the tax. Corruption is one of the important aspects which are casting great hindrance in taxation system. Other important reason is low literacy rate, which is very low as compared to many countries in the world.(Exhibit-5Literacy).Demography of a country also play an important role in the tax to GDP ratio. Pakistan has about 36.7% population which is 14 years of age or below. Hence working class is not growing to generate taxes. Terrorism, law and order situation, poverty and unemployment are also playing important role in low tax collection. Tax base in Pakistan is stable at 1%, on the other hand tax base in USA is about 24% and it is 20% in Malaysia. Tax policy is also not suitable in order to generate taxes and to extend the tax net. Another problem that we are facing is documentation of economy; nearly 52% of our economy is undocumented. Audit and enforcement is so weak in Pakistan that the audit agencies themselves are invo lved in corruption. Looking at different sectors, we can see agriculture has above 20% share in GDP but tax collected from this sector are only 1% of total tax collection. In this way contribution of different sectors is not properly distributed. Political influence is also a big hurdle in the taxation system. [4] Main Concern of Pakistans Tax Policy Government collect taxes from its people in order to spend the collection on the welfare of its people which includes national defense, debt servicing and other welfare related issues. While designing the tax policy a country should account the equity and justice for its people because a system is most effective when it is designed on the bases of equal and fair treatment of each tax-payer. But in case of Pakistan the situation is bit different, as a nation we are in debt by the foreign and domestic lenders which is due to our extra expenses incurred due to recent war on terror, our habit of corruption at national and international level and we are also tax averse society in which we dont feel ourselves responsible to pay taxes. Our current tax collection system is very weak which comprises of loopholes in the system accompanied by the corruption of Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) officers which speaks about the justice and equity of our government officials for their people [5]. After analyzing the height of corruption, special favor given to government officials or their friends, our undocumented economy and failure to increase tax net it has become necessary for any lender to set the target in order to continue the money lending and to make sure that their borrowed money can be repaid by the borrower. Initially the foreign lenders did not set any targets for us because they somehow believed in our commitments and also felt that we will pay them back their money as per the signed agreement but after the several failures of debt servicing, lenders started to analyze the root cause of this issue in which they found our tax collection system complied with old methodology of taxation i.e. General Sales Tax (GST) in which all the tax collected at the last stage which makes them aware of the fact that as a corrupt nation and low tax net economy it will become more difficult for them to collect their lent amount from us which lead IMF to set targets for us[6]. The reason they feel our system is outdated because now most of the countries in the world including the developing countries are eliminating the loopholes in tax collection system by introducing the Value Added Tax (VAT) and by increasing the tax net through VAT. Now the question arises what are the reasons for government to obey the rules set by International Monetary Fund (IMF). Firstly, we do not have enough liable system and funds by which we can manage our economy because of which we need IMFs support so that we can run our affairs smoothly. Secondly, reforming Pakistani taxation; certain actions such as reestablishment of the State Tax Organization, restructuring the law of direct taxation, introducing and implementing the value added tax, as a complimentary to the reformation of the existing law of direct  taxation and as an efficient and co-ordinate tool with the economic situation of the country has been taken in to account. Also, In General Sales Tax (GST) which is based on the percentage of sales, State loses 100 percent when someone evades tax whereas in Value Added Tax (VAT), a taxation system in which tax is applied in production process whenever the value is added to the product, if tax is evaded at one value addition stage government loses only some part of the tax Another reason for suggesting implementation of the value added tax is that, it is a suitable substitute for many other duties and indirect taxes, which has vast distortion effects  on the productive sectors and on the welfare and behavior of the consumers. Omission of the indirect taxes and duties causes  great decrease in the government revenues. Thus, the value added tax, in addition to compensating the income decrease of the government, can also increase the government tax  revenues. VAT also justifies itself more effectively because by implementing VAT it will result in the increase of tax revenues and also help to decrease the pressure on taxation for production sector also better for the investment by the adjustments in the income tax rates. It will also reduce the time and costs related to tax collection and also bring the sense of participation among the peoples [7]. On the proposal for introducing VAT in Pakistan by the government officials there was a huge resistance from the opposition parties because the main negative effect of VAT in economy of Pakistan is the need of accounting which