Law and Justice

Posts Tagged ‘Intellectual’

Week 1

History

Monday, Day 1

The Alphabet

In circa 2000 BC, the Egyptian pharaohs realized they had a problem. With each military victory over their neighbors, they captured and enslaved more prisoners of war. But the Egyptians could not pass down written orders to these slaves as they could not read hieroglyphics.

Early writing systems, such as Egyptian hieroglyphics, were extremely cumbersome and difficult to learn. These systems had thousands of characters, with each symbol representing an idea or word. Memorizing them could take years. Only a handful of Egyptians could actually read and write their complicated script.

Linguists believe that almost all modern alphabets are derived from the simplified version of hieroglyphics devised by the Egyptians four thousand years ago to communicate with their slaves. The development of an alphabet, the writing system used throughout the Western world, changed the way the ancients communicated.

In the simplified version, each character represented only a sound. This innovation cut back the number of characters from a few thousand to a few dozen, making it far easier to learn and use the characters. The complicated hieroglyphic language was eventually forgotten, and scholars were not able to translate the characters until the discovery of the Rosetta stone in 1799.

The alphabet was extremely successful. When the Egyptian slaves eventually migrated back to their home countries, they took the writing system with them. The alphabet spread across the Near East, becoming the foundation for many writing systems in the area, including Hebrew and Arabic. The Phoenicians, an ancient civilization of seaborne traders, spread the alphabet to the tribes they encountered along the Mediterranean coast. The Greek and Roman alphabets, in turn, were based on the ancient Phoenician script. Today most Western languages, including English, use the Roman alphabet.

Additional Facts

Several letters in modern-day English are direct descendents of ancient Egyptian characters. For instance, the letter B derives from the Egyptian character for the word house.

The most recent edition of the Oxford English Dictionary contains 171,476 words in current usage, among the most of any language.

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Literature

Tuesday, Day 2

Ulysses

James Joyce’s Ulysses (1922) is widely regarded as the greatest novel written in English in the twentieth century. It retells Homer’s Odyssey in the context of a single day — June 16, 1904 — in Dublin, Ireland, recasting Homer’s great hero Odysseus in the unlikely guise of Leopold Bloom, an aging, cuckolded ad salesman who spends the day running errands and making various business appointments before he returns home at long last.

Though Bloom seems unassuming and ordinary, he emerges as a heroic figure, displaying compassion, forgiveness, and generosity toward virtually everyone in the odd cast of characters he meets. In his mundane and often unnoticed deeds, he practices an everyday heroism that is perhaps the only heroism possible in the modern world. And despite the fact that he always feels like an outsider — he is a Jew in overwhelmingly Catholic Ireland — Bloom remains optimistic and dismisses his insecurities.

Ulysses is celebrated for its incredibly rich portraits of characters, its mind-boggling array of allusions to other literary and cultural works, and its many innovations with language. Throughout the course of the novel, Joyce flirts with literary genres and forms ranging from drama to advertising copy to Old English. The novel is perhaps most famous for its extensive use of stream-of-consciousness narrative — Joyce’s attempt to render the inner thoughts of his characters exactly as they occur, with no effort to impose order or organization. This technique became a hallmark of modernist literature and influenced countless other writers, such as Virginia Woolf and William Faulkner, who also experimented with it in their works.

Not surprisingly, Ulysses poses a difficult journey for the reader, especially its famous last chapter, which recounts the thoughts of Bloom’s wife, Molly. Molly’s reverie goes on for more than 24,000 words yet is divided into only eight mammoth sentences. Despite the challenge it poses, the chapter shows Joyce at his most lyrical, especially in the final lines, which reaffirm Molly’s love for her husband despite her infidelity:

and then he asked me would I yes to say yes my mountain flower and first I put my arms around him yes and drew him down to me so he could feel my breasts all perfume yes and his heart was going like mad and yes I said yes I will Yes.

Additional Fact

Ulysses was banned for obscenity in the United States for nearly twelve years because of its (mostly indirect) sexual imagery.

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Visual Arts

Wednesday, Day 3

Lascaux Cave Paintings

The cave paintings at Lascaux are among the earliest known works of art. They were discovered in 1940 near the village of Montignac in central France when four boys stumbled into a cave. Inside they found a series of rooms with nearly 1,500 paintings of animals that were between 15,000 and 17,000 years old.

There are several theories regarding the function of the paintings. A natural feature of the cave may have suggested the shape of an animal to a prehistoric observer who then added highlights to relay his vision to others. Since many of the paintings are located in inaccessible parts of the cave, they may have been used for magical practices. Possibly, prehistoric people believed that the act of drawing animals, especially with a high degree of accuracy, would bring the beasts under their control or increase their numbers in times of scarcity.

The animals are outlined or portrayed in silhouette. They are often shown in what is called twisted perspective, that is, with their heads in profile but their horns facing front. Many of the images include dots, linear patterns, and other designs that may carry symbolic meaning.

The most magnificent chamber of the cave, known as the Great Hall of the Bulls, contains a painted narrative. From left to right, the pictures depict the chase and capture of a bison herd.

As soon as the paintings had been examined and identified as Paleolithic, the caves were opened to the public in 1948. By 1955, however, it became increasingly evident that exposure to as many as 1,200 visitors per day was taking its toll on the works inside. Although protective measures were taken, the site closed in 1963. In order to satisfy public demand, a life-sized replica of the cave was completed in 1983, only 200 meters from the original.

Additional Facts

The cave painters were conscious of visual perspective; they painted figures high on the wall, styled so that they would not appear distorted to the viewer below.

The only human figure depicted in the cave appears in the Shaft of the Dead Man. The fact that it is drawn more crudely than the animals suggest that they did not think it was endowed with magical properties.

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Science

Thursday, Day 4

Cloning

In 1997, a baby sheep named Dolly introduced the world to reproductive cloning. She was a clone because she and her mother shared the same nuclear DNA; in other words, their cells carried the same genetic material. They were like identical twins reared generations apart.

Scientists at the Roslin Institute in Scotland created Dolly by a process called nuclear transfer. Taking the genetic material from an adult donor cell, they transferred it into an unfertilized egg whose genetic material had been removed. In Dolly’s case, the donor cell came from the mammary gland of a six-year-old Finn Dorset ewe. The researchers then gave the egg an electric shock, and it began dividing into an embryo.

One of the reasons Dolly’s creation was so astounding was that it proved to the scientific community that a cell taken from a specialized part of the body could be used to create a whole new organism. Before Dolly, almost all scientists believed that once a cell became specialized it could only produce other specialized cells: A heart cell could only make heart cells, and a liver cell could only make liver cells. But Dolly was made entirely from a cell extracted from her mother’s mammary gland, proving that specialized cells could be completely reprogrammed.

In many ways, Dolly was not like her mother. For example, her telomeres were too short. Telomeres are thin strands of protein that cap off the ends of chromosomes, the structures that carry genes. Although no one is sure exactly what telomeres do, they seem to help protect and repair our cells. As we age, our telomeres get shorter and shorter. Dolly received her mother’s six-year-old telomeres, so from birth, Dolly’s telomeres were shorter than the average lamb her age. Although Dolly appeared to be mostly normal, she was put to sleep in 2004 at the age of six, after suffering from lung cancer and crippling arthritis. The average Finn Dorset sheep lives to age eleven or twelve.

