The Life of William the Conqueror Research Paper

The Life of William the Conqueror - Research Paper Example Ever since he was crowned as the King of England on the Christmas day in 1066, William displayed a tremendous amount of valor, energy, determination, and ruthlessness in achieving his goals. Even though William was quite cruel and ruthless towards his enemies and people who disobeyed his laws, England owes much to his administrative and legislative reforms. It was William the Conqueror who â€Å"instituted his strategy for medieval warfare of building castles and went on to build many castles in England including his most famous, the Tower of London† (Biography of William the Conqueror). Similarly, the Doomsday Book is very often regarded as another remarkable legacy of William the Conqueror as the book offers a clear-cut insight into the medieval life, customs, and manners. The life of William the Conqueror is worth analyzing when one deals with the early history of England. William was reported to have born as the illegitimate son of Duke Robert 1 of Normandy in either late 1027 or early 1028. In 1034, Duke Robert decided to go on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and he entrusted William into the care of his uncle Robert, archbishop of Rouen and his nobles and nominated him as the next Duke of Normandy (William 17). Subsequently, William became the Duke of Normandy in 1035 after his father’s death when he was only seven years old. It was in the year 1051 that Edward the Confessor pledged William that he would be made his successor to the throne of England and in the next year William married Matilda of Flanders. In 1065, William was successful in gaining Harold Godwinson’s pledge of allegiance whereby Harold would assist him to assume the throne of England. However, things turned upside down after Edward the Confessor’s death when Harold tried to gain the throne of England in 1066. This paved the way for the historical battle at Hastings. In 1066 William the conqueror obtained â€Å"support from the Pope for his invasion of England and t he right to the English throne,† defeated Harold’s men at the battle of Hastings, suppressed all other rebellions within the nation, and on 25th December he was crowned as the King of England (Biography of William the Conqueror). From 1067 onwards William the Conqueror started constructing castles in various parts of the nation which included the well-known Exeter Castle and the Tower of London. Even though he and the Normans faced strong rebellion at Exeter from Harold's mother Gytha in February 1067, Hereward the Wake and Harold's brother, the Earl Morcar at Peterborough in 1070, William could easily defeat the rebels. On May 11, 1068, William crowned his wife Matilda as the Queen of England. The Doomsday Book was published in 1086 and on September 9, 1087, the great conqueror met with death. One can never undermine the administrative as well as legislative reforms introduced by William the Conqueror in England. In fact, the arrival of the Normans and the reign of Wil liam brought about radical changes to the course of English history as well. However, William never tried to replace the existing Anglo-Saxon laws with the Norman practices. On the other hand, he effectively blended the Norman laws with the Anglo-Saxon law and native customs.

Employment relations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Employment relations - Essay Example agement style, a remnant of Theory X, merely treated employee relations this way, alongside seeing them as not valuable assets of the organization and not to be consulted for decision-making. The autocratic manager dictates orders to his staff and takes no recognition of consulting the employees on relevant decisions. Leaders in this kind of environment tend to control the situation. This kind of management style persisted for a very long time, until the democratic management style came in. At present, employee relations are more focused on ascertaining a productive people resource, a trend that was missing in the last decades. Employee relations are dealt with by resolving labor conflicts and informing the management about concerns that relate to employee welfare and long-term economic security. In a democratic workplace environment, human resource management gives more emphasis on employee development and their welfare, including pay and benefits, workplace condition, and job secur ity, supporting the growing knowledge that people resource is the most important of all resources. It may be inferred that in the past decades, employee relations was aligned to achieving economic production and was its ultimate goal, to the point that job security was always influenced by the rise and fall of the production market. This signifies a lack of prioritization of employee welfare, and placing them in second fiddle to economic production and profits. Rubinstein and Kochan (2001) state that the last two decades of the twentieth century was a time of tumultuous change and debate over what goal should corporations serve, and how the system of labor-management relations should be reformed. This is indicative of a growing concern for human resources, which may have been influenced by the emergence and reinforcement of several motivation theories. The past has also witnessed a corporate world in which shareholders and investors were reasserting control over corporations in order

Algeria, A North African Country

Algeria, A North African Country Algeria, as a North African country, is a multilingual nation with one official language, namely Modern Standard Arabic henceforth MSA and more than two foreign languages French, English, Spanish, etc. It is a country whose teaching-learning contributions and interests are now in how to improve foreign languages for specific purposes particularly English so as to prove its position or status as a powerful and important country across the globe. Today, the role of English as a foreign language (henceforth EFL) in the world is influenced by many factors such as business, cultural, political and educational factors. The latter is the main factor which plays, now, strongly a major role to pull a lot of attention in the decision of the Algerian educational authorities to know how to deal with the positive qualities EFL has in undertaking methods and approaches as parts of reforms in order to improve and enhance English teaching and learning as it is in developed countries. Therefore, the questions to be raised, here, concerns basically how to deal with the qualities EFL has with non-native speakers, what significant scientific contribution EFL gives to the country (Algeria), and what the suggested approaches and methods the Algerian educational authorities make to enhance and work on English Language Teaching are. ELT (English Language Teaching) in Algeria was denied and insignificant before the independence in comparison with French. Because the French language was taught in schools as a first language(L1) due to the consequences of the French occupation in Algeria that was the longest period of colonization which took a long time from 1830 till 1962. Thus French became as an official language in the Algerian institutions. Andrew Freeman (1961:1) confirms what we are saying about French as L1 in the following quotation the French, in Algeria, between 1830 and 1962, tried actively to suppress Arabic. The French influence resulted at many different levels, mainly the linguistic level. The linguistic level reflected the impact of the French language on Algerians who were being forced to speak French and then obliged to learn it in schools, but prior to independence and after 1990s a new revolution came to the surface and the Algerian authoritarians started new relations with USA to give some importance to English as an essential medium to be integrated in the Algerian schools. Thereof, the 1990s brought about many changes: English was introduced as an optional second language as of 1992 and, in 1999, an increased awareness of the importance of education led to 6% of the countrys expenditure being devoted to education (see http://ezinearticles.com/?Teach-English-in-Algeriaid=3280135). It can be argued that the process of teaching and learning English as a foreign language has taken many steps to improve the way of acquiring and mastering this means for communication to become closer to joining the worldwide community. Answering the questions given before, the Algerian educational leaders started to enhance and hold tightly EFL, and shifting from traditional methods to modern