Teacher Interview Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Teacher Interview - Essay Example hool, he also participates in harmonizing the objectives of various schools in the district to come up with a common goal that is focused on accomplishing a shared vision. Through interaction with other teachers, he is able to understand the necessary resources for teaching and learning. He is also able to develop new learning opportunities for the teachers and students. Instructional leadership is one of the significant strategies in developing a focused student centered learning environment (Goleman, 2002). Instructional leadership has had significant benefits to the teacher’s role. It has led to a widened scope of learning beyond the classroom and with more people participating in the enhancement of learning. This has made it easy for the teacher to accomplish his duties as the head, contrary to the conventional authoritarian style where the administrator needed not to consult with others (Hargreaves & Fink, 2004). The teachers are presented with a favorable environment to carry out their duties especially through participating in goal setting, which makes empowers them especially by feeling as part of the institution and hence deliver knowledge to the students in a better way. The school is ranked among the best performers in the district, while the students are motivated to accomplish their educational goals through the collaboration that exists among the teachers. Professional leadership is among the leadership styles that are significant in developing focus and vision, which the head teacher uses to promote a sense of purpose for the institution. The teachers are assigned roles depending on their capabilities with the purpose of encouraging them to participate in decision making as regards the various areas that they supervise. Authority is distributed to the teachers and all participate in developing policies that affect learning in the school. The head teacher is always aware of the progress in all classes, including the information that is being

Jfk Cuban Missile Crisis Essay Example for Free

Jfk Cuban Missile Crisis Essay The speech made people aware that action was being taken to prevent any unexpected attacks and that every aspect of the crisis was being looked into. The speech itself upset many Americans and put them into a state of fear, but it also reassured them that Kennedy was aware and ready to take control to protect his country. Kennedy’s impact on the United States was not as remembered for what he did, but more for what he could have done. This particular speech helps illustrate the greater aspects of American history and shows why we are still a united nation. The Kennedy family had a passion for success. The public attention and fame that the family possessed came from â€Å"personal wealth and politics. † (Gale, 1994. Biography In Context) John Kennedy’s father, Joseph P. Kennedy, was ambassador of the United States and the United Kingdom. His wife, Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, was an American philanthropist. The couple had nine children together, John F. Kennedy being the second oldest son. He was born on May 29, 1917. His father put a great deal of his faith into his first born, Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. , his goal being to make him president of the United States. With the family’s competitive nature, this caused a lot of rivalry between the two brothers. This issue followed them into their adult lives where â€Å"Jack,† as John was called, and his older brother both went to Choate and Harvard. Kennedy had not had a set plan for pursuing a career, but he was â€Å"certain of eventual American involvement in the expanding war. † (Gale, 1994. Biography In Context) He was assigned to Naval Intelligence in Washington when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. He was reassigned to sea duty on PT boats. On August 2, 1943, after a Japanese destroyer crashed into Kennedy’s PT-109, he was declared a â€Å"hero† by The New York Times for rescuing the surviving crew members. This story was circulated in each of Kennedy’s campaigns helping him move up as a politician. A year later his older brother, Joseph was killed while on a dangerous volunteer mission in Europe. He died instantly do to the explosion of an aircraft carrying dynamite. Kennedy’s political career really started up around this time because of his feelings of an â€Å"unnamed responsibility† to his parents, brothers, and sisters. In 1946, his father felt it was necessary to have John Kennedy take his brothers place and run for the same seat in Congress John’s grandfather â€Å"Honey Fitz† held nearly five decades earlier. (Gale, 1994. Biography In Context) Kennedy went into politics with no plan or philosophy. Even without direction in his campaign he still did win. People looked at him indifferently due to the fact that he wasn’t very involved in the debates. His health started depleting and it was obvious to the public that he was suffering from illness. He was diagnosed with Addison’s disease in 1947. It is a disease that occurs when the adrenal glands do not produce enough hormones. He was then given only a few years to live, but when he started his cortisone treatments in 1950, his health improved along with his spirits. In the 1960 Presidential election, Kennedy defeated Richard Nixon by 12,000 votes. Kennedy began his presidency with grace and huge expectations for the nation. His inaugural speech focused on what America’s role was with the rest of the world and his obligations as â€Å"Leader of the Free World. † The Cuban Missile Crisis came about when Premier Nikita Khrushchev announced that Soviets plan to support â€Å"wars of national liberation† against noncommunist regimes around the globe. Kennedy sharpened the American military’s watch on communist rebellion against the government. In April, 1961 he authorized a CIA plan to invade Cuba. The invasion failed horribly at the Bay of Pigs and the U. S. was on the edge of war when President Kennedy confronted Khrushchev about the presence of missile sites in Cuba. After two weeks they had reached a compromise: Soviets would withdraw their missiles in Cuba and the U. S. would withdraw its missiles in Turkey. The Cuban Missile Crisis speech was given on October 22, 1962 at the White House. It addressed our nation’s allies and enemies along with all American citizens. Kennedy used logos, pathos, and ethos in his address. He used logos by stating â€Å"unmistakable evidence that a series of offensive missile sites are in preparation. He let everybody know that the evidence was proven true and that no lies are coming from the address.