needs to be done which will also effect on the accounting which business might need to perform. It affects small businesses because such business may lack in terms of accounting proficient peoples in order to track the tax of business. It is also highlighted by opposition that VAT will also result as a regressive tax policy in which rich person will get a fair deal by transferring their tax burden upon the poor people which will ultimately cost a lot for the poorer one but after analyzing the research paper of so many author we came to understanding that initially at the time of imposing VAT for the first time such problems do occur but there are also some ways by which government can address these issues. And it is also the reason that some of the critics of VAT states that it will also lead to inflationary price level which will hurt the economy as a whole but this is not as much true because the rationale behind VAT states that it will create the deflationary effect on the economy which will result in stable or low price as the time passes. And to respond the previous critic of VAT about being regressive policy, we can compensate the low salary class of people by introducing new tax policies which could help the m particularly [8]. The main concern of Pakistans tax policy is to increase the tax revenue which can only be done through applying VAT in which tax can be collected at every level whenever the value has been added. Its positive effects are more as compare to the reasons for resistance which government is facing in order to reinforce it and these resistance are natural because if we see other countries who are same as Pakistan have also faced the similar kind of issues while implying their tax system from GST to VAT and not just that but also we are running out of funds for which we have to comply with the requirement of Foreign Lenders i.e. IMF so that we can manage our economical issues comfortably. In the long run perspective, the VAT will not just increase our tax net but also make us self sufficient in terms of managing our self and we will also be able to service our debts which will results us as a freedom from the loan from IMF in the coming time period. Only critical fact which needs to be address while setting the tax policy on VAT is the corruption related matters which can be minimized by the VAT by its own self but government should also take some initiative while dealing with VAT implementation face because its more easy and possible to cheat if VAT is the system but on the other hand it will just miss the percent of Value Addition while on the other hand GST miss the whole hit if the tax payers manage to get rid of tax. Comparison of Complex VAT with Simpler GST As we know, in GST, tax is charged as a fixed rate at the end of supply chain where as in Value Added Tax system, tax is charged at every value addition stage so suppliers/vendors in the middle stages of production can evade tax by not registering with Financial Bureau of statistics. In VAT system, for example If a stage two supplier is not registered with FBR and supplies goods to third level in value addition and FBR takes information about the production of good from level three vendor, the tax evader at level will be tracked sooner or later. The world experience has showed that VAT induces a strong tax culture. Under GST system, due to tax evasion, tax gap in 2010-2011 was 79 percent [9]. One way to stop organizations from evading tax is heavily penalizing them. For example if the organization has already filed a tax return and fails to pay the tax liability or evades it should be penalized on daily basis. If a person registered with VAT fails to file return, under section 88 of the Federal VAT Bill 2010, value added tax liability will increase. If the tax return is not filed within fifteen days of due date, the supplier would have a penalty of Rs.1, 000/- for every day of default. Penalties on failing to pay the taxes would help collecting tax and there would be an incentive for organizations to pay taxes on time because if they do not they will be charged more [10]. Also the suppliers in the supply chain who are not registered with FBR will not be in a position to claim the tax paid at purchase levels. The in-built invoice based credit of VAT will promote economic documentation. Tax invoice is the most important and significant feature of VAT-induced documentation. VAT has self-assessment features and records business transactions through tax invoicing. Today Pakistan is facing a problem of undocumented and black economy. More than 30 %, calculated by electricity consumption approach, of Pakistans total economy is undocumented resulting in low tax revenues which in turn results in increasing tax rate and increasing tax burden on people who fairly pay their tax dues [11] see exhibit 7. VAT, with its features of penalizing and mandatory documentation of business activity, will help eradicate the norm of black economy from the nation. When in 2010 implementation of VAT was proposed, online registration of tax payers was also proposed. Difficult and rigorous registration is also one reason of people and businessmen not registering for tax. Historically as well as in present registration, under GST, has been a troublesome process because of which people avoid it hence huge amount of revenue is lost by government. If VAT is introduced, registration would become easy and those who do not register just because of the complicated process would start listing themselves which would eventually increase government revenues and its ability to pay off debt. It is also a general concern of people that the cost of compliance would increase