to say to the world that we are able, as a multilingual developing country, to learn EFL as a second Language as major and significant as French in our schools and university and then be present everywhere across the globe. These challenges remind us about some debate on teaching EFL in developing countries as an insignificant contribution, by African designers, to knowledge and production. According to many writers, the emphasis on foreign languages like English (Graddol, 2006; Batibo, 2007) has been regarded as an insignificant contribution by African education policy makers to knowledge and production, but Phillipson (1996) observes, after independence, that those who were first responsible for making English official and developed are African leaders. For instance, in Algeria, prior to independence and after the 1990s, a new revolution came to the surface. The government or the Algerian authorities started new relations with the USA and they attached little importance to English that was taught in the middle and high schools. Before, our EFL students had been studying English from the eight grade in the middle school to the third grade of the secondary school up to 2005. English language teaching and learning too, at that time, was catastrophic because of the lack of interest and many other factors such as economic, political, religious, educational, and so on. According to some older generation teachers, the majority of pupils were not interested in learning English and even French because they focus their studies on mathematics, physics, life sciences and nature and other fields but not languages, i.e., their world was closed or limited to their social life. Moreover, the majority of teachers were not at all interested in the syllabus presented to them and they found it meaningless and boring. About the reasons behind the failure of these teachers, Bouhadiba (2002) states that under the old time-based teaching program, the learner were supposed to learn at the pace imposed by the teacher, the text-book, or the course itself. Bouhadiba also argues that the failure of a time-based teaching program, no matter where it is implemented (developing or more advanced societies), lies in the way the teacher that he or she moves on to the next lesson or the next unit to be within the limits of the scheduled teaching program unlike the competency-bas ed approach. Because English has become the most dominant language, a lingua franca (henceforth ELF), which is defined functionally by its use in intercultural communication, English as a global language (e.g. Crystal 2003; Gnutvzmann 1999), English as a world language (e.g. Mair 2003) and World English (Brutt-Griffler 2002) English as an international language (EIL) becomes influencing force everywhere across the world, and useful language among many European languages, many governments have adopted various policies that promote ELT and Algeria is no exception. At present, English is considered as a foreign language that is offered as a required subject at all levels of university education. In order to understand and recognize that the efficiency of English language development in the Algerian educational system paves the way for learners to take part in the globalization, our government has made a huge effort to change the ELT policy and some changes were made in the 1990s. Due to these facts of the current status of English, Algerian Government decides to go through changes in various fields to hold and improve this global language in higher studies. Among these changes are the implementation of policies made in education related to new approaches and system were brought to Algerian institutions such as LMD System and Competency Based Approach (henceforth CBA) in primary and secondary schools. CBA approach has been brought to the Algerian schools in 2002 as a new approach and a part of reform in the primary, middle and secondary school. It has been imposed as a primary part of reform and complimentary to LMD reform on EFL teacher. To make CBA approach successful, the education minister mobilized all responsible for schools (primary, middle and secondary) to follow the CBA implementation. Moreover, Algerian ministry contribute, morally and financially, to give all opportunities and provide all those who are responsible for helping teachers and students with materials needed and equipments to be familiar with CBA success in the classroom. Thus, inspectors spent much time and money for making seminars in all over the country to instruct and correct the teachers ways in the teaching of English language and following the planning of English curriculum. In addition to the CBA, the LMD (Licence Master Doctorate) reform is also brought to the Algerian university in 2003 to continue the correctness of the teaching of English. In this work, we shall focus on some changes of approaches and systems such as LMD to see whether it is towards a more communicative use of English as a second language and a more focus on English language teaching. ELT is not easy responsibility for EFL teachers to teaching all of the students assigned to a classroom in university. The latter becomes, now, the world question in holding English as an international language which becomes increasingly important and required in Algeria in the last decade. Nowadays, there are much debate on what is teaching and how it becomes in the twentieth century, some people say that teaching is a creative way to become joined with and support others to help all learners learn. Others say that without teaching learning is not a way to make teachers and students more efficient. McKay (2002) says, The teaching and learning of an international language must be based on an entirely different set of assumptions than the teaching and learning of any other second and foreign language. McKay (2002:1) The quotation above makes us think many times of the processes of enhancing ELT to respond to the needs of those who are interested in English lingua franca ) currently. Thus the questions come in mind are as follows: 1-How should English be taught under LMD system as a challenging language in Algeria? (Our focus in this work). 2- What purpose of learning English should we achieve? (That is what we are looking for) 3- Can we be best English teachers? (This is our hypotheses to be proved) According to the questions above, we begin to analyze these issues regarding the role of English in our own lives and in our society. We first start looking at EFL teachers role, i.e. how do they play a central role in the teaching of English language perfectly? How do they apply the instructions given to teach English and how to be responsible for motivating their students to learn? It is essential that teachers themselves are aware of the way they are following to go through the four skills of listening, reading, speaking and writing including, grammar, vocabulary, and spelling all contribute to successful effective English communication. The much attention we give to each skill is due to the teachers input and learners competence as well as their needs. In addition, teachers should know themselves who they are and how can be adjusted in the light of the current status of English in the world. Palmer focuses here on the consciousness towards his students and how strongly he wants to be close to the students. Parker Palmer (1998, p 2) emphasizes on the teachers intention to see well his students; he must know himself before and when teaching his students. We can understand his illustration through the following quotation: When I do not know myself, I cannot know my subject-not at the deepest levels of embodied, personal meaning. I will know it only abstractly, from a distance, a congeries of concepts as far removed from the world as I am from personal truth. (See http://301f2012.wordpress.com/2012/11/29/writing-prompt-for-the-courage-to-teach/) It is clear to know how able we, as teachers, are to make our students understand and know ourselves in society as well as we can understand from P. Palmer the relative position and attention given to English has been considered and examined from ideological and cultural or political standpoints rather than pedagogical concerns. The latter is a very important point to discuss in accordance with our situation as Algerian EFL teachers. Unfortunately, with the classical system we, cannot be adjusted in the light of the current status of English in Algeria because, up to 2005, there are many obstacles and factors make our EFL teachers incapable to make all students understanding such as: 1-The number of students is overmuch in a class (40 50) 2- Insufficient communicative activities use for teaching English language skills such as reading, listening, writing, grammar, etc. 3- Inadequately equipped classrooms and the lack of ICTs use. 4- The impact of a social factor on EFL teachers as well as learners 5- Being authoritarian traditional teachers 6- Being passive traditional learners. 