The Comparison Between Martin Luther And John Calvin Religion Essay

The Comparison Between Martin Luther And John Calvin Religion Essay The 16th century was marked by two great leaders, Martin Luther and John Calvin, who represented the stepping stones for the Protestant Reformation. Both these men were against the Roman Catholic Church and had different views on religion and how it should be seen. Luther and Calvin had a very similar protestant based theologies. Calvins admiration for Luther is evident because he refers to him as an apostle  [1]  . Luther was the founder of a group which is today known as the Lutherans. Both were very similar and at the same time different, each of them influenced Europe in a way. Calvin even influenced colonies of New England. Without them, contradicting the church, Protestantism would probably not be seen around the world. Martin Luther and John Calvin had similar concepts of faith and justification towards God, which in consequence became Luther and Calvins main currency of soul salvation. The Sermon on Good Works was Luthers first piece of writing which he writes about how only faith, not good works, benefits the soul for salvation. Luther realized that good works was not the path to take for forgiveness of sins, when he decided to achieve forgiveness by fasting many days and abstaining from sleep, but nothing happened. So from then on he discovered the bible, and found great guidance from it. He also believed that it is impossible to obey all of the proscriptions of the Old Testament thereby mercy from God and faith is the only way to salvation. Good works do not make a good man, but a good man does good works; Bad works do not make a bad man, but a bad man does bad works,  [2]  (Wogaman p111) wrote Luther, in summary of Paul. He not only said that good works were imperfect and useless, but also declared that they were sinful acts. Thus we sin even when we do good, unless God through Christ covers this imperfection and does not impute it to us  [3]  (Luther p276). Not only does Luther say this but also Calvins idea of faith can be seen when he says All we assign to man is that, by his impurity he pollutes and contaminates the very works which were good. The most perfect thing which proceeds from man is always polluted by some stain.   Should the Lords therefore bring to judgment the best of human works, he would indeed behold his own righteousness in them; but he would also behold mans dishonour and disgrace  [4]  (Westminster Confession). Calvin also believed that human nature was tainted and that people could do good works but no amount of good works would be enough to earn salvation. The grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ alone is the only way for redemption of sin, was Calvins belief. Calvin greatly believed good works were useful, if done to help our neighbour. Calvin and Luther had mostly the same view of good works and salvation. Calvins theology was for the most part similar and on the same path as Luthers, Calvin was on the same side as Luther for the thought that the authority and ways of life of Christians were to be followed from the Scriptures and that it was not the Church itself that would tell the people what to do, but instead it would be the Scriptures, because everyone could read it them. They had a Christ centered theology. The Scriptures were to be read as it is and not to try and find the hidden meanings. They both believed that that Church was born from the Scriptures and not the way around  [5]  . Luther and Calvin both denounce the Pope and the churches for the used the money to create and beautify what they had instead of following the what Christ really wanted from them, which was to live in the simplest form and educated others. They both had similar view of justification to god by faith. Luther thought that no good works were enough to reach salvation. Calvin had the idea that there was two group of people; the Elect and the non-Elect, which were chosen by God to be saved or not. Predestination was a key idea in Calvins theology. He believed everything was already planned before even you were born. Luther believed that the state and the church should be separated. The state should have all the power. While on the other hand Calvin believed that the state and the church should not be subject to one another and vice versa. Calvin had restore Geneva, The power of the sword and other parts of civil jurisdiction that bishops and priests had wrested from the magistrate  [6]  (Bouwsma p204) were given back to the king. Calvins ideas and theology has survived in communities in American history. The things that have been kept in notion from his works are to have a good work ethic and strong sense of family values. Calvin has influenced many fields like economics, politics, physical sciences and more  [7]  . Calvins religious movement has influenced the economic thinking and