dramatically if the VAT is implemented; this however, is not true. There will be no effect or increase in compliance cost of producers already registered/operating under GST regime and will automatically switch to VAT. But the new taxpayers who are not yet registered will have to pay nominal expense for VAT compliance. Because of IT- based VAT processes, cost of VAT compliance usually remains low for the taxpayers who release their tax obligations regularly on fair lines. [12] One of the reasons Pakistan has not been able to progress as much as other emerging countries have is because of the lack of proper infrastructure, low quality of education, and lack of governments ability to spend on public welfare. Almost all of the tax collected by government is spent on either defense or on debt servicing. The stage has come when Pakistan needs loan to pay its loan payments. With VAT the state would be able to collect more taxes with which Pakistan will be able to repay its loans sooner. Once Pakistan pays off all the loans it will be able to spend on infrastructure and improve quality of education. Better infrastructure and education would attract foreign investments which will increase GDP and eventually increasing the tax base; there has been a decrease of more than 3000 million $ from fiscal year 2007-2008 to 2009-20010 in FDI see exhibit 6. According to VAT law there is no difference between retailers and wholesalers. It also does not define manufacturer or manufacture. Every person, who is part of the production supply chain, is required to get registered with VAT if he/she is engaged in carrying out business activity of making supplies of taxable goods/services. Under GST only some of the industries are charged tax. For example, cellular services account for more than 80% of the total GST collected, rest of the countrys industries pay less than 20% of the GST revenue.[13] See Exhibit 5 . Now one problem could be that organizations tend to avoid taxes especially when VAT is practiced in the economy. But with the negative effects, payment of taxes has positive consequences as well; paying taxes improves the credibility of organization. People tend to purchase from organization that are ethical enough to pay its due taxes, it is most beneficial for small companies. If small organizations mention on their sites that the company is a regular tax payer, it will not just improves its credibility but will also enhance its ability to compete with larger firms. Tax refund is also a major problem under GST regime, VAT, however has a solution to it. Under VAT system refunds will be paid through speedy Refund Payment System. The system has already been set-up for exporters from the tax period April, 2010 onwards. Under this upgraded system electronic refund payments will be made directly in the bank accounts of the taxpayers. This new refund system will be expanded to cover all other classes of refund claimants in due time. Thus, VAT is the most appropriate tax system for Pakistan as it has the ability to deal with tax refunds without taking much time, its ability to track un-registered business entities, and its ability to increase government revenues and reduce tax gap.

Progressivism on a National Level :: essays research papers

Reform of corrupt businesses and government first drew attention at local and state levels. Big businesses in the late 1800s preferred profit over patriotism, credit over honor, individual gain over national prosperity, and trade and dickering over principles. It was not until 1901, when Theodore Roosevelt became president, that progressivism was brought to the national level. During Roosevelt’s presidency, he would push reform as much as possible by strengthening the power of the federal government. The Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 was an early attempt to try to control abuses by large combinations of businesses called trusts. The Act was weakened by the Supreme Court used against labor unions rather than against monopolies. Roosevelt’s first push for reform on the national level began with a secret antitrust investigation of the J. P. Morgan’s Northern Securities Company whom monopolized railroad traffic. After successfully using his powers in government to control businesses, Roosevelt used the Sherman Antitrust Act against forty-three â€Å"bad† trusts that broke the law and left the â€Å"good† trusts alone. When united mine workers went on strike demanding less hours, more money, and recognition as a union, the price of coal went from $2.50 to $6.00 a ton. With the nation’s high dependence on coal during the winter, Roosevelt arranged a meeting with representatives from both sides to meet. He threatened to seize the mines and run them with federal troops and eventually settled it by giving them a reduction in the workday and wage increases, but no recognition as a union. Another Act that expanded the federal government’s power included the Elkins Act which outlawed railroad rebates and created the Department of Commerce and Labor to act as a corporate watchdog. The Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) was created in 1887 to regulate railroads but was never given real power to set rates and prevent discriminatory practices. To increase the power of the ICC, Roosevelt passed the Hepburn Act of 1906, and for the first time, a government commission could investigate private business records and set rates. When Upton Sinclair’s novel The Jungle was published, reformers took another look at the meatpacking industry. The novel’s startling accounts of filthy conditions in the meatpacking plants resulted in the passing of the Pure Food and Drug Act and a Meat Inspection Act.