Additional Facts

Since 1997, cattle, mice, goats, and pigs have been successfully cloned using nuclear transfer.

The success rate for cloning is very low in all species. Published studies report that about 1 percent of reconstructed embryos survive birth. But since unsuccessful attempts largely go unreported, the actual number might be much lower.

Before she died, Dolly was the mother of six lambs, all bred the old-fashioned way.

A group of Korean researchers claimed to have cloned a human embryo in 1998, but their experiment was terminated at the 4-cell stage, so there was no evidence of their success.

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Music

Friday, Day 5

The Basics

Music is organized sound that can be replicated through imitation or notation. Music is distinct from noise in that the sounds of a door creaking open or fingernails on a blackboard are irregular and disorganized. The sound waves that map these noises are complex and cannot be heard as identifiable pitches.

Some of the basic ways that we analyze musical sounds are:

Pitch: How high or how low a sound is to the ear. Pitch is measured technically by the frequency of a sound wave, or how often waves repeat themselves. In western music there are twelve unique pitches (C, C-sharp or D-flat, D, D-sharp or E-flat, E, F, F-sharp or G-flat, G, G-sharp or A-flat, A, A-sharp or B-flat, and B). The pitches followed by sharps or flats are called accidentals, and they are most easily described as the black keys on the piano keyboard. They are located musically, one half step between the two pitches on either side of them. For example, D-sharp and E-flat have the same pitch. When referring to pitches in the context of notated, or written music, they are called notes.

Scale: A stepwise arrangement of pitches (for example, C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C) that often serves as the basis for a melody. A piece, or a portion of a piece, will often use only notes found in a particular scale. Western music primarily uses the major scale or the minor scale, in one form or another. To most people, the major scale, because of its particular arrangement of pitches, has the quality of sounding “bright,” “happy,” or “positive.” A minor scale, likewise, is usually described as “dark,” “sad,” or “pessimistic.”

Key: An arrangement or system of pitches, usually based on one of the major or minor scales, that is meant to serve as a reference point and a guiding force of a melody. The tonic of a key is often the starting and ending point for a piece written in a particular key — so if a piece is in E major, then the pitch E will serve as the piece’s tonal center.

Additional Facts

All of these basic elements can be notated on the staff, which is a repeating of five parallel horizontal lines. Often it is divided into measures to indicate metric divisions in the piece and marked at the beginning of each staff of the page with a clef to indicate reference points for identifying pitches.

When a piece strays from its basic key, this is called modulation. Keys are indicated in written music by a key signature at the beginning of each staff.

There are hundreds of scales used in the world’s many different musical cultures. In India, music played on the sitar and other instruments chooses pitches from a collection of twenty-two possibilities, with the distances between scale steps sometimes larger and sometimes smaller than those used in Western music. This can make differences between pitches extremely subtle and demands a high virtuosity from Indian classical musicians.

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Philosophy

Saturday, Day 6

Appearance and Reality

Throughout its history, one of the great themes of philosophy has been the distinction between appearance and reality. This distinction was central to the thought of the earliest philosophers, called the Presocratics, because they lived before Socrates.

The Presocratics believed that the ultimate nature of reality was vastly different from the way it ordinarily appeared to them. For instance, one philosopher named Thales held that appearances notwithstanding, all reality was ultimately composed of water; Heraclitus thought the world was built from fire. Further, Heraclitus maintained that everything was constantly in motion. Another thinker, Parmenides, insisted that nothing actually moved and that all apparent motion was an illusion.

The Presocratics took seriously the possibility that all of reality was ultimately made up of some more fundamental substance. And they suspected that uncritical, everyday observation tends to present us with a misleading picture of the world. For these reasons, their thinking is often considered a precursor to modern science as well as philosophy.

Many later philosophers — including Plato, Spinoza, and Leibniz — followed in this tradition and presented alternative models of reality, which they claimed were closer to the truth than ordinary, commonsense views of the world.

Additional Facts

The distinction between appearance and reality is also central to the venerable philosophical tradition known as skepticism.

Immanuel Kant also addressed the difference between appearance and reality. He distinguished between things we experience and what he called a “thing-in-itself.”

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Religion

Sunday, Day 7

Torah

The Torah is the name generally given to the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, or the Five Books of Moses. Christians refer to these books as the Old Testament. The word Torah can also refer to the entire breadth of Jewish law encompassing several texts as well as oral traditions.

The Five Books of Moses are the basis for the 613 laws that govern the Jewish faith, and they are the foundation for the world’s three great monotheistic faiths — Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. They are as follows:

Genesis: Tells the story of creation as well as the history of the Israelites, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and their families

Exodus: Recounts the exodus from Egypt to Canaan, including Moses receiving the Ten Commandments

Leviticus: Contains the rules and practices of worship

Numbers: Relates the journey of the Israelites in the wilderness

Deuteronomy: Consists of speeches made by Moses at the end of his life that recount Israelite history and ethical teachings

The five books are traditionally believed to have been given to Moses on Mount Sinai. Alternative theories claim the beginning of the Torah was given on Mount Sinai but that the revelation continued throughout Moses’s life.

Historically, archaeologists have argued that the Torah was written sometime between the tenth and sixth centuries BC. Proponents of the Documentary Hypothesis, which according to Orthodox Jews is heretical, claim that the original five books came from four sources, eventually compiled into one by a fifth author or redactor. The arguments in favor of this theory are the multiple names used for God, varying styles of writing. and the repetition of stories.

From the beginning, the Torah was accompanied by an oral tradition, which was necessary for its complete understanding. Although it was thought to be blasphemous to write the oral tradition down, the necessity for doing so eventually became apparent, leading to the creation of the Mishna. Later, as rabbis discussed and debated these two texts, the Talmud was written in order to compile their arguments.

The Jewish tradition uses the text of the Torah to derive innumerable laws and customs. Rabbinic scholars have spent entire lifetimes parsing every word for meaning.

Additional Facts

Torah scrolls written in Hebrew by hand, contain 304,805 letters and may take more than a year to produce by hand. If a single mistake is made, the entire scroll becomes invalid.

Reprinted from: The Intellectual Devotional: Revive Your Mind, Complete Your Education, and Roam Confidently with the Cultured Class by David S. Kidder & Noah D. Oppenheim © 2006 TID Volumes, LLC. Permission granted by Rodale, Inc., Emmaus, PA 18098. Available wherever books are sold or directly from the publisher by calling at (800) 848-4735.

The Intellectual Contributions of Ayn Rand

 

ABSTRACT

It is our belief that the study of Rand and her works will lead ethical leaders to reflect on their own personal philosophy of life.  It is also our belief that one must first know what he/she believes before he/she can ethically lead other individuals. A person must know where he/she is starting from before he/she can go where he/she needs to go (Kritsonis, 2007).  The purpose of this article is to underscore the importance of reading the works of author Ayn Rand. Special focus will be placed on her novella, The Anthem (1938). A main idea questioning strategy will be used to reveal Rand’s philosophy and determine the most salient points for ethical administrators. Focus will be placed on the following questions:  1. Who is Ayn Rand? 2. How is Rand’s philosophy reflected in The Anthem? 3. Why should ethical leaders take the time to read her books? 4. When should leaders be selfish? 5. Where should ethical leaders look for guidance? 

