Top Nuclear Security Challenge Facing The World - 1372 Words

Top Nuclear Security challenge facing the world in The 21st century Ahmed Alghamdi Summary About two-thousands metric tons of high unreached uranium are spread around the world in militaries facilities. Securing those facilities is step number one for a world free of nuclear weapons. Also, Terror group threats should be taken into account for a safer world. The proliferation of nuclear weapons considered a threat to the globe. However, huge steps were taken by the international committee to eliminate nuclear weapons. Finally, high enriched uranium could be replaced to nuclear fuel that generating clean energy and making the world more peaceful. I. Introduction More than 2,000 metric tons of weapons-grade materials are spread all†¦show more content†¦However, many countries started to seek for these kind of weapons. After about three decades of the first use of nuclear attack, a nuclear power plant major accident occurred in Chernobyl, causes a huge amounts of radioactive particles to spread around the plant. Due to that, the surrounded city was evacuated and a lot of people was contaminated and some of them died [2]. II. Securing Nuclear Materials Facilities The first step in nuclear-free world plan is highly secure the weapons-grade materials such as high enriched uranium and plutonium. Even thought, Y-12 nuclear weapons production facility was intruded by protesters back in 2012. This facility is highly protected and secured. Nevertheless, the protesters made it to the main building. Fortunately, they didn’t mean to harm anything. The point of the protesters is to send a message that peace is much better than war [3]. Y-12 break is a proof that nuclear facilities still have lake of secure and surveillance. Moreover, Nuclear weapons facilities are spread in forty countries around the world. Because of that, Increasing the securing standards of nuclear weapons facilities are mandatory to achieve soon. The international community since Nuclear security summit in 2010 have made huge steps towards securing and elimination of nuclear materials. Furthermore, many countries improved the nuclear materials facilities secure. Other eliminated the high enriched

Coming of Age in Mississippi free essay sample

What did the murder of Samuel O’Quinn do to Anne Moody? 2. What were the causes of Anne Moody’s relationship with her mother changing when she went to college at Tougaloo? 3. During the movement, why was organizing in Canton, Mississippi so much more difficult than in Jackson, Mississippi? Introduction Coming of Age in Mississippi is an autobiographical book written by Anne Moody. The book entails the struggles throughout an African American Childs’ life from four-years-old through womanhood in the South and the role that race and racism played in America during that time. It helps one to become aware of life in the South before and during the Civil Rights Movement while showing the triumphs and the enduring problems that came out of the Civil Rights Movement. The book is divided into four sections: Childhood, High School, College, and The Movement. Childhood The book began in a child’s point of view, perfectly told, of growing up in rural Mississippi in the 1940s. We will write a custom essay sample on Coming of Age in Mississippi or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page She described the landscape, the people, and her own emotions with perfect clarity. While showing racism from the perspective of a child, she included her parents’ divorce following the constant moving of her family due to the fact that her mother struggled to feed the family on her own. Essie Mae experienced the repercussions of The Jim Crow Law at an early age. The book discussed the competition and tensions within the black community, the black churches, religion, and folk medicines. She began school and was a very good student, spirited and meticulous. Furthermore she was a hard worker outside the home as a domestic cleaner. Before she was even in middle school, Essie Mae got her first job working for a white lady. She swept her porches in exchange for two gallons of clabbered milk and seventy-five cents a week. This was the part of the book where she showed life through the eyes of â€Å"the help. † In that she worked for a white school teacher that treated her like an equal, let her eat dinner with them, and encouraged her to go to college. Her income helped to provide food and clothes for the entire family. I admired how she never expressed any resentment about needing to contribute to keeping the family going at a young age. She never viewed it as her parents’ fault. It was just the way it was, and she was willing to do what it took to help support her family. High School This section of the book delineated her experiences at high school and through her teenage years. As she grew older, her eyes were opened to the terrible racial problems and violence towards African Americans in Mississippi. This section began with the lynching of Emmett Till and how it affected the black community. Essie Mae then learned that Mrs. Burke (the white lady she worked for at the time) was active in â€Å"the guild† (aka the KKK) and started to worry that she would try to frame her for a false wrong-doing. She started showing signs of being in invariable pressure during this time, both in her body (headaches and losing weight) and in her mind (feeling trapped). The feeling of being stuck working for someone who you knew was going around organizing the murders of people of your race must have been traumatizing. It was in high school when the Ku Klux Klan activity in her hometown