Can One Be Moral and Not Believe in God? Essay

The argument set forth is best understood by the first line given by Hamlet in Act 3, Scene 1 in this 1600 play, â€Å"Hamlet,† written by William Shakespeare (1600). â€Å"To be, or not to be, that is the question: Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, And by opposing end them?†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Believing in a spiritual entity or a supernatural supreme being can play a role in one’s moral beliefs, but it is not necessary. The argument will start with breaking down what it is to be moral with the definition of moral, which is â€Å"of or relating to principles of right and wrong in behavior,† (ethically speaking) â€Å"conforming to a standard of right behavior.† (Merriam-Webster, 2011) With that in mind now, one can be moral and not believe in GOD, because it is up to the person to choose to be moral, hence â€Å"To be, or not to be†¦Ã¢â‚¬  This argument will consist of a brief history in a few religions, church and state, moral education, ethics, and Plato’s and Aristotle’s take on living morally. Again, believing in God is not necessarily needed for one to be moral; all that is needed is good ethics, belief in oneself, and knowledge. The origin of religion, experts think, arose from the fear and wonder of natural events (i.e. storms, earthquakes, and the how babies were born). Experts believe that the explanations of death were the outcome of supernatural powers greater than one’s self and the world around them. Religious activities, prehistorically, involved the most essential elements of existence, like adequate rainfall and or a successful hunt for food. Prehistoric people were also believed to have performed rituals intended for good fertility of women, for animals, and for succeeding in hunting as well as making sacrifices for all good fortune. The major religions of today may have been originated between 1500 B.C. and A.D. 600. (Fontaine, 2011) As time progressed, there came a new understanding with religion being involved in one’s life. The justification by faith, the actions of an individual can be justified by their faith as it assists moral goodness and faithfulness to duty. Through Christianity, Christ died for their sins to sit before God’s judgment in their place so that they cannot be found guilty. As an example of justification by faith, believers are led to be more loving towards God, their neighbors and to do good works. For instance, treat others the way you would like to be treated. The understandings of justification by faith, good acts towards others, are justified by people using their faith as justification for their actions. (Edwards, 2011) Religion also has a code of conduct, a set of moral teachings and values to uphold when conducting the business of living. From these morals and values, one should treat others how one would like to be treated, whom one may marry, what jobs may be held, how to dress, and what foods may be eaten. (Fontaine, 2011) Now let us look at church and state. The understanding of church and state is that each should not be involved in the others development. In other words, government should operate non-religiously and churches should operate outside the boundaries of the government system. This was disagreed by many, because many believed that religion improves the moral character of citizens and should be actively promoted by government. Many others believed that government should support and fund some religious activities so long as any religion is not favored over another. From these oppositions, arose intense debates in the United States of America for issues involving prayer in public schools, government funding for religious schools, government support for religious charities, and the display of religious symbols on government property. (Ivers, 2011) The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees that â€Å"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibit the free exercise thereof†¦.† Freedom of religion is still an issue today, for it is interpreted by many court rulings â€Å"that the government may not promote or give any special treatment to any religion.†(Morgan, 2011) Plans, which called for government financial aid for religious schools have been denied and courts have ruled it unconstitutional to many programs to teach the  Bible and or recite prayers in public schools. Yet, church and state are not totally separate, because (1), many of the nation’s people are Christians, (2), the nation’s motto is â€Å"In God We Trust,† (3), sessions of Congress open up in prayer, (4), witnesses in court swear oaths on the Bible, and (5), Christians governed the United States since its existence. (Morgan, 2011) Moving along, morality in both religion and government is a major concern and work together when and if their moral goals desired are with the same intentions. It, of course, is the exact opposite when both entity’s desires and views of morality are different, like the belief in abortion. Where religiously it is viewed as morally wrong and governmentally allowed in some states. Moral education is focused on what is right and what is wrong to develop the standard values by which people judge what is important, worthwhile, and good. Moral education is received from many angles of sources one may encounter, beginning with their family, church, friends, teachers, and television. Moral education lessons were given in schools either intentionally or unintentionally in the United States in the 1970’s by developing special teaching methods in assistance with dealing with moral questions. These methods if given in a combination approach were called comprehensive moral education. Inculcation was the effort to teach values which educators believed to lead moral behavior to children. Values in moral behavior such as honesty, compassion, justice, and respect for others were taught by appropriate praise and punishment and reflected in whichever desired value in the teacher’s behavior. Values clarification was designed to assist in developing one’s own values and morals by stress setting goals, choosing thoughtfully from alternatives, and acting on their own convictions. Moral development assisted in the development in the abilities to judge moral questions. That which is based on the theory that moral reasoning progresses from lower to higher stages in people: (1) self-interest, (2) seeking approval of others, (3) to following rules, (4) respecting the rights of others, and so on to where opposing laws of society if it conflicts with moral principles that are even higher. An example of moral  development would be putting one in a moral dilemma with a question like, â€Å"Would you steal to feed your starving family?