Saturday, November 16, 2019

The Supply and Demand of Oil Essay Example for Free

The Supply and Demand of Oil Essay Most people, especially the anti-American regime, blame George Bush as the main reason why oil prices in the international market has been increasing in the recent years. According to them, George Bush serves as an avenue for Iraq and its allies in the Middle East to cut their supply of oil in the world market as a â€Å"payback† for attacking Iraq. Back in the early 2000’s, George Bush commence a war against Iraq for the reasons that he want to end terrorist groups that houses in the said country as well as to spread democracy in the middle east. Iraq, one of the top oil producers in the world market, in response to the action of the United States, Iraq, together with other Islamic countries, cut their oil supply in the world market for United States to suffer from rising oil prices since it is the main consumer of oil in the world market.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Little this people know, George Bush is not liable for the rising of oil prices in the international market. Iraq as well as other oil producing countries around the globe is a member of OPEC – an organization of oil producing countries operating as a cartel. Cartel, just like OPEC, manipulates the supply of a certain good in order to influence the market price in the market for the benefit of its members and/or depends on the capacity of oil that its member countries can provide to the world market. The said cutting of oil supply of Iraq and other Islamic countries was just a move initiated largely by OPEC and was not because of the war commenced by George Bush. Even if the said attack in Iraq of the United States influenced the decision of Iraqi government and other Islamic countries to cut their oil supply in the world market, but its level of significance was not enough in order to say that George Bush was liable for the rising of oil prices in the market. Price Gouging   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Another fallacy that most people believed to be one of the factors that triggered the rising of oil prices in the market would be the price gouging of domestic oil firms in the market that unreasonably increases the prices of gasoline in the market. People that believes in this factor claims that domestic oil firms only wants to further increase their profitability and only uses the condition of world market for oil as a leeway in order to justify its indiscriminate and unjustifiable price increase on gasoline and other petroleum products in the domestic market. Moreover, say that price of oil in the world market indeed increase due to shortage of oil, domestic oil firms charges more than the amount that they should charge to their customers just to maintain their profitability. In other words, ignorant people about the real score on the rising of oil prices accuse domestic oil firms from cheating on them. Even if it is possible, the government would not allow such even to happen. There is a more logical reason why oil prices and other petroleum products are increasing robustly in the market in the recent years. In some countries, like for the case of the Philippines, they have the Department of Energy that monitors and approves the price increase of their domestic oil firms.   In short, domestic oil firms cannot just unreasonably raise their prices since the government keeps eye on them. Moreover, the value judgment of people claiming this factor as one of the factors that triggers the rising of oil prices in the market is based on emotions and on what they see on their immediate environment.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Just like the case of the first fallacy discussed above, these types of people hastily makes conclusion without conducting thoroughly research and study. At the end of the day, the association of price gouging and oil price hike is not but a fallacy, a fallacy of hasty conclusion.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Price Fixing of OPEC   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Few decades after the establishment of OPEC, it mainly has the power to influence and manipulate prices of oil in the international market by either raising or cutting the volume of oil that they supply in the international market. But in the recent years, due to the depleting oil reserves of many oil producing countries, especially oil producing countries in the Middle East, OPEC has been increasing the prices of their oil in the market robustly in the recent years not because they want to but because they are forced to. But many people still are skeptical on the real score on the rising of OPEC’s oil in the international market. Those statements of many people claiming that OPEC manipulates the prices of oil in the world market are making a foregone conclusion (Peopledaily.com.cn 2004). Before this claim seems to fit, but now, amidst to the problem on depleting oil reserves of many oil producing countries, this claim does not hold anymore.