ramped up and she started to develop her fighting spirit that carried her out of white people’s homes and into the Civil Rights Movement. She was angry and fed up with the system, white people, and even the black people. But I also hated Negroes. I hated them for not standing up and doing something about the murders. In fact, I think I had a stronger resentment toward Negroes for letting the whites kill them than toward the whites. Anyway, it was at this stage in my life that I began to look upon Negro men as cowards (pg. 136). She started to become aware of the Civil Rights Movement (CRM) and the work of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) even though her mother would not tell her anything about it. She became sick of people and tired of the way things were in Centerville. Through it all she still excelled in high school and was an excellent basketball player, while using these things as a means of escape from the violence that surrounded her. She decided to spend the summer in New Orleans. She worked in a chicken factory as a strike breaker then found work in a restaurant making more money than she ever had before. Essie Mae started becoming a young woman, changed her hair and the way she dressed. She started having to deal with sexual advances from men, including her mother’s partner, Raymond, that caused immense problems in the family. She quickly grew tired of Raymond looking at her and moved in with her father and his wife until she graduated from high school from one of the new â€Å"separate but equal schools† in Wilkinson County. This section ended when Essie Mae received a basketball scholarship to attend Natchez Junior College in the fall. College In the shortest section of the book, Essie Mae began her college career at Natchez Junior College. She was very excited and nervous about college but was disappointed with Natchez. There were tensions with some of her teachers and the administration. She was tough, organized, and opinionated. She was a loner but worked hard on the basketball team and did excellent in school. She protested against the condition of the food at the college and led a demonstration that foreshadowed her role in the Civil Rights Movement. Her passion led her to Tougaloo Southern Christian College, the highly respected Historically Black College, in the state capital Jackson, Mississippi. Tougaloo was at the center of a lot of the activity of the Civil Rights Movement in the South. It was here that she made her first white friend, a fellow Civil Rights activist, Joan Trumpauer. Joan was a secretary for Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and they were starting a voter registration drive in Greenwood and Greenville. The SNCC was recruiting students to participate and Essie was asked to go canvass every other weekend and agreed without hesitation. This was what started her activity in the Civil Rights Movement that led her to meet many leaders of the Movement, such as Medgar Evers and Reverend King. As Essie Mae began to get wrapped up in the SNCC it started reflecting in her schoolwork. At the end of the section she decided to start her own sit-in at a bus station. Essie Mae and her friend Rose went into the white section at the Trailways. It did not take long before some drunken white man showed up and started harassing them. They missed several busses due to the fact that they were not being announced. Rose was scared and begged to leave as the crowd grew larger and louder. They backed out slowly and were saved by a black man that told them to get in the car and drove them all the way back to the college. Through this experience Essie Mae learned quickly that she needed planning and an escape plan to do a sit-in again. The Movement The final section of the book, Essie Mae profoundly described her experiences in the Civil Rights Movement. This section of the autobiography was filled with astounding events, highs and lows, trials and tribulations, and reflected on how hard it was for black people to survive during that time. This section began with Essie Mae sending her mother a NAACP flyer for a convention in Jackson hoping that her mother would be as excited as she was. In response to Essie Mae’s letter her mother replied angrily, she claimed that if Essie Mae did not stop her activities in the Movement that she was going to get herself and her family killed. This was when she started to reflect and realized that she could never go back home again now that she had been affiliated with the NAACP. â€Å"But something happened to me as I got more and more involved in the Movement. It no longer seemed important to prove anything. I had found something outside myself that gave meaning to my life. † (pg.286) This is where one gets a great sense of why she became so involved, her exhaustion from overwork and stress, the tensions it caused with her family, the very real risk of white aggression and terrorization. Essie Mae became friends with John Salter, who was in charge of the NAACP, through him she learned that sit-in demonstrations were starting in Jackson. This was when she was asked by John to lead the famous Woolworth Sit-In. During th e sit-in, Essie Mae showed her strength and how determined that she was to never give up no matter how rough things became. After the murder of Medgar Evers, the Jackson NAACP leader, the militancy in Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) and SNCC started to rally together protesters quickly with the help of Essie Mae, of course. They were all gathered up quickly by the police and hauled off to the fairgrounds and were treated worse than swine in an auction house. Not long after things get more