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Purpose of the Article

 

The purpose of this article is to reveal the importance of reading and reflecting on the works of author Ayn Rand. A main idea questioning strategy will be used to reveal Rand’s philosophy and determine the most salient points for ethical administrators. Focus will be placed on the following questions:

 

1. Who is Ayn Rand?

2. How is her philosophy reflected in The Anthem (1938)?

3. Why should ethical leaders take the time to read her books?

4. When should leaders be selfish?

5. Where should ethical leaders look for guidance?

 

It is our belief that the study of Rand and her works will lead ethical leaders to reflect on their own personal philosophy of life.  We also believe that one must first  know  what he/she believes before he/she can  ethically lead other  individuals.  A  person must know where he/she is starting from  before he/she  can go  where he/she needs to go (Kritsonis, 2007).

 

Who is Ayn Rand?

 

Understanding Rand’s history is essential to understanding and appreciating her storylines. Ayn Rand (Alissa Rosnbaum) was born in Russia, in 1905. She taught herself to read at the age of six and had decided that she wanted to become a writer by the age of nine.

 

As a youth, Rand witnessed two Russian wars: The Kerensky Revolution (The February Revolution) and the Bolsheviks Revolution (The October Revolution). The February Revolution brought a victory against communism and The October Revolution restored communism.

 

During the Bolsheviks Revolution, Rand’s family fled to the Crimea (a republic in the Ukraine). Her family, once upper middle class business owners, faced near-starvation. The government seized the family pharmacy. Rand witnessed the shortcomings of communism firsthand. She came to hate collectivism.

 

Rand loved the romantic fantasy of western style writing. She was introduced to it through American history during her last year of high school. Rand took America as her model of what a nation of free men could be. She felt that this was her destiny.

 

After the Bolsheviks Revolution, Ayn Rand returned to live in Russia. She attended the University of Petrograd. The communist government was running the university. Opportunity for free inquiry was gone. Rand was not satisfied as she studied philosophy and history. Her one escape was the cinema. She loved western films and plays. She wanted to be free of government censure and pursue her desire to write. When she left Russia in 1925 to visit relatives in the United States she secretly vowed never to return to her homeland. Rand’s goal was to live in Hollywood and pursue a career as a screenwriter.

 

Rand struggled for several years at various non-writing jobs. She sold her first screenplay, Red Pawn, to Universal Pictures in 1932. This book is said to be the most autobiographical of her novels. It described the tyranny of Soviet Communism. Red Pawn is a dramatic story about a beautiful woman who becomes the adored mistress of a commandant of a Soviet prison for men convicted of political crimes. The heroine becomes the commandant’s mistress in order to free her husband who, unknown to the commandant, is one of his prisoners. This work contains philosophical insights that reach their climax in the book Atlas Shrugged (Page by Page, 2006). The topic for the screenplay was obviously influenced by Rand’s childhood in Communist Russia.

 

 Ms. Rand was able to get many of her books and plays published. The Fountainhead, written in 1943, eventually became a movie. It was rejected twelve times before it was published in 1943.  It made history by becoming a best seller  through  word-of- mouth. This is the book that gained author Ayn Rand recognition as a champion of individualism.

 

Rand’s most famous book, Atlas Shrugged was  published in 1957.  In  this novel, she dramatized her unique philosophy as an  intellectual mystery  writer with a story  that integrated ethics, metaphysics, epistemology, politics, economics and romance. Although she considered herself primarily a fiction writer, she realized that in order to create heroic fictional characters, she  had  to  identify  the  philosophy,  which makes such individuals possible.

 

Kritsonis (2007) says that some theorists hold to a natural view of moral constructs. This means that they believe that right conduct can be made on rational grounds. All men are created equally. Their creator gives them the unalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. All of Ayn Rand’s heroes all hold this view.

 

Every book by Ayn Rand published in her lifetime is still in print. Hundreds of thousands of copies are sold each year, so far totaling more than twenty million. Several new volumes have been published posthumously. Her vision of man and her philosophy for living on earth have changed the lives of thousands of readers and launched a philosophic movement with a growing impact on American culture.

 

The Anthem was written is 1937, but was not published in the United States until 1946. The book was rediscovered when a dinner guest in Rand’s home related that he wished for a book about a collective society. Rand told him that she had already written such a book and the rest is history.

 

Rand was married American actor Frank O’Connor for fifty years. She preceded him in death and died on March 6, 1982, in New York City.

 

 

How is Rand’s Philosophy Reflected in The Anthem?

 

To understand how Rand’s philosophy is reflected in this novella, one must first know the story. The following is a brief synopsis.

 

The society described in The Anthem (1938) has arisen from the remains of what could have been a great nation that has been destroyed. All of the vestiges of modern conveniences have been buried away and are no longer spoken of by the citizens. The people are figuratively and literally kept in the dark. Great fires had raged over the land. In these fires, the Evil Ones (scientific men of a modern society) and all the things made by them were burned. The fire was called the Dawn of the Great Rebirth. It was the Script Fire where all the scripts (books) of the Evil Ones were burned, and with them all the words of the Evil Ones. Great mountains of flame stood in the squares of the Cities for three months. This began the Great Rebirth.

 

The central character in The Anthem (1938), Equality 7-2521, was taken from an anonymous mother at birth and raised in a common institutional building with other boys born in the same year. The same holds true for the female infants born in this society. Equality 7-2521 is ostracized because he fights with the other children. Fighting one’s brothers is a sin.

 

At the age of five, Equality 7-2521 is sent to the Home of the Students to study. Again he stands out because he learns too quickly and asks too many questions. He tries to forget his lessons but he has a scientific mind and it shows. Equality 7-2521’s teachers are not pleased with his inquisitiveness and they scorn him. He feels that his only hope is to be chosen to study as a scholar when he turns fifteen. At the age of fifteen, all people are assigned a profession.

 

Equality 7-2521 is crushed when he is not chosen by the great council to begin further studies. He is instead chosen to become a street sweeper. Street sweeping is one of the lowest jobs to be bestowed to a man. Equality 7-2521 finds that many of his co-laborers are mentally and or physically handicapped. One other normal man appointed to become a street sweeper is called International 4-8818. He is tall and strong and loves to laugh. It is not proper to smile at others; therefore, the teachers shun International 4-8818. International 4-8818 is artistic and draws with pieces of coal. This creates another problem because only  those  living  in  the   Home  of Art are  allowed to draw.  Equality  

7-2521 and International 4-8818 become friends but they never say so in words nor do they allow others to know because it is a sin to show preference for one brother over another.

  

Equality 7-2521 relates that the newest discovery in this society was made only a hundred years ago. It was the making candles from wax and string. Before this discovery came the latest technology of making glass. Equality 7-2521 is curious about many things and lets his mind run to the old ones. They are the men who live to reach the age of forty. At forty, men are thought of as being worn out. Men are sent to the home of the useless, where the old ones live. The old ones no longer work; the government takes care of them. The old ones do not live much longer. When they do live to age forty-five, they are called the ancient ones. This is as much as one can expect.