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   At the end of the day, people, especially consumers that are not well-informed about the current situation of oil reserves of various oil producing countries in the world market, are insisting that OPEC, as a cartel, takes advantage of its market power and indiscriminately charges higher prices that what is should be optimally charging to its customers. Again, these claims of above mentioned people are nothing but a mere fallacy for they do not have the strong argumentation about the true roots of oil price increase in the international market. The Real Issue – Supply and Demand   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The main and acceptable reason behind the pricing of oil prices in the world market would be the level of supply and demand in the market. These economic factors are the determinants of â€Å"right† and â€Å"justifiable† market price of oil in the market. There are no other factors that can influence the price of oil justifiably other than the demand-supply relationship since these factors are market driven and being controlled by all of the sectors in the economy. Demand, as a one of the economic factors that influences the spiking of oil prices in the market, accounts to all of the industries’ degree of importance of oil in the market. It also accounts all of the political and social factors of the market and incorporates these factors to the consumption behavior of the consumers in the market. In other words, demand is a good determinant of â€Å"true† value of market prices of goods and services in the economy. It is the market forces that influence the level of demand of goods and services in the market, and this market forces always provides benefits to the society as a whole. At the end of the day, demand reflects degree of importance of oil in various sectors as well as accounts all the social and political factors that affect such degree of importance of oil. On the other hand, the supply is also another important economic factor that greatly influences the price increase of oil in the international market. Supply provides the willingness to accept of producers in the market. Like for the case of oil industry, the oil prices that is triggered by supply factor is mainly reflects how much price the oil producing countries are willing to accept in order for them to produce oil in the market. In other words, supply reveals the prices that oil producing countries are willing to receive in order for them to continue their production of oil in the market. Given that oil reserves of oil of most oil producing countries are starting to deplete creating an avenue for them to supply oil less in the international market, it creates enough market pressure for oil prices in the world market to increase robustly. Since the oil reserves of oil producing countries are depleting, the willingness to accept of oil producing countries increases as a move to protect their profitability (Schoen, 2004). But increasing their willingness to accept would give them enough room to raise their profit since they can haggle for higher prices of oil in the market to the consumers. This scenario is the one that is happening at present times – oil producing countries and OPEC are forced to raise their prices, or willingness to accept, due to their depleting oil reserves and not primarily because of the high demand in the market, while consumers shoulders all of the burden (Newscientist.com 2007). The Supply and Demand of Oil In the recent years, the prices of oil in the international market has been increasing due to the depletion of oil reserves of many oil producing countries and member countries of OPEC. This issue has already been discussed in the previous part of this paper. It was identified that the price of oil in the world market already breaks its previous records. The price of oil in the world market per barrel as one the previous month is averaging to $140/barrel which only suggest how severe the shortage of oil in the world market is. Given a high demand for oil in the market, assuming a constant supply of oil in the market, prices would surely increase significantly since the willingness to accept and willingness to pay of producers and consumers respectively will increase. Since oil is one of the major commodity of most industries nowadays, the demand for oil is overwhelming for most oil exporting countries, and so with OPEC (Muhanna, 2004). But this overwhelming feeling of OPEC and other oil exporting countries won’t last long considering that they do not have enough oil reserves to supply the large demand of consumers in the market. As a result, in order to maintain their present profitability, OPEC and other oil exporting countries are forced to raise the prices of their oil in the market, regardless of the level of demand of consumers for oil. In this regard, if is therefore clear that demand and supply relationship of oil is the one that currently influences the spiking of oil prices in the world market. In this regard, it is therefore clear that demand and supply of oil in the world market is the main factor why oil price has been spiking in the recent years and not because of the above mentioned fallacies about the rising of oil prices raised by â€Å"emotional† based judgment of consumers and ignorant people. References Muhanna, I. (2004). Oil Price Hike. Retrieved July 26, 2008, from http://www.arabnews.com/?page=6section=0article=51086d=6m=9y=2004 Newscientist.com (2007). Depleting Oil Supplies Threaten â€Å"Meltdown in Society†. Retrieved July 26, 2008, from http://environment.newscientist.com/channel/earth/energy-fuels/mg19626273.900-depleting-oil-supplies-threaten-meltdown-in-society.html Peopledaily.com.cn (2004). Ten Specious Fallacies on Current World’s High Oil Prices. Retrieved 26, 2008, from http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200409/07/eng20040907_156168.html Schoen, J. W. (2004). How Long will the Word’s Oil Last? Retrieved July 26, 2008, from http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5945678/