violent and hard to handle, CORE opened an office in Canton to start a voter registration drive in Madison County, Essie Mae seen this as an opportunity to start fresh and was determined to go. This was a very difficult area to organize because of the black indifference and white violence. Everyone pleaded with her not to go even Reverend King himself. â€Å"I also felt there was a chance of winning the battle regardless of how costly it turned out to be,† she declared (pg. 312). After being there for quite some time barley surviving she got on SNCC’s payroll and they provided food and clothes to help the poor blacks in the area. Although she opposed the Freedom Vote Campaign, she still worked hard as a volunteer. Fatigued and in poor health, she decided to leave Canton eventually and headed to New Orleans. She felt alienated from her family because they feared her activity in the Movement and got involved with CORE in there. In May of 1964, she returned to Canton to work on the Mississippi Freedom Summer campaign, a colossal campaign to educate African Americans on the Movement and encourage them to vote. The program also provided clinics, schools, and social services for the poor. In the last chapter of the book Essie Mae boarded the bus to Washington to attend the Council of Federated Organizations (COFO) hearings. Everyone was singing freedom songs while she was wondering if anything would ever come of all they had worked for. The End Conclusion Essie Mae’s passion for doing what was right in the face of danger and pain was significant and admirable. She would rather die fighting the system than to live under the system. She did not seem to realize it, but it took an unusual level of strength and courage to do the things that she did. It takes people like her to make change happen and become the leaders that get people to act in spite of their fears. Throughout reading this book, my eyes were opened to the many difficulties that blacks endured throughout the Movement. It showed me racism from the eyes of a child all the way through to racism in the eyes of a strong, black woman of the South. I feel that I more deeply understand what they went through, though I will never experience it for myself. I really enjoyed reading this book especially the first section due to the uncanny way that she captured her childhood voice in her writing. I think this was a great book to read in this class as an assignment and I would urge that you do assign it in the future. Coming of Age in Mississippi free essay sample Yet in reality, not all people are born and raised in an ideal environment. In many instances, a person may be born into a life of struggle and challenges, in which case coming of age becomes a matter of interaction between the influence of elements in life to a person and the same person’s response to such elements. In Anne Moody’s memoir, Coming of Age in Mississippi, published in 1968, the reader sees the author’s remarkable coming of age. In a way, it can be said that the elements in Anne’s life has caused her to witness conflict between discrimination and inequality. Major elements such as characters, setting, and conflict contribute to the plot that traces her development from a young girl to a highly principled woman. To begin with, it is important to know that the setting plays a part in Anne’s development. Anne was born in Centreville, Mississippi in 1940 to an impoverished African-American family. We will write a custom essay sample on Coming of Age in Mississippi or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Already, the time and place of her birth give clues to what kind of life she is destined to face. Firstly, life in Mississippi is obviously varied as factors such as time and socioeconomic standing affects its quality. But because Anne was born in a specific time in Mississippi, it is easy to assume what the type of setting it was. Mississippi in the 1940s was a place deeply entrenched in the practices of racial segregation. It was a time when it was legal for society to treat individuals according to the color of their skin. In virtually all of these instances, the blacks as well as other â€Å"colored† people were marginalized. Anne squarely belonged to this faction. And because she was born to a poor family, one can only imagine the kind of struggle that she had to face. Not only was she marginalized on account of her race but she also was at the lowest economic standing among her own people. Being in a rural setting also did not help as it was in such a place that antiquated beliefs in the hierarchy of races tend to flourish most. Similar to the setting, the characters around Anne also serve as an instrumental element in her coming of age. Anne is essentially surrounded by people of diverse beliefs. The society, which may serve as a collective character in itself, is polarized by stances regarding the interaction between whites and blacks. On one side of the group are the ones who believe in the equality of the races; on the other are those who advance the idea of white supremacy and black inferiority. Also, there are specific characters in her life that have different influences in her. First is her mother, Toosweet. Whereas Toosweet does encourage Anne to study and strives for her as well as her siblings, she is pessimistic and seems to have accepted upon herself that the fate of the blacks will not change. In contrast to Toosweet is Mrs. Rice, Anne’s teacher. Mrs. Rice acts as a second mother to Anne yet unlike Toosweet she encourages Anne’s budding passion for the civil rights movement. She informs Anne of the NAACP and of the race relations in Mississippi. She is in a way a guide