 

Equality 7-2521 accepts his fate and keeps his allegiance to his fellowmen. As he goes about his job as a street sweeper he to collects and experiments with the materials that he finds in the yard of the scholars. He hides his collection at the city cesspool until he makes his next discovery. As he was cleaning one evening he discovers an iron bar among the weeds. Underneath the iron bar is a black hole. The hole is a tunnel. This tunnel has existed since the unmentionable time. It soon becomes a place where Equality 7-2521 goes to study in secret.

 

Equality 7-2521 studies in secret for two years and he realizes that he has learned more during this time period than he had learned in all of his years in the Home of the Students. He learned things, which are not in the scripts. He has solved secrets of which the Scholars had made no record. He came to see how great the unexplored was, and to realize that many lifetimes would not bring him to the end of his quest for understanding. He also realized that he did not wish to end his quest. He wished nothing but to be alone and to learn. It was the first peace that he had known in his twenty years.

Equality 7-2521’s next great discovery was a female. The men in this society are forbidden to take notice of women and vice versa. This woman, Liberty 5-3000, had been assigned to work the soil. She was a farmer and she lived in the Homes of the Peasants. Street Sweepers had to keep the road to the Homes of the Peasants clean.                      

Liberty 5-3000 was young, thin, blonde and strong. She was a perfect match for Equality 7-2521. They both knew it, and thus began to communicate in subtle ways. He began to think of her as the Golden One. He called his interest in her another great sin. It was the sin of preference. It was a sin to give men names that distinguish them from other men. Later in the book she reveals that she has come to think of him as The Unconquered. This would become his name. 

The laws after the Great Rebirth say that men may not think of women except for the Time of Mating. This is the time each spring when all the men older than twenty and all the women older than eighteen are sent for one night to the City Palace of Mating. The Council of Eugenics assigns mating partners to each man and woman. Children are born each winter, but women never see their children and children never know their parents. Twice Equality 7-2521 had been sent to the Palace of Mating and he felt that it was an ugly and shameful matter. Equality 7-2521 vows that the Golden One will never be sent to the place of mating. He did not yet know how to prevent it but he knew that he must.   

Equality 7-2521 realizes that there is a word, one single word, which is not in the language of men, but which had been. It was an unspeakable word, which no men may speak nor hear. Street Sweepers often found it upon scraps of old manuscripts or cut into the fragments of ancient stones. But when they speak it, they are put to death. There is no crime punished by death in this world, save this one crime of speaking the unspeakable word. When he was ten, Equality 7-2521 sees a man burned alive in the square of the City. The man’s tongue was torn out so that he could speak no longer. He died with a smile on his face. Equality 7-2521 always wondered, what was the Unspeakable Word? 

Equality 7-2521 is eventually caught up in his discovery of the light bulb and does not return to his dormitory on time. Once caught, he refuses to tell the secret of his whereabouts. He is beaten and imprisoned. He hopes that the council of great minds will be grateful for his discovery of electricity and make him a fellow council member. This hope was short lived because his electric light bulb frightens the council. They tell him that his unwanted discovery would cause chaos in their world. His discovery could not easily be explained nor would it be accepted. They call for his death. I end here to say that the philosophy espoused by the society in The Anthem (1938) is total collectivism.

Collectivists believe that the sole purpose of man is to serve one another. Equality 7-2521 repeated the following words whenever he was tempted: “WE ARE ONE IN ALL AND ALL IN ONE. THERE ARE NO MEN BUT ONLY THE GREAT WE, ONE, INDIVISIBLE AND FOREVER” (Rand, 1938).

We believe this book has the power to cause a reader to pause and reflect. We encourage leaders to read this book in its entirety in order to enjoy its nuances and discover the ending.

Objectivism is the philosophy of Ayn Rand. Objectivism is the belief that there is no greater good for man than to seek to satisfy his own desires. In her novels, Rand dramatizes her ideal man as a physically strong, blue-eyed blond who lives by his own effort and does not give or receive the undeserved. Her heroes honor achievement and reject envy. Rand laid out the details of her world-view in nonfiction books such as The Virtue of Selfishness (Rand, 1964).

Objectivism holds that there is no greater moral goal than achieving one’s own happiness. A person cannot achieve happiness by a wish or a whim. This requires rational respect for the facts of reality, including the facts about human nature and human needs. Happiness requires that one live by objective principles, including moral integrity and respect for the rights of others (Rand, 1964). Again, Kritsonis (2007) calls this belief natural law.

Objectivists believe the following:

1. Reality exists as an absolute. Facts are independent of man’s feelings, wishes, hopes or fears.

2. Reason is man’s only means of perceiving reality. Reason is his only source of knowledge, his only guide to action, and his basic means of survival.

 

3. Every man is an end unto his own self. Man exists for his own sake. He must not sacrifice himself for others or accept the sacrifice of others for himself. The pursuit of his own rational self-interest and of his own happiness is the highest moral purpose of his life.

 

4. Laissez-faire capitalism is the best system of politics. Under this capitalism, a limited government protects each person’s rights to life, liberty, and property. It forbids that anyone initiate force against anyone else. Champions of objectivism are achievers who build objectivism as optimistic. They hold that the universe is open to human achievement and happiness and that each person has within him the ability to live a rich, fulfilling, independent life. This is the idealistic message in Rand’s novels. Her novels continue to sell by the hundreds of thousands every year to people attracted to their inspirational storylines and distinctive ideas. Individuals run businesses, invent, create art and ideas that depend on their own talents and on trade with other independent people to reach their goals.

 

When is it Permissible for Leaders to be Selfish?

 

In relation to the Virtues of Selfishness (Rand, 1964), one comes to understand the importance of shielding himself from those who would rob him of the time and talent that is necessary for ethical behavior. For example, adequate rest is one of the main requirements for the maintenance of a healthy body and a sound mind.

 

History tells us that great leaders in battles retreated so that they would live to fight another day. The study of Ayn Rand and her works, leads one to think about his or her own personal philosophy of life. You must first know what you believe and understand and why you believe it before you can lead others.

 

If a leader is so busy meeting everyone else’s needs that he does not pause to rest then mistakes, burnout and or collapse will occur. The average principal must respond to an average of 500 questions per day. A leader must take time to reflect or disaster is certain to follow.

 

Where Should Ethical Leaders Look for Guidance?

 

The days of, “That’s the way we’ve always done it,” are gone. Understanding the ethical decision-making process has become a critical tool for those who lead America’s schools. It is not clear that any amount of scientific inquiry can tell us whether a decision is fair, just, or equitable. When making ethical decisions, the decision-maker must also look beyond his own religious beliefs and personal values. This was a problem in Atlas Shrugged, (Rand, 1957). A grand transportation system eventually collapsed because business matters were not based on the best practices for the business. A decision maker has to consider his rights and beliefs but ethical decisions must take into consideration the rights and interests of other stakeholders. This is the point where it becomes essential for leaders to be strongly rooted. Ethical leaders must balance their beliefs with a plethora of rules and regulations. Everyone needs philosophy. Philosophy is essential in each person’s life. Those who do not think philosophically are the helpless victims of the ideas they accept from others (ARI, 2006).