† or allow the principles of fairness and justice up to the students to govern. Lastly, value analysis teaches the application of logical and scientifically investigative techniques to matters involving values, where the importance of exploring, gathering, and evaluating facts and logically made decisions are highly stressed. (Kirschenbaum, 2011) Opposition to the teaching of moral education in schools believes it is a matter for the family and church to handle. In addition to their argument, it takes necessary time away from what should be taught in class, like reading, writing, and mathematics. In surveys though, parents have indicated that some forms of moral education in schools are needed. Their argument is that families need help in teaching moral behaviors consistent with values such as hard work, honesty, fairness, cooperation, tolerance, and respect. (Kirschenbaum, 2011) All these values are built from character education including responsibility and caring. The goal, which was set forth here, was to develop a more responsible and caring society by implementing and emphasizing on such programs dealing with ethics and responsibility. The core basis in character education has to be established for it to be integrated into schools and in the community. Character education is introduced in early grades, which emphasizes on behavior skills and in later grades, which involves topics such as reducing prejudice and resolving conflicts. These character education programs have been widespread throughout the United States to nonprofit organizations, universities, and school districts; thus giving all these organizations strategies on how to effectively incorporate character education into their curriculums. Building character comes with ethical choices. â€Å"Ethics is a branch of philosophy that attempts to help us understand which ways of life are worth following and which actions are right or wrong. Ethics addresses questions of right and wrong using reason rather than faith or tradition.† (Hunt, 2011) Upholding high ethical standards can be complicated, because some decisions are difficult to make. For example, Joe has been in-trusted with  a secret from a friend, John, that he stole some money from another friend. Thinking about doing the right thing, Joe realizes their friendship can be jeopardized, because Joe and John are closer than the other friend is. Keeping the secret though, can damage Joe’s integrity and his moral values. Conflicting thoughts can be very difficult to comprehend which direction to take. Ethical theories have been made to direct a person in making the right choice and they also guide us when and where conflicting ideas apply and do not apply. Ancient ethical theorists such as Plato and Aristotle are two influential thinkers who have brought order into thinking about ethical problems. They have defined a sort of life that is worth living and the sort of people who can live such lives. (Hunt, 2011) Plato believes that wisdom, courage, temperance or self-control, and justice are virtues that one should have. Plato has also acknowledged that wisdom is the most important of these virtues, for it is the knowledge of what is truly good. Having this wisdom will direct one to do what is right and this will bring harmony to them, thus building the virtue of justice. Plato wrote a book, which described the life and death of a man who understood goodness, his teacher Socrates. Both believed that people did not know how to be moral, because they did not have the knowledge of moral ideas to act morally. Plato’s ethical theory is based on the belief that one desires happiness and that moral virtue can bring that happiness within the soul of a person; resulting in a healthy state of the soul. (Soll, 2011) Aristotle, Plato’s student, had similar beliefs, but added more traits needed to live a moral life. â€Å"These traits are friendliness, generosity, gentleness, truthfulness, and wit.† (Soll, 2011) He believed in one trait that brings out all of the virtues discussed, which he called phronesis, meaning prudence or good judgment; the ability to know what one should do by figuring out what choices would direct one to lead a good life. The study of practical knowledge, knowledge that enables people to act properly and live happily, Aristotle argued that people do this to find their function in life. Function like how one’s eye functions, which is to see; believing that a happy life is governed by reason. Believing also that moral virtue is finding the medium between the extremes, example, â€Å"the virtue of  generosity is the mean between stinginess and wastefulness.† (Soll, 2011) From these two ancient theorists, the belief of ethics differs from modern ethical theories. The difference is ancient ethics related a theory of normal life and offered no solutions to the dilemmas facing very critical decisions. Like the example of Joe’s dilemma. There were no rules or guides set in assisting us in making those difficult choices, whereas modern ethics is a theory of life in crisis. Modern ethics is directed towards helping one sort out the conflicting reasons for different choices of action to take. It also assists one’s decision-making in which, one will choose which reasons that hold more value and which ones hold lesser value. Modern ethics involve considerations of benefits and of obligations. Joe might feel obligated to keep John’s, a close friend, secret and what benefits will arise from him not keeping his considered obligation, like closer ties with the other friend, who is not a thief. Modern theorists have reached the conclusion that giving equal importance to both obligations and benefits is difficult. They have also divided its ethical theory into two chains of thought: (1) deontology, holding what really matters (ethically) and to what obligations one has, (2) teleology, claims to what really matters in which, one’s actions or policies would best benefit the people. (Hunt, 2011) In conclusion, to live as righteous as one can be, does not need GOD or a supreme supernatural being to do so; even though many of the teachings of how to live morally consists of values of spiritually related beliefs, building character comes with ethical choices. These choices develop or build one’s personal strength in believing in one to do right as to wrong by educating on and building knowledge of moral values to which ethic standards one wants to live by. Again, moral education, ethics, and belief in one’s self to do what is right are all one needs to live morally without GOD. â€Å"To be, or not to be, that is the question: Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, And by opposing end them†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Shakespeare, 1600) References Edwards, M. U. (2011). Luther, Martin. Web: World Book. Retrieved August 23, 2011, from World Book Encyclopedia Ashford University. Fontaine, C. R. (2011). Religion. Web: World Book. Retrieved August 23, 2011, from World Book Encyclopedia Ashford University. Hunt, L. H. (2011). Ethics. Web: World Book. Retrieved August 25, 2011, from World Book Encyclopedia Ashford University. Ivers, G. (2011). Church and State. Web: World Book. Retrieved August 23, 2011, from World Book Encyclopedia Ashford University. Kirschenbaum, H. (2011). Moral education. Web: World Book. Retrieved August 23, 2011, from World Book Encyclopedia Ashford University. Merriam-Webster. (2011). Moral. Retrieved August 23, 2011, from http://www.merriam-webster.com/. Morgan, R. E. (2011). Freedom of religion. Web: World Book. Retrieved August 23, 2011, from World Book Encyclopedia Ashford University.