that encourages Anne to join the movement in opposition to Toosweet’s disapproval of Anne’s actions. The coexistence of the setting and the characters in turn contribute to the main conflict of the story. As said before, Mississippi was a strongly segregated state. As such, the differences in the characters’ stance with regard to the issue of race provide a conflict that the main character, Anne, has to confront. Anne witnesses the oppression of African Americans in the hands of white people. Apart from the social injustices that are made effectively legal by the segregation laws, the treatment of blacks have become atrocious to the point that murder and all forms of indignities were being perpetuated with impunity. The question that arises, therefore, is what Anne ought to do. Should she remain silent and accepting, as her mother instructs her, for the sake of her personal safety, or should she fight for her rights, as is her desire and on encouragement of her teacher, for both her personal and the black people collective freedom from oppression? Anne’s response to the conflict that arises from the setting she exists in and the characters’ treatment of racial issues in turn drives the plot of the story. As the story unfolds, the reader learns of how Anne eventually transforms from a young, impoverished girl to an outspoken and strong advocate of the civil rights movement. One sees her achieve personal triumph in continuing her studies and opting to join the NAACP to advance equality among the races. Basically, her coming of age is highlighted by an inspiring acquisition of personal principles that promote her beliefs. Although the plot ends with uncertainty since it was published in 1968, the reader is given the assurance that she continues on with her advocacy as she can be seen riding a bus towards Washington D. C. wondering if her people can eventually overcome oppression. In conclusion, it is clear that the elements in Anne Moody’s life all work together to render her story a remarkable tale of struggle and triumph. Firstly, the setting of Anne’s life determines her standing in society. Then, the existence of various characters in the setting creates a conflict in the form of a question: should Anne fight for freedom or should she succumb to oppression? The conflict is resolved in the plot of her memoir wherein the writer learns her unraveling as a young woman. She acquires education, becomes the homecoming queen, and ultimately decides to take a stand against injustice. Her development from being a young impoverished girl to a spirited young woman is a tale of triumph. It is true that Anne could have followed any other life had she been born in another setting, with different people surrounding her, and different conflicts confronting her. But the fact of the matter is she was born in Mississippi in a time when injustice reigned; she is surrounded by specific people that helped shape her life experiences and her perception of the world. And as a result, she becomes a unique person with unique beliefs and principles. She became the Anne Moody that the reader becomes intimately aware of as her life unravels in the pages of her memoirs. Coming of Age in Mississippi free essay sample While all this was going on in the South some parts of the nation is living in a bubble of carefree living. â€Å"The Way We Never Were† by Stephanie Coontz depicts the other extreme way of life America was living in. You have one lifestyle of industrial living in New York, Chicago, and other Industrial advanced cities in that era, and then you have the corn growing and cotton picking farmers of the South that provided all the basic needs for the industrial booming cities in the northern region of the United States. In the autobiography written by Anne Moody, it depicts the extreme absurdity of racial classifications, the unwillingness to come together for a greater cause to provide equality for the human race in America, and what hatred because of people’s indifferences that people could not have control or abilities to adjust to conform to the majorities liking. While Anne does not question that race and racism are very real facts of life, she does show how absurd and arbitrary racial distinctions are. We will write a custom essay sample on Coming of Age in Mississippi or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page During Anne’s childhood, many whites publicly argued that blacks were genetically inferior to whites. When a group of people with the same interest and cause refuse to band together to improve their situation, improvement becomes impossible and without no end. Throughout this autobiography the willingness blacks are to accept injustice becomes a aggravating and frustrating fact because when you have everyone complaining about the lifestyle they are living, but don’t want to do anything about it to fix it you shouldn’t complain about the situation. If you complain you should step up to the plate and voice your opinion and the situation and advocated for a change. Emotions, feelings, and belief are a couple of the strongest motivators for people, a racial group, or a just cause. Like most of my elders say if you want it bad enough you will succeed. If there is a will there is a way. You just have question yourself if you will keep trying to reach your goal or will you collapse through all of the obstacles that you will to reach the road’s end. The want to be better than the person next to you, and to move up in class and in status without doing anything to get there beside what you are born with is the reason why prejudice against African-American happened. Even African-American had prejudice against