conciousness

When asked the question, wat is conciousness? we become concious of unconciousness. and most of us take this conciousness of conciousness to be what conciousness is. this is not true....conciousness is a much smaller part of the mental life than we are concious of because we cannot be concious of what we are not concious of.

‘Remove subsidies on LPG, Premix,

Two private sector advocates have called on government to take a second look at some selected petroleum products, which are subsidized to benefit the poor and vulnerable but are being exploited to enrich others in the country.

While Ato Ampiah, who is now the Managing Director of Tema Oil Refinery wants the subsidy policy on Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) to be removed, the immediate past president of the Association of Ghana Industries, Dr. Anthony Oteng-Gyasi wants to see a review on the subsidy on Premix fuel.

They said this at the first Centre for Freedom and Accuracy business roundtable in Accra on Wednesday, which brought together private sector enterprises and regulatory agencies to deliberate on ways to maximize real benefits from the private sector for economic advancement.

Mr. Ato Ampiah, once the President of the Ghana Employers Association noted that some private and commercial drivers have changed the carburetor systems in their car to take in LPG in order to avoid paying more on petrol and diesel.

“The policy to subsidized LPG is to encourage people to move away from using firewood for cooking but commercial drivers are now using LPG in their cars because they find it cheaper than petrol.

“And as a result more households are reverting to the use of firewood because of the occasional shortages in LPG caused by the activities of drivers.

“So I would want the policy to be reviewed to benefit the right people,” he said.
Dr. Oteng-Gyasi on his part said the subsidy on premix fuel is impacting negatively on fishing as more people including some fishermen have found business in dealing in premix fuel more profitable than fishing.

“In a year (2009) when government gave more premix fuel to the fishermen, the contribution of fishing to GDP declined by about two per cent and you ask yourself why. The answer is that the policy is not working.

Currently, premix fuel is sold to fishermen 25 per cent less the market price.

“Who doesn’t know that when you have four gallons of premix fuel and you mix it with one gallon of normal fuel to run any vehicle? All the commercial drivers know that except maybe us (policymakers).

“So you ask yourself why would the fishermen go fishing with all the hazards involved when they can make money from dealing in premix fuel.

“Government always has good intentions but the implementation of its policies yield bad results,’ he said.

Dr Oteng-Gyasi suggested that government sells the premix fuel to the fishermen at normal price and then build cold stores at the fishing coasts to keep the fish from rotting.

“We must think through our policies before we implement them. If we don’t do that and we go ahead to implement the policies, it will be difficult to take them away,” he added.

The Executive Director of the Centre for Freedom and Accuracy, Andrews Awuni said the first business roundtable conference was to give an overview of the business environment and how private sector enterprises and government can collaborate to achieve their economic goals.

He added that subsequent meetings would be sector specific to address challenges facing each sector of the economy.

“We need to move away from making lip service to the private sector and work together with them to achieve economic advancement,” he said.

CEOs schooled on crisis and investor communication

An international communications expert, Robyn de Villiers, Chief Executive Officer of Arcay Communications, an internationally acclaimed communication consultancy in South Africa has called on corporate businesses in the country to pay attention to investor relations and crisis communications because of its positive impacts on corporate reputation. 

Speaking at a CEOs luncheon lecture on the theme, ‘How Crisis and Investor Communications affect Corporate Ghana’ in Accra, she said as pressure mounts on the investment community to choose the most attractive option, effective investor relations provides a channel for time-sensitive and complex information to be presented in favourable light to potential stakeholders and influencers.

She said investor relations is achieved when there is relationship between a listed company and its private investors, securities analysts, fund managers and employees and is founded in the accurate portrayal of the company’s performance and prospects.

“Today’s stakeholder’s priorities are the quality of the company’s products and services and trust and confidence and it is therefore up to businesses to get the right information across,” she said.

Mrs. De Villiers said the need for companies to integrate social, environmental and economic issues especially the communities in which they operate, noting companies these days are integral to society, being considered as much a citizen as a natural person, as such being bound to responsibility.

In crisis communication she said the inclusivity of stakeholders is essential to achieving sustainability and regaining reputation while advising it is always good for companies to restrict communication in times of crisis.