Nowadays corporate governance

Nowadays corporate governance is seen as the key of attracting investors. Capital flow seems directed towards the companies, which practice fair and transparent ways of governing their organizations. With the changing global business scenario the need of understanding and effective practice of fair and technologically advance corporate governance has also increased. In my speech I will first explain the notion of Corporate Governance. ICAEW (2002) has explained corporate governance in a very effective and comprehensive manner as â€Å" Corporate governance is commonly referred to as a system by which organizations are directed and controlled. It is the process by which company objectives are established, achieved and monitored. Corporate governance is concerned with the relationships and responsibilities between the board, management, shareholders and other relevant stakeholders within a legal and regulatory framework.† Sir Adrian Cadbury (1992) defined corporate governance as ‘the whole system of controls, both financial and otherwise, by which a company is directed and controlled’. There are no hard and fast rules for corporate governance, which can be prescribed for all the countries. These rules can be different for different countries according to their needs and cultural settings. According to ICAEW (2002) with all the contrasts present in the rules and regulations of different countries emphasis is given to generic corporate governance principles of responsibility, accountability, transparency and fairness. Responsibility of directors who approve the strategic direction of the organization within a framework of prudent controls and who employ, monitor and reward management. Accountability of the board to shareholders who have the right to receive information on the financial stewardship of their investment and exercise power to reward or remove the directors entrusted to run the company. Transparency of clear information with which meaningful analysis of a company and its actions can be made. The disclosure of financial and operational information and internal processes of management oversight and control enable outsiders to understand the organization. Fairness that all shareholders are treated equally and have the opportunity for redress for violation of their rights. According to Meigs et al. (1999) this information meets the needs of users of the information-investors. Creditors, managers, and so on-and support many kinds of financial decision performance evaluation and capital allocation, among others. (P.07) Corporations resolutely focus on maximizing profits and a ‘legal obligation to act in the best interests of their shareholders. By and large, this excludes acting ethically or socially responsibly†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢(Slapper and Tombs, 1999). (Shah, 2002) states that some Trans-national corporations make more in sales than the GDPs (Gross Domestic Product) of many countries. In fact, of the 100 hundred wealthiest bodies, 51 percent are owned by corporations. While this can be seen as a success story from some viewpoints, others suggest that these and other large corporations are largely unaccountable for the many social and environmental problems that they leave in their wake, and that their size means that their effects are considerable. It is not that every single corporation is inherently bad or greedy, but commonly, the very large, multinational corporations who naturally have vested interests in international development and trade policies (like any group) are able to deploy enormous financial resources in an attempt to get favorable outcomes. The political power that is therefore held by such a small number of people impacts the planet significantly. As a result a few of these corporations make up some of the most influential sources of political and economic power. Naturally, with such influence it is not clear   ‘who’ the regulator is. And as Clarkson’s (1999) earlier quote suggests money and power, in corporate activity, are paired. And where profit supersedes safety and power supersedes regulation there stands the conflict of interests, for the victims of corporate crime. These are for the most