other people of their race because of their skin color. The light-skin African-Americans as known as mulattos were prejudice against the darker-colored African-Americans. They often try to carve out a higher social status for themselves, despite the fact that they are legally no better off than blacks relative to whites. Its kind of ironic what people do to distance themselves from a â€Å"lower class of people† even when they are just as relatively the same as the people they try to distance themselves from. Finally, after meeting lighter-skinned blacks and whites who do not look down on her, Anne accepts that not all members of these groups are untrustworthy. However, prejudice nearly costs her important opportunities in her life, and makes her a suspicious and pessimistic person. While all this was going on in the South, â€Å"The Way We Never Were† depicts a totally different and opposite lifestyle as if they were living in a different world. Most of the elder of today remember how life was back in the 1950s and how â€Å"better† we were because we didn’t have the distraction of the internet, electronic game console, and the ever popular television. All of these forms of entertainment, some critics say, hinder our generation into becoming an individualist society without the discipline that was present in the 1950s. The good old time as some people call it, but as Stephanie Coontz explains we are not different today as we were fifty something years ago. All of the statistics and number are conclusive facts that we are the same as a human race as we were before. We praise for individuality, but with that comes the willingness to break out of the mold of what some parents think should be the ideal children. All of these current issues with today society were present back in the 1950s, but it wasn’t really voiced or became an issue of discussion as it is now days. Coontz systematically tears apart all of our myths about what families are, used to be, and ought to be. Its just amazing how much, as a whole, we believe these sources of news and what we hear from politicians and public policy analysts is merely a pick and choose of the truth to make stories interesting for the consumer to be attracted to. Some of the facts that were included in the novel written by Ms. Coontz’s novel surprised and amazed me because in my mind I believe that the families of the 1950s were what the majority of Americans seems it was like, â€Å"The Golden Age. † For instance, the common belief that American these days do not have marriages that last as long or they did in the 1950s and that teen pregnancy, marriages, and abortion were irrelevant back then is a total myth. It’s amazing how the things we want to hear and what we don’t want to hear becomes the truth in our minds without taking into consideration of the truth. We are all amazed and attracted to the perfect family lifestyle, and we believe what we want to believe. But the truth of the matter, is that we are no different today then we were decades ago. Remember the television show the Brady Bunch, and how we see there family as a loving, fair, and a family that was perfect; wishing we were like that perfect family. Like the common saying goes, we are not perfect if we were we wouldn’t be the human race that we are today. Nothing of that sort has been accomplished as a common fact in American society, even though we tend to believe that we were once a well to do society when we first started to make an image for the American people. After reading these two novels, it open my eyes up to the things that were once the truth for me and the images I had of the family life in the 1950s. We tend to only imagine the great things in life and leave the things that we don’t want to remember behind. The image of a white picket fence house with a dog, housewife, three children, and a loving environment has always been the image that was in my mind when I thought of the 1950, and its perfect family image. Anne Moore’s novel about the 1950s is the extreme negative side of the 1950s where we as a nation was ignorance to the equality for the human race instead of trying to better than the person next to you. You have slavery and the start of a equal nation for the people that was forcedly sent to the United States to do the dirty work of building the nation that we are so proud to live in today. Because you thought that they did all the dirty work for you and the jobs that no one wanted to do that they were any less of a human being then you are. Both of these novels showed how a nation that was so blinded, naive and ignorance hen can be the same now and we don’t even realize it. The success as a nation that raise from being the new and baby nation in the 1950s to what it is today, a super power, has showed how much we the people have change so that our nation can be what it is a today, the big brother. The United States is the nation that equates freedom, opportunity, and the right to be who we want to be. Because of the things that our nation as gone through in the past, we want to make it concrete that these things will not happen again, for instance slavery and not treating everyone as part of the human race. Through all of the trial and error that our nation has gone through, depicted in these two novels, we have gone a long way to overcome all the hardships and pictures of the bad choices we made. We try everything to make everyone that lives in this nation equal. Everyone has the opportunity for school, work, and to receive a helping hand when needed which we not available in the 1950s. These two books open my eyes to a lot of new things and that what this country can offer any one.