7- Being too shy to speak English in the classroom. 8-The impact of mother tongue (L1) on students and some teachers pronunciation too Due to some deficiencies mentioned above, the Algerian government started rebuilding the skeleton of university which is the image of the country abroad. So since 2OO1, the ministry of higher education has decided to diagnose the situation in order to provide immediate and sustainable solutions for university and here a new Algerian university system has imposed itself. Following the recommendations of the National Committee of the education reform, a reform plan was adopted by the Cabinet in April 30, 2002 and the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research has adopted a ten-year strategy to develop the sector for the period 2004-2013, one of whose main themes is The development and implementation of an overall and deep reform of higher education, the first step is the establishment of a new architectural educations, including an updating and upgrading of various educational programs, and a reorganization of the educational management. Thus, the choice goes towards the new BMD: Bachelor-Master-Doctorate system, or LMD (Licence, Master and Doctorate) as it is known, to meet the expectations of society and also to be in concordance with the new guidelines and global trends in higher education. This system examines, evaluates and improves the way the teachers and learners are following now to better and develop their English. It also defines the ways and means to teach study and evaluate differently in higher education. It aims to motivating and enabling students across the world by allowing diplomas to be compared and become equivalent to European diplomas, developing the professionalization of higher education whilst preserving the general interest nature of the teaching, to strengthening the learning of transverse skills such as fluency in foreign modern languages and computer skills encouraging the students mobility and encouraging the students access to the world of work in Europe allowing the student to build up a personalized education plan gradually. Therefore , in order to understand and recognize that the introduction of English language into the Algerian educational system lead us to have part in the globalization, our government made huge effort to change the policies that have been being followed in 1900s. For instance, at the level of university, the LMD system is about a new approach based on the Communicative Approach that has been implemented in the Algerian university almost in all subjects and specialties, as we have already said above. LMD system has been introduced into our universities by August 2003 to make changes in syllabuses and curriculum development in order to reduce and overcome the difficulties and the obstacles cited (see page 7) and make English teaching and learning successful under the new system LMD. On the one hand, to achieve good results, EFL university teachers must be ready to change from traditional teacher to modern one changing the traditional approaches into more communicative innovative activities to teaching to what extent we pay much attention to the four skills perfectly. On the other hand, the changes made and brought to universities contribute to achieve success in teaching and learning languages. For instance, Sheena Gardner (2008), in his paper, believes in changes he states that English language teachers have changed, or are changing, from a traditional approach to teaching formal grammar rules to a more communicative approach to teaching how to use grammar meaningfully in context. We as EFL teacher agree on the principal of the changes at all kinds of levels particularly in higher education so as to have part in globalization. Interestingly, in Algeria there are changes towards teaching English more explicitly, and with more of a focus on form. Furthermore, to explore these changes the educators emphasis is on to what extent do systems and approaches impact, positively, on ELT to improve EFL students levels in order to get much knowledge and then achieve perfect English to securing their jobs through acknowledged degrees and high levels of employment because the spread of joblessness across the world particularly in Algeria have upset authorities. From the various opinions of learners, even longer studies are not an end in themselves everyone now understands that schools and universities are the first starting point for everyone desires to realize any project. Aiming to get higher studies is simply a means to access better jobs likely to lead to higher social status (profession, security, wage, etc.). For that reason, English language becomes, for EFL students, a dominant subject, an international language English (Brutt-Griffler 2002) English as an international language and a means for getting job easily. It is now required, across the globe, and important for the Algerian learners and/or job seekers. The question then is what concrete roles does English improvement contribute to the EFL LMD students in the Algerian university? Coleman (2010) addresses a similar question by reviewing the functions of English as a foreign language in development. He identifies four areas where English has often been given a role to play: 1-for employability 2-for international mobility 3-for unlocking development opportunities and accessing information 4- as an impartial language. These four points must find an answer in the implementation of LMD systems results. Thus, the present work study is devoted to overcome the difficulties and problems Algerian teachers and learners are encountering in acquiring English language for specific purpose. The latter has been conducted by many researches to discuss the various problems that Arab universities encounter and mainly Algerian university. These kinds of problems refer to their ability as teachers or their competence in transmitting skills. Mukattash (1983) divides the problem that learners of English encounter into problems of pronunciation, spelling, morphology and syntax at the level of university as well students or learners unable to express themselves that what makes difficulties spread. For Mukattash the students major difficulties arise from the fact that they cannot use English correctly and appropriately in and out the classroom when required; he says: Comfortably and efficiently either when dealing with academic topics or common everyday topics (1983:169). What we can understand by the difficulty of English efficiency is related to the students deficiencies in communicative competence and self -confidence. Consequently, to encounter these kinds of problems of communicative competence, Ministry and educational experts run to find solutions to these problems by changing the strategies and encourage the training abroad that gives the learners a good knowledge and culture as well as make them confident. The queries to be raised here are how universities could be developed into places where advanced knowledge was disseminated and what are the strategies and the reforms are going to be followed. It is only recently that universities have become the almost systematic pragmatics, looking for motivation and aptitude for higher and perfect studies. As a main part of this work, we have also shed light on another part of reform which is called ICT (information, communication and technology). It also plays a major role in understanding the changes brought to the teaching and learning of English language. Through our reading in some books concerning the use of technology in the classroom Robert J. Marzano (2007:3), in his book Using Technology with Classroom Instruction That Works, states that Research indicates that technologys use in the classroom can have an additional positive influence on student learning when the learning goals are clearly articulated prior to the technologys use (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, Malenoski, 2007; Ringstaff Kelley, 2002; Schacter, 1999) Moreover, it is said that the impact of the technologys use on teaching and learning is a promising scope of interest for researchers in various disciplines such as mathematics, informatics, education