Abnormal Psychology and Othello Essay -- Othello essays

To what extent is the science of abnormal psychology involved in the characterization in William Shakespeare’s tragic drama Othello? This essay will answer that question. Blanche Coles in Shakespeare’s Four Giants affirms the Bard’s commitment to abnormal psychology, and his employment of same in this play: That Shakespeare was keenly interested in the study of the abnormal mind is commonly accepted among students. [. . .] The suggestion that Iago may have been intentionally drawn as a psychopathic personality is not new. [. . .] Even a casual scrutiny of a book on case histories of psychopathic patients will find Iago peeping out from many of its pages. Still more, Iago’s name will be found appearing occasionally in bold print in books on abnormal psychology.(89-90) Evidence of the ancient’s psychopathic personality is seen early in the play. He manipulates the wealthy Roderigo into awakening the senator Brabantio (â€Å"Rouse him: make after him, poison his delight†); and then he utters very offensive smutty lines about a black ram and white ewe, which indicate the way his sick mind operates. He seems to be motivated by love of money which he has been receiving from Roderigo for some time (â€Å"thou, Iago, who hast had my purse / As if the strings were thine†). Iago himself says that he is motivated by revenge on the Moor (â€Å"I follow him to serve my turn upon him†) because of the promotion of Michael Cassio to the lieutenancy. But regardless of the question of motivation, it is a fact that Iago hasn’t a single true friend in the play; in his disordered personality he can only manipulate or use people; he is incapable of loving them. His manipulation of his general repeats time and again from the first mee ting: Nay, but he... ...  Ã‚  Ã‚   To the Propontic and the Hellespont,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Even so my bloody thoughts, with violent pace,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Shall ne'er look back, ne'er ebb to humble love,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Till that a capable and wide revenge   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Swallow them up. (3.3) Iago is so in control of the general’s contorted mind that he specifies how the Moor should kill Desdemona: â€Å"Strangle her in her bed, even the bed she hath contaminated.† And the general dutifully responds, â€Å"Excellent good!† The enthusiastic answer causes one to suspect that the ancient’s psychopathology has taken possession of the Moor.    WORKS CITED Shakespeare, William. Othello. In The Electric Shakespeare. Princeton University. 1996. http://www.eiu.edu/~multilit/studyabroad/othello/othello_all.html No line nos. Coles, Blanche. Shakespeare’s Four Giants. Rindge, New Hampshire: Richard Smith Publisher, 1957.    Abnormal Psychology and Othello Essay -- Othello essays To what extent is the science of abnormal psychology involved in the characterization in William Shakespeare’s tragic drama Othello? This essay will answer that question. Blanche Coles in Shakespeare’s Four Giants affirms the Bard’s commitment to abnormal psychology, and his employment of same in this play: That Shakespeare was keenly interested in the study of the abnormal mind is commonly accepted among students. [. . .] The suggestion that Iago may have been intentionally drawn as a psychopathic personality is not new. [. . .] Even a casual scrutiny of a book on case histories of psychopathic patients will find Iago peeping out from many of its pages. Still more, Iago’s name will be found appearing occasionally in bold print in books on abnormal psychology.(89-90) Evidence of the ancient’s psychopathic personality is seen early in the play. He manipulates the wealthy Roderigo into awakening the senator Brabantio (â€Å"Rouse him: make after him, poison his delight†); and then he utters very offensive smutty lines about a black ram and white ewe, which indicate the way his sick mind operates. He seems to be motivated by love of money which he has been receiving from Roderigo for some time (â€Å"thou, Iago, who hast had my purse / As if the strings were thine†). Iago himself says that he is motivated by revenge on the Moor (â€Å"I follow him to serve my turn upon him†) because of the promotion of Michael Cassio to the lieutenancy. But regardless of the question of motivation, it is a fact that Iago hasn’t a single true friend in the play; in his disordered personality he can only manipulate or use people; he is incapable of loving them. His manipulation of his general repeats time and again from the first mee ting: Nay, but he... ...  