“Customers today expect reliability, investors and suppliers demand credibility, employees expect trustworthiness while communities expect responsibility,” she added

She said companies that are able to maintain their reputation attract investor interest, create customer preference for its products and services and are also able to gain public trust in times of crises.

She said that nothing tends to compromise companies and often leads to market share loss, heavy litigation costs and significant declines in value.

“In today’s environment, brand loyalty is weaker coupled with greater public scrutiny of companies and hostile political and economic climates for businesses in the country. Without careful communication management, issues impacting your company that might have been harmless embers in the past can become a raging blaze within seconds,” Mrs. De Villiers noted.

Erudite software launched

Dream technology in collaboration with Ben-Multi group of companies and Centre for Academic Excellence (CENFAX) has launched Erudite Software to be used by schools from the Basic to Senior High level in record and information management.

Mr. Robert Afanu, a software developer with dream technology, said “the software is a student’s model for storing and retrieving information instead of searching through piles of files which teachers spend so much time in doing.”

He said the motivation leading to the establishment of the software was that, through his time in school, he realized that teachers and the management of schools spent much time in searching for information of students and spent much more time calculating marks, all of which was time-consuming.

Erudite Software can be used to check school attendance of both staff and pupils. This can assist with the performance assessment of both teachers and pupils.

It is also a tool for the academic assessment of students, a task teachers spend so much time in doing. It can calculate the academic scores of pupils. “On the click of a bottom, erudite will do this in seconds.” Mr. Afanu confirmed.

According to Mr. Bernard Essibuah, CEO of Ben-Multi Group of Companies and CENFAX, the software has been experimented on a number of schools and the outcome was positive and very efficient.

“The head of those institutions were very excited about such a product on the market. They said that in this age and time of technology, things had to take shape.” He added.

The market value of the software together with an additional computer and after-sales service goes for GH¢1000. As part of the package, an expert is available upon sale to take takes teachers and management of the buyer or school through the software. The software together with two or three computers went for GH¢1500 and GH¢2000 respectively.

The CEO indicated that interested persons could grab a copy for themselves at the Ben-Multi book services or Centre for Academic Excellence (CENFAX).

FirstBanC launches new products

FirstBanC has launched two products, known as the Provident Fund Migration Service and the Heritage fund, in Accra.

The Provident Fund Migration Service is a free service designed to help businesses and institutions - both public and private - to design, restructure and make their Provident Funds compliant with the new Pensions Act 2008, Act 766.
Under this service, FirstBanC will assess and transfer existing provident funds to make them compliant with Act - including registration with the National Pensions Regulatory Authority (NPRA).

It also provides tax-free mortgage-financing benefits for employees of the business and institutions. The service is for employees of all businesses and institutions whether in the private or public sectors, including government, NGO’s, CBOs and FBOs.

For organisations and businesses with an existing scheme, FirstBanC will provide professional valuation services to determine the fair value of the scheme.
The Heritage fund is an open-ended equity market mutual fund with the primary aim of achieving long-term capital growth and building wealth for its shareholders.

The fund seeks to raise a minimum amount of GH¢100,000 during the Initial Public Offering (IPO) at an initial cost of 20Gp per share. The offering for shares of the Heritage fund began on Monday and ends on August 16.

The investment can be used to meet your medium to long-term financial needs, which includes financing of education, acquisition of property, retirement planning and so on, and is intended to build a similar solid foundation for investors to achieve solid growth, sustainable income and long-term value.
It operates by mobilising funds from shareholders which are then invested in high-yielding equity and fixed-income instruments.

Mr. Richard Kwame Asante, Chairman of the NPRA, said the outfit will continue to regulate the movement of schemes at all times to ensure that everyone enjoys the service, and added that there are lots of benefits in registering with the NPRA.
“There are opportunities under the scheme, but you have to take advantage of these opportunities and I encourage other financial institutions to introduce similar products to bring competition in the marketplace.” He made these comments at the launch of the new products.

Mr. Mawuli Hedo, CEO of FirstBanC, said the company would introduce more products and services in order to attract more customers, since it provides investors with the aim of long-term capital growth and wealth-building, and enriched every individual to go in for such products. Interested persons can acquire application forms from branches of FirstBanC, Stanbic bank, Zenith bank, Agricultural Development Bank and The Trust Bank across the nation.

