The Criticistity Of Absurdity In The Stranger By Albert Camus

The Stranger is a novel by French author, Albert Camus. This novel expresses his philosophical beliefs and shows that a person does not really understand the significance of human life, until they are facing their own death. After reading this novel I understand his viewpoint, and somewhat agree with what he believes in. While reading this novel, I noticed how Camus involves his philosophical belief of absurdity through the main character. Absurdity is the state of being ridiculous or widely unreasonable. The main character in this novel fits that definition perfectly. The main characters name was Meursault. I was able to tell after the the first few pages that the way he thought and the way that he viewed life was absurd.†¦show more content†¦The fact that he does not love her is not a problem. I just found the way that he told her he did not was an absurd way to answer. By him saying that her questions is irrelevant shows that he Meursault does not care about the way she feels. What is even more absurd is the facts that Meursault agrees to marry Marie after he made it clear that he does not love her. Meursault disregards for Maries feelings is not the only cruel thing that he has done to a woman. Meursault and his neighbor come of with a plan to flat out disrespect Raymonds ex-girlfriend. What they planned to do was to right a nasty, inappropriate letter to her, so that Raymond could sleep with her again. Raymond planned to have sex with her, then to spit in her face right after and kick her out. I can understand that Raymond is mad because she cheated but that does not make what they did okay. And what I found to be the most absurd thing about the entire situation was that it has nothing to do with Meursault. He did that for no reason and it was unnecessary. The next example of absurdity that I noticed was the the situation with him killing the Arab man. Raymond told Meursault that he was being followed by 3 Arab men. Apparently one of those men is the brother of Raymonds ex-girlfriend. Eventually the 3 men meet up with Raymond and Meursault and a fight breaks out. This was not the first violent altercation. During another incident

Insect Courtship Rituals and Mating Habits

Ah, romance. Because insects are so numerous, a good deal of work goes into finding a suitable mate. Females can be fickle, with such a wealth of insect bachelors from which to choose. If a male stands a chance at passing on his genes, hes got to do something to stand out in the crowd. Courtship rituals in insect mating include serenades, dances, nuptial gifts, physical touch, and even aphrodisiacs. Serenades Courtship songs differ from calling songs, which are broadcast from a distance to help females find the males. Crickets use distinct calling and courtship songs, for example. Once the female cricket is nearby, the male suitor sings his best courtship song to sweep her off her six feet. Fruit flies have no calling song but they do sing when a mate is in close range. The fruit fly male vibrates his wings in a pulsing, rhythmic pattern. His song lets the female know he is of the same species, and available to mate. Mosquitoes sing harmonic duets with each other, adjusting the frequencies of their songs simultaneously as they near the moment of copulation. Dances and Foreplay Any woman is a sucker for a man that can dance. Some male insects and spiders cha cha cha their way to love, performing elaborate dances for their chosen mates. Jumping spiders are famous for their ballroom skills. They can perform a linear dance, a zigzag dance, and even a sort of can-can with their forelegs. Certain male flies perform aerial dances around a female to attract her attention and win the right to mate with her. Some female insects like to be cuddled and caressed to get in the mood. This is especially true of the more primitive, wingless insects. Springtails, for instance, will touch each other with their antennae. Sperm transfer in apterygotes takes place externally, with the male depositing his sperm on a surface and then gently coaxing his partner to take it. Some dung beetles engage in a different kind of foreplay. Together, the pair rolls a ball of dung to serve as a nursery for their offspring. Nuptial Gifts Gift giving is another clever strategy employed by some male insects in their pursuit of a mate. Before seeking a partner, hangingfly males hunt and capture arthropod prey. They then lure a female closer using a chemical signal and offer her the food gift. She examines the prey, and if she finds the meal to her liking, they mate. If the gift is insufficient, she refuses his advance. Balloon flies take gift giving a step further by wrapping the prey in pretty, silken balloons. Females fly into a mating swarm of males and choose a partner, who presents her with his silk package. Dont give the males too much credit, though. Theyve actually learned to trick the females by offering them empty balloons. Some male insects, like Mormon crickets, produce a spermatophylax, a protein-rich wad which they attach to the females genitalia. The female eats the sperm-free offering, which may have cost the male a full 30% of his body weight. Thats a pretty substantial gift. Aphrodisiacs When all else fails, insects may try an aphrodisiac to make a partner willing to copulate. Male queen butterflies dust prospective mates with an aphrodisiac produced by hairpencils, brush-like appendages on the tip of the abdomen. If his magic dust works, she will fly to a nearby plant. He dusts her once more to be sure shes ready, and if she is, they consummate the marriage. On the other hand, insects sometimes employ anti-aphrodisiacs to turn away suitors. Certain ground beetle females produce methacrylic acid, a potent anti-aphrodisiac that not only repels males, which can knock them out for several hours. Male mealworm beetles apply anti-aphrodisiac pheromones to their female partners after mating, to make them less attractive to other males.