behaviour of people such as Max Weber, R.H. Tawney and Talcott Parsons. They believed that Calvinistic beliefs and capitalism were connected. They called this functional fit  [8]  . Max Weber believes that Calvinism perhaps helped build an  elective affinity for the development of capitalism, while on the other hand Tawny suggested the opposite. He thought that the Calvinist theology was adopted in capitalistic societies for this theology provided ideological explanations for economics practices which were considered morally questionable, such as interest in money  [9]  . Many may think that religion and scientific p rogress were not connected or had no relation between them, but some sociologist say that Calvinist had a strong impact for scientific research and development  [10]  . Calvinism, which came from John Calvin, was also a changing point for the form of government thats present in our society. The American political structure was mostly copied from the British, while most of their government ideas had a Calvinistic sense  [11]  . Calvinism is also to blame for causing problems and it is thought that maybe Calvinistic thought contributed to a mindset which caused the Holocaust  [12]  . Martin Luther perhaps didnt affect as many sectors of life but he was the one who influenced John Calvin for his works. Luther had a great impact, for he was the first person to make the Bible available to all people. He also influenced Europe to see religious thoughts in a different way and most of all, he was responsible for weakening the Churchs power  [13]  . Both theologies from Luther and Calvin are different and similar. Each of them are within the new Protestant paradigm, Luthers theology is with the individual person who is justified by faith, and for which such a person, good works naturally flow. Calvins theology contrasts the glory of God with the depravity of man, and is more skeptical of the ability of the justified man to perform good works. Similarities in there Reformation essentials are more influential then their differences. Calvin was given the Reforming baton from Luther and his theology was created from Luthers. Both these men were used by God to restore the Gospel to His church  [14]  . Word count 1300

The Characters of F. Scott Fitzgeralds The Great Gatsby Essays

The Characters of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the main characters Tom and Gatsby are both similar and different in their attitudes and their status. Both Tom and Gatsby have attained great wealth and live in very lavish conditions. They differ greatly, on the other hand, in the way that they acquired this wealth, and the way in which they treat other people. Even though both characters have great amounts of wealth, they are almost complete opposites due the way in which they acquired their wealth. Tom and Gatsby are very similar in their wealth and lavishness. Gatsby spends his money on any whim, regardless of what it may cost. His parties, for example, cost him huge amounts and are held almost every weekend. Trucks must bring in the food, and the servants work all day to prepare and organize the grounds. The beverages are also brought in by the truckload, and all of the attendees drink heavily. Gatsby then hires a complete string orchestra, a jazz band, an opera singer, and various other entertainers. Most importantly, Gatsby does all of this just to get Daisy's attention, and he has enough wealth to keep doing it every day for as long as it takes.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Gatsby's costly personal possessions also show his ease of spending money. He buys a hydroplane just to take it out several times, not on a long journey, but for a short flight across the sound. Gatsby's car, "was a rich cream color, bright with nickel, swollen here and there in its monstrous length with triumphant hatboxes and supper-boxes and tool-boxes, and terraced with a labyrinth of wind-shields that mirrored a dozen suns."(68), clearly a very lavish and expensive automobile. La... ...ored and throws him away. In essence Gatsby's death is inevitable, just as Tom and Daisy dispose of a city when they do not like the rumors or some of the people, so do they get rid of Gatsby when they realize that he is really not one of them, and that he cannot become one of them because he is too full of hope and life and love.    Works Cited Bewley, Marius. "Scott Fitzgerald's Criticism of America." Twentieth Century Interpretations of The Great Gatsby. Ed. Ernest Lockridge. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1968. 37-53. Fitzgerald, F. Scott.   The Great Gatsby. New York:   Simon & Schuster Inc, 1995. Possnock, Ross. " 'A New World, Material Without Being Real': Fitzgerald's Critique of Capitalism in The Great Gatsby." Critical Essays on Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. Ed. Scott Donaldson. Boston: G.K. Hall & Co., 1984. 201-213.

