How Religion Affects Society Essay Example for Free

How Religion Affects Society Essay More generally, social scientists are discovering the continuing power of religion to protect the family from the forces that would tear it down. 13 Professor Bergins summary was echoed two years later by nationally syndicated columnist William Raspberry: Almost every commentator on the current scene bemoans the increase of violence, lowered ethical standards and loss of civility that mark American society. Is the decline of religious influence part of what is happening to us? Is it not Just possible that anti-religious bias masquerading as religious neutrality is costing more than we have been willing to acknowledge? 14 Other reviewsl 5 also list the positive effects of religious belief and practice in reducing uch problems as suicide, substance abuse, divorce, and marital dissatisfaction. Such evidence indicates clearly that religious practice contributes significantly to the quality of American life. Given this evidence, Congress should: Begin a new national debate to help renew the role of religion in American life; Ask the General Accounting Office (GAO) to review the evidence on the beneficial effects of religious practice in the relevant social science literature and report its findings to a national commission formed to promote the consideration of religious Fund federal experiments with school choice that ractice among U. S. citizens; include religiously affiliated schools; Pass a sense-of-the-congress resolution that data on religious practice are useful for policymakers and researchers as part of the public policy debate; and Mandate a census question on religious practice. It religious practice in America. The President should: Appoint Judges who are more sensitive to the role of religion in public life, with the Senate ensuring that such is the case by ascertaining the stand of Judges on matters of religion and its relationship to the Constitution; Direct the Bureau of he Census to record levels of religious practice in the census for the year 2000 (time is running out for preparation of the census questionnaire); and Issue a directive to all federal agencies making clear that cooperation between government entities and the social, medical, and educational services of faith-based organizations does not violate separation of church and state. The U. S. Supreme Court should: Review the decisions in which it has changed the laws of the land by changing commonly held beliefs regarding the Constitution and religion and send to Congress hose that should have been the object of legislative action rather than Judicial reinterpretation. Americas religious leaders should: Be much more assertive in emphasizing the contribution of religion to the health of the nation and in resisting efforts to minimize religion in public discourse; Make clear to their congregations that they are contributing not only to their own welfare, but also to the well-being of the nation by their regular attendance at religious worship; Take special care of the religious formation of children, especially during the transition period from childhood to adolescence, when they are ost likely to lose their religious faith; Recognize that the church in the inner city, especially the black church, has a vital role to play in helping its people escape from the degrading culture of inner-city poverty;

Culture Arises from Human Nature :: Mirror for Man Essays

In his book, Mirror for Man, Clyde Kluckhohn presents his views on the development of culture. Kluckhohn believes that culture develops out of a combination of human nature, human biology, and the laws of nature. There are vast differences in the habits of the different peoples of the world. An example could be the eating patterns of Americans compared with those of Europeans. Another could be the attitudes of American students compared with the attitudes of Asian students. At the same time, there are some characteristics which are present in all societies, such as peer pressure. In my opinion Clyde Kluckhohn is correct when he states that human behavior is affected by both human nature and human biology. Kluckhohn gives several examples from his life experience illustrating how two cultures can have very different behavior patterns. During a recent trip to West Germany, I encountered a similar difference. I quickly discovered that the most striking difference between the eating habits of Americans and German was the way in which the knife and fork were used. In Germany most people eat with their fork in their left hand and their knife in their right hand. In addition the fork is almost always used upside down and the knife is used as a "pusher", much like Americans use bread. When I questioned a German friend about this difference I was surprised by her response. She explained that the "German" style of eating was the only "civilized" way and that the "American" style was "sloppy" and "Barbarian". Another example of cultural differences could be the educational attitudes of Americans as opposed to those of many Asians. Many people in the United States are surprised and alarmed by the high test score and college admissions averages of Asian students in contrast to the falling averages of students of other ethnic backgrounds, including white. This discrepancy is directly related to cultural differences between American and many Asian nations. In most Asian cultures education is strongly encouraged and supported and has been for generations. On the other hand, in America education is often a low priority. Many American students look at school as a burden rather than a chance to gain knowledge. At the same time, many American parents reinforce this attitude because they were raised with a similar belief. Kluckhohn is careful to point out that there are characteristics which are present in all cultures.