Myne Owne Ground Book Review - 1063 Words

T.H. Breen’s and Stephen Innes’s book â€Å"Myne Owne Ground† did an outstanding job of showing readers the differences in perspectives of African people living in Virginia, one of the thirteen original colonies. It went in depth and showed how an indentured African person was competent and was capable of acquiring a wealth comparable to what a wealthy white person has. However, it would never be recognized by the general white population. There are two main themes in this book, whether the society, which was introduced in this book, was color blind or not. On one hand, the authors made an argument that the African people was able to live normally and be viewed as relatively equal to white if they were rich and owned plenty properties. On the†¦show more content†¦Whether Virginia was a color-blind society or not, lots of examples were used to support each of the themes. The readers could easily follow the two main themes by reading through the book. To s upport that Virginia was not a color-blind society, the authors used African â€Å"indentured servants† as examples to illustrate the differences among African and white people, such as how Virginia court treat run-away â€Å"indentured servants†, how â€Å"indentured servants† were named with racial prejudice, and how law makers set African people apart. On the other hand, for what supports that Virginia was a color-blind society, the authors used plenty of examples as well. The most significant examples should be how Anthony Johnson and Emanuell Driggus, as examples of rich African people, were treated by the society. From those aspects, readers could easily find out that Virginia colony was a color-blind society when an African person became wealthy. â€Å"Myne Owne Ground† is a book that basically tells the readers how African â€Å"indentured servants† were treated by the colony in 1600s. Overall, this book is touching and vivid for those read ers whose ancestors were not African. The authors used lots of examples throughout the entire book to describe the images that how African â€Å"indentured servants† got treated. That is very persuasive for readers to believe what happened during that time, and that can be regarded as one of theShow MoreRelatedMyne Owne Ground Review Essay766 Words   |  4 PagesA. Layne Wilson Old South Dr. Gates 6/12/12 Myne Owne Ground Review T.H. Breens and Stephen Innes’s book Myne Owne Ground does and outstanding job of pointing out the difference in perspectives when it came to living in the south and being black was like. It goes in depth and shows how a black person was competent and was capable to acquire a wealth that was comparable to a wealthy white man, but it is never recognized by the general white population. The authors make an argument thatRead MoreBibliographic Essay on African American History6221 Words   |  25 PagesThompson’s Shining Thread of Hope: The History of Black Women in America (New York: Broadway Books, 1998), a work highlighting the presence of women. Juliet E. K. Walker’s The History of Black Business in America: Capitalism, Race, Entrepreneurship (New York: Twayne Publishers, 1998) is a general historical overview of blacks in business across time. Of a more limited scope is A’Lelia Bundles’ On Her Own Ground: The Life and Times of Madam C. J. Walker (New York: Scribner, 2001), touted as a definitive

Emotional Intelligence In Relation To Patient Centered Care

Question: Discuss about the Emotional Intelligence In Relation To Patient Centered Care. Answer: Introduction The number one priority in hospitals all over the world is patient centered care. What is patient centered care? Its a multi-dimensional concept that addresses the needs of patients to information, focusses on the patient as an individual, views the patient as whole, promotes/ enhances professional-patient relationship and lastly it promotes concordance. Despites all the efforts made there is a problem in as professional health care providers differ in their capabilities to understand the perspectives of the patient hence compromising the patient centered care. The syllabus/curriculum in medical schools are the same. The students who enroll in this courses are the most intelligent. Why is it then, that when the training is over their performance in the medical field differs. The intelligent quotient (IQ) of these people are almost the same. What brings in the difference? Studies has shown that there is something called emotional intelligence (EI). Emotional intelligence is also known as personal intelligence, social intelligence, emotional literacy, emotional quotient, interpersonal intelligence. It has been defined as abilities which can be verbal or/and non-verbal. Which enables one to come up with, recognize, express and be able to understand and at the same time evaluate their own or other people emotions/feelings and be able to direct/guide action and thinking and successfully adapt with pressures and demands of the environment. In few words it is a group of behavioral competencies, different from Intelligent Quotient and it has an impact on job performance. Emotional intelligence started to be discussed in 1930s. Psychological researches were done from 1980s. The finding showed that overall performance was influenced more by social intelligence/ interpersonal intelligence rather than technical skills. In 1995, Dan Goleman published a book known as Emotional Intelligence in which he demonstrated how