To What Extent Do Sociologists Agree That Religion Is a Force for Social Change?

To what extent do Sociologists agree that religion is a force for social change? Throughout history, there has been an on-going debate as to whether or not religion is a conservative force, or a force for social change. Whilst many Sociologists such as Durkheim, see religion as a positive conservative force; creating social harmony and solidarity, others disagree claiming religion to be a strong force for social change and as neo-Marxist Otto Maduro believes, religion has the power to initiate revolutionary change.Firstly, both Functionalism and Marxism takes on the approach that religion is a conservative force as both hold the view that religion aids society, in terms of allowing it to stay within its existing practices. However, the two perspectives disagree on why and how religion helps to do this. Functionalist, Durkheim stated that religion is essential in creating shared norms and values. He claimed that practices of religion and in the law, help people to live their lives.In modern Western society there are thirteen bishops in the House of Lords, who all influence which laws are made and passed, in accordance with Christian teachings. Such issues as abortion, euthanasia, and divorce are discussed and decisions are made about them, which are influenced by the church. Through this system of having a religious guidance, a value consensus is created, by which most of society accepts. This is also known as a collective consciousness which Durkheim taught, formed â€Å"social solidarity†; leading to a harmonious and stable environment for people to live in.Durkheim and many other Functionalists viewed social solidarity as highly important, as they believed it allowed people to feel socially supported reducing the risk of people feeling a sense of anomie. Durkheim himself was very focused on the â€Å"sacred† and â€Å"profane†. He claimed that religious procedures are something which societies see as being divine. For example, a supernatu ral being such as an omnipotent God, would be sacred. However, not only that but something does not have to be scared for it to be divine, thus meaning, as the Bible is full of religious teachings it is a divine object.Durkheim emphasised that divine matters, cause strong feelings of respect and defence. These strong beliefs can cause passionate emotions of dedication and encouragement thus establishing group solidarity; again ruling out the sense of anomie. The Functionalist argued that in a more profane manor, the church unites the community by having events like, tea afternoons, fates, jumble etc. This way the church is permitting people to give something back to their society but also receive help or companionship if they need it. Nevertheless, Durkheim is criticized for discarding the idea of a sacred being, being the main attribute of religion.On the other hand, Neo-Marxist Otto Maduro observes how religion contains the authority to inspire a revolt thus generating social chan ge. Maduro refereed to the â€Å"liberation theology† to put his view forward. Between the 1950’s and 1960’s, South America was largely Catholic but many priests started to separate themselves from the Catholic Church; claiming that it was their duty to assist and liberate those who were being oppressed. This is when the â€Å"liberation theology† first started to be taught. These teachings opposed the current situation; leading to a revolution.Oscar Romero was a Catholic bishop who spoke out about the injustice of so many people, and for this he was assonated. His death sparked a huge amount of outrage and fury by the people he was trying to help, groups such as the Democratic Revolutionary front united to oppose what the government was doing, in terms of exploiting the people. Maduro used the â€Å"liberation theology† to highlight how religion can perform as a force for social change. Another example, of religion being a force for social change is the Apartheid system in South Africa.This was the legal racial separation of people from1948 until 1993, which meant that various races were separated into different districts and  discriminated  against in coherence with their colour. White people had priority over housing, jobs, education, and political power, whereas the coloured people were forced to live in poverty and suffer. Reverend Trevor Huddleston travelled to South Africa and spoke out peacefully against the Apartheid, which soon led to his arrest but also put a lot of attention on what was occurring in South Africa for other countries to take notice of.Soon after the arrest, Western democratic countries put into place anti-apartheid policies and took action. South Africa was forbidden from sporting events and trading was made more difficult for them, forcing for them to come to an arrangement. By 1980 the Apartheid had completely broken down and black South Africans were freed. Desmond Tutu then became the first ever black Arch Bishop, underlining how significantly religion had led to social change, for the better. Conversely, Marxists view religion as acting as a conservative force because they propose it prevents revolutionary change.Marx argued that religion is an important