and sports, literature, English studies or teaching foreign languages and so forth. The latter becomes one area where ICTs influence is widely investigated. It is good and interesting to say we admit technologys use to enhance learning and teaching in the classroom. We, as EFL teachers familiar with the use of technology in the classroom, agree on such point of view, but does it match with our LMD students : First , second and third year LMD student as well as Master 1 and 2 students (our case study) ; this is what we are going to approve during this investigation. From that fact, we make some questions to respond to those who are interested in the use of the ICTs. (See appendices) To make this theory coincide with EFL classes let us see the use and the integration of ICTs use impact in the LMD system. Does ICT indeed provide students with much information in learning E L (henceforth English language) competency as well as make better and more attractive the quality of EFL teachers and students learning under LMD and CBA experience? Some of teachers approve that the use of ICT becomes an effective medium to better and develop the English language. As well, ICT helps in the use of interactive lessons through the four skills to enhance the teaching and learning of English perfectly, but some teacher disagree on this point saying to as that student become so boring when using them in the classroom. (For more details see chapter 3) Nowadays, the rapid developments and the frequent use of ICTS in Algerian society is not only impact on a quick computing discourse has generated linguistic convergence it is also the focus on the use of ICT in schools and universities. The latter now require much availability of computers provided with the net/ internet because they become a support for learning and teaching any discipline and mainly languages. Thus, the use of ICT in both education and higher education must become important to reinforce and ensure the effectiveness of systems implementation such as LMD in higher education. The latter goes with the ICTs use which becoming more important to contribute to the growth and development of learning and teaching in the 21st century. In this part, we highlight the effectiveness of ICT in higher education and we seek to explore how it will impact on the way courses will be given to learners and delivered in the universities. Having spoken on the whole study work, generally, leads us to think of the following: Statement of the problem Through our experience of 5 years of teaching English under the new system LMD in the Algerian university particularly the University of Mostaganem as well as Didi Bel Abbes University, we have noticed changes in the attitudes of our students and teachers towards LMD system and the integration of ICT in the classroom. Students come to university with no idea about LMD; the only idea they have had in mind is the CBA approach which is implemented in 2002 in the secondary school. They have already been familiar with the competency based approach in undertaking all kind of new tasks, techniques and methods given to be applied. Our aim behind this study is to study whether there is a coherent coordination between both institutions: university and secondary. In addition, we try to respond to some questions were given by many about CBA and LMD such as: the relationship between LMD and CBA, LMD contribution to the CBA approach, ICTs use. Hypotheses On the basis of what have been preceded, we are going to formulate the following hypotheses: 1. In relation to CBA, we would like to see whether the LMD system responds to the students and teachers needs in mastering English or no. 2. Curriculum development regarding the new implementation system such as LMD and CBA does fit the world demand in education. 3. The importance of the ICTs use in LMD system to respond to the teachers needs as well as to enhance foreign languages/ English. The Chapters Outline Our doctoral research revolves around four chapters. The first chapter introduces our research methodology and how was our investigation undergone. The research methodology chapter will present to the reader a detailed overview of various methods and techniques we used in dealing with our corpus and collecting data. The second chapter is to be devoted to the presentation of a broad review of the relevant literature relating to the fundamental basic and key concepts related to teaching and learning theories, and we will end up with some clarifications about what is curriculum as well as including the various systems that have been implemented in teaching languages such as LMD system and the CBA approach. In chapter three, we will introduce our readers to both CBA (Competency Based Approach) and LMD (Licence-Master-Doctorate) as two new international educational systems applied and implemented in many developed and developing countries. The aim of this chapter is to help students and teachers alike understand what is CBA as an approach introduced to primary middle and secondary schools, what is LMD as an educational system and how are CBA and LMD interconnected as well as to highlight the effectiveness of ICT in higher education Chapter Four is devoted to discussing the feedback of the participants and the results attained. By interpreting the answers of teachers and students and their responses, we were able to come to a set of conclusions that we present in the last section of this chapter that we entitle conclusions and recommendations. Through the general conclusion, we will have come to validate or invalidate our hypotheses that base primarily on LMD, its relation with CBA and the effectiveness of ICTs use for LMD teachers and learners. Thus our purpose, all through this study, is to establish a strong connection between LMD, CBA and the importance of the integration of new technologies, notably the ICTs, in our classes and lectures.

The Assyrian Sacred Tree Essay -- Mythology

A traditional interpretation of what has become known as the Assyrian Sacred Tree conceives of it as the date palm. Consisting of a series of nodes and interlacing vines, the depiction of the â€Å"tree† contradicts the morphological appearance of a date palm seems at best to be a highly abstracted consolidation of various botanical characteristics from separate distinct species. Despite recent proposals by several art historians and botanists to conclusively determine its proper classification, indubitable evidence unlocking the enigma behind this timeless symbol—a sacred fountainhead for many western religions originating in the Near East—has yet to uproot the deep seeded academic insistence on the date palm. The â€Å"Sacred Tree,† (fig. 1) was originally positioned behind the king’s throne. The scene shows two genii, sometimes with birds’ heads and sometimes with men’s heads and the horned hats of gods. Each of the winged figures holds a bucket and reaches out with an oval object toward a stylized â€Å"tree.† The composition has been read as being based on bilateral symmetry, with the vertical stalk-like structure crowned by a palmette. A meticulous examination reveals that although balanced, it has many discrepancies on both sides that deviate from perfect mirror symmetry. Ashurnasirpal appears twice, shown from two sides, dressed in ceremonial robes and holding a mace connoting his authority. The figure of the king on the right makes an invocative gesture a god in a winged disk in the top center of the relief. Ashur, the national god or Shamash, the god of the sun and justice, may be identified as the god who confers the king divine right. On t he left, the king holds a ring, an ancient Mesopotamian symbol of divine kingship, in one... ...ee of Life." Economic Botany 56, no. 2 (2002): 113-29. Parpola, Simo. "The Assyrian Tree of Life: Tracing the Origins of Monotheism and Greek Philosophy." Journal of Near Eastern Studies 52 (1993): 161-208. Porter, Barbara Nevling. "Sacred Trees, Date Palms, and the Royal Persona of Ashurnasirpal II." Journal of Near Eastern Studies 52, no. 2 (1993): 129-39. Reade, Julian. Assyrian sculpture. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1983. Richardson, Seth. "An Assyrian Garden of Ancestors: Room I, Northwest Palace, Kalhu." State Archives of Assyria Bulletin 13 (1999): 145-216. Tylor, Edward B.. The Winged Figures of The Assyrian and other Ancient Monuments. London: Society of Biblical Archaeology, 1890. Winter, Irene. "Ornament and the 'Rhetoric of Abundance' in Assyria." Eretz-Israel: Archaeological, Historical and Geographical Studies 27 (2003): 252-264, at 253.