Thursday, November 14, 2019

Romanticism and Realism in Hawthornes Young Goodman Brown :: Free Essay Writer

Romanticism and Realism in â€Å"Young Goodman Brown†Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚        Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Herman Melville in â€Å"Hawthorne and His Mosses,† (The Literary World August 17, 24, 1850) has a noteworthy comment on Hawthorne’s romantic style:    And now, my countrymen, as an excellent author, of your own flesh and blood,--an unimitating, and perhaps, in his way, an inimitable man--whom better can I commend to you, in the first place, than Nathaniel Hawthorne. He is one of the new, and far better generation of your writer. The smell of your beeches and hemlocks is upon him; your own broad prairies are in his soul; and if you travel away inland into his deep and noble nature, you will hear the far roar of his Niagara.    Nathaniel Hawthorne’s â€Å"Young Goodman Brown† includes both the â€Å"inimitable,† nature-oriented style of romanticism as well as elements of realism.    M. H. Abrams defines romantic themes in prominent writers of this school in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries as being five in number: (1) innovations in the materials, forms and style; (2) that the work involve a â€Å"spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings†; (3) that external nature be a persistent subject with a â€Å"sensuous nuance† and accuracy in its description; (4) that the reader be invited to identify the protagonist with the author himself; and (5) that this be an age of â€Å"new beginnings and high possibilities† for the person (177-79).    Let us examine â€Å"Young Goodman Brown† in light of the above. First of all, Hawthorne was a real innovator in his use of the psychological approach to characters within a story. A. N. Kaul considers Hawthorne â€Å"preeminently a ‘psychological’† writer – â€Å"burrowing, to his utmost ability, into the depths of our common nature, for the purposes of psychological romance. . . .† (2). Q. D. Leavis says: â€Å"Hawthorne has imaginatively recreated for the reader that Calvinist sense of sin. . . . But in Hawthorne, by a wonderful feat of transmutation, it has no religious significance, it is as a psychological state that it is explored† (37). The reader experiences most of the story through the eyes and feelings of the protagonist, Goodman. In the following passage the reader is allowed, as is typical, to read his thoughts:    "Poor little Faith!" thought he, for his heart smote him. "What a wretch am I, to leave her on such an errand! She talks of dreams, too.

Monday, November 11, 2019

Expected Shortfall Essay

Part I describes the calculation ofVaR in its conventional form. For illustrative purposes, Part I will describe parametric VaR on a Gaussian distribution. Part II summarizes known weaknesses in VaR, from inherent model and estimation risk to VaR’s failure to perform under extreme economic stress and VaR’s failure to satisfy the theoretical constraints on â€Å"coherent† measurements of risk. Part Ill describes how to calculate expected shortfall as an extension of conditional VaR. It further describes how expected shortfall, but not VaR, provides a coherent measure of risk. Part Ill then reverses field. It explains how VaR, but not expected shortfall (or, for that matter, nearly every other general spectral measure of risk), satisfies the mathematical requirement of â€Å"elicitability. † Mathematical limitations on measures of risk therefore force regulators and bankers to choose between coherence and elicitability, between theoretically sound consolidation of diverse risks (on one hand) and reliable backtesting of risk forecasts against historical observations. Justin Smith Morrill Professor of Law, Michigan State University (effective July 1, 2013). This paper summarizes a presentation made on April 17, 2013, at Georgetown Law Center’s colloquium on international financial regulation, conducted by Professor Christopher J. drummer. I appreciate comments by Adam Candeub and Jeffrey Sexton. Special thanks to Heather Elaine Worland Chen. Jim Chen Page 1 Electronic copy available Conventional VaR Like modern portfolio theory and the entire edifice of quantitative finance derived from those beginnings,l conventional value-at-risk analysis assumes that risk is rguably represents the most important tool for evaluating market risk as one of several threats to the global financial system. Basel II identifies a version ofVaR analysis as that accord’s preferred tool for assessing banks’ exposure to market risk. 4 Authorities around the world have endorsed VaR, either as a regulator standard or as a best practice. Even absent regulatory compulsion, private firms routinely use VaR as an internal risk management tool, often directing traders to reduce exposure below the level prescribed by those firms’ own VaR limits.