Educators in a democratic society must educate students and attempt to provide them the motivation to be the best that the can be. Educators must attempt to give everyone the same educational opportunities as we wrestle with “No Child Left Behind” legislation. With all of the pressures from the state level, we must also try to resist the temptation to use try and apply the cookie cutter method that Rand describes in The Anthem (1938).

 

When making ethical decisions, the decision-maker must also look beyond his religious beliefs and personal values. A decision maker has to consider his rights and beliefs, but ethical decisions must take into consideration the rights and interests of other stake holders. For example, permitting student led prayer at football games was ruled unconstitutional because it did not take into consideration the rights and interests of persons outside the Christianity. Decisions must not be based on personal religious beliefs. Decisions should not violate the moral rights of persons with different beliefs.

 

Decision-makers must be aware of the difference between the right to hold an opinion on a matter of private concern, and the right to use that opinion as the basis for moral decision-making. We must strive to help each student realize his potential as a worthy and effective member of society. Educators; therefore, must work to stimulate the spirit of inquiry, the acquisition of knowledge and understanding, and the thoughtful formulation of worthy goals (NEA, 2006).

 

There are many sources for guidance that an ethical leader must refer to and adhere to in order to remain employed. Those obvious sources are: the educator’s code of conduct, the local board policy (this will include federal, state and local guidelines), district/campus handbooks and district/campus plans. The ultimate source of guidance comes from within the leader himself. This would be his creator’s plan. This plan is built experiences and input from many sources, including authors such as Ayn Rand.

 

 

Concluding Remarks

 

In conclusion, Ayn Rand’s childhood experiences resulted in her taking a strong stance against collectivism. This stance is obvious in her novels, especially The Anthem (1938).   As leaders, our actions and reactions are revealing in many ways.  By studying the works of Rand and other philosophers like her, administrators have cause to stop and revisit their own philosophy. It is our personal belief that the study of Rand and her works will lead ethical leaders to reflect of their own personal philosophy of life. We also believe that one must first know what he/she believes before he/she can ethically lead others. “If you don’t stand for something, you will fall for anything.”

 

References

Ayn Rand Institute (ARI).   Retrieved September 22, 2006, from www.aynrand.org/site

Kritsonis, W. (2007). Ways of knowing through the realms of meaning.   Oxford, England:  National Forum Journals.

National Educational Agency.   Retrieved September 30, 2006, from http://www.nea.org/aboutnea/code.htm

Page by page books.   Retrieved October 30, 2006, from http://www.pagebypagebooks.com/Ayn_Rand/Anthem/

Rand, A. (1957).  The atlas shrugged.   New York:  Penguin Putnam.

Rand. A. (1938).  The anthem.  New York:  Penguin Putnam.

Rand. A. (1964).  The virtues of selfishness.  New York:   Penguin Putnam.

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Ways of turning cash means into investments. Sources belonged to he investments in the objects of industrial and nonindustrial spheres, mostly come out in the initial form of cash means. Turning of these latest into the investments may be provided in different ways. The easiest way takes place in the case, when industrial subject manages and owns definite means, uses them for widening and improvement of production and also for creation of nonindustrial objects. In the resembling type savings of those persons, which start activities with own savings turn into investments.

Though, in other cases turning savings into investments is a difficult process. The fact is, that most part of the population has no opportunity to provide investments straight into the production, because for this they must have manners of enterprise administration, and of course, own definite minimal amount for this or those reasons. Part of the enterprise profit also does not turn into the investments.

Herewith, form one side, population and some enterprises own free cash sources, from another, many enterprises need additional means for their investment program realization. Transmission of sources is realized by the channels of financial market, where owners of cash means appear to be the distributors of investment capital, and those persons, who influx sources – consumers.

Basic channels for transmission of cash means from distributors to consumers. Depending on how transmission of cash means is realized from distributor to the consumers, we can point out two basic channels at the financial market. First is the market of banking credits. Banks accumulate temporarily free cash means of the juridical and physical persons. Of course, they pay definite percents at the influxed sources and later give credits to the borrowers (to those ones, who provide real investments) for high percent. Thus, process of money movement from the owner, to the borrower is realized with the help of a bank.

In many cases such way of transmission of the cash means answers to the interests of the cash owner. Though this latest takes too little percent from the bank, but thus he/she avoids the risk of not returning of money from the borrower. Except security, banking deposits are high liquidate, as the depositor can take own amount out and also investment of cash means is reachable even for the smallest depositors (owners of the savings).

Bank pays very little percent to the depositors comparing with those it takes from the borrowers, that’s why it is natural, that the distributor has a desire to invest capital exactly into the relation with these borrowers.

As to the capital consumers (borrowers), it is advantage for them to get in direct touch with distributors. The fact is that getting banking credit is often followed by great difficulties. For example, often the bank doesn’t lend credit in the term, which is needed by the borrower; the bank may not have total amount requested by the borrower, for realization of the large-scale projects and so on. All these lead us to the large-scaled realization of attracting free cash sources together with the banking credit by capital consumers in other way – by emission of securities.

Somehow this way answers the interests of distributor of investment resources and their consumers. Distributors of resources (owners of savings) often are able to invest their sources in relatively advantage conditions, then banking deposits are and for longer period of time. Quite simple procedure of placement of sources is realized in the way of selling and purchasing of securities. Also, if securities are characterized by quite high level of liquidity, then the investor can invest wasted sources by selling own securities if necessary.

From the point of investment resources consumers’ view emission of securities has priority relatively to the banking credits. Hey (capital consumers) are given opportunity to influx cash sources from a lot of distributors of capital and accumulate large amount of money. Also, sources may be influxed for long period of time, sometimes for indefinite terms, if the affair touches upon securities.

Thus, market of banking credits and market of securities in the modern conditions appear to be necessary rings for investment processes, basic areas, with the help of which savings are turned into investments and are used for development of the production.

As said above, depending at objects of capital investments they separate real, financial and intellectual investments (drought 5.7.). Under real investments they mean placement of sources (capital) into creation of real assets (as of material, so immaterial ones), which are in touch with the realization of operative activities of economical subjects, salvation of their social-economical problems. Under financial investments they mean placement of capital into different financial instruments, in the first place into the securities.

Financial investments either have speculative character, or are oriented towards long-termed investments. They recognize to be the form of financial investment placements of sources into shares and securities, also into the loan banking deposits.

Financial investment oriented towards long-termed placements of sources is related with strategic goals of participation in the management of the investor’s object, in which the capital is invested.

Fictive capital. Concepts of real and financial investments are in close touch with the ones of real and fictive capital. In the economical literature they usually mean securities under fictive capital. Real capital is placed into production and securities serve for the title of property, which represent this capital. Financial capital is “the capital which exists in the face of securities, bring profit to the owners. Different from real capital, which is placed into various fields of the industry, fictive one has no inner value and is not considered to be real wealth, that’s why it has no function in the process of capitalist further production.and, according to this, we want to pay attention to the following: for every separate owner securities (fictive capital) represent valuable, which brings to him absolutely real income. Though, from the point social capital securities don’t represent real prosperity. Growth or reduction of the value of functioning securities in the society may take place independently from real capital. According to this, securities appear to be a fictive capital.