How is the paranormal made to seem normal? Essay

How is the paranormal made to seem normal? ‘Jekyll and Hyde’, a gothic novella, uses lots of realism to try to make the story believable. In ‘Portobello Road’ as well as absolute realism, the conversational style of story telling helps the reader believe. In the stories, different styles of language are incorporated. In ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ a very formal vernacular is used and journalese and legalese are also used whereas in ‘Portobello Road’ a much more modern vernacular is used and although it is a ghost story, it is set in modern London, in broad daylight. This is unusual because most ghost stories of that era were set in castles, haunted houses and graveyards. The authoress has set an extra task for herself by doing this. Muriel Stark uses documentary evidence, for instance letters, to encourage the reader to believe, as well as telling the story as a friend in a modern, relaxed vernacular. In ‘Jekyll and Hyde’, although some parts are hard to believe, the majority is easily believable as it contains lots of realism. A large part of ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ is the melodramatic leap from the mysterious to the paranormal. ‘Portobello Road’ also contains melodrama; Needle is telling the story and the reader has no idea she is dead and then it suddenly comes out of the blue. She mentions her death and then carries on as normal, and the reader sidelines this fact as the story continues. Though there is a lot of melodrama in both of the stories, this is disguised by the realism. In ‘Jekyll and Hyde’, the author mentions specific places in London, to give a sense of place, which the everyday person would recognise (such as Soho etc). Also mentioned are everyday occurrences such as pea-souper fogs. In ‘Portobello Road’, places are also mentioned (i.e. Portobello Road market, Kent, Edinburgh, Africa). Both stories are also made believable by the main characters presenting the stories to the reader. In ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ Mr Utterson, the lawyer and the person who represents us the reader, tells the story. When he opens the letters, or opens doors, we the reader are right behind him, egging him on. Needle tells the story in ‘Portobello Rd’ and we, the reader, can relate to her. We relate to the fact she has gone through life without a proper job by just earning enough or luckily finding money. She is a drifter who just drifts through life, just like a ghost. We also relate to her bitchiness to Kathleen. When she sees her friend Kathleen ageing and she herself is not, she says, â€Å"Poor Kathleen- I hate to say how she looked.† Though she says this, she is probably secretly enjoying it, as most women would. The environment also plays a big part in both stories, adding to the realism as well as the believability and the understanding. Both are set in London, the capital of the known world, and both mention certain items to their advantage. In ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ we see Soho and Cavendish Square mentioned, as well as Georgian streets, houses, doors, gas lamps and the chiming of bells, all of which add to the realism. In ‘Portobello Road’, we hear mention of jolly painted villas, Portobello Road market (a most unusual setting for a ghost story), Kent and of foreign countries such as Zimbabwe. Characters also make a huge impact on the understanding and believability of a story. In both of the stories, the authors use the characters to help the reader enjoy and believe their story. In ‘Portobello Road’ we have Needle who shows human emotions and delightful bitchiness to which all of the readers can relate and also uses irony: she says how they all look older and of course ghosts don’t age. Then we have George, who thinks the other characters have changed for the worse and in the end, he pays for the death of Needle by cracking up. All of this also adds to the large amount of realism in the story. In ‘Jekyll and Hyde’, we have firstly Jekyll, who suffered an emotionally deprived childhood, on which he blames his sins. There are verbal clues to Jekyll, ‘Je kill’ in French and German and in the book hear of a, â€Å"tendency for irregularities†, and â€Å"I concealed my pleasures.† Then we have Mr Utterson, the man who represents us, the reader, and who is a respectable lawyer. We all have evil inside of us, but Mr Utterson controls this evil by effort, conscience and self-discipline. He drinks gin instead of vintage wine and despite enjoying the theatre, does not go. Another character is Enfield, the person who first sparks curiosity and creates a sense of normality and finally Lanyon and Hyde. Lanyon’s death leads to the unfolding of the mystery explained in more documentary evidence. Hyde has an aura of hatred and evil personified as a human who once everybody sees, everybody dislikes. In ghost stories, the monster has never been close to us and where we live, making us feel safe. Bram Stoker brought ‘Dracula’ to Whitby moor, but in ‘Jekyll and Hyde’, the monster is not just near us, it is inside of us. There is a moral in both stories; in ‘Portobello Rd’ the moral is that George pays for the death of Needle by cracking up. In ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ the moral is that unrestrained reliance on science could be dangerous, or it is the battle between black and grey. After reading the books, I enjoyed ‘Portobello Road’ more. I found it more easily believable. I think this was because of the modern, conversational language used and the fact that it was nearer my time zone. Viewed in a 19th century context, ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ is also believable, but I didn’t find it as convincing. I enjoyed both stories and I think the style and the language contribute to these two totally different stories in a big way. After reading both, I have realised we don’t need chemicals to change from good to evil, we all have an evil side, but it is only exposed when encouraged.

The Factors That Influence The Adoption Of New Technologies

Dissertation First Draft: Chapter 2 (Literature Review) Research Question: Understanding the factors that influence the adoption of new technologies in organisations: A Case Study of Wearable Technology Sub- Research Questions: To what extent are employee attitudes a contributing factor of new technology adoptions within organisations? What are the main factors that influence technology adoption in an organisation? Does wearable technology have a sustainable future within organisations? Research Objectives: This dissertation aims to elucidate the critical factors that pertain to widespread technology adoption in organisations, with regards to radical IT innovations, whilst also highlighting the issues that stymie technology adoption.†¦show more content†¦Failed investments in technology may not only cause financial losses, but also lead to dissatisfaction amongst employees (Venkatesh, 2000). Whilst, there exists a large amount of literature on technological adoption, most of the research undertaken deals with this in the context of individual consumers rather than at a firm level. Furthermore, in the case of wearable technology, the main case study of this particular research, as a current example of a radical technological innovation, there is a lack of breadth in terms of the literature available, which can be expected from its relative infancy. Therefore, this literature review will serve as a treatise to not only critically analyse the seminal research in the broader field of technological innovation and adoption, but also to extrapolate the information gathered in the context of my own research, to provide a fresh insight on technological adoption at an organisational level, with a special interest in the future of wearable technology at this level. 2.1.1 What is technological innovation? According to Sagar (2013) Technology innovation is the process through which new technologies are developed and brought into widespread use. Typically in literature, a distinction will be made between the different types of innovation. The type of innovation mentioned in this research, will refer to product innovation, as wearable technologyShow MoreRelatedEssay on Cloud Database1493 Words   |  6 Pagesinternet-based technologies to conduct business, is recognized as an important area for IT innovation and investment (Armbrust et al., 2010; Goscinski and Brock, 2010; Tuncay, 2010). Cloud computing has spread out through the main areas related to information systems (IS) and technologies, such as operating systems, application software, and technological solutions for firms (Armbrust et al., 2010). 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