Sociology and Religion

Introduction Sociology and religion have significant relationships, as sociology is the study of human behaviors and interactions at the individual level or group level. On the other hand, religion is composed of a group of individuals having the same beliefs, values, and principles, and thus they influence one another and society in the development of social systems that hold people together.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Sociology and Religion specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Usually, sociology has two important aspects in the study of groups or individuals. First, sociology enhances understanding of group dynamics in terms of their functioning, nature, interaction, and individual differences. Secondly, sociology provides a way of understanding how a social group influences individuals and humanity in the society. The process of socialization has enduring impact on one’s life because from birth to old age, social forces shape human behavior and societal beliefs, values, and principles. Fundamentally, religion comprises a group of people that share same social dynamics and have the same influence on individuals and society, thus it is of great interest to sociologists. In exploring religion in society, this essay examines sociological assumptions and features with a view of observing the sociology of religion. Sociological Assumptions The first sociological assumption is that an individual is a biological organism. As a biological organism, an individual has physiological needs, drives, potentials, and limitations that are subject to biological factors. Essentially, biological factors can either limit or enhance the socializing influence of groups on individuals and society. In this case, religion is a group that has the capacity to socialize and influence biological factors of an individual. As religious beliefs, values, and principles differ from one religion to another, they ha ve varied influence on individuals. While some religions are liberals, others are very restrictive, thus they have differential influence on the development of human behavior and social interactions. For example, a religion can have beliefs, values, and principles that encourage its members to segregate from the rest of society. The influence of causing segregation is central in sociology because it changes biological factors that determine human behavior in the society. The second sociological assumption is that human beings have the ability to attach meanings and symbols to certain things that they associate with within their environments.Advertising Looking for essay on religion theology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Through the process of socialization, human beings build consensus on how to label or attach meanings and enhance communication. In religious circles, people can attach meanings to abstract concepts such as love, righteousness, wickedness, and happiness. Symbolization enables people to communicate effectively among group members without involving other people. Moreover, symbolization enables people to communicate intricate meanings regarding religion given that different religions have different beliefs in which people can best present them symbolically. The use of symbols in religious activities allows people to internalize religious beliefs and gain a deep understanding on religious mysteries. Thus, the interpretation of religious symbols indicates maturity of religious growth for symbols have intricate meanings that enable believers to comprehend the essence of religion in their lives. The third sociological assumption is that groups play a central role in human development because through socialization, people can gain their human nature. If social groups do not exist in the society, people will not gain their human nature. As babies grow into adulthood, the experiences of sociali zation influence their development into humans, who have internalized societal values, principles, and beliefs that people hold in the society. Normally, when children grow up, they acquire their behaviors from the immediate environment, which has significant influence in their lives, thus shaping their behaviors in society. In the aspect of religion, children grow up while internalizing religious beliefs, values, and principles, which shape them to behave as dominant members of the religions. Therefore, a religious group has considerable impact in humanization of people through the process of socialization. The fourth sociological assumption is that human actions exist because they are important in problem solving. Every action that human beings carry out in society has the ultimate function of solving a given problem. For instance, one can struggle to get biological needs such as food to avoid hunger or strive in school to improve literacy and gain new knowledge and skills. This a spect implies that hunger and illiteracy are problems that human beings struggle to overcome, for without their resolution people would perish. In this case, religion enables human beings to solve problems because by adhering to religious laws, beliefs, values, and principles, they avoid evil behaviors that have detrimental effects on their lives. Hence, religion is important in the society because it promotes peaceful coexistence in the diverse society by pushing for good moral behaviors. Since sociology examines interactive behaviors of people, the fifth sociological assumption is that various social phenomena that exist in a given group interrelate. Different social phenomena interrelate either in an indirect or direct manner. In religious groups, religion influences humans and humans in turn influence religion.