emotional intelligence was more important than intelligen ce quotient. As mentioned earlier patient centered care is all about interactions. The relationships between health care providers and the patients, the administration and the health care provider. It is not about new models or new techniques. With emotional intelligence being a social intelligence, health care centers are exploring on how they can apply its concepts. Emotional intelligence then proves to be important in the medical field. It is important for delivering patient centered care directly or indirectly and practicing effectively. How does emotional intelligence apply in health care? How do health care professionals use it to improve performance? Should it be used as a measure when recruiting professionals? How it might impact on issues of job satisfaction? These are the questions that am going to answer in these essay. Studies and findings Empirical studies has been done in health care settings. They suggested that success in life depends more on ones capability to understand and control emotions more than their intelligent quotient. It is viewed to be a personality characteristics which is fixed and stable making it measurable through self-administered questionnaire which have minimal manipulations. Some view it as being dynamic personal quality which is measured by using maximal performance measurements which quantifies the exact performance for example instead of asking a health care provider what he or she would do in a certain situation he or she is provided with the situation to act on. Matthew et al. suggests that different measures of emotional intelligent quantifies different attributes and the correspondences among these different scales of measures have shown very low correlation which is unexpected. Perez et al. has suggested that emotional intelligent trait instruments measures emotional self-efficacy whil e the emotional intelligent ability instruments measures the cognitive ability. Health care setting Emotional intelligence in health care. Recently there has been increased discussions on emotional intelligence in health care literature. The references of these claims are mostly on unsubstantiated claims on theoretical necessity of emotional intelligence and the assumption that its quality can be improved or altered although there has been growing evidence that emotional intelligence influences organizational success and patients outcomes. For us to understand the importance of emotional intelligence in the health care sector, there are four questions that we will ask ourselves and answer. How does emotional intelligence in health care providers impact on patient centered care, satisfaction of the patient and quality patient care? How does emotional intelligence have an impact on job performance and satisfaction? Can emotional intelligence be trained to patients? If yes will it have an impact on personal and/or patient centered outcomes? Should measurements of emotional intelligence be used as a criteria for selection and recruitment process for health care providers and students? Emotional intelligence and patient care. Most complains about health care providers is on poor communication and rarely on clinical competence. In health care centers improving on communication is one of the key interests in practice and policy. The models of emotional intelligence has clearly emphasized on importance of understanding and controlling ones and others emotions so as to adapt to environment. In patients assessment 98% of the diagnosis are from history taking. A procedure that involves listening and reading all clues given by the patient. The differences in emotional intelligence may be the reasons as to why some practitioners appears to be delivering patient centered care more than others. Discriminating patients emotions has a large impact on assessment, history taking and diagnosis of the patient. An example, a patient has a bad reaction to anesthetic. Nurse A, who is attending the patient rushes in, she is well trained so she does all that is required to reverse the allergic reaction to the anesthetic witho ut talking to the patient and the family. The patient recovers and the patients and family anxiety is relieved. Lets assume Nurse B was on call that day. She rushes in the patients room after the alarm on the emergence. The first thing she does is comfort the patient and the family. All will be well, this is normal. She comforts and calms the patient as she takes the rightful measures to reverse the reaction although he or she is not in much hurry as Nurse A. the results from the two patients will be similar they will get their symptoms reversed but the families and patient will have had different experiences. When one can understand other peoples emotions this makes the person empathetic. Health care providers who treat their patients with compassion and empathy have a huge rule in the patients outcomes. Empathetic physicians improves satisfaction of the patient aids patients adherence to treatment. It also reduces the chances of medical errors. Physicians with these qualities are better placed with patients with chronic illnesses and also at trauma units. Inappropriate behavior exhibited by health care workers is disruptive not only to the environment but patients outcome. Therefore the ability to read, understand and manage patients feelings/emotions is very important as it brings about patient centered care, satisfaction