Theory Observation Distinction

Is there a genuine distinction between observable and unobservable entities? Why does it matter? How, and why, might one distinguish between theoretical and observational statements in science? I have decided to tackle both these questions because they feed into and relate to one another. They emphasize different aspects of a prevalent debate, all aspects of which I wish to touch on. Whether the question of a distinction between observable vs unobservable entities is synonymous to the question of a distinction between theoretical vs non-theoretical statements is itself a matter of debate.Quine advocates semantic ascent, the shift in which the language we use to refer to the world becomes something we talk about in its own right. Semantic ascent is a shift from questions about objects to questions about words or statements. He says we should ‘drop the talk of observation and talk instead of observation sentences, the sentences that are said to report observations’ (The ro ots of Reference). So obviously Quine thinks the two questions are equivalent. They have often been treated as equivalent questions, or at least not distinguished too carefully.I agree with Van Fraassen that we should at least note and respect the differences between the two ways of talking about what might be the same issue, and not make the category mistake of talking about theoretical entities, just for clarities sake. At any event Paul M Churchland disagrees with Quine that the two debates are parallel , He says â€Å"we agree (Churchland and Van Fraassen) that the observable/unobservable distinction is entirely distinct from the nontheoretical/theoretical distinction†.This disagreement / confusion as to the very terrain, layout of the questions of the debate, arises because there is the ordinary language question of how do we naturally apply the terms ‘observed’ and ‘observation’, as well as the question of whether a principled O/T distinction c an or should be drawn; as Gerry Fodor’s Granny says: â€Å"True there is an epistemologically important distinction, that it’s reasonable to call ‘the’ observation inference distinction, and that is theory relative.And, also true, it is this theory-relative distinction that scientists usually use the terms ’observed’ and ‘inferred’ to mark. But that is quite compatible with there being another distinction, which it is also reasonable to call ‘the’ observation /inference distinction which is also of central significance to the philosophy of science, and which is not theory relative. † It is this second principled O/T distinction that I will focus on as opposed to the ordinary language distinction, I do not think ordinary language arguments bear on the question of whether there is or should be a principled distinction.Although examining what inclines us one way or another in ordinary language usage may clarify f actors that also influence us in an overall distinction, such as naturalness, entrenchment, flexibility and plasticity. After semantic ascent the question of whether there is an O/T dichotomy becomes one of whether all observation reports presuppose some theory. This slightly ignores the question of the ontological status of the entities, whether observed or unobserved, but this will come up when I tackle the subsidiary part of each question the â€Å"why make a distinction, for what purpose? †or â€Å"why does it matter if a distinction presents itself? I think the strategy of semantic ascent is useful and justified since the debate takes place in at least two domains, the perceptual/cognitive (internal) and the observational/inferential (public)â€Å"The strategy of semantic ascent is that it carries the discussion into a domain where both parties are better agreed on the objects (viz. , words) and on the main terms connecting them. Words, or their inscriptions, unlike po ints, miles, classes and the rest, are tangible objects of the size so popular in the marketplace, where men of unlike conceptual schemes communicate at their best.The strategy is one of ascending to a common part of two fundamentally disparate conceptual schemes, the better to discuss the disparate foundations. No wonder it helps in philosophy. † Quine word and object. But it is a bit confusing and difficult to translate debates or points between the two, and certain debates are clearer at the ground level rather than the meta-level. There are three classes of arguments that bear on the T/O distinction: 1. Meaning holism arguments. Which tend to work against the distinction 2.Ordinary language arguments. Which tend to work for the distinction 3. Psychological arguments. Which can work for or against As well as a specific argument by Grover Maxwell from the continuity of observation with inference which works against the T/O distinction. There are two extant modes for making t he theory observation distinction – Fodor’s and Van Fraassen’s. Fodor defends the distinction against the implication from cognitive science that perception is continuous with cognition. VanFraassen defends the distinction against Maxwell’s challenge that it is impossible to draw the line between what is observable and what is only detectable in some more roundabout way. Fodor and Van Fraassen have different reasons for drawing a distinction, Fodor, to defend realism, Van Fraassen to attack realism, strangely enough. Fodor to defend realism against Kuhnian relativism, and Van Fraassen to defend constructive empiricism, a form of anti-realism, against incoherence, and so pit it against realism.As Andre Kukla notes â€Å"It is not surprising that a realist and an anti-realist should agree on something; but it is curious that van Fraassens and Fodor’s defenses of the theory-observation distinction play diametrically opposite roles in their philosophi cal agenda’s. † Andre Kukla the theory observation distinction. But should we be driven by a philosophical agenda in debating a question? Or should we resolve the question and then decide on a position which accords with our answer? Shouldn’t we be neutral when we make philosophical decisions?Unfortunately in philosophy there is so little ‘evidence’ making up your mind is more a matter of achieving coherence, it is legitimate to allow justification to flow in all directions. The question of whether there is a T/O distinction is relevant to the debate between realists anti-realists and relativists in the following manner. So far as realists debate with anti-realists is concerned, the T/O distinction is optional for realists. They have everything to gain and nothing to lose by making it unravel.They have everything to gain, because the constructive empiricist position is incoherent without a T/O distinction. But so far as realists debate with relativis ts goes, realists have conversely everything to gain and nothing to lose by defending a distinction, they would defeat relativists. Kuhnain Relativism requires the lack of a theory neutral language with which to adjudicate our differences, so we get incommensurability, incommensurability leads to the irrationality of theory choice thus we get relativism. But realists cannot have an easy victory against both parties.I suggest that the realist denies the T/O distinction and so wins against the constructive empiricist. The lack of a T/O distinction does not entail relativism; a theory laden observation can still test a theory. To return to the question of whether we should be driven by a philosophical agenda in deciding a point, it must be remembered that we are concerning ourself with the question of whether there is a significant or principled O/T distinction. Its significance comes from its position within a larger debate.Frankly, everyone can admit there is some sort of distinction or difference between direct and indirect observation, the question really is how significant the difference is, whether a distinction can be drawn at a position significant enough to support any theory, the significance depends on the work it is made to do by larger theories. Paul M. churchland defines his scientific realism as a realism entirely in terms of his attitude towards the T/O distinction. He believes any attempt to draw the distinction, particularly Van Fraassen’s, is arbitrary.By any skepticism â€Å"our observational ontology is rendered exactly as dubious as our non-observational ontology† He is not an orthodox scientific realist; he is skeptical about the overall truth of our beliefs, the reference of scientific terms, and the convergence of theory towards truth. But he is skeptical about the success of all our theories, cognition at large, from a low to a high level not just scientific theories, and thus does not distinguish between the integrity of o bservables and the integrity of unobservables. He states that â€Å"global excellence of theory is the ultimate measure of truth and ontology at all levels of cognition†.Although churchland has exactly the same attitude to observables and unobservables, a cautious skeptical attitude, relative to his peers he has a slightly pro attitude to unobsevables, and a negative attitude to observables. This pro – attitude to the unobservables of science makes him a realist and his slightly negative attitude to the observables of everyday life make him a scientific realist â€Å"the function of science, therefore, is to provide us with a superior and (in the long run) perhaps profoundly different conception of the world, even at