Ã‚  Ã‚   To the Propontic and the Hellespont,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Even so my bloody thoughts, with violent pace,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Shall ne'er look back, ne'er ebb to humble love,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Till that a capable and wide revenge   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Swallow them up. (3.3) Iago is so in control of the general’s contorted mind that he specifies how the Moor should kill Desdemona: â€Å"Strangle her in her bed, even the bed she hath contaminated.† And the general dutifully responds, â€Å"Excellent good!† The enthusiastic answer causes one to suspect that the ancient’s psychopathology has taken possession of the Moor.    WORKS CITED Shakespeare, William. Othello. In The Electric Shakespeare. Princeton University. 1996. http://www.eiu.edu/~multilit/studyabroad/othello/othello_all.html No line nos. Coles, Blanche. Shakespeare’s Four Giants. Rindge, New Hampshire: Richard Smith Publisher, 1957.   

Artificial Intelligence in Missile Technology

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN MISSILE TECHNOLOGY K. Manasa B-Tech III/IV Branch: EEE Shadan College of Engg & Tech, Peerancheru, Hyderabad-08. konda_sowmya @yahoo. com Abstract: The development, strength, economy and progress depends on the status of the Defence, This paper deals with various generations of computer where the fifth generation computers use Artificial Intelligence. A few applications of Artificial Intelligence used in various technologies have also been discussed. The main focus of paper is on chaser missiles, which implements the missile technology using Artificial Intelligence. The Anupama processor designed in India can be used in chasers. This shows the development of Artificial Intelligence in Indian defence systems. The On-Board Computer department of RCI and ASL of DRDO are working on similar missile technology mostly on the guidance systems for Agni, Trishul, Akash and NAG along with which even the Chaser using the AI technology may replace the existing guidance system of the missiles. Keywords: IC, VLSI, Turing test, Chasers, OBCS, Seeker, IGMDP, DRDO, BDL, Anupama Processor, Deep Blue, Seed AI. 1. Introduction: Artificial Intelligence is a branch of Science that deals with helping machines finding solutions to complex problems in a more human-like fashion. It is intelligence exhibited by any manufactured system, which is often used in works of science fiction. The term is often applied to general-purpose computers and also in the field of scientific investigation into the theory and practical application. This generally involves borrowing characteristics from human intelligence, and applying them as algorithms in a computer friendly way. For more complex problems, things get more difficult. Unlike humans, computers have trouble understanding in specific situations and adapting to new situations. Artificial Intelligence aims to improve machine behavior in tackling such complex tasks. A more or less flexible or efficient approach can be taken depending on the requirements established, which influences how artificial the intelligent behavior appears. From AI we can learn something about how to make machines solve problems by observing other people or just by observing our own methods. On the other hand, most work in AI involves studying the problems the world presents to intelligence rather than studying people or animals. . Various Generations of a Computer: With the advent of computers there has been a vast proliferation in them. A computer is truly an amazing machine as it performs various functionalities. For generations, it has been the constant endeavor of man to get the better of his adversary by inventing more and more potent computers. Till today we got five gener ations of computers. The 1st generation computers used vacuum tubes. These computers occupied large space, liberated a large amount of heat and also lead to many uncontrolled operations. The 2nd generation computers used enormous number of transistors. After some years these transistors were fabricated on a single chip called ICs. Computers using these were called the 3rd generation computers. With the advancement of technology in VLSI, a large number of ICs were integrated on a single chip made of silicon, which is further used by the 4th generation computers. An attempt is being made to apply artificial intelligence on these computers, which constitutes the 5th generation computers. These computers are expected to be faster results and thus may influence international policies, strategy and tactics to an enormous extent. 