Real capital of the society is grown at the expense of investments into the real assets, while fictive capital may be increased without financial investments, at the expense of course value of the securities emitted earlier. A significant example of the process of fictive capital growth is process of emission of the so-called produced securities. Here they don’s take into account real investments, but they give rights for purchasing securities already produced or emitted earlier. In this case financial investments are followed by the growth of real capital of the society.

Though, to our mind, this subject is not so easy, as it seems. The fact is that growth of the share course is realized not itself, but by the fact that the effectiveness of using real capital is growing.  The growth of course value of the enterprise shares expresses the fact, that the market gives too high estimation of the given enterprise.

Herewith, we can make a conclusion, that fictive capital is not a real wealth; it provides marketing estimation of real capital of the society in every given period of time. Imagine that we have two enterprises with absolutely identical real assets, though one enterprise uses these assets better and works more effectively. It is evident, that course value of the shares of this enterprise is higher, then those of other ones. That’s why fictive capital is being grown not itself, but expresses the position of real capital. Size of fictive capital is nothing but the marketing value of the real capital, the title of which is fictive capital considered to be.

Herewith it is difficult to agree with, that “fictive capital acts no function in the process of capital further production”. Securities (a fictive capital) play important role in the process of further production while turning of the savings into investments. A fictive capital (securities) makes income for its owners. Exactly the desire of making profit makes the owners of the savings to invest sources into securities. Amounts gathered by the issuerare used for creation and purchasing of the real assets, accordingly the growth of the volume of production takes place.

Movement of financial investments reminds us the movement of loan capital. As K. Marx showed us, in the process of movement of loan capital one and the same capital amount appears in the degree of capital-owner and capital-function. Income of the functional capitalist is divided into two parts – into the loan percent and the income of the clerk. Under the conditions of weak development of the joint-stock company free capital was put into the production in the form of loan capital. Real investments in the production are realized at the expense of own and loan capital from the functioning capitalists.

By realization of the joint-stock form of the enterprise the character of the investment process is essentially changed. In this case, they mean the joint-stock company may realize real investments at the expense of own sources (indivisible profit) or at the expense of banking credits. So, that they don’t apply for the financial investments.

Though, it is different in the case of joint-stock company. While foundation of the joint-stock company the founders are enter property, cash means, and intellectual property into the initial capital. Every deposit is estimated in the cash form and every founder purchases a definite package of shares for appropriate share, which is entered into the initial capital of the society. Amount of one and the same investments turns into real or financial investments. the process of real capital growth is followed by the growth of fictive capital. Herewith, in this case real investments can not be realized without share emission, i.e. without financial investments.

In the case of growing initial capital of the joint-stock company emission of new shares is taking place, then it is followed by real investments. Thus, financial investments are considered to be necessary attributes for the investment process. Real investments are impossible without financial ones. Real investments take completed face by realization of financial investments.

Widening of the production may be realized, also by the borrowed sources, which are influxed with the help of emission of the loan securities. Consequently, even in this case the process of real investments is realized with the help of financial investments.

We have different situation, when we apply for secondary market of the securities. If the investors purchase shares for already activated enterprise, then sources wasted for purchasing shares already are investments. But these sources get to the previous owner of the shares that’s why growth of the real capital of the enterprise doesn’t take place. It is same with the purchasing of securities of any kind at the secondary market. In this case (if the course of securities are not grown) the growth of fictive capital of the society doesn’t take place. Only the distribution of fictive capital among the members of society takes place. Thus, financial investments, which are realized in the forms of purchasing securities at the secondary market, are considered to be relatively independent form and it is not directly related with the process of real investments.

According to the said above, we can make the following conclusion: financial investment is the connecting ring of turning of the savings into real investments. With its help the savings get into the production; at the same time they can appear to be relatively independent form of the investments. Foreseeing the fact, that today joint-stock company is considered to be quite spread, organization-legislative form of the enterprise; we may come to conclusion, that financial investments and security market play very important role in the investment process on the way of turning savings into real investments.

Intellectual investment definition. Investment market is a difficult system consisted of various structural elements, among which there is a numerous connection. Scheme (in the drought 5.8.) represents a clear example about structure of the world investment market.

As seen from the matter, investment objects are divided into financial and material (real) assets. Each of them has quite diversified structure.

Financial assets concern financial and payment obligations of every kind, which are basically created by the economical agents while their work. This is cash money; deposits existed at the current accounts, short-termed loan obligations, for example, shares and other financial documentation, which prove the property of right at the capital or setting arrangement at the movement of financial resources.

Material assets are: movable and unmovable property, lend, buildings, precious metals, commodities of long-termed usage, material valuables or inventory having short-terms of produced service and so on.

Modern structure of investment, in the first place, expresses significant surplus of the financial assets at material ones (accordingly 57.7% and 42.3%), ant second, in the structure of financial assets itself securities, short-termed obligations and accounts having investment character occupy more and more bigger place.

Correlation of financial and material assets of the investment market may be expressed by the coefficient of financial interrelation. Idea of involving such coefficient belongs to R. Goldsmith, who is the author of the works written about the structure of national wealth and financial systems of developed countries. This scientist in the second part of 50s and beginning of 60s worked out the method of calculation of the coefficient of interrelation. He calculated this coefficient as conformity of total financial assets with the size of material assets received by deducing of the country net foreign assets. Net foreign assets show conformity of foreign debt of the given country and its residents with the one, which are owned by the foreign country and its residents towards this county. Citizens, companies and other juridical persons have right to have accounts abroad, to give credits to the foreign citizens and to have property abroad. Also, they are possible to get in debts themselves towards the foreign citizens. If the size of foreign property and financial wealth of the country resident surpluses debts towards the foreigners, then net foreign assets appear to be positive size and on the contrary.

According to the investment nature, which basic kinds of the investment market – financial and material ones, or the real investment markets in the modern conditions may be added by the market of intellectual investments. This latest functions in the way of licenses, engineering-consulting service, Now-how, scientific processing, sales and purchasing of projects and others.

As in the marketing economics, so at the transmitting stage, alternative variants of using resources, investment resources among them. The principle of inter changing touch upon the realized investments as in the material forms, so in the human capital. It is well known that under the modern conditions investment in the human capital is very important and gives a large profit. This is stated in many economical works.K. Sax and F. Lauren point to the investments into the human capital. They notice that investments into the human capital have a great importance for marketing economics.Nowadays a theory of intellectual capital makes foundation to the realization of investments into the human capital.The authors of this theory concern, that intellectual capital is a difficult category. It is wider than the human capital, as in it information is considered to be the independent industrial resource.Investments into the intellectual capital differ from the ones realized into the human capital. It also concerns the elements of structural capital, which means investments realized into the furniture, computers, programs, patents and trade marks. On the basis of intellectual capital theory a concept of social partnership was formed. This conception leans upon the investments placed into the social capital. Social capital theory means relations of mutual help and development of trust relation in the separate groups or readiness of participation in the unions. More educated and qualified workers have more possibilities for formation of social capital and economical macro-system. On the basis of investments realized subjective leaders of attractive investment surrounding is formed in the social capital, that influence significantly upon the development of intellectual investment market.