the perceptual level†.I agree with Churchland as to the theoretical character of perceptual judgments, I agree that â€Å"perception consists in the conceptual exploitation of the natural information contained in our sensations or sensory statesâ⠂¬  . Having done part of a module on â€Å"the brain as a statistician† I know that our perceptual judgments are statistical decision problems akin to gambling or any decision based on uncertain evidence.Because inputs are noisy – the external world and inefficient transduction creates noise- the question of whether a signal is present or not will reflect the relative probability that a signal is drawn from distribution A(noise only) or distribution B(signal + noise). Biasing factors are the probability of occurrence of a member of each category, information on which is drawn from memory. Perceptual decisions rely on perception and memory, or evidence and prior knowledge, prior knowledge being essentially a theory about the world.However I disagree with Paul Churchland as to the possibility of our being trained to make systematic perceptual judgments in terms of theories other than the common sense theory we ‘learnt at our mothers knee’ For one, I donâ⠂¬â„¢t think we learn our common sense theory rather it is built into our genetics. I do not think we are nearly as plastic as he makes out, on this point I go with Gerry Fodor, perception and cognition are not continuous, and perception can never make judgments in terms of grand theories which we can barely conceive. The boundary between what can be observed and what must be inferred is largely determined by fixed architectural features of an organisms sensory / perceptual psychology† Gerry Fodor Observation Reconsidered. Paul Churchland directly contradicts this saying â€Å"our current modes of conceptual exploitation (perception) are rooted, in substantial measure, not in the nature of our perceptual environment, nor in the innate features of our psychology, but rather in the structure and content of our common language†.How plastic the brain may be is an empirical point, and I think Gerry Fodor wins the debate with his analysis of the muller-lyer illusion. Fodor sa ys the robustness of the muller lyer illusion attests to the imperviousness of perception by cognition. There are both perceptual plasiticities and implasticities. Kuhn was impressed by the plasticities, but it is time to dwell more on the implasticities. â€Å"To the best of my knowledge, all the standard perceptual illusions exhibit this curious refractory character :knowing they are illusions doesn’t make them go away† However I don’t think Fodor is being entirely empirically accurate.Some illusions such as the concave – convex illusion, in which heavily shaded circles appear as concave when the shadow is at the top of the circle, and convex when the shadow is at the bottom of the circle, which occurs because we have a strong prior belief / prior assumption that light falls from above, can be reversed or at least nullified if you really try. The famous duck rabbit can definitely be flipped at will. And the old hag, young girl illusion, personally I can never see the old hag unless it is explained to e, then I can. But anyway Fodor makes his point, we cannot always see just what we want to see or think we should see. I agree with Gerry Fodor that perception is fairly modular, and is not (probably) affected (much) by conscious explicit knowledge. Certainly the muller lyer illusion is fairly robust And I think far too much is made of the duck rabbit illusion – Kuhn says â€Å"it is as elementary prototypes for these transformations of the scientists world view that the familiar demonstrations of a switch in gestalt prove so suggestive†.But I do not think they are anything more than just that – suggestive – because a scientist, does not, cannot form an image or representation of quarks and leptons in any way analogous to a duck or a rabbit, so this image cannot ‘flip’. Paul Churchland seems to think we can form such images, but personally I cannot. I see the western sky redden as the sun sets not â€Å"the wavelength distribution of incoming solar radiation shift towards the longer wavelengths†.However I would say our inability to alter our perception does not damage churchland’s essential point which was that perception relies on theory, implicit theory. A very entrenched embedded theory, but theory all the same. Churchland thinks the distinction between the theoretical and the non-theoretical is just a distinction between freshly minted theory and thoroughly thumb-worn theory whose ‘cultural assimilation is complete’.I think some ‘thumb-worn theory’ is actually entrenched in our biology. But maybe individual differences come into play here, maybe some people are more plastic than others, or innately sensitive to some aspects of reality than others, maybe our biology is not universal. Paul Churchland says that the person with perfect pitch is not a physiological freak but a practiced observer. But I think it most likely that there is something unique about them.Maybe I am closed minded in the sort of visualization Churchland encourages, maybe that’s just me, I had no luck with seeing in the fourth dimension even after reading ‘Flatland’ and ‘speculations on the fourth dimension’ whereas other people (the authors) claim to have, still I’m a bit skeptical. Paul Churland’s thought experiments where he gets us to imagine various other beings, with radically different physiology, beings that can visually see infra-red heat for example, raises the idea of the possibility of other sensory modalities.And although we cannot communicate with them, so they are not part of our epistemic community, there are animals on our planet who presumably sense different things to us, such as bats and dolphins. Van Fraassen insists that is ‘observable’ must be observable to us unassisted, and as we currently are, an anthropocentric conception; â€Å"the limitations to whi ch the ‘able’ in observable refers are our limitations qua human beings. † It could be argued that Van Fraassens anthropocentric conception of the observable is not just anthropocentric, but parochial.Alternatively it could be argued that van fraassen draws the line arbitrarily: according to Van Fraassen we can observe planets using a telescope, but we cannot observe viruses using a microscope, because planets are something we could observe without any augmentation of the senses, where we close enough to them, and indeed some of them we can observe from earth, our natural position, (venus) whereas under normal conditions viruses cannot be seen.I do not agree with this objection to Van Fraassen, I think where he draws the line is one natural place to draw it if it has to be drawn, but it is just that I don’t agree with him that the drawing of the line here is very significant. I am a realist and I believe unobservables are generally as real as observables. F rom his drawing of the line, van Fraassen only believes in observables.Fodor lightly passes over the fact that â€Å"perceptual analyses are undetermined by sensory arrays† and are only resolved by Bayesian reasoning from previous evidence / experience, and that â€Å"the appeal to background theory is inherent to the process of perceptual analysis† Fodor Observaiton reconsidered. I think this fact is indisputable, and it is in this respect that perception and cognition are similar as Paul churchland maintains, both are theories and â€Å"global excellence of theory is the ultimate measure of truth and ontology at all levels of cognition† .The impossibility of our being trained to make systematic perceptual judgments in terms of theories other that the common sense theory we ‘learnt at our mothers knee’, the implasticity of actual human perception, is irrelevant in drawing a theory observation distinction, both perception and cognition are theory de pendent. But Granted as Fodor points out against Kuhn scientific knowledge doesn’t actually percolate down to affect the perceptual. Kuhnian perceptual theory loading does not occur. There is some natural barrier. Is this barrier the location of the O/T distinction? I think it probably is if there is one.It is significant, but not significant for the anti-realist, it does not decide our ontology. It is significant in the realists fight with relativism since observations are theory laden, but are not necessarily laden with the high level theories that they must adjudicate between. So perceptions are laden with perceptual theory, but not laden with quantum theory. Fodor makes the O/T distinction in such a way that it is significant for realists against relativism, but not significant for anti-realists. â€Å"Fodor isn’t looking for a notion of observationality that underwrites our granting epistemic privilege to observation statements.He’s looking for a notion th at will ward off the incommensurability arguments. And for that purpose anything that produces consensus will do† Andre Kukla The theory observation distinction. Now to explicitly tackle the questions, â€Å"why make a distinction, for what purpose? †or â€Å"why does it matter if a distinction does or does not present itself? †. I have already touched on the answer to these questions when outlining the role of the distinction (or lack of) in larger debates between anti-realists, and relativists.The question of the O/T distinction has epistemological significance; it concerns the epistemic bearing