Mr. E. K. Akoto, Chief inspector of Taxes, Internal Revenue Service, advised employers that filing of taxes returns is very necessary and therefore encouraged them to take up the two funds since they had lots of benefits.

Western Union Rewards Loyal Customers

Western Union Ghana brought its World Cup 2010 promotion to an end last week, rewarding many loyal customers.

The promotion was to build up excitement towards the just ended 2010 FIFA World Cup Tournament in South Africa.

The draw for the promotion took place at the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) at Ring Road branch, Accra, with presence from the various banks that transact business with Western Union.

The winners were picked in a random selection of entry coupons submitted by participants.

Ten customers were proud winners of flat screen television and 200 customers won Western union branded T-shirts and baseball caps. The ten winners were: Emmanuel Ayayi, Sarfo Kwabena, Ouedrago Abdul Razak, Stephen Simms Mensah, Joshua Dankwah, Gibril Mutala, Akwasi Boateng, Ellen Boakye, Akupem Frank and Abass Mohammed.

In the previous draws, four customers qualified to be sent on an all-expenses-paid trip to South Africa to watch the just ended FIFA World Cup and many others won consolation prizes.

The marketing officer of money transfer and remittances, Mr. Karikari Kyei, said that the only qualification to be part of the promotion was that one needed to just receive money from abroad through any Western Union agent nation-wide and fill a coupon.

“Though the Black stars could not make it to the semi-finals, we still had to fulfill our promises,” he added.

He also congratulated the winners of the draw and assured that, Western Union is fast and saves time; as such they wanted their customers to benefit always from their transactions.

cal bank donates to childrens hospital

Cal Bank Limited has donated a cheque for GH¢ 31,517.63 and food items worth GH¢ 200 to the Princess Marie-Louise Children’s Hospital as part of the banks 20th anniversary celebrations.

The donation was made at the Hospital’s premises in Accra and included boxes of fruit drinks and assorted biscuits amounting in total to GH¢ 200.

Mr. Frank Adu Jnr, the Managing Director of the bank, said as part of its corporate social responsibility, the bank decided to heed the call of the hospital and come to their aid.

“We have to take good care of the kids since they outnumber the adults, so that they will always look good and healthy,” he said.

The money donated will help the hospital complete the refurbishment of its surgical block which was started five years ago.

The donation was received by Rev. Father Andrew Campbell, a caregiver of the hospital, who thanked the bank for the gesture and called on individuals and organisations to help the hospital in similar manner.

This, he indicated, will bring the hospital to the standard of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital’s Children’s ward, to avoid the transfer of patients for surgery and emergencies.

He also said that the hospital needed more ambulances since the only one available, which is over fifteen years old, was the only mode of transportation for the hospital. The hospital’s lift is also in need of repair to facilitate the movement of patients and workers from the grand floor to the theatre. 

“We will do our best to make the hospital one of the best and we will call on you again anytime we need help,” he added.

After the donation, representatives of the bank went round to see the patients in the wards and spent time interacting with them and staff of the hospital. The construction site of the surgical block was also inspected.

Dr. Eric Sifah, the medical superintendent, thanked the bank on behalf of the hospital for its kindness and said the hospital will continue to count on then for assistance.

ONLY A MIRACLE

Do you believe in miracles?

Mr. Bernard Wiafe, a 35 year old manager, lived all his life concentrating on his business and planning for his future, neglecting complains from his mum about her being old enough and needed a grandchild. So she wants him to get married to fulfill her dream: as usual.

He has not bothered because he had always had the impression that all ladies were the same due to an experience he had some 7 years ago in trying to date a lady he knew very well he was going to get married to. This lady, after knowing Bernard for six months, could come to his house and spend the weekend. Little did he know that this lady was actually stealing from him little by little. She succeeded in stealing his money, jewels, document, clothes and everything you could think about, and she vanished in thin air without anyone knowing her whereabouts.

A year later, after his wounds had finally healed, friends and relatives advised him that not all ladies were the same and that there were still some good ones. Maybe he hasn’t searched well enough.