of the patient, it improves on the relationship between a patient and a professional and also it has a positive impact on concordance and most importantly the patient outcome. Emotional Intelligence and Job Satisfaction Emotional intelligence was defined as ability to recognize, understand, express verbal or non-verbal emotion either generated by oneself or by others. Have a higher emotional intelligence would impact positively on the health care professional performance and satisfaction in their jobs. For example there can be tension / pressure from the subsystems may it be the macro (can be the administration, colleagues) or the micro, which is composed of the patient and the family of the patient. This can cause anger and frustrations to these health care providers. For example when the hospital is understaffed that lengthens the shifts and increases the workload this frustrates the staff or when the patient is so ungrateful, keeps abusing the health care provider, is uncooperative. This will really stress out the professional but being able to recognize, understand and manage these emotions. The health care provider will only be faced by very few incidences of work related stresses. The health c are providers who has little/no stress, are less burnt out and are disillusioned they are able to communicate effectively with patients, form good and professional patient-worker relationship and by the end of it all they are able to achieve a patient centered care. A research has been done to explain the relationship between stress and burn out in health care providers and the emotional intelligence. There was no direct link between the two but it showed that nurses with a higher job experience has higher levels of emotional intelligence. Lower emotional intelligence was seen in dental students. From all the above it is evident that for effective communication which will later on result in rightful diagnosis, patients cooperation, all leading to improved quality care, patient centered care. No doubts it is of significant in the medical field. Training and Health Care Curriculae In nursing management literature they are so enthusiastic on the idea that emotionally intelligent can be trained and improved in individuals. It is imagined that with increased emotional intelligence it will directly increase the quality of patient care, have improved functioning professionals and effective management. The problem with this theory is its assessment. Assessing training. Different scholars different findings. Some suggests that after training there will be demonstration of competence while others describe personality characteristics which are difficult to change. It is also not clear whether the changes after training can be detected over a span of time. All is not lost there are formal programs aimed at improving and evaluating emotional intelligence in the health sector. Wagner et al administered a self-report trait of emotional intelligent to medical students who were later on followed up for two to three years. There was a significant change showing that emotional can be taught to our health care providers. They can be taught on patient centered care, ways of improving it. How to focus on a patient as a whole and also good communication skills. Health care centers should provide their staff with training programs. For these programs to be effective they should have a combination of behavioral assessment and service excellence principles which will provide the staff with an insight of their own behavioral characteristics which will specifically include the health care emotional intelligence. This will be a mirror where they see their faults and correct on them. For patient centered care, improved quality of patient care, patients needs satisfaction it is really important to have a high emotional intelligence which we have seen can be trained and improved. A Behavioral Construct used during training Select International Experiences partnering with Healthcare Organization came up with a behavioral construct whose aims are directed at patient centered care. The score of the health care provider where high or low does not mater significantly. What is of importance is their abilities to see and understand their behavioral/ character make up and be able to adapt as expected/accordingly. It is made up of four cores: compassion, awareness, regulation and emotional intelligence. Our focus is on emotional intelligence. How does this training improve on it? This tests ones ability to focus socially, on social needs and reactions. For example while performing a procedure does one get so involved in the procedure that they forget to check the patients reactions or even the colleagues reactions. The test can also prove that this is the kind of person who read other peoples reactions, emotions which gives him/her information and by the end of the procedure one achieves positive outcome. The h ealth care provider who scores low it shows that he/she focusses more on factual and less on social aspects. This tests aims at rectifying this by making the professional acquire a habit of assessing both the patient and the colleagues reactions and acting accordingly. These helps with improving the emotional intelligence hence having a patient centered care. Recruitment In many cases we have heard that medical courses are more of a calling and not a profession. There has been so many debates on who is the right student to be enrolled in medical