Saturday, November 9, 2019

No Child Left Behind Essay

The education policy that I chose is on education today and the influence of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. In 2001, President George W. Bush signed into law the No Child Left Behind Act. The NCBL is a United States Act of Congress, which includes Title 1 (program for disadvantaged students offered by the government). This Act requires states to develop assessments in basic skills. Each state is required to give these assessments to all students to receive federal school funding. This Act does not set the standards nationwide; each individual state sets the standards. Diane Ravitch, an education philosopher was a supporter of this Act when it was being passed. She believed that every child had the right to a proper education. As the years passed she acquired more experience and knowledge on the Act, and is now completely opposed to the NCLB Act. Ravitch believes that the states dumb down the standards in light of the NCLB. The question now is: is the No Child Left Behind Act se eking to repair the problem, or is it the cause? Under NCLB, the accountability of a child’s education is examined by the Federal government and turned into the hands of the state. This was the first time an American president has set a goal of universal proficiency in reading and mathematics for all children. The federal emphasis on literacy, reading, and mathematics emphasizes teacher and school accountability, with negative consequences when schools do not meet established improvement goals (U.S. Department of Education, 2002). Under NCLB the state must have accountability provisions that include how they will close the achievement gap. According to the Department of Education the achievement gap is defined as such; The difference between how well low-income and minority children perform on standardized tests as compared with their peers. For many years, low-income and minority children have fallen behind their white peers in terms of academic achievement (Department of Education, 2002). States must also monitor that every student not excluding the disadvantaged achieve academic proficiency. Yearly assessments must be produced to inform parents of the progress of both the state and the  community. Schools that do not meet the academic proficiency standards must offer supplemental services and take corrective action. If within five years the school is still not making yearly progress, than dramatic changes in the school’s academic direction must be made. Dramatic changes according to the Department of Education are defined as follows; â€Å"†¦additional changes to ensure improvement.† The definition raises the question of whether there is a plan for failure at all. The National Assessment of Educational Progress, in its â€Å"National Report Card† shows that these goals may be falling short. Students in fourth grade show temporary improvement in math right after No Child Left Behind became a law, but returned to pre-reform growth rate. The NAEP estimates that by 2014 less than 25% of financially challenged and African American students will achieve NAEP proficiency in reading. Using the same time frame less than half the financially challenged and African American students will obtain proficiency in math. With so much pressure on the states to perform well, a trend is becoming apparent that they are inflating proficiency levels of students. This causes discrepancies between the NAEP and state assessments especially among the financially challenged, African American, and Hispanic students. With no sufficient evidence shown on that NCLB is working, the question is as follows; is the federal government capable of running our school systems? There are undoubtedly dangers in the public school system teaching a federally mandated curriculum. When one controls people’s perception of history, one controls the present. There is, of course, a point to be made that if the nations’ children are kept in watered down public schools, positions of power will be opened to the children of the aristocracy, who without fail, are being sent to private schools. So many of those Politicians who stand in the way of allowing poor children to escape failing schools, send their own children to private schools (sic). In New York City, where I have spent most of my professional life, both the current and the past chancellor of schools sent their children to private schools. Six of the seven members of the now-defunct Board of Education had  also sent their children to private schools at one time or another. One might add to the list other notables in New York-the governor, the mayor, the leaders of both houses of the legislature, and the junior U.S. senator (and former first lady). In fact, I cannot remember a mayor of the city who sent his children to public school (Viteritti, 2003). The reports of success of NCLB are encouraging to those who support the project. There have been schools in Sterling, Virginia and New York City that have received No Child Left Behind blue ribbons for their success in closing the achievement gap. Other schools have earned national praise for instituting such curriculum as â€Å"Fit for the Future,† a standards-based health and fitness curriculum for grades 1-10; and an anti-bullying intervention program in York, Pennsylvania (Department of Education, 2005). These programs are used to show the benefits of NCLB but are they academic necessities? The curriculum in a kindergarten class in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin included a lesson entitled â€Å"The Little Convincer.† In which a state trooper came into the classroom with a mechanism designed to simulate a car accident. In a discussion about car seat laws, a topic critics of the curriculum call too heady for kindergarteners, the students, ages five to six years old, were asked repeatedly which one of them were actively using car seats, and whether their parents wore seat belts as well. One child who innocently told the officer that his daddy did not wear his seatbelt was told by the trooper that his daddy could go through the windshield and the glass would cut his face and arms like ribbons, and once he hit the road, the car would roll on top of him. The dramatic lesson ended with each of the students taking a turn in the mechanism that simulated the car crash. The officer would speak softly to the child asking them questions about their class or the clothes that they were wearing and when the child began to speak would jerk them forward violently to teach them that an accident could happen at anytime. The question is, are these academic lessons that parents assume that their children are attending school for? Is placing the curriculum in the hands of legislators going to further our children’s grasp of the three R’s as most parents hope, or are they going to be taught how to become complacent law abiding citizens? The problem in purposing that the public school system is flawed beyond repair is offering an alternative that people are comfortable with. When a conversation about privatizing the school system begins many questions must be answered to abate the fears of the public. Would privatizing schools be affordable to all families? Many debates have waged on the validity of a voucher program, allowing families to choose any school they desire whether it is parochial, private, public, or chartered. Without public schools, there are no taxes necessary to support the program, and that money can be returned to the families of school aged children, creating extra funds for private education. In a system of free market education the individual and specialized institutions of learning would have to compete for students, because the money would be linked to the students themselves. Never in the history of the free market have advances been made without competition. When the monopoly on our children’s future ends, a true marketplace of ideas will be born. In an interview with US News, Ravitch was asked â€Å"What needs to happen to make the law more effective for school?† she responded â€Å"I think the main thing to change is . . . to get rid of the remedies and the sanctions because the remedies don’t work and the sanctions don’t work. What No Child Left Behind has given the United States is an atmosphere of punitiveness. The word accountability has come to be a synonym for punish. If students don’t learn, it’s the teachers’ fault. Fire the teachers. Close the schools. We’re now on a wrecking mission to destroy American public education.† Ravitch has completely rejected this Act, and believes we should do something to make our education system stronger. I questioned? Is the No Child Left Behind Act seeking to repair the problem, or is it the cause? I now have the answer. The NCLB Act sounded very tempting as it was passed by congress, and many like Diane Ravitch had hopes in such a great project for our education system, but everything is not perfect. The NCBL offers great support to schools, although standardized testing is not the correct way of determining the amount of financial support each school deserves or requires. After long hours of research I believe that the No Child Left Behind Act has taken a part in the cause of our problem in our education system today. Schools will not improve if the value is set only on what is tested. â€Å"The tests we have now provide useful information about students’ progress in reading and mathematics, but they cannot measure what matters most in education.† (Ravitch. The Death and Life of The Great American School System, pg. 226) In order to improve our public school system we must start by focusing on our schools, offering them an authentic and sincere education that encourages our students to learn.