Six months later, on his way from the bank, he met this slim, fair coloured, beautiful lady, dressed in a silky stripped long green dress with short wavy hair, right at the entrance of the bank. “it was love at first sight” he never believed he could fall for a lady in that manner. He spent some time with this lady who introduced herself as Joan. Joan was a devoted Christian who was also waiting on the Lord to grant her heart desire of being a mother and a wife to her dream man. And Bernard was right there. They got to know themselves well enough for a year and decided to get married. Bernard could not believe himself, he was so much in love with Joan and couldn’t even live a day without seeing her.

However, on November 7th 1999, they got married and Bernard’s mother thanked God soo much for answering her prayers at the right time and said “for they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength”
Bernard and Joan lived happily with their business but had no kids after three years of marriage. Joan, as religious as she was, waited on the Lord. Avoiding all the pressure from her mother in-law.

In some few weeks, she felt some pains in her body and decided to see the doctor. At the hospital, the doctor confirmed she was 2weeks pregnant and did not have to do so much work. When her time was due, her in-law came to live with them at least to be around till after delivery. She was been driven around anytime she had something to do in town by her driver due to her condition.

Finally, she delivered at the expected time and it was a bouncy baby boy. Everyone was happy. Her in-law was full of happiness.

One day when everyone had left home and she had run out of food for the home, she decided to go to the market with the driver to get something for the house. When they arrived at the market and she was just about to step down from the vehicle, the baby fell from her and the driver just applied the reverse brake and the tyres walked on the arm of the baby. What a pity! Tears started to roll down the cheeks of Joan and asked God why this had happened to her. The baby was rushed to the hospital and the doctor upon seeing the condition in which the baby was, he said “it is only God who can save him and that ONLY A MIRACLE can save your child”

SKIN BLEACHING

Variety is the spice of life, such as variety in food, clothes, hairstyles, etc. Variety also abounds in nature. That is why all people on Earth belong to different types of skin colours, from white to yellow and to black. Our living environment accounts for the different skin colours we have. For example, in cold climatic regions such as Europe, inhabitants tend to have a lighter complex due to the cold weather, whereas in Africa, darker skin is better suited in the hot and humid climate.

However, many people are bleaching their skin. Why do they do that? Is fairer skin really more appealing than darker skin?
Most ladies are proud and happy about their original skin colour but others would always want to change from their original skin to a supposed preferable one. They go in for products with the intention of changing their skin colour but unknowingly those products cannot be used in the tropics to get its desired effect.
Some would say “Black is beautiful, so why do I bleach my skin?” But some would say “I don’t like my colour people say I am too dark and they call me ‘Blackie’” They are so much intimidated by what people say about them and in trying to solve this problem, they end up messing up.

Moreover the proliferation of the beauty products and cosmetics on the market without education leads people into this situation.
Skin bleaching destroys the black pigment found in the epidermis (top layer of the skin). When this happens, the exposure of the dermis layer, underneath the epidermis layer, to the harsh weather will increase the incidence of skin cancer. The dermis cannot compensate for the absence of the epidermis and coupled with the hot sun, one will get a higher risk of cancer.

Most ladies too do not stick to one type of product. They end up switching from one product to the other within a short time. This is because they see no effective change in what they use and turn to have irritations on their skin. Since they do not know the exact product that caused their irritation it cannot be corrected as soon as possible. For these irritations, which include rashes, pimples and so on, it would take a long time to be corrected.

Thus we can see that though having fairer skin as desired, skin bleaching is also damaging to our skin.

OIL TROUBLE FOR LAKE PONTCHARTRAIN

Oil from the ruptured well in the Gulf of Mexico is seeping into Lake Pontchartrain north of New Orleans, threatening another environmental disaster for the huge body of water that was rescued from pollution in the 1990s.

The lake rebounded then to once again become a bountiful fishing ground and a popular spot for boating and swimming.

It is threatened again after a weekend when tar balls and an oil sheen pushed by strong winds from faraway Hurricane Alex slipped past lines of barges that were supposed to block the passes connecting the Gulf of Mexico to the lake.

The oil could be the second setback in five years. Hurricane Katrina knocked out seafood docks and lakeside restaurants in 2005. The lake's water quality also took a hit when the Army Corps of Engineers drained New Orleans' contaminated floodwaters into the lake.

State authorities closed the lake's eastern reaches to fishing Monday, though most of it remained open. Barges were lined up at bayous and passes to stop the oil from coming in, and cleanup crews Tuesday used nets to collect tar balls from marinas and docks.