schools. There has been so many debates and discussions around that subject. Many schools enroll those who are capable of finishing the course based on their intelligent quotient. They are also selected on the argument that on completion they will be able to deliver quality care to the patients. There have been so many authors discarding the fact that emotional intelligence is of importance in job selection and job performance. Despite all this there are different views especially in nursing literature which sees the value of enrolling emotionally intelligent patients. There is a problem in identify the students with high emotional intelligence as all those who apply have high academic scores. To make this possible a test should be given to all the applicants which will prove students orientation towards soci al sciences and humanities. Limitations Emotional intelligence has been associated with patients needs satisfaction, patient centered care, and improved quality of care to patients. Despite all these positive outcomes there are still some uncertainties about it for example what do we measure when we measure emotional intelligence? When should we measure emotional intelligence and how should it be measured? Do levels of emotional intelligence of health professionals have a direct impact on the outcomes of the patient? Does emotional intelligence have an impact on health care professionals and their working environment? To what extent can emotional intelligence be developed or taught? These are grey areas when it comes to emotional intelligences. Some of the questions are still being researched on. Conclusion How does emotional intelligence apply in health care? How do health care professionals use it to improve performance? Should it be used as a measure when recruiting professionals? How it might impact on issues of job satisfaction? Those were the questions that the essay targeted on answering. 1) From the essay it is so clear that emotional intelligence has a very significant role in the health care sector. We have seen that if a provider has a good understanding of their behaviors and that of others they can easily adopt specific behaviors that will cause an improvement in the interaction of patients and colleagues. When this is made possible the patient centered care is achieved, the patient needs are satisfied, there is a positive impact on patients outcome, the patient professional relationship is enhanced and made satisfying. 2) The other question was on performance and satisfaction. I explained clearly that when one is able to cope with woke related frustrations they do not get work related stress or burn outs. This enables them to work sufficiently hence performing well at what they do and also they get satisfaction of what they do. 3) It has also been seen the need to recruit those students that are emotionally intelligent. This is necessary for all the reasons/ benefits I have listed above of emotional intelligence in the health care sector. From all the above it has shown how and why emotional intelligence is important to both the patient and the professional. References Yvonne F,. Ian, S,. 2007, journal of the royal society of medicine, emotional intelligence and patient centered care. Codier E, et al. 2008, Nursing Administration Guideline, measuring the emotional intelligence of clinical staff nurses Guleryuz G, et al.2008, International Journal for Nurses, the mediating effect of job satisfaction between emotional intelligence and organizational commitment of nurses. Bulmer smith k, et al.2009 international Journal for Nurses, Emotional intelligence and nursing McClain A, et al.2010, Nursing Management, emotional intelligence fully appreciated. Naidoo S, et al, 2008, SADJ, emotional intelligence and perceived stressed Carr SE, et al.2009, Medical Education, Emotional intelligence in medical students: does it correlate with selection measures? Abe K, et al, 2013, BMC Medical Education, expressing ones feelings and listening to others increases emotional intelligence. Arora S, et al. 2010, Medical Education, emotional intelligence in medicine. Akerjordet k, et al, 2007, clinical nursing, emotional intelligence. Montes B, et al , 2007 Psychiatric mental health in Nursing, exploring the relationship between perceived emotional intelligence , coping, social support and mental health in nursing students Tyszkiewicz. M, et al, 2013, Ann Acad Med Stetin, polish article, Level of emotional intelligence and types of attachments. Por J. et al. 2011, Nursing Education, emotional intelligence: its relationship to stress, coping, well-being and professional performance in nursing. Cherry MG, et al, 2014, Medical Education, validating relationships among attachment, emotional intelligence and clinical communication. Doherty, EM, et al, BMC Medical Education, emotional intelligence assessment in graduate entry medical school curriculum. Ruiz D et al. 2014, psychiatric mental health nursing, emotional intelligence, life satisfaction and subjective happiness in female students professionals. Benson. G, et al.2010, Nurse Education today, A cross sectional study of emotional intelligence in Baccalaureate nursing students. Wons A, et al. 2011, article in polish, the emotional intelligence and copying with stress Brannick MT, et al 2009, Medical Education, comparison of traits and ability measures of emotional intelligence. Azimi s, et al, 2010, European Journal, emotional intelligence in nursing students.