Thursday, November 7, 2019

Table of Common Ka Values for Weak Acids

Table of Common Ka Values for Weak Acids Ka is the equilibrium constant for the dissociation reaction of a weak acid. A weak acid is one which only partially dissociates in water or an aqueous solution. The value of Ka is used to calculate pH of weak acids. The pKa value is used to choose a buffer when needed. Choosing an acid or base where pKa is close to the pH needed gives the best results. Relating pH, Ka, and pKa pH, Ka, and pKa are all related to each other. For an acid HA: Ka [H][A-] / [HA]pKa - log KapH - log([H]) At the halfway point on an equivalence curve,  pHpKa Ka of Weak Acids Name Formula Ka pKa acetic HC2H3O2 1.8 x 10-5 4.7 ascorbic (I) H2C6H6O6 7.9 x 10-5 4.1 ascorbic (II) HC6H6O6- 1.6 x 10-12 11.8 benzoic HC7H5O2 6.4 x 10-5 4.2 boric (I) H3BO3 5.4 x 10-10 9.3 boric (II) H2BO3- 1.8 x 10-13 12.7 boric (III) HBO32- 1.6 x 10-14 13.8 carbonic (I) H2CO3 4.5 x 10-7 6.3 carbonic (II) HCO3- 4.7 x 10-11 10.3 citric (I) H3C6H5O7 3.2 x 10-7 6.5 citric (II) H2C6H5O7- 1.7 x 105 4.8 citric (III) HC6H5O72- 4.1 x 10-7 6.4 formic HCHO2 1.8 x 10-4 3.7 hydrazidic HN3 1.9 x 10-5 4.7 hydrocyanic HCN 6.2 x 10-10 9.2 hydrofluoric HF 6.3 x 10-4 3.2 hydrogen peroxide H2O2 2.4 x 10-12 11.6 hydrogen sulfate ion HSO4- 1.2 x 10-2 1.9 hypochlorous HOCl 3.5 x 10-8 7.5 lactic HC3H5O3 8.3 x 10-4 3.1 nitrous HNO2 4.0 x 10-4 3.4 oxalic (I) H2C2O4 5.8 x 10-2 1.2 oxalic (II) HC2O4- 6.5 x 10-5 4.2 phenol HOC6H5 1.6 x 10-10 9.8 propanic HC3H5O2 1.3 x 10-5 4.9 sulfurous (I) H2SO3 1.4 x 10-2 1.85 sulfurous (II) HSO3- 6.3 x 10-8 7.2 uric HC5H3N4O3 1.3 x 10-4 3.9