part neither wealthy nor powerful although, when they are liability is certainly applied copiously. For example in the case of Enron the former chief accounting officer, Richard Causey was indicted on charges of ‘ fraud, conspiracy, insider trading, lying to auditors and money laundering for allegedly knowing about or participating in a series of schemes to fool investors into believing Enron was financially healthy’ (findlaw.com). The ‘victims’ in this case were the investors who were identifiable and influential. Violations, which impact on financial systems, are subject to more scrupulous legislative administration, compared with social infringements (snider 1991 cited in Slapper and Tombs 1999:89). Increased attention to corporate crime would mean relating to large companies as ‘criminals’ (Slapper and Tombs, 1999). An issue, (Sullivan, 1995 cited in Clarkson, 1998) renders impossible on the basis that ‘crimes can only be committed by human, moral agents’. Media attention will focus on financial aspects of corporate crime due to its impact on a political scale and the sensational-factor that is the ‘respectable’ figures committing crime as well a the belief/knowledge that ‘scandal sells’. Scandal, is common reference for this financial aspect but noting the influence of language Slapper and Tombs (1999) note that this sets a’ scale’ for perceptions, rendering it uncommon/unusual. Another scale, which has been set in the last few decades, is the increasing complains of the least risk disclosure by the companies in their annual reports and financial statements. This is also accompanied by the misuse of the accounting techniques by the executive officers and managers of the corporations. As in case of Enron the technique of off balance sheet reporting was used in negative manner. Investors are often aware of the risks they take and in itself, off-balance-sheet financing is no vice. Companies can use it in perfectly legitimate ways that carry little risk to shareholders. The trouble is that while more companies are relying on off-balance-sheet methods to finance their operations, investors are usually unaware that a company with a clean balance sheet may be loaded with debt — until it is too late. (Morgenson, 2001) A change is required in the regulations. The accounting firm should not perform the consulting and auditing services both. The Companies should be required by the Government to increase their degrees of disclosure. The top-level management should be held more responsible by tightening up the regulations. They should also be held responsible in case of any frauds and regulatory violations of their subordinates. This in turn will give rise to the sense of responsibility in the people related at all levels. (Hanson, 2002) References Cadbury Sir Adrian, (1992). Report of the Committee on the Financial Aspects of Corporate Governance, Gee & Co Ltd., UK Clarkson, Max (Editor), The Corporation and Its Stakeholders: Classic and Contemporary Readings, University of Toronto Press, 1998. ICAEW, (2002). What is Corporate Governance? Institute of   Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, Retrieved 30/10/2007 from Hanson, K., (2002). Lessons from the Enron Scandal, interview about Enron by Atsushi Nakayama, a reporter for the Japanese newspaper Nikkei, March 5, 2002, Retrieved 30/10/2007 from http://www.scu.edu/ethics/publications/ethicalperspectives/enronlessons.html ICAEW, (2002). Corporate governance developments in the UK, Institute of  Ã‚  Ã‚   Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, Retrieved 30/10/2007 from Meigs, Robert F., Williams, Jan, R., Haka, Susan F. & Bettner, Mark S., (1999). Accounting: The Basis for Business Decisions, Eleventh Edition, Irwin Mc Graw-Hill, p. 07 Moregenson, G., (2001). Are New Woes Lurking in Financial Nether World? The Associated Press, December 23, 2001, Retrieved 30/10/2007 from http://pages.stern.nyu.edu/~adamodar/New_Home_Page/articles/isthisdebt.htm Slapper, G.,   & Tombs, S., Longman, (1999). Getting Away with Murder, Corporate Crime, Reviewed by Chris Moore, Issue 47, May 2000 Shah, A., (2002). Corporations and the Environment, Page Last Updated Saturday, May 25, 2002, Retrieved 30/10/2007 from               