form of social control. All through history the church has acted in such a way that people conform to it. This was done through God and Hell, which were exercised as a deterrent. The people in power quickly realised that religion had a great hold over the population and so it became part of â€Å"the power group†. For example, Kings used to give money or land to the church in exchange, the church would preach the peasants whatever the monarchy told them to. Even in today’s society, Queen Elizabeth still has the title â€Å"Defender of the faith† and she is also head of the Church of England.Illustrating that those in power, still have control over the church, and what the republic hear. Marx explo red how the dominant ideology was conveyed through sermons, and Bible teachings. These sermons and Bible teachings could be said to consist of a false hope for some people. Many of the Bible stories communicate that idea that if you are poor in this life and you suffer, when you die you will be rewarded by God in Heaven. These promises of a perfect afterlife, keep the working classes in their place; reducing their aspiration to change society.The Caste system in India is a good model of how religion keeps people in their places. The Hindu Caste system separates the people into four different classes, depending on their occupation and family background. The Kshatriyas are the top class and according to the traditional Hindu principles, they are there to protect the people. The Chandalas also known as the untouchables are the lowest class, and are discriminated against as they are believed not to follow the â€Å"true† Hindu faith. It used to be that these people were not allow ed to walk around the village or city during day time, or speak to anyone other than other Untouchables.The Cate system was enforced through law books, religious teachings, kings and the threatening of being punished in this life and the next if you question which class you are placed in to; again preventing people from changing their social conditions due to fear of God but leaving the alienated. In contrast to this, Althusser rejects the concept of alienation because he feels it is unscientific, and based on an idealistic theory that human being have â€Å"true self†. Nevertheless, Functionalist Michael Robert Bella stated that in modern societies that state connects with religion to unite the country.This is known as a â€Å"Civil religion†. Through creating a religion around the idea of a nation state, the religion acts as a value consensus; creating social solidarity. For example, in America the people pledge their allegiance to the flag, to honour their country a nd to God. On the dollar bills, the words â€Å"In God we trust† are printed, to remind people that God is there for them no matter what. Bella accentuates that religion is not a force for social change as it united a society and makes it stronger as it holds something in common, that being a belief in God.On the contrary, Neo-Marxist Gramsci looked into Hegemony, which is the way in which the ruling class maintain their privileged positions by making them seemed justified. In this instance, Gramsci looks at how hegemony occurs through religious ideas, rather than coercion. The ruling class rely heavily on the majority of the population consenting to their rule. During the 1920’s Gramsci observed that there was a large amount of traditional moral control of the Church in helping to gain support for Mussolini’s fascist regime in Italy.This highlights how the ruling class and religion combined to reach a certain goal, and to achieve the population’s approva l. However, Gramsci also specified that religion does have to potential to develop and either support or challenge the ruling class. For example, The Archbishop of Canterbury recently published his highly critical feelings of the Conservative parties polices. Also the â€Å"Stop Capitalism† campaign outside St Pauls Cathedral was primarily supported by the church; allowing the protesters to correspond their thoughts on our society.This stressed Gramsci’s point that the church is not directly under the influence of the ruling class, and so does have the potential to create social change if an anti-hegemony situation occurs. As well at this, Functionalist Parsons, declared that religion is a positive force in times of uncertainty. People turn to religion to answer those â€Å"ultimate questions† about life, such as â€Å"What is the point? † Parsons maintained that in situations like death, marriage and birth, people turn to God for answers and hope. Religi on does not create social change, as it is not intending to do so.Religion is there for when a person is scared, looking for salvation or just needs someone to care about them. Similar to Parsons, Malinowski, who was an anthropologist, carried out a study to find out if all societies had a religion. He travelled to an ancient society in The Trobiand. Malinowski observed that when the men went out of the lagoon to fish, entering into the open water, it was seen as a highly dangerous event, which not everyone would come back from. He then went on to see that before the men left the lagoon a ritual of yam giving took place.It appeared to Malinowski, that