They also planned to lay 9,000 feet of special permeable booms, but the lake was too choppy for skimmer vessels to operate.

About 1,700 pounds of oily waste has been collected, said Suzanne Parsons Stymiest, a spokes woman for St. Tammany Parish.

The amount of oil infiltrating 600-square-mile Lake Pontchartrain appears small so far. And tests on seafood have not turned up any oil contamination, said Brian Lezina, a state biologist. But the pollution is distressing to the many people in Louisiana who have a deep attachment to the lake.

Lake Pontchartrain, named for the French count of Pontchartrain during the reign of Louis XIV, is on the northern edge of the city. It is connected to the Gulf of Mexico by two main passes: the Rigolets, a winding passage of about 10 miles, and the Chef Menteur, around nine miles long.

For centuries, it has been a playground, a source of seafood and a backdoor route to New Orleans for invading British troops and hurricane storm surge.

Until the 1970s, its shores were a top destination for city folks who took streetcars and buses to the lake to swim and to dine at restaurants that cooked up the lake's crabs and other seafood. They played in penny arcades and rode the Zephyr roller coaster at the Pontchartrain Beach amusement park.

But pollution shut down the swimming and chased away marine life, and the amusement park closed in the early 1980s.

Slowly, the lake revived. In recent years, sightings of dolphins and manatees have delighted locals, and commercial and recreational fishing is thriving.

Anthony Montalbano Jr., the chef and owner of II Tony's, an Italian seafood restaurant next to the lake, said it has been a struggle to stay open. Katrina swamped his restaurant at Bucktown, a lakeside community in New Orleans that has the feel of a bayou town.

Source: statesmanjournal.com

OUR ATTITUDE, OUR ALTITUDE

For a baby almost given up on as a stillbirth, who did not have any spoon in his mouth, either plain or silver, to attain the zenith that he has attained by dint of faith, hardwork, determination and commitment to excellence, is immensely instructive and deeply motivating. That Prof. Mshigeni’s life philosophy has been inspired by the Biblical dictum ‘the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom’ is a bold statement that science and religion are not incompatible and a true scientist would always acknowledge God and believe in Him. His absorption of Nwalimu Julius Nyeyere’s words, ‘It can be done. Play your part’ also strikes one that all life is about our attitude. In other words, our attitude to God, to our fellow human beings, to our work and to life in general determines our altitude.
At this juncture, let me buttress my point on attitude with this little scientific truth I learnt somewhere with you in order to make life 100% successful. If each letter in the alphabet has a numeric value and its equal to that value in its sequence, then A
B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z is equal to 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26.
Thus, H+A+R+D+W+O+R+K = 8+1+18+4+23+15+18+11=98%,
K+N+O+W+L+E+D+G+E = 11+14+15+23+12+5+4+7+5 = 96%,
L+O+V+E=12+15+22+5= 54%, L+U+C+K = 12+21+3+11 = 47%
(None of them makes 100%). Then, what makes 100%? Is it money, power, fame or what? Every problem has a solution, if only we change our attitude to it. It is our A T T I T U D E towards Life, Others and Work that makes OUR life 100% successful: A+T+T+I+T+U+D+E = 1+20+20+9+20+21+4+5 = 100%.
I am sure we can do everything, but not be the best in everything, can’t we?

drawbacks of the uses and grattification theory

Blumler and Katz’s uses and gratification theory suggests that media users play an active role in choosing and using the media. Users take an active part in the communication process and are goal oriented in their media use. The theorists say that a media user seeks out a media source that best fulfills the needs of the user. Uses and gratifications assume that the user has alternate choices to satisfy their need.

Almost every theory has its drawbacks and weaknesses. And the theory of uses and gratification is no exception and one weakness of this theory is that it presents the media as being good and also talks about only the positive sides of the media. A drawback of this theory is that some of the content presented to us are mostly from the western countries and with this, the youth copy the lifestyle of the westerners like bad eating habits, the way they talk. The audience do not always choose what they want. The public has no control over the media and what it produces. It can also be said to be too kind to the media, as they are being 'let off the hook' and do not need to take responsibility for what they produce.

weakness of the uses and gratification theory

The uses and gratification theory is the idea that the mass audiences make active use of what the media offers. The overall idea of the theory is that people are using the media to fulfill their needs (psychological and social) the theory have some limitations, such as its highly individualistic nature. It only takes into account the individual psychological gratification derived from individual media use. The social context of the media use is ignored. For example the environment as well as the state of the media user.