Frost Poems Comparison Essays - Poetry, Literature, Robert Frost

Frost Poems Comparison Robert Frost's poems "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" and "Acquainted with the Night" seem to be ordinary poems at first glance, but after an in depth look at these works and how they relate, they become much more. Frost seemed to keep a tone of mystery throughout each of these poems, never actually telling the reader exactly what was going on. By the same token, the poems gave off sense of darkness and gloom just adding to the mystery of what lies ahead. Neither of the characters in these poems seem to be very happy which also augments the gloomy mood of these poems. The characters in these poems also appear to be on some kind of journey, but are reluctant to go ahead and find out what fate has planned for them. A sense of obligation is also present in these poems, an obligation which must be fulfilled, whether the character likes it or not. More easily seen is the mystery in each of these poems. Frost keeps the reader in suspense by never telling the reader what exactly is going on, but just touches on what might be going on. And to make things even more mysterious, he gives you hints, and leaves the reader with a lot to think about in these poems. In "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening," Frost exhibits this fairly clearly when his character mentions in the first line of the poem "Whose woods these are I think I know/His house is in the village, though;/He will not see me stopping here." These first three lines set a mood of dishonesty, as if the character is not supposed to be there, but it's all right for now because the owner doesn't know he's there. This little hint pops a question in your mind, "What exactly is this guy doing?," hence the mystery. Frost once again sets the mood for mystery in "Acquainted with the Night," by making known the presence of authority when his character states, "I have passed by the watchman on his beat/And dropped my eyes unwilling to explain." The character seems to be feeling guilty, or afraid of the authority figure and drops his eyes to the watchman because of this. But why would he feel guilty or afraid? Again, a mysterious hint. Also projected by these poems is a sense of darkness, which goes hand in hand with the mystery in these poems. The titles of these poems alone suggest darkness. Let me ask you one question; what time of day is the most mysterious? Of course the "Evening" or "Night" is the most mysterious time of day. But Frost does not stop here in emphasizing darkness in these poems. "The darkest evening of the year." This selection from "Stopping by Woods in a Snowy Evening," amplifies even more the sense of darkness in these poems. Why is this evening"the darkest of the year?" Night is night no doubt. But what makes this evening so dark? Is it so dark because the cloud cover from the snowfall is blocking out the moon and stars, desecrating the available light? If this is true, then how could there be enough light to "watch his woods fill up with snow," to see that there is "[no] farmhouse near," or that "the woods are lovely, dark and deep?" Maybe it is not that the evening is dark in the sense of night versus day, but maybe it is a personification of how the character feels. Perhaps the character has hit a low point in their life and this is why the character describes the night as "The darkest," i.e. the lowest or saddest, "evening of the year." From "Acquainted with the Night," Frost's character mentions, "I have outwalked the furthest city light." When the character states that he have "outwalked the furthest city light" it projects a very strong and large sense of darkness. During the night, the brightest light may be from a city, and to "outwalk" this strong light, the character must walk very far, hence, "furthest." Immediately after this line, the character says "I have looked down the saddest city lane." This line seems to be a metaphor of the fact that the character knows how it feels after he has gone away from this strong light. It is like the saying "I've been down that road before." The character is left with the feeling of sadness and nothingness, because of the darkness. In both of these poems the darkness

Essay on Bart Marx