this was a religious ceremony which gave consolation to the families as well as wider society. Consequently, a Functionalist may assert the point that religion does not provide social change, as again it is there to produce social solidarity, in the way that it aids people, giving them something in common again to minimise the risk of anyone feeling unwanted or alone. Conversely, recent research on the Trobiand islands has challenged Malinowski’s research and his interpretation of the meaning of yam giving.Whilst carrying out his research Malinowski did not speak directly to the people, he simply observed; placing his own version of events onto the situation. Modern research has shown, through the use if interpertistic techniques, that the yam giving was a marriage intension, much like a proposal rather than being worried about the fishermen. The modern researches were not looking at what the action was, unlike Malinowski, they were looking at what the meaning behind the action was (commonly known as Verstehen. ) This new research brings to light the fact that these people, who appeared to have no religion, were living happily with each other.This could them further suggest that if religion was introduced to them, their society could change because it something they have never needed to consider before, co nsequently implying that religion could be a force for social change, if it is introduced as a completely alien topic. In addition, Weber wrote â€Å"The Protestant Ethic and The Spirit of Capitalism† examining how Protestantism was a huge part of how society changed into a capitalist economy. He claims that the values of ascetic Calvinist Protestantism shaped a work ethic which encouraged capitalism.Calvinists believed in â€Å"predestination†, the theory that God chooses whether you go to heaven or hell before you are born. This formed a psychological problem for Calvinists, as they did not know if they were one of the â€Å"elect†. As a solution to this they developed a set of values that expressed hard work, frugality and the growth of wealth. These ethics inherently led to the â€Å"spirit of capitalism†, and Weber assured that this is why Capitalism first developed in Northern Europe, where Calvinism and Protestantism were most commanding. Weberâ₠¬â„¢s research is a firm paradigm of religion generating social transformation.His research is still useful when looking at today’s societies, with countries such as Germany and Sweden which converted to Protestantism, and are model countries economically. Whereas, countries which are still Catholic like Spain and Greece are in a financial crisis. Lastly, many feminists view religion as being a patriarchal institution that presents inequalities through religious beliefs; functioning via a patriarchal ideology. Feminist’s dispute that most of the religious organisations are male dominated. Judaism and Catholicism forbid women from becoming priests.Karen Armstrong debates that the clear discrimination against women in this manner, is evidence of women’s demotion. As well as this, in places of worship the two sexes are often segregated, the women being put at the back perhaps behind screen, whilst the men are in the sacred areas. Sometimes women are not allowed to participate in the practices, this maybe reading out a passage or preaching. In the Islamic culture, women are menstruating are not allowed to the Qur’an and could be asked to leave the place of worship all together, so as not to pollute of contaminate the sacred environment.In many of the sacred texts, like the Bible, women are stereotyped as a temptress and blamed for anything that goes wrong, For example, in Genesis Eve creates the fall of humanity by picking the fruit from the forbidden tree of knowledge. This is ironic as the entirety of the Bible stories are supposedly written by men. However, before the rise of Christianity women were not always seen as the males subordinate. Armstrong identifies that in early religions women were central in the beliefs, being the mother of goodness and nature. It wasn’t until Patriarchy began that women lost their godly statuses.This could suggest that when Christianity rose, and people read about the evil of women, Patriarchy was promoted, as women are referred to in the Bible as â€Å"man’s helper†; giving men power to rule over women. Therefore, a feminist may argue that religion does create social change but in a negative way, as it inspired men to take control of women and oppress them, as punishment for their â€Å"sins†. In conclusion, Functionalism and Marxism have strong arguments which describe how religions help to maintain social order and counteract social change.A Marxist may also say social change does not occur through religion, as the ruling class want it to stay the same. Juxtaposing this view, history has revealed that in some extreme cases such as the â€Å"Liberation theology† religion has been a positive force for social change. Whereas, a feminist could say religion has been a negative force for social change as seen throughout the history of women’s oppression. For that reason, I would say religion is a force for social change, but only in extreme conditions where the change happens on a considerable scale.