Despite the wide range of choices available to users, they have no control over the media and what it produces. What they consume is solely prepared by gatekeepers and may include their influences and perception. These gatekeepers add to, subtract from and organize issues, subjects and stories devoid of the control from the users.

two step flow theory

The two-step flow model hypothesizes that ideas flow from mass media to opinion leaders, and from them to a wider population. It was first introduced by Paul Lazarsfeld et al. in 1944 and elaborated by Elihu Katz and Lazarsfeld in 1955 and subsequent publications. Lowery and DeFleur argue the book was much more than a simple research report: it was an effort to interpret the authors' research within a framework of conceptual schemes, theoretical issues, and research findings drawn broadly from the scientific study of small groups Unlike the hypodermic needle model, which considers mass media effects to be direct, the two-step flow model stresses human agency.

According to Lazarsfeld and Katz, mass media information is channeled to the "masses" through opinion leadership. The people with most access to media, and having a more literate understanding of media content, explain and diffuse the content to others.

Based on the two-step flow hypothesis, the term “personal influence” came to illustrate the process intervening between the media’s direct message and the audience’s reaction to that message. Opinion leaders tend to be similar to those they influence—based on personality, interests, demographics, or socio-economic factors. These leaders tend to influence others to change their attitudes and behaviors. The two-step theory refined the ability to predict how media messages influence audience behavior and explains why certain media campaigns do not alter audiences’ attitudes. This hypothesis provided a basis for the multi-step flow theory of mass communication.

hypodermic needle theory

MAGIC BULLET/ HYPODERMIC NEEDLE/ STIMULUS RESPONSE THEORY

Before the first World War, there was no separate field of study on Communication, but knowledge about mass communication was accumulating. An outcome of World War I propaganda efforts, the Magic Bullet or Hypodermic Needle Theory came into existence. It propounded the view that the mass media had a powerful influence on the mass audience and could deliberately alter or control peoples' behaviour.

Klapper (1960) formulated several generalizations on the effects of mass media. His research findings are as follows: "Mass-media ordinarily does not serve as a necessary and sufficient cause of audience effect, but rather functions through a nexus of mediating factors and influences. These mediating factors render mass-communication as a contributory agent in a process of reinforcing the existing conditions."

The main mediating factors which he considers responsible for the functions and effects of mass communications are

- selective exposure i.e., people's tendency to expose themselves to those mass communications which are in agreement with their attitudes and interests; and

- selective perception and retention i.e., people's inclination to organize the meaning of mass communication messages into accord with their already existing views.

criticisms of the media

Most teenagers have interests in particularly violent programmes. Children are often considered not so much in terms of what they can do, as what they cannot. By research which seeks to establish what children can and do understand about and from the mass media. Such projects have shown that children can talk intelligently and indeed cynically about the mass media, and that children as young as seven can make thoughtful, critical and 'media literate' video productions themselves.

we can also note that the media depictions of 'violence' which the effects model typically condemns are limited to fictional productions. The acts of violence which appear on a daily basis on news and serious factual programmes are seen as somehow exempt. The point here is not that depictions of violence in the news should necessarily be condemned in just the same, blinkered way, but rather to draw attention to another philosophical inconsistency which the model cannot account for.

history of media effects research

the functiions of the media grouped into Economic, political and socio-cultural.

Economic:
• They analyse
• Employment
• They act as a platform on which various ideas are brought together
• Disseminate information
these are because,all of these help in the economical function in the country.

Political:
• They mobilize people towards a cause
• They investigate
• Serve as watchdog
• They serve as a link
• Criticise
• They ajutate for change
• They serve as gatekeepers
They enlighten individuals on the politics of the country, educate them on their rights,they also educate us on the political parties and understand the agenda of the political parties


Social:
• They act as glue to the society
• They mobilize people towards a cause
• They influence opinion in society
• They set social agenda
• Entertain
• Educate
• Create awareness
They are because they understand the cultural system of your society better.