Spanish Conquest essays

Spanish Conquest essays On November 8, 1519 Hernan Cortez landed in the great city of Mexico accompanied by six hundred Spaniards and a great amount of native allies. Cortezs arrival in Mexico City was welcomed by the friendly Aztec people, who mistakenly believed that Cortez was one of their gods, Quetzalcoatl, who was characterized by light skin, red hair, and light eyes. They were willing to share all their wealth and happiness with the Spaniards, but the Spaniards wanted more than what the Aztecs were willing to share, they wanted to rule their beautiful land. As Cortez and his men became more familiar with the land the realized that the Aztecs were less amendable than they thought. Hernan Cortez became determined to conquer the whole kingdom. The Spaniards were coarse, ignorant of local customs, and rude. Hernan and his men tried to convert the Aztecs to Christianity, but the Aztecs did not understand the language so many were brutally killed or enslaved by the Spanish. It didnt stop there though, the Spanish were killing Aztecs by the thousands, sometimes just for the fun of it. They brought down the Aztec Empire and brutally murdered their people with war and European diseases, such as smallpox. A large portion of the Aztec culture was destroyed in the battles they fought with the Spaniards. The Spanish had no right to destroy their whole population as well as their history, the Aztecs did not know of weapons or armor, they werent immune to small pox, and they devoted polytheist as well. The Spanish although outnumbered, had the technological advantage of steel weapons, armor, horses, and cannon. Upon his arrival in Tenochtitln, Cortez was initially welcomed and treated well, in part because the Aztec may have thought him to be a God. Soon Cortez decided to capture the Aztec ruler named Montezuma and held him hostage for a vast treasure in gold. The fighting was fierce, now both sides were clamoring for the blood...

E-mail-Whats Good About It essays

E-mail-What's Good About It essays The introduction of e-mail is by far one of the greatest things since sliced bread. E-mail has enabled us to be more efficient at work, home, and play. Before we were blessed with e-mail, we were reduced to using phone, fax or postage to communicate. All of these ways were very costly. E-mail saves us money on stamps, stationary, and phone bills. It is definitely quicker than using our current air and land mail system. On my job I am requires to read my E-mail daily. My higher headquarters is in Alabama and I am in Louisiana. It is much easier to reach them through E-mail than by telephone. If I call and no one is available to answer the phone because of meetings, I know that I can send an E-mail and when the recipient returns to the office and check their E-mail, my message will be there. It has been my experience that I get a faster response when I e-mail. Sometimes when I have called and got an answering machine, I was told that the message was never received, this dont happen with E-mail because I am notified when the message has been received by the person I sent it to. I am retired from the Army and have many friends all over the world. My husband has just returned from a year long deployment in Afghanistan. Sometimes using a telephone was nearly impossible, but I received e-mails messages from him on a daily basis. This by itself saved me many hours of worrying about his safety after hearing news reports of enemy activity in the area where he was assigned. I have other friends still deployed in E-Mail-Whats good About It 2 defense of our country. We communicate as much as possible through E-mail. I am able to help keep them motivated with my constant E-mails of encouragement Of, course I use E-mail sometimes purely for my enjoyment. I receive a variety of E-mails from friends with something to simply make me laugh. We are ...