3. Is AI different from Human Intelligence? Alan Turing's article â€Å"Computing Machinery and Intelligence† discussed some conditions where a machine can be used in an intelligent fashion. He argued that if a machine can perform successfully as a human can do, then the observer will certainly consider it as an intelligent device. This test called Turing test would satisfy many people but not all the philosophers. The observer can be able to interact with the machine but can’t differentiate it from the actual human works (actions & voices) while interacting and thus it camouflages the observer. The Turing test is a one-sided test. A machine that passes this test should certainly be considered as intelligent, irrespective of having knowledge about human. There are many adversaries about this fact, that an excellent discussion on the Turing test is not supportive, with restrictions on the observer's knowledge of AI and the subject matter of questioning. It turns out that some people are easily misinterpreted that, a rather dumb program is intelligent. When we set out to design an AI program, we should attempt to specify as well as possible the criteria for success for that particular program functioning in its restricted domain. . 1 Hardware for AI: In order to use AI in any system a few hardware specifications are required. The minimum requirements include a computing system containing an IC built processor, a control unit, memory devices, and a converter for external interfaces, floating-point unit, input-output ports and timers. These components work relatively with the computing system as per the AI oriented software. 4. 2 Software for AI Software is the intelligence that runs the hardware in a computer. Basically AI is in form of information fed to the processor through a programming language. The parameters acts as input that results into desired output. A fifth generation language use AI to create software based on our description of what the software should do. 5. Missile Technology and AI: Missile: It is an object or weapon that is fired, thrown, dropped, or projected at a target. Missiles play major role in warfare. The earlier versions of missiles were simple in design and operation. When the fighter plane first came into use the missiles used were of simple nature that involved only target mode and firing angle. The present day missiles are much complicated. The concept of employment of these missiles has also undergone a drastic change. Chasers: It is a type of missile that may be designed to chase the target until it hits or causes damage to the target. The Chaser contains an OBCS in its control unit, which contains AI as a backup, which will guide itself during its trajectory. Chaser continuously emits either Laser light, Infrared rays or Radio waves continuously from its IR Dome. When the enemy unit comes in its path a part of these waves reflect back giving a signal to the Chaser. Then this missile automatically changes its position so as to knock down the enemy. [pic] [pic] [pic] Working: The main purpose of an OBCS is to obtain guidance and control. The OBCS mainly contains an IC built processor, a control unit, memory devices like flash memory, SRAM, NVRAM, communication devices like UART and a converter for external interfaces. It is the seeker that actually applies AI. Before missile is launched the target is fed to the OBC in the form of a signal or image, which is basically intelligence. The seeker continuously scans the image target and gives signal to the OBCS. The input is in the form of co-ordinates that allows the chaser to change the position of radar and direction of missile by changing the position of the fins, nozzle and wings such that the target is always at its center of view. This is done by the control unit by varying the altitudes of the missile i. e. Roll, Yaw and Pitch thus guiding the missile towards its target. [pic] The missile control operation follows a closed loop system. Characteristics: The following are the characteristics to be possessed by a Chaser: †¢ The chaser should be faster than sharp enemy. It should take the shortest path to reach the enemy. †¢ The Propellant composition should be such that it is able to effectively engage the target. †¢ The longitudinal, lateral and vertical axis of missile must be varied in a smooth fashion when enemy tries to dive or jump suddenly. Future Trends: With the application of AI the missiles may be capable of automatic target recognition and even be able to tell the condition of the terrain. It may be able to identify tanks and trucks as friendly or enemy vehicles. The missile, while in flight may have the ability to prioritize target on battlefield. If the missile thinks that it should go after a high priority target rather than trying to kill its original target, it will do so. Software programme will be so advanced that mission options will be decided by brains built into the missiles with the help of embedded real time computers. The ongoing developments and changes in this field may however cannot be forecasted. 