of observational evidence on theories it is used to evaluate. This is part of the debate between realists and relativists. The relativists holding that observation is an inadequate basis for choosing between rival theories, the realists claiming it is an adequate basis, or there is at least something which is an adequate basis. Observational evidence also plays importan t and philosophically interesting roles in other areas including scientific discovery and the application of scientific theories to practical problems.But we will concentrate on theory testing. It seems that if all observations are theory laden then there is no objective bedrock against which to test and justify theory. The classic or common view of science is that scientific knowledge is derived from the ‘facts’ or observations. Two schools of thought that involve attempts to formalize this common view of science are the empiricists and the positivists. An extreme interpretation of the claim that science is derived from the facts implies that the facts must first be established, and subsequently a theory built to fit them.This is the baconian method building a case from the ground up. This is not how science actually proceeds. â€Å"our search for relevant facts needs to be guided by our current state of knowledge, which tells us for example that measuring the ozone c oncentration at various locations in the atmosphere yields relevant facts whereas measuring the average hair length of the youths in Sydney does not† A F chalmers What is this thing called Science?. But the fact that science is guided by paradigms does not support kuhnian relativism.Kuhnian relativism can only be established if incommensurability is, that is if high level theory-loading of observation were established. As I have already argued along with Fodor, observation may be loaded with low level perceptual theory but not with high level conscious and elaborate theory. Proponents of competing theories often produce impressively similar observational data, this indicates perceptual theory loading is not that great. If science were blinded by paradigms that would be a different matter. Against semantic theory loading; Often observations reported non-linguistically, pictorially with tables of numbers etc.Late 20th century philosophers may have exaggerated the influence of se mantic loading because they thought of theory testing in terms of inferential relations between observational and theoretical sentences. Against Salience or attentional loading – scientists under different paradigms attend to different things. Yes, but doesn’t always happen. And scientists may appreciate the significance of data that is brought to their attention that had not been noticed. Attentional loading is not inevitable and not irredeemable. So observation is and adequate basis for adjudicating between theories (unless the theories are underdetermined by data).In conclusion I would say there is no absolute T/O distinction, but there is enough of a difference, enough bottom up flow of justification, to defeat relativism. A. F. chalmers: what is this thing called science? Paul M Churchland: Scientific realism and the plasticity of the mind Paul M churchland: The ontological status of obsservables: In praise of superempirical virtues Gerry Fodor: observation recons idered Andre Kukla: the theory observation distinction W. V. O Quine: Word and Object Bas Van Fraassen: the scientific image

What Impacts Will the Aging Population of Germany Have on Its Economy

The objective of this research paper is to explore, analyze and survey the implications of Germany’s demographics on the country’s economy. The motivation behind this study is to add to the understanding of social-economic issues in one of the Eurozone’s heavyweights and its impact for years to come. This paper looks into Germany’s demographic trends, consumption trends, savings trends, Germany's pension policy and labor market effects.This paper draws on estimates and analyses from relevant literature, including scholarly journals and government publications to illustrate and quantify its points. Conclusions drawn from this study shows that the definitive impact of population aging on economic growth is reflected in consumption, savings, labor pool and dependency burdens. Practical implications can be surmised from this paper; policy makers, native citizens, immigrants and other stakeholders might wish to refer to this paper for an understanding and persp ective of the social phenomenon and derive solutions to problems in its sphere.However there are limitations to this research as it is done through literature review and the demographic-economic variables are not constant. Further research will be required to gather concise and quantifiable data to support its claims. Introduction Germany's aging problem is serious because during the past 30 years, German women have produced children at an average rate of less than 1. 4 babies per lifetime (Tim Colebatch, 2004). In 2009 The Federal Statistic's Office (Germany) forecast Germany's rapidly aging population was likely to decline by 20 percent to around 65 million by 2060.The drop will be accompanied by a dramatic shift in the amount of elderly people in Germany. Of the country's current 81 million inhabitants, some 20. 6 percent are now aged 65 (2011). But in 2060, assuming that fertility rate remain constant and life expectancy increase at a steady rate, that percentage will increase t o 33 percent. Following a rapid recovery from the 2008-2009 recessions, economic growth has slowed in the second half of 2011 for Germany (OECD,2012).Policy makers are faced with domestic issues interfering with mid-term growth potential, one of them namely rapid population aging. Deutsche Bundesbank published a report in April 2012 announcing that if the dampening effects of demographics can be mitigated by appropriate reform measures, it will largely be possible to maintain the current rate of potential growth of roughly 11/4% per y ear until 2020. With Europe struggling to cope with the Debt Crisis, an economic powerhouse such as Germany is under the pressure to come up with solutions and lead the union.However with its workforce fading into bottomless vacuum of tax dependents, it does not reflect well onto Germany’s financial health and strength as a sovereign nation. This paper intends to examine the situation in Germany and reach a conclusion that population aging incre ases the dependent population burden in views of both taxpayers and the nation’s budget; aggregate consumption expenditure decreases; the savings rate declines and shrinks the pool of available capital; working-age population reduces, while the labor productivity in Germany is not impacted heavily.Moreover, this paper will outline a perspective stakeholders should adopt to illustrate that as long as effective reform or measures can be implemented, the negative impact of the aging population on economic growth is likely to be minimized. Main arguments Dependency burdens Population aging increases the dependent population burden. Germany's pension system is known as the most generous pension system and public welfare. Costs of public retirement insurance are almost 12% of GDP, more than 2. times as much as the U. S. Social Security System (Axel Borsch-Supan, et al. ,2003), and it accounts for a high proportion of retirees' income. The weight of this tremendous systems is taxing on Germany's finances as well as the need for tax-payers' support. To ease the pressure of an aging population on the government budget, Germany has carried out a series of reforms. In what was called â€Å"the greatest social reform after war â€Å"by former Labor Minister Franz Liszt initiated in the spring of 2001.The main contents include reducing benefits, settling the level of premium expenditure, a pay-as-you-go pension system and developing a new type of private pension to fill the loss of welfare income. This reform, especially with measures to expand private pension types, will probably promote economic development. The Fund pension system is conducive for German government to supply a large number of retirees without increasing the load of employees and taxpayers. From a macroeconomic perspective, this series of system can help reduce the government budget pressure from an aging population.From micro-economic perspective, it can also bring higher personal income. Unfor tunately, there is a big difference between the actual implementation of Liszt reform and the government's promise. The new fund pension system in Germany is being undertaken on a relatively small scale, while the current non-accumulation fund insurance system is still in the highest flight. The final result is that, the German retirees are almost entirely likely to depend on the government. Overall, the public welfare accounted for 61% of net income after tax for families of 60 years old or above.The substantial increase in social welfare spending for the elderly in the GNP will continue to enlarge, as it is bound to limit the expanding of production, and influence the capital investment and economic efficiency, and add the burden on the national economy. Thus, with the development of population aging and extension of the average life expectancy of the aging of the population, it might be appropriate to extend the retirement age limit, in order to reduce dependent population and re latively increase the accumulation funds