Intellectual investment market has the following peculiarities:

First, intellectual investment market is the consisting part of service market. It provides realization of specific commodity by straight contracts between producers and consumers. Herewith, trade mediating is not the exception. Though there is a principle distinction between mediating and consuming commodities at the market of intellectual investments. Analyzes of different researches show, that in the conditions of transitional period growth of the share of mediator structures in the section of consuming commodity of massive request take place in Georgia. The mediator is not requested to have a special knowledge, only initial information is enough. Of course, mediating at the market of intellectual investments requires high qualification level of the firms’ specialists. The mediators themselves, which unite “producer-consumers”, are not many. Herewith, mediator service at the market of intellectual investments is different form analogue service of the market of massive request commodities in the equal conditions by quality and effectiveness (at the expense of reducing expenses of the interested sides).

Second, the market of intellectual investment influences greatly upon capital movement and the market of labor forces.

Third, intellectual investments are protected by the state from the foreign competition, also by export and import of final result of using intellectual investments. Functioning of the market of intellectual investments cannot exist without protection of rights at the objects of intellectual property.

Fourth, for entering international market by inner market organizations and intellectual investments additional are not needed.

Fifth, formation of market values is specific at the results of using intellectual investments.

Values of intellectual investment products have not direct connection with the work spent on it. The value of intellectual investment product is defined by what it gives by using in the production process. Herewith, value of intellectual investment process is defined as expression of effect received by this product usage by money.

Market value at the intellectual investment product is formed as agreement one, by using two prices (of seller and purchaser). The purchaser may apply for the fact that a profit received from using intellectual investment product, minimally, is to compensate the expenses made by the seller for selling this product and also expanses of the buyer for its realization. The seller doesn’t often sell the intellectual investment product, but transmits only the right for its using. Thus, agreement value on this production is close to the buyers’ one in practice.

Realization of intellectual investments at the market may be provided in the following forms:

-      by transmitting rights for using licenses, Now-How, commodity sighs and so on;

-      by selling-transmission of Now-How, technological experiences and so on. Agreements on such acts of sell and purchase from license agreements are different by the fact, that the owner of Now-How doesn’t refuse its selling, but doesn’t agree with its patenting;

-      by providing engineering services;

-      by transmission of technologies, in the way investment partnership, within the bounds of which takes place not only sell and purchase, but in other ways of its distribution consultations, qualifying specialists, transmission of droughts and technological exchanges.

Engineering is one of the basic forms of realization are the market of intellectual investments. It means providing different engineering-consulting service on the commercial basis. They divide engineering service into two groups: 1) service related with preparing production process; 2) service related with provision of normal continuing of the process of production and its realization. To the first group belong: a) pre-projecting service (social-economical researches; topographic processing and planning of location; researching grounds; searching for the minerals; technical-economical statement of project and so on); b) projecting service (preparing general plan and recommendations; estimation of expenses made on its exploitation beforehand; preparing technical specialists and so on); c) further service of he project (preparing contracting documentation; organization of auction; estimation of suggestions; making contracts; managing building process; making and granting certificates about finishing work, making technical conclusion about building and so on); d) special service (researching about utilization, various juridical procedures and so on). To the second group of engineering service belong: service related with the managing and organization of the production process, service related with the examination of the object; consultations in the financial questions; service related with the production realization (researching the conjuncture of the market, advertisement organization), service related with the involving the system of informational provision and so on. Engineering consultations, in the conditions of deficit of high-qualified personnel, can provide intellectually the investment process, help firms to rise effectiveness, fasten circulation of the investment resources.

Portfolio investment market is the consisting part of the financial investment market. By forming society of share-holders and with the help of financial institutional investors, their activity at the financial investment market support significantly accumulation of independent cash sources in the country, also attracting of foreign investors, fastened circulation of financial investments, effective insurance for financial-investment risks and so on.

For clearing investment motivations up and defining levers is state influence we thing advisable discussion of peculiarities of the investment circulation in the process of further production of material (basic and turnover) and financial capitals.

Investment circulation in the process of investment activity is realized in the following basic directions:

investments in the material assets (production of basic and turnover capital); investments in financial assets; investments in the intellectual valuables.

Let’s discuss investment circulation in the process of further production of the material assets (basic and turnover capitals). Its every element may be divided into movable and immovable properties. Furniture, mechanisms, turnover capital belongs to the elements of movable physical capital and elements of passive part of basic capital (buildings, equipment, industrial infrastructure) – to the unmovable one.

Further production of the movable physical capital is realized in the industry, and of unmovable ones – in the building. Investment activity may be realized in the way of showing of unmovable property, furniture and other elements of physical capital at the market, or in the case of absence of needed commodity, in the way of their production (building).

Investment activity may be realized at the expense of different sources: own, borrowed, attracted sources for investments, budgetary assignations. Structure of sources depends at organization legislative forms of active and newly formed enterprise. Investments may be displayed as in the cash, material forms so in the face of property rights and intellectual potential. Foreseeing said above, investment circulation in the further production of a physical capital might be represented in the following way:

Economical essence of the given chain of transformation exists in the following: investments in different for (cash, productive, commodity) are placed into the objects of investment requests for industrial activity. After this a process of transformation of investments into industrial factors takes place. Thus materialization of investments takes place, which appears in the face of rising value of investor’s capital property.

Exactly the new transformation of capital value finishes investment circulation in the Soviet economical literature. They departed artificially stage of formation of new capital value and stage of their functioning, which defines real level of income of profitableness of these valuables, and finally the period of self-compensation of investments.

As main goal of investment are making profit, investment circulation definitely concerns a period of exploitation of purchased capital valuables till the moment of financial recourses, by which investments in the capital production are compensated.

In this case, production, which is produced in the form of investment commodity, is realized at the markets of different investments (real estate, furniture, materials and other markets).

What is the distinction between investments and investment commodity, as they coincide with each other in the material form and ability of making income? To our mind, basic distinction is in the “universality” degree of investments and investment commodity. Any investment commodity for realization at the markets in the future becomes a factor of production in concrete material or cash forms. Material transformation of a capital doesn’t mean further production, it may be even threadbare – morally and physically, and investments, as they are movable form of cash capital – may make endless and permanent profit. To our mind, this makes investments different from the investment commodity.

Investments into the financial assets take place in relation with their profitableness norms. Income, according to the different financial assets, is divided into dividends (kind of industrial income) and percents. This is defined by what capital they represent – industrial or loan.

A process of investments into the financial assets may be represented in the following way:

First, intellectual investment market is the consisting part of service market. It provides realization of specific commodity by straight contracts between producers and consumers. Herewith, trade mediating is not the exception. Though there is a principle distinction between mediating and consuming commodities at the market of intellectual investments. Analyzes of different researches show, that in the conditions of transitional period growth of the share of mediator structures in the section of consuming commodity of massive request take place in Georgia. The mediator is not requested to have a special knowledge, only initial information is enough. Of course, mediating at the market of intellectual investments requires high qualification level of the firms’ specialists. The mediators themselves, which unite “producer-consumers”, are not many. Herewith, mediator service at the market of intellectual investments is different form analogue service of the market of massive request commodities in the equal conditions by quality and effectiveness (at the expense of reducing expenses of the interested sides).