Essay on Bart Marx Essay on Bart Marx In a world where everything is â€Å"fair† and â€Å"equal† containing flawless people, one man’s â€Å"misfortunate† can be life threatening. Bernard Marx is one of the elite groups in his world, however his height and his genes forces him into a lower caste than what he truly is. This makes him an unusual character because he doesn’t’t fit in any group, and has many emotions but cannot do anything about it, he wants to be an individual and cannot become one because of his lack of courage. Bernard is emotional and depressed and he lacks confidence due to anxiety about rejection. He is an Alpha Plus, but he feels and is accepted as if he is lower than that. That is because of the belief that when he was being born he had alcohol in his blood surrogate, and that has led him to be short and unusual in the public’s view. He is rejected from the Alpha Plus group because of his unusual size, and he is rejected from everyone else because he is in a higher status than them, and they don’t mix with his type. This leaves him to be a complete loner in his society, because of his lack of genetic scheme it forces him to not be able to join a certain clichà ©. Bernard is truly emotional, wanting to be a free man who wants to be courageous and brave and to lead himself to higher goals. Even though he wants to be brave and courageous his actions aren’t there. He is an individual who feels strong and wants to act freely, but cannot because he is too shy. Being the outsider, he shows his distressed feelings by being angry at people at reject him and looking at them with disgust. Bernard acts very tough and brags when he comes to people when people that are the same as him. When he meets with Helmholtz, he starts to brag in front of him and complains allot to him about his feelings of rebelling, and how he has anti-social feelings. But when Bernard comes to deal with people that are of his group or higher he becomes awkward and allows himself to follow orders from his superiors. ‘ The unusualness of Bernard is how he is transformed in the book, from being the hero to being a

Insurance Model Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Insurance Model - Essay Example The consumers have standard preferences defined over consumption. If P is the probability of the loss, then the consumers expected utility is: Thus, we can have the following indifference curve: It is simple to show that this leads to negatively sloped convex indifference curves. The slope of the indifference curves are: The high risk and low risk groups differ in their probabilities of incurring the loss. The probability of accident of an individual consumer belonging to the high risk group is PH and that of one belonging to the low risk group is PL, where PH> PL. Figure 1 below shows the indifference curves for a particular utility level for representative agents from the two groups. Observe that since PH> PL the indifference curves for the high risk type will have flatter slopes (less negative). Figure 1: Indifference curves for the high risk and the low risk consumers The monopolist The monopolist’s objective is to maximize its expected profits or alternatively minimize it s expected costs by trading with the consumer. The monopolist offers a pair of contingent claims (G,B) which realize in the good (No loss) and bad (loss) states in return for the consumers initial endowment. The expected costs of the monopolist are equal to: We can form the Iso-cost function for the monopolist as follows: Evidently, these are straight lines with a slope of . Observe that since PH> PL the Iso-cost line for the high risk type will have a flatter slope (less negative). Thus, the iso-cost lines for the High risk type and the low risk type can be drawn as follows: Figure 2: The iso-cost lines for the monopolist insurer for high risk and low risk contracts – C(H) represents the iso cost line for the high risk types and C(L) represents the isocost line for the low risk type. The separating equilibrium under asymmetric information Recall that asymmetric information is a situation where one or some of the players of the game have private information. In the present co ntext the asymmetric information is manifested in the form of consumers having private information since they know whether they belong to high risk or low risk groups. The firm does not know any particular agents type. However, the monopolist is perfectly aware of the exact probability distribution of consumer types. A separating equilibrium in the present context would be one where the high risk types choose a contract that is different from the contract chosen by the low risk types. The monopolist firm’s objective is to minimize its costs subject to the participation constraint or the individual rationality constraint and the incentive compatibility constraint of the consumer. The participation constraint requires that the contract offered by the firm provides him at least as much expected utility as the consumer’s initial endowment. This implies that for any consumer to accept the firms offer, the contract has to lie on or above the indifference curve through the in itial endowment. The incentive compatibility constraint on the other hand requires that consumers of either type do not find it beneficial to accept the contract devised for the other type. It is essentially the satisfaction of this constraint that leads to the separating equilibrium. In terms of indifference curves, the incentive compatibility constraint requires that the contract for the high type lies on or below the low types indifference curve