to expand production.Germany plans to raise the retirement age to 67 years of age, because of such considerations. But at the same time, the heavy new employment pressure requires Germany to strike a balance between extending retirement age and easing the employment pressure. Consumption The next section puts forward the argument that with the on-set of population aging, an increasing share of the elderly in the German market caused changes in its consumption structure.Overall, the consumption expenditure shows a gradual widening tendency during the aging process; however, Germany has already entered the aging society, so consumption expenditure showed a decreasing trend. This table shows the percentage of elderly family with an excess of the annuity income over expenditures. Annuity income is more than consumer spending and it increases with age. The decline in consumer spending is so significant that for about a quarter of the elderly aged 75 and above, the annuity income is more than 50% higher than consumer spending.In fact, almost all of this decline can be attributed to a decrease of food, travel and traffic expenses, the marginal utility of consumption reduction will probably decrease in the elderly, due to deteriorating health or being lonely. It is worth noticing that in Germany, food, travel and traffic expenses can hardly be offset by more health spending, because almost all health fees are covered by compulsory health insurance. (Wise, 2004) To some extent, the influence of population aging on consumption inhibited economic development.In this case, to speed up the development of older industries, government should focus on the development of travel, real estate and pension services for older people in order to promote consumption growth and the prosperity of the silver hair market. Savings The world's population is aging, accordingly, bank balances might probably stop growing. People tend to reduce their sa vings after retirement, while the younger generation are not as canny as older generations. As a result, savings rate will drop significantly (Diana Farrell, et al. , electric shavers, 2005).Because aggregate saving equals to investment (Lachlan McGregor, 2008), so if left unchecked, the slowdown of the global savings rate will reduce the amount of money available for investment and then hinder economic growth. It is not easy to find a solution. Stimulating economic growth in itself is not a solution, nor is the future productivity revolution or technological breakthroughs. To add to future global savings and financial wealth, the German government and the family need to increase their savings rate, and earn a higher return on assets. These changes involve tough choices, but it can provide a brighter future.As the elderly make up the larger proportion of the population, the total amount for investment and wealth accumulation will be reduced. The expected decline of growth rate for G ermany's financial wealth will fall to 2. 4% from 3. 8%. One thing is certain: the decline in the household savings rate can shrink the pool of available capital. Because of continuing budget deficit, government may push up interest rates and crowd out private investment. In the next few years, the rise in the cost of economic dependence will force government to implete better fiscal discipline.The only meaningful way to offset the population pressure to the upcoming global financial wealth is increasing savings rate of government and households, and a more efficient allocation of capital for the economy, thereby increasing the return. In Germany, to achieve the required rate of return, the policy makers must improve competitiveness, encourage innovation in financial sector and the economy as a whole, and raise the legal protection of investors and creditors. As for increasing the savings rate, the key to is to overcome inertia.When the enterprises automatically register their emplo yees on a voluntary savings plan rather than requiring people to become active, participation rate might increase significantly. Of course, the government can also increase the savings rate of Germany directly. Labor Pool With an increase in the proportion of the elderly population, the proportion of working-age population will accordingly decrease, which goes against German economic development (David E. Bloom, et al. , 2001). Labor force can be an effective motivation of rapid economic growth.However, a demographic draft report of the German federal government indicated that the working age population may reduce from 50 million to 26. 5 million in 2050, which is a decrease of nearly a half. According to the draft, the employment reduction would bring disastrous consequences to the economy of Germany. Moreover, it is much more difficult for older workers to adapt to the fast-paced production activities, especially in the labor-intensive production, so population aging is not conduc ive to the improvement of labor. In this case, a targeted immigration plan is very useful to enable Germany' to maintain its competitiveness.It is estimated that in order to make the employment potential of Germany remain at the level in 2004, at least 300 thousand to 500 thousand immigrants are needed annually. The appeal of that idea stems from two considerations: immigrants are relatively young, and hence their arrival reduces the average age of both the population and the labor force; and they can be expected to add more to the national product than they use up as consumers in terms of health-care, and thus to provide net support for the rising numbers of elderly dependents in the population.On closer inspection, however, there is a problem: immigrants get older, like everyone else, and a sustained policy of higher immigration has little long-term impact on either the median age or the age composition of the population. As Espenshade (1994, p. 766) noted, â€Å"immigration is a clumsy and unrealistic policy alternative to offset a shortage of domestic labor or to correct a perceived imbalance in the pensioner to worker ratio. †The effect of population aging to enhance labor productivity is negative which can be reflected on that the speed of aging workforce to accept new knowledge, science and technology is slower than that of the young. Relatively the elderly population shows a weak ability to adapt to new industries. Thus, to some extent, new product development and technological innovation are largely influenced by the aging problem. In the case of rapid scientific and technological development, and faster advancement of knowledge and increasingly keen competition, population aging has greater negative influence on labor productivity and economic growth.As for Germany, it gives priority to technology-intensive industries and to improve labor productivity mainly relies on science and technology, so the demand for mental exertion is much higher tha n physical. As a result, the negative influence of population aging on increase labor productivity is likely to be limited, on the other side, the experience of skilled older workers will have a positive effect to improve labor productivity in Germany. Conclusion Overall, it is argued in this essay that population aging in terms of the acroeconomics is not conducive to economic development, and its negative impact is mainly manifested in the above-mentioned four areas, while the elderly population do not entirely represent an economic burden as they can be profitable consumers, among them there are still some people engaged in economic activities with relatively abundant accumulation of experience and knowledge which can make up for the physical insufficiency. Thus, to some extent, these people contribute to the economic development.In fact, an effective way to mitigate the adverse effects of an aging population and labor force, is by accelerating the development of a knowledge-base d economy in high-tech industries. (i. e. to improve the level of automation in production and reduce the demand for workers' physical strength. ) We should also see that the development of the knowledge-based economy led to changes in the industrial structure and occupational structure and the increasingly high demand for workers intelligence.With the expectancy of population average life, the health status of the elderly is gradually improving, older workers will make a greater contribution than ever for economic development. Therefore, the rational development and utilization of elderly human resources, will become an important issue to mitigate the adverse impact of population aging on economic development. AppendixPercentage of Elderly in Age Group with a Ratio of Annuity Income to Consumption Expenditures in Germany [pic] Bibliography Asghar Zaidi and Malgorzata Rejniak (2010). Fiscal Policy and Sustainability in View of Crisis and Population Aging in Central and Eastern Europ ean Countries. Axel Borsch-Supan et al. (2005). aging, pension reform, and capital flows:a multi-country simulation model. Cambridge. National Bureau of Economic Research.David A. Wise (2004). Studies in the Economics of Aging. National Bureau of Economic Research. David E. Bloomet al. (2001). Economic Growth and the Demographic Transition. Cambridge: National Bureau of Economic Research. David N. Weil (2006). Population Aging. Cambridge. National Bureau of Economic Research. Michael D. Hurd (2006). The Economics Of Individual Aging. University of New York at Stony Brook.