ESL Lesson Plan - Present Perfect Simple and Continuous

ESL Lesson Plan - Present Perfect Simple and Continuous Students often confuse the present perfect and present perfect continuous. This lesson employs an imaginary biography to get students asking questions and speaking about completed accomplishments (present perfect) and duration of activity (present perfect continuous). The main difference between the present perfect and present perfect continuous that students need to acquire is the difference between the amount of time the current activity has been in progress, and the amount of activity that has been done. In the first case, we use the present perfect continuous to express how long the current activity has been going on. In the second case, use the present perfect to express how many or how much has been accomplished. These guides on how to teach the present perfect continuous and how to teach the present perfect can help with further exercises and teaching suggestions. Aim Correct use of present perfect and present perfect continuous, contrasted with simple past Activity Use of an imaginary chart of life events to elicit questions and answers using both the present perfect and present perfect continuous, as well as the simple past Level Intermediate Outline Review the present perfect and present perfect continuous with the class. Focus on the difference between present perfect to express an amount finished up to the present moment (Ive read three books by Hemingway), and the present perfect continuous to express the duration of the current activity (Shes been reading for three hours).Ask students to take a look at the sentences in exercise 1 and decide if they are correct or incorrect.Make a point of discussing the use of BOTH the present perfect and present perfect continuous with common verbs such as live, work, play, drive, etc.Ask students to read the life chart of John Anderson.Have students pair up and use the question cues. Ask students to use the present perfect continuous when asking about the duration of an activity.To check if students are doing the activity correctly, ask the students to write out the questions once they have finished. John Anderson: VIP 0Born 1954 6Started school 12Started magazine delivery service 13Started playing tennis 15Hired four other boys for magazine delivery service 17Sold magazine delivery service for $20,000 17Went to Harvard Business School 18Won New York State tennis championship 19Started Supersoft software company with roommate 20Sold Supersoft for $400,000 21Graduated with honors from Harvard 22Received Masters of International Business from Yale 23Started work for Brown and Bran Inc. in New York City 25Married first wife, Josine 26First son born, Josh 26Promoted to Vice President of International Sales 27Won New York Business Clubs International Businessman Award 28Left Brown and Bran Inc. 28Started New Media Associates Inc. in New York City 29Divorced Josie 30Won New Business Innovation award 31Met and married second wife, Angela 32Second son, Philip, born 33Won over-thiry tennis tournament of New York City

Lab report about prism spectrometer Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

About prism spectrometer - Lab Report Example Those colors emanated from the, white, Hydrogen and Mercury light sources. The main objective of carrying out this study on prisms is to learn the aspects of prism spectrometer theory so as to enhance the ability of explaining the practicability of its components. This was mainly achieved through observation of the mercury spectrum discharge lamp while taking subsequent angle of deviation records regarding the spectral lines. This hence creates the capability of determining the refraction index of the given glass prism for a number of wavelengths. It also gives insights on how to utilize the calibrated prism for the ultimate measurement of unknown wavelengths. Finally, it enables one to make a general observation regarding color sensation that is caused by the prevailing light of specific wavelengths. The main tool that is used in this lab experiment is the spectroscope. This is an instrument that is used for production an ultimate viewing of spectra. It is often comprised of three main parts that includes; a collimator for production of parallel light beams, a prism that is majorly responsible for light dispersion towards the spectrum, and the telescope that is ultimately meant for spectrum examination (GutieÃŒ rrez-Vega, Julio et.at, 2007). When there is transmission of light beam from air to the glass, the bending of the ray occurs with accordance to the Snells law. Therefore this can be summarized by an equation that is stated as sin q air = n sin q glass; whereby the subsequent measurement of subsequent angles is done on the normal surface in which n refers to the refraction index of the entire glass. The refraction index is hence a dimension-less value and is simply a clear measurement of the intensity in which the medium can bend light. The increase in the size of n is directly proportional to the increased bending of light. The usual refractive index of air is always 1. For a glass, n often varies from the value of between 1.3 and 1.8,

Comparing people income with college degrees and people without Research Paper

Comparing people income with college degrees and people without college degrees - Research Paper Example Carmel, Stanley, Nolan, and Young support this observation and identify a positive correlation between education level and income among individuals (67-77). While Sedat acknowledges a similar relationship between the variables, his study did not identify a significant relationship (62-72), a position that Lin, Gao, Zhuang, and Chen reiterate (n.p.). Wells however identifies a significant relationship between education level and income with economic independence (13-21) and the study seeks to ascertain validity of the proposed relationship. Academic qualification is one of the determinants in employment and dictates people’s positions. This suggests a relationship with income that also varies with type of job and an individual’s position in an organization. The study proposes to ascertain significance of proposed relationship between education level, whether a person has a degree or not, and level of income. The study will use data from Infoplease to obtain average income for a person with a degree across years and average income for a person without a degree across respective years. Test of hypothesis for difference between means will then be used to determine existence difference between the two secondary means and a significant difference would mean that education level affect income. Lin, Jing, et al. â€Å"Exploring correlation between education level, income level, and job satisfaction in Gippsland.† Agribusiness Gippsland. N.d. Web. August 21, 2013. . Sedat, Gumus. â€Å"Investigating the relationship between the quality of education and level of educational attainment in Turkish provinces.† International Journal of Education Reform 21.1 (2012): 62-72. Wells, Ryan. â€Å"Education’s effect on income inequality: A further look.† California Centre for Population Research. N.d. Web. August 21, 2013.