Second, the market of intellectual investment influences greatly upon capital movement and the market of labor forces.

Third, intellectual investments are protected by the state from the foreign competition, also by export and import of final result of using intellectual investments. Functioning of the market of intellectual investments cannot exist without protection of rights at the objects of intellectual property.

Fourth, for entering international market by inner market organizations and intellectual investments additional are not needed.

Fifth, formation of market values is specific at the results of using intellectual investments.

Values of intellectual investment products have not direct connection with the work spent on it. The value of intellectual investment product is defined by what it gives by using in the production process. Herewith, value of intellectual investment process is defined as expression of effect received by this product usage by money.

Market value at the intellectual investment product is formed as agreement one, by using two prices (of seller and purchaser). The purchaser may apply for the fact that a profit received from using intellectual investment product, minimally, is to compensate the expenses made by the seller for selling this product and also expanses of the buyer for its realization. The seller doesn’t often sell the intellectual investment product, but transmits only the right for its using. Thus, agreement value on this production is close to the buyers’ one in practice.

Realization of intellectual investments at the market may be provided in the following forms:

-      by transmitting rights for using licenses, Now-How, commodity sighs and so on;

-      by selling-transmission of Now-How, technological experiences and so on. Agreements on such acts of sell and purchase from license agreements are different by the fact, that the owner of Now-How doesn’t refuse its selling, but doesn’t agree with its patenting;

-      by providing engineering services;

-      by transmission of technologies, in the way investment partnership, within the bounds of which takes place not only sell and purchase, but in other ways of its distribution consultations, qualifying specialists, transmission of droughts and technological exchanges.

Engineering is one of the basic forms of realization are the market of intellectual investments. It means providing different engineering-consulting service on the commercial basis. They divide engineering service into two groups: 1) service related with preparing production process; 2) service related with provision of normal continuing of the process of production and its realization. To the first group belong: a) pre-projecting service (social-economical researches; topographic processing and planning of location; researching grounds; searching for the minerals; technical-economical statement of project and so on); b) projecting service (preparing general plan and recommendations; estimation of expenses made on its exploitation beforehand; preparing technical specialists and so on); c) further service of he project (preparing contracting documentation; organization of auction; estimation of suggestions; making contracts; managing building process; making and granting certificates about finishing work, making technical conclusion about building and so on); d) special service (researching about utilization, various juridical procedures and so on). To the second group of engineering service belong: service related with the managing and organization of the production process, service related with the examination of the object; consultations in the financial questions; service related with the production realization (researching the conjuncture of the market, advertisement organization), service related with the involving the system of informational provision and so on. Engineering consultations, in the conditions of deficit of high-qualified personnel, can provide intellectually the investment process, help firms to rise effectiveness, fasten circulation of the investment resources.

Portfolio investment market is the consisting part of the financial investment market. By forming society of share-holders and with the help of financial institutional investors, their activity at the financial investment market support significantly accumulation of independent cash sources in the country, also attracting of foreign investors, fastened circulation of financial investments, effective insurance for financial-investment risks and so on.

For clearing investment motivations up and defining levers is state influence we thing advisable discussion of peculiarities of the investment circulation in the process of further production of material (basic and turnover) and financial capitals.

Investment circulation in the process of investment activity is realized in the following basic directions:

1.   investments in the material assets (production of basic and turnover capital);

2.   investments in financial assets;

3.   investments in the intellectual valuables.

Let’s discuss investment circulation in the process of further production of the material assets (basic and turnover capitals). Its every element may be divided into movable and immovable properties. Furniture, mechanisms, turnover capital belongs to the elements of movable physical capital and elements of passive part of basic capital (buildings, equipment, industrial infrastructure) – to the unmovable one.

Further production of the movable physical capital is realized in the industry, and of unmovable ones – in the building. Investment activity may be realized in the way of showing of unmovable property, furniture and other elements of physical capital at the market, or in the case of absence of needed commodity, in the way of their production (building).

Investment activity may be realized at the expense of different sources: own, borrowed, attracted sources for investments, budgetary assignations. Structure of sources depends at organization legislative forms of active and newly formed enterprise. Investments may be displayed as in the cash, material forms so in the face of property rights and intellectual potential. Foreseeing said above, investment circulation in the further production of a physical capital might be represented in the following way:

Thus, whole system of investment market forms total investment-market space. In this space a market of financial investments is filled by real and intellectual investment market.

Lamara Qoqiauri

Real Member of Georgian Academy of Economic Sciences

and New-York Academy of Science;

Doctor of Economics; Professor

 

If you’d like to capitalize on your business’ intellectual assets, there’s an old proverb that will fill the bill, if you’ll learn how it applies today: “Finders, keepers; Losers, weepers.” The Playground goes entrepreneurial!

Our biggest corporations have always hovered over their copyrights, their trademarks and their licensing agreements, protecting them through legal means. This can be just as profitable for companies that aren’t that big if you’ll look carefully at your processes and then learn how to promote and protect them like the big boys.

The management of intellectual assets (your companies ‘property’) isn’t only about how many new products you can bring to the market; it’s about new ideas and innovations that improve on existing goods and services. It’s all a matter of “finders, keepers,” which can be just as easy for the smallest firms to play as it is for the largest.

For all the years you’ve been in business, has there been some product or process that’s been improved on for the traditional marketing of your goods? Did your office assistant come up with a new “Eureka!” for keeping track of your client’s habits or abilities? Did you add two new steps to a production process that created more cost-efficiencies?

Look deeper. Is the way your service or product brand worth protecting? Can it become a profit generator by co-branding with another company? Inc. magazine in its May editions cited the case of Starbucks licensing its name to Jim Beam for a new liqueur, and Harley-Davidson partnering with Coca-Cola to reap millions of dollars in royalties from products incorporating both names.

Is what you know innovative (different) and would it be valuable to someone else? If your answer is yes, learn how to protect and profit from these assets or risk joining the ranks of “losers, weepers.”

Four additional tips to keep in mind:

1. Industry reports cite the growing number of Intellectual Property (IP) lawyers courting small firms instead of traditional big business clients. Go to Google.com and type in “IP lawyers” along with your state or city’s name. Some IP law firm Web sites carry free articles on IP trends.

2. Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDA) are mandatory when you’re developing some new product or process and you’re seeking help from outside your company. You’ll protect your asset from the beginning. One smart article on how NDAs work is at About.com, a product of the New York Times Co., at http://management.about.com/cs/ipandpatents/a/NDA062199.htm?p=1.

3. Don’t let your assets loose, even inadvertently, through outgoing emails. Sandhills Publishing Company’s www.processing.com shares safeguards for your outgoing email procedures at www.processor.com/mirapoint-Inc.

4. Consider an outside sleuth to help you find your hidden intellectual assets. Have you ever enlisted the help of a friend to help you find a misplaced item? Invariably, you’ll hear, “Well, there it is, right in front of your nose.” Outside consultants with keen expertise and sharp insights into how to spot potential intellectual assets can prove exponentially more valuable to your bottom line than that sharp-eyed friend.

Product Description
Authors Michael Davis and famed Harvard professor Arthur Miller provide authoritative coverage on the foundations of patent protection, patentability, and the patenting process. Presents the fundamentals of trademarks an… More >>

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