6. Development of AI in India: India launched its missile development programme through IGMDP under the aegis of DRDO, the premier defence research agency. Under this programme five missile systems are currently under different stages of development and production. BDL, Hyderabad has also been established as a premier production agency for all missile systems. The following missiles form part of IGMDP: Prithvi – Introduced in 1996 Trishul – under development AKASH – under development NAG – under development AGNI – under development The most recent attempt made for the development of AI based technology in India is the design of Anupama Processor. It has been designed at Anurag Research Institute, Hyderabad. Anupama was first used in Mission Control system mounted on under water self propelled missile, Torpedo. It is a 32-bit processor based on RISC architecture. It mainly contains a 32-bit floating-point unit, 32-bit parallel input-output port and two 16-bit timers. It has a non-multiplexed bus structure with 32 data lines and 32 address lines. A bus interface unit supports Synchronous, Asynchronous and Burst data transverse. It also supports dynamic bus sizing. The same can also be used in OBCS of chasers. 7. Other Applications: 7. 1 Robotics: Robots are typically used to do tasks that are too dull, dirty, or dangerous for humans. Industrial robots used in manufacturing lines used to be the most common form of robots. Other applications of Robotics include toxic waste cleanup, underwater and space exploration, surgery, mining, search and rescue, and mine finding. Robots are also finding their way into entertainment and home health care. 7. 2 Medicine: Artificial Intelligence in Medicine allow computers to process and analyze three-dimensional images of the heart in much the same way an experienced human operator would. The program applies artificial intelligence techniques to the measurement of parameters critical to understanding the state and behavior of the human heart. This automated approach allows information to be obtained very quickly that is quantitatively accurate and does not suffer from intra-observer or inter-observer variability. The software and algorithms developed by the AIM program are widely considered to represent the gold standard in nuclear cardiology. 7. 3 Banking: AI systems are used to detect fraud and expenditure financial transactions, with daily transaction volumes in billions. These systems first use learning algorithms to construct profiles of consumer usage patterns, and then use the resulting profiles to detect unusual patterns and take appropriate action. Ex: To disable the credit card. 7. 4 Data Processing: Data Mining, the extraction of hidden predictive information from large databases, is a powerful new technology with great potential to help companies focus on most important information in the data warehouses. Data mining tools predict future trends and behaviors, allowing business to make proactive, knowledge-driven decisions. It answers business questions that traditionally were too time consuming to resolve. The past history in the form of records is taken as a backup, which is fed in the form of intelligence for data processing. 7. 5 Game playing: The AI based machines can be applied for playing games mainly through brute force computation using the entire game play as a backup in the form of AI. Advantage of using this type of machine is the players can have a practice session where they will have a tough opponent (machine) and then in a real match the players will not face much difficulty. Ex: Deep Blue computer for chess. 7. 6 Speech Recognition: The areas where continous interaction is required between the user and computer, the need not go for the commands using input devices. He can just dictate the commands while the system accepts it in the form of speech signal and achieves the task to be performed. Ex: In a highly protected zone where the security levels must be maintained high can make use of speech recognition system, where the password can be broken only by a particular official. 7. 7 Computer Vision: The human eye as well as TV cameras capture objects and give it as an input to the main system. But here the input given is two-dimensional; some programs may run with this input while the computers require partial three-dimensional information that can be possible by computer vision. Ex: The images taken from satellites can be of three-dimensional type. 7. 8 Machine Translation: It is a form of translation where a computer program analyses text in one language i. e. , â€Å"Source text† and attempts to produce another language called â€Å"Target text† without human intervention. Ex: In the fields having highly limited ranges of vocabulary and simple sentence structure like weather reports, machine translation can deliver useful results. 7. 