Essay Sample on New Religious Movements with Perspectives on Religious Deviance

Essay Sample on New Religious Movements with Perspectives on Religious Deviance New Religious Movements: Theoretical Perspectives on Religious Deviance The subject of deviance, taken from any context be it political, religious or cultural has fueled many heated debates over the decades.   Although the topic has accumulated a rather large body of knowledge, experts, theorists, critics and academicians are no closer to reaching an agreement about anything.   According to Clinard (2004), deviance takes many forms, but the agreement remains elusive about which specific behaviours and conditions constitute deviance. This ambiguity becomes especially evident when some people praise the same behaviour that others condemn. To understand deviance, one must first understand this contradiction:   No consensus reliably identifies behaviour, people, or conditions that are deviant, although most people would say that they know deviance when they see it. (p.2) Despite all the theoretical landmines in this subject arena, Adler and Adler (1994) offer a rather straightforward definition of deviance as violations of social norms.(p.7) For the purposes of this discussion about deviance, particularly the religious deviance of groups known as cults, we will employ such a definition.   Norms are behavioural codes, or prescriptions, that guide people into actions and self-presentations that conform to social acceptability.   Norms need not be agreed on by every member of the group doing the defining, but a clear or vocal majority must agree. (Adler Adler). People may be viewed as deviant due to their behaviour, beliefs, or condition. Among these three, it appears that the judging of behaviour is what most are familiar with.   The behavioural patterns considered as manifestations of a deviant nature may either be intentional or inadvertent. People can, and often are, labelled deviant for alternative attitudes or belief systems that depart from what society considers prescribed norms.   These alternative belief systems may be, but not limited to, a religious or political category, wherein the people who ascribe to such values are considered to hold strange and unorthodox perspectives (e.g. cult members, extreme political leftists, Satanists). (Adler Adler) In the words of Howard Becker (as cited in Adler Adler, 1994), a deviant is an outsider, one who is outside the consensus of what constitutes proper conduct. (p.17) The problem with this dangerously simplistic viewpoint is the rather inescapable fact that everyone is someone else for everyone. Thus, discussions on deviance quickly turn into one of norms and the vain and tiresome quest of searching for universal truths, applicable anywhere and to everyone. Historically speaking, many prescribed behavioural modes or norms of were originally enforced by the powerful arm of the church through the concept of sin. Certain virtues were praised to be mediums to eternal salvation while the transgressions of these rules would lead to the fires of hell.   The use of secular law to regulate to regulate them is a relic of the time when the authority of the state was used to enforce the rules of an established church.   That era is past, but we can see our cultural heritage most clearly perhaps in the laws we inherited from the Puritan theocracy in New England.   We have (or have had in the recent past) laws against blasphemy, obscenity, contraception, Sabbath breaking, extra-marital sexual relations, lewdness, homosexuality, gambling and drunkenness.(Clinard, 2004, p.24) This behavioural inheritance echoes the remnants of a culture in which religion once was dominant.   As times have progressed, our culture has evolved, our economic and technological systems have gotten more and more sophisticated, scientific breakthroughs have occurred and baffled the world, communication and the role of mass media have been emphasized, virtually as the world got smaller in terms of frontiers to be crossed, the role religion as a social glue has waned in importance. If we remove the religious component, the criterion for whether the conduct in question should be forbidden should rest on whether there is any demonstrable, objectively measurable social harm resulting from it.   To determine this, we must separately consider and evaluate each mode of conduct.   In a totally rational world we would expect to find a correlation between the prohibition of conduct and its objective harmfulness.   But this is not a rational world and the correlation does not exist. (Clinard, 2004,p15) Taking note of these contemporary times, nothing is more evident, than the global religious diversity.   And yet, this diversity does not automatically translate to tolerance or even acceptance, as many current events regarding Christianity and Islam may point out.   Often, as many have said though few have believed, it is the inadequacy of these well-established religions to reach some of their followers at a more spiritual level beyond rote recitations of faith that lead others to form counter-religions or counter-cultures offering a new religious path. The period from the late1960s through the middle 1970s was the time when the concept of counterculture of flamboyant political and vigorous protest among the ranks of educated youth in America.   Sociologists such as Robert Bellah and Charles Glock (as cited by Robbins, 1998) â€Å"have interpreted the cultural tumult as essentially a religious crisis or cultural crisis of meaning in which dominant value complexes such as utilitarian individualism were being challenged.(p.1) Sociology, as a scientific discipline, commits itself to the search for general, explanatory theories that shed light, albeit in an abstract way, to the probable causes of empirical change in any given societal situation.   In the sub-area of religion, however, it is extremely difficult to encapsulate the diverse cultural, social and spiritual processes in one neat idea.   