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Sociology and Religion specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More From a soc iological perspective, religion is both an independent and dependent variable having the ability to influence or be under influence respectively. The interrelationship of sociology with other social phenomena in a cause-effect manner is central in understanding the sociology of religion. Sociological features of Religion The first sociological feature of a religion is that it is a group phenomenon. The group phenomenon is an evident feature of sociology because people gather in hundreds or thousands in worship places. People gather as they have common beliefs and expectations in a given gathering. For example, Christians gather during Easter to celebrate the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ, while Muslims make a pilgrimage to Mecca to celebrate the life of Prophet Mohammed. For a gathering of people to become a group, sociologists state that a group must have two or more people who share common goals, norms, responsibilities, assigned functions, and should profess as a m ember of the group. Based of these characteristics, a religion qualifies as a sociological group. Additionally, in religion, one becomes a member of a given religion voluntarily without undue coercion, which means that religions cater for individual interests. Hence, religion exists as a group of people with common beliefs and interests, which hold them together since individuals are independent agents who have the freedom to interact and associate with other people irrespective of their religious backgrounds. Religion comprises a body or a system of beliefs, which is its second feature. The major difference amongst religions rests in the body of beliefs that a religion professes. The differences that exist among religions such as Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism emanate from differences in religious beliefs and principles. People choose to belong to a certain religion based on the religious beliefs that it holds. The diverse religious beliefs originate from teachings pas sed from one generation to another and scared books. Sacred books such as the Quran, the Bible, the Bhagavad Gita, and the Book of Mormon form the basis of religious beliefs that have caused the existence of diverse religions in the modern society. Although the diverse religions started from a given geographical location, the spread of beliefs across the world has led to the growth of religions, thus having considerable impact on society. The third feature of a religion is that it comprises a set of practices that people perform. Different religions have their own religious practices that they perform according to their ritual beliefs. Some of the prevalent religious practices include foot washing, baptism, Last Supper, Mass, dancing, fasting, and offerings. Although these practices are common amongst Christians, other religions have theirs.Advertising Looking for essay on religion theology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More For example, Muslims perform their prayers four times a day, while Buddhists perform their prayers as many times as they can. Actions that religions perform when they gather constitute religious practices because they have their basis on religious teachings, which are present in holy books. The religious practices are important because they define how people should conduct their worship in holy places. Worship usually entails rituals that guide worshipers to adhere to religious beliefs and principles. An important feature about religion is its role in prescribing morals in the society. In different societies, people agree that religions have a noble role of determining moral principles that are prevalent in society. Without religions, it could have been hard for the society to be the custodian of morals since it is very diverse and does not qualify to be a group with significant influences on societal members or other groups. Therefore, religions are not only custodians of moral val ues and principles, but also define them so that societal members can acquire moral behaviors. Through religion, supernatural powers influence society by causing transformation of human behavior. Since religious followers subscribe to given moral principles, they also advocate for these moral principles in the society, thus transforming societal perceptions on certain moral issues like abortion and drug abuse. The last feature of religion is that it entails sacred elements and teachings. The basis of any religion is sacredness. Religious leaders and followers alike believe that their religious beliefs are sacred because God has blessed and ordained them for humanity. Presumably, if human beings follow all sacred teachings and adhere to religious laws, one day they will link up with their God, who provides spiritual nourishment and healthy life to people. The sacredness of a religion is evident in the use of scared symbols like cross, manner of worship, offering of sacrifices, belief in blessings or curses, and respect for holy places of worship. Therefore, religion is a social group that values sacredness of their beliefs and practices in society. Sociology of Religion Based on sociological assumptions and features, it is evident that religion is a social phenomenon, which interacts with other social phenomena in the society. Since religion interacts with other social phenomena, empirical studies can determine how interactions occur and establish their extent in causing social changes that shape the society. Through the scientific method of study, sociologists can conduct systematic research to disapprove myths and verify theories associated with sociology. Although religion entails spiritual powers and supernatural forces, it is hard for sociologists to measure its impacts in shaping the society. However, given that religion is a social phenomenon, examination of its interactions with other social phenomena provides a means of empirically studying the sociolo gy of religion. Sociologists have examined religion from two different perspectives. The first perspective is substantive approach, which views religion from the perspective of its core principles. Examination of the