Monday, November 4, 2019

Sati & Sutee Tradition in India - History of Sati Tradition Research Paper

Sati & Sutee Tradition in India - History of Sati Tradition - Research Paper Example Hinduism contains a collection of scriptures written for over four thousand years. Among these writing, discrepancies on widow burning led many to exalt the act while others condemned it in the name of religion. During Vishnusmriti, widows were provided with two options: celibacy or immolation. The Ninayasindu later declared sati as a widow’s essential duty; so did the Puritans of the 6th century. These texts went further to elaborate on how the act was to be performed. In the years that followed, religious leaders and followers deified women who sacrificed themselves and became sites. Regardless of the religious interpretation of the act, the practice became deeply embedded in Indian culture. This presented new challenges to people trying to eradicate it. In addition, the social value accorded to widows who sacrificed themselves presented more barriers. Widows were perceived as worthless, with very low social status making a life for them unbearable. Widows who did not want to go ahead with the practice were coerced, physically forced or threatened onto the pyre. In many cases, the male relatives played a significant role in a widow’s decision to pursue sati. The demise of sati is attributed to British ruling during the 19th century. The British colonialist had refrained from interfering with Indian tradition, culture, and practices. The British rarely tried to enforce change in Muslim or Hindu practices. The governor general to India, however, in the 19th century wondered whether the British government should take measures to eliminate static.

Saturday, November 2, 2019

Determinism verus Free Will Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Determinism verus Free Will - Essay Example This was not only an accepted conceptual position, it was also a computational fact of life with all of the then-existing sex-role orientation measures. However, Constantinople's (1973) conceptual reorganization allowed for the possibility of two independent dimensions: masculinity and femininity. From this new vantage point, one is not forced to deny one set of characteristics in order to assert possession of high levels of the other. Now, people can be different combinations (conceptually and computationally): high on both masculinity and femininity (androgynous); high on one and low on the other (stereotypically masculine or stereotypically feminine); or low on both dimensions (undifferentiated). It was this simple, conceptual reformulation that appeared to spark the present revolution in sex-role research. Might a similar reformulation of the free will-determinism question stimulate new solutions to an antinomy that has perplexed thinkers for more than 25 centuries Before sketching a re-conceptualization of the free will versus determinism issue, this article will offer a working scientist's or a counseling practitioner's specification of the issues--not a philosopher's reformulation of this seemingly everlasting controversy. ... , in so defining these terms, it becomes unclear exactly what the implications of these conceptual moves (and research findings) might be for philosophical debate on the issues of agency, mechanistic determinism, self-determination, and free will. There have been many different construals of free will (van Inwagen, 1983) over the last two and a half millennia. Some of these construals (e.g., free will results from the absence of any physical constraint upon the agent) clearly do not square with the arguments and research summarized herein. Whenever an agent makes a choice (and then acts for the sake of that choice), however, one might see it as a free choice (and act) if indeed the agent might have chosen to do otherwise ceteris paribus (i.e., all other things being equal). The notion of free will entertained herein is seen in Robert Frost's (1951) poem "The Road Not Taken." Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-- I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. If Frost's (1951) traveller had also been able to choose "the road more [italics added] traveled by" but instead opted for "the road less [italics added] traveled by," one might assert that he or she had made a free choice. But since the time of Heraclitus (with his point that one can never step in the same river twice), philosophers and scientists recognized the virtual impossibility of meeting the demands of the ceteris paribus condition in such cases. Fortunately, new experimental methodologies now allow for the testing of the causal force of free choice in studies that do fully meet the requirements of the ceteris paribus assumption (see Howard & Myers, 1989). Like free will, the meaning of determinism has changed over time. "Determinism" was until the mid-nineteenth century a theory