9 Handwriting Recognition: Several attempts were made to produce ink pens that include digital components such that a person write on a paper and have the resulting text stored digitally. So the user need not write once in a paper and then enter it again as input in computer, thus saving time. 8. Friendly AI: Friendliness theory is a proposed solution to the dangers believed to stem from smarter-than-human artificial intelligence. According to the theory, the goals of future AIs will be more arbitrary and alien than commonly depicted in science fiction and earlier futurist speculation, in which AIs are often anthropomorphized and assumed to share universal human desires. Because AI is not guaranteed to see the â€Å"obvious† aspects of morality and goals that humans see so effortlessly, the theory goes, AIs with intelligences greater than our own may concern themselves with endeavors that humans would see as pointless or even laughably bizarre. One example is that of an AI initially designed to manufacture paperclips, which, upon becoming superhumanly intelligent, tries to develop molecular nanotechnology because it wants to convert all matter in the solar system into paperclips. Friendliness theory stresses less the danger of superhuman AIs that actively seek to harm humans, but more of AIs that are disastrously indifferent to them if steps are not taken to specifically design them to be benevolent. Doing so effectively is the primary goal of Friendly AI. This belief that human goals are so arbitrary derives heavily from modern advances in evolutionary psychology. Friendliness theory claims that most AI speculation is clouded by analogies between AIs and humans, and assumptions that all possible minds must exhibit characteristics that are actually psychological adaptations that exist in humans (and other animals) only because they were once beneficial and perpetuated by natural selection. Many supporters of FAI speculate that AI able to alter and improve itself, seed AI, is likely to create a huge power disparity between it and less intelligent human minds, that its ability to reprogram itself would very quickly outpace human ability to exercise any meaningful control over it. While many doubt such scenarios are likely, if they were to occur, it would be important for AI to act benevolently towards humans. One of the most recent significant advancements in Friendliness theory is the collective volition model. More concretely, the collective volition of humanity is the actions we would collectively take if we knew more, thought faster, etc Friendly AI should initially seek to determine the collective volition of humanity, with which it can then alter its goals accordingly. 9. Conclusion: Artificial intelligence has to be applied to the machines where the human involvement is not applicable. Keeping this in point of view, we have seen ample applications in real life so as to enhance the life of the human. These machines are very well suited for real time systems because of their fast response and computational efforts. In future people will witness a radical change in the cyber environment in the form of artificial intelligent oriented technologies. The country’s economical development depends on the strength of Defence. The chaser missile mentioned in this paper uses this reliable technology playing a prominent role in fortifying the defence. Further research on the lines of missile technology using AI may fetch more advanced and better technology in designing the missiles. From past so many years India was depending on other countries for its requirements in Defence. Now with this India will be self-dependant. Regarding the usage of AI even today there are so many comments on the threat towards humans from this intelligent so called machines. For this the friendly AI mentioned in this paper can be an answer. Finally we would like to conclude that the applications of Artificial Intelligence might be applied in real life making it no longer a fiction. 10. Acronyms: AI: Artificial Intelligence. IC: Integrated circuit. VLSI: Very Large Scale Integration. OBCS: Onboard Computer System SRAM: Static Random Access Memory NVRAM: Non Volatile RAM UART: Universal asynchronous receiver transmitter RISC: Reduced Instruction Set Computing IGMDP: Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme. DRDO: Defence Research and Development Organisation. BDL: Bharat Dynamics Limited. RCI: Research Center Imarat ASL: Advanced Systems Lab 11. References: †¢ â€Å"Computing Machinery & Artificial Intelligence† 3rd edition, by Alan Turing. †¢ Research paper on â€Å"Machine Intelligence† by Sankar Kumar Paul, Indian Stastical Institute, Kolkata. †¢ â€Å"Super Intelligent Machines† by Bill Hibbard. †¢ â€Å"Artificial Intelligence† 2nd edition 2004, by Elaine. Rich and Kevin Knight. †¢ â€Å"Applications of AI† by Richardson, IEEE paper, September 2004.