Therefore,   the sociological task is to embrace, in analytical formulations of wide application, diverse cultural contents and the unstated but implicit, assumption of sociologists is that their concepts should, like those of natural scientists, be of universal application.   It has been commonplace of modern sociological theory that social systems depend for their integration on value consensus, and that such consensus attains its ultimate expression in religion.(Barker,1982,p.16) The concept of new religious movements, particularly that of the cultic phenomena is extremely problematic for sociologists.   New movements have been a recurring in the different contexts of Christian cultures in the West.   Most of these movements are often ridiculed, persecuted, or suppressed until they cease to be new and eventually cease to be. The term cult is derived from 15th century Latin word for tend, care or cultivate.   Through the years, however, with its increased usage in relation to those religious groups that have been judged as an extreme departure from the average, prescribed norm, the term has lost its original etymological connotation of good. In popular usage this term refers, in an often pejorative way, to those religious movements which have succeeded in recruiting thousands of young members in many countries in the past decades. (Barker, 1982,p.29) The term cult is frequently applied to a wide range of groups political, therapeutic, magical and even scientific.   Those who use the term generally imply that the group is irrational in its beliefs and dogmatically led by a charismatic, possibly unscrupulous leader. Classically, the term cult has applied to various eccentric forms of religious worship and the groups that practice them.   During the past years, however, the word has taken on a pejorative meaning and generally implies that the group is suspect.   Critics use the term to describe groups they regard as false, dishonourable, and predatory and apply it to nonreligious groups that are seen as doctrinaire and extreme.   It can be said that one person’s religion is another person’s cult. (Committee on Psychiatry Religion, 1992) Sociology, in response to the call for explanations for general deviant behaviour offers many theories.   Each may of course be used to explain why certain individuals join these cults and exactly what they are in actual search of.   Popular culture views these cultic members as either crazy, fraudulent or a mixture of both, brainwashing and manipulating impressionable souls out their religious heritage and money.   Sociology prefers to analyze the behaviour and not judge the doer.   Therefore, with suspended judgement, this body of knowledge offers the following theories; chosen from a wide range due present the most-balance approach to explain the religious behaviour of these so-called deviant cults. Differential association theory is a classic, formal sociological statement of an idea familiar to everyone:   people are influenced by their friends.   In religious terms, people will tend to convert to a new religion if the majority of their friends already belong. Edwin H. Sutherlands theory of differential association, which centers on how people learn to be deviant, has become one of the most widely known theories in sociology since it first appeared in his Principles of Criminology in 1947. Sutherlands theory accounts for the cause of an individual’s deviant act, and the epidemiology, or distribution of deviant behaviour as reflected in various rates.   Sutherland argued that deviant group behaviour resulted from normative conflict.   Conflict among norms affects deviance through differential social organization determined by neighbourhood structures, peer group relationships, and family organization.   An individuals normative conflict results in criminal behaviour through differential association in which the deviant learns criminal definitions of behaviour from personal associates. (Adler Adler, 1994)

Global Warming and its Correlation to Overpopulation essays

Global Warming and its Correlation to Overpopulation essays In today's society we as a population are concerned with our ever-changing environment. One of the largest concerns in our ecosystem is overpopulation and the direct impact adhering to global warming. The global climate is increasing steadily, correlating between the population size and human industry. It is a big question right now, if our world has over exceeded its carrying capacity. The fact that the earths non-renewable resources are being rapidly absorbed into industry, will eventually lead us to major ecological disasters. Why are we becoming over populated? There are two main reasons to over population. Number one, people are living longer due to the Medical and Technical revolutions. Number two, we are having children at a earlier age; an example of this would be the abundant amount of teen pregnancies. Global warming exists because of over population. "Global warming is believed to be caused by changes in the earth's atmosphere as a result of industrial process."(Leggett 124) This holds true because after the Industrial Revolution man started to utilize more fossil fuels. The constant usage of fossil fuels emits CFCs (carboflourocarbons) into the atmosphere. Due to heavy amounts of deforestation and the destruction of oxygen producing organisms, more carbon than oxygen is being cycled within the atmosphere, generating large openings in our ozone layer. It is because of the tremendous size holes in the ozone, we have what is called global warming. Global warming is so important because it im pacts every living thing in our biosphere. Global warming produces a rise in temperature, alters weather conditions, raises the sea level (melting of the polar caps), animal depletion, shortage in crops, etc. Global warming is increasing so rapidly directly because of the ever so large world population and human production. It is because of the emittance of fossil fuels produced by vehicles and factori...