core principles that underpin religion is central in the sociological study because they provide the foundation of the religion in question. The â€Å"substance† or â€Å"essence† of religion in society forms the basic understanding of the impact of religion on society because beliefs, values, and principles that it advocates are important in shaping human behavior in society. Owing to the complexity of substantive approach in studying religion, the second approach, viz. functional approach, is effective in studying the impact of religion on society. From the functional approach, sociologists examine what religions do to the society and how they influence human behavior. This perspective is important to sociologists because it facilitates the examination o f how religion, as a social phenomenon, interacts with other social groups that exist in a given society. Conclusion As religion comprises a group of people sharing the same beliefs, values, and principles about life, it qualifies as a sociological group. Based on sociological assumptions and features, religion meets the requirements of a social group in terms of being a group with common beliefs, practices, morals, and sacred teachings. Religion is a powerful social agent that aids in shaping human behaviors at the individual level or societal level. Therefore, sociology of religion is imperative in enhancing understanding on how religion interacts with other social phenomena, thus causing significant influence on human behavior in society. This essay on Sociology and Religion was written and submitted by user Sienna Osborne to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

A Matter of Life and Death, or Did You Hear Someone Knocking

A Matter of Life and Death, or Did You Hear Someone Knocking There is hardly an experience as trivial and as everyday as hearing someone knocking at the door or a doorbell ringing. However, even out of such a common thing, Metcalfe and Game manage to develop a compelling and intriguing idea.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on A Matter of Life and Death, or Did You Hear Someone Knocking? specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In their short story, ‘A knock at the door’, the writers manage to convey an idea that changes, whether they are for better or for worse, are a part and parcel of people’s lives, which means that being open for changes is pretty much living a full life. Taking a closer look at the passage that starts with â€Å"the doorbell prompts drama’s primal question† to â€Å"was never to be completed†1, one can see that there is more in the simple description of choice than meets the eye. At certain point, it might actually seem that the authors not merely hint at the tortures of making a choice, but also make a big metaphor for life as it is, with all its opportunities that come and go, and the threats which these opportunities conceal. The door becomes a gateway for a countless number of events and further options to choose from; the authors make it clear that after the door is open, the person who opened it is bound to take a great amount of responsibilities that come with another acquaintance. â€Å"The visitor could be a beggarman or a thief; it could be Archangel Gabriel, the Angel of Death or a person with good news from lottery office†2. Metcalfe and Game make it clear that, opening the door, one will let the whole palette of life in, thus, changing his/her own pace, which definitely takes guts.Advertising Looking for essay on social sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In addition, Metcalfe and Game touch upon the necessity o f solitude, mentioning that, just because of one single visit, the work on Kubla Khan was interrupted to never be continued again. It seems that the authors are not only showing the mechanisms of the binary opposition logics, but are also trying to break free from its realm. Of course, they do convey the message that there are two key options, i.e. either taking the risks and going where the chance will take you, or sitting there twiddling one’s fingers and fearing the burden of responsibilities. However, it seems that Metcalfe and Game do in fact consider the third option, that is, the possibility of lingering and rethinking the choice. Even as the authors speak of the choice being made, they still make it clear that the moment of choice is another stage that leads to a certain self-development: â€Å"The door has become a curtain that will open to reveal the next stage of my life†3. Thus, the bottom line is that whenever hearing a knock at the door, it is better to t ake chances and open it. Despite the fact that changes lead to the most unpredictable results and can turn one’s life completely upside down, they are a much better option than living a life as exciting as a schedule of trains. Showing in a rather graphic way that opportunity knocks, but it does not beg, the authors managed to explain the readers how unpredictable life can be, making it obvious that a good chance is worth taking a risk.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on A Matter of Life and Death, or Did You Hear Someone Knocking? specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Bibliography Metcalfe, A A Game, ‘A knock at the door’ in A Metcalfe A Game (eds.), The  mystery of everyday life, Federation Press, Annandale, AU, 2002. Footnotes 1. A. Metcalfe A Game, ‘A knock at the door’ in A Metcalfe A Game (eds.), The mystery of everyday life, Federation Press, Annandale, AU, 2002, p. 65. 2. A. Me tcalfe A Game, ‘A knock at the door’ in A Metcalfe A Game (eds.), The mystery of everyday life, Federation Press, Annandale, AU, 2002, p. 65. 3. A. Metcalfe A Game, ‘A knock at the door’ in A Metcalfe A Game (eds.), The mystery of everyday life, Federation Press, Annandale, AU, 2002, p. 65.

Why the Pennsylvania Germans Are Often Called Dutch

Why the Pennsylvania Germans Are Often Called Dutch First of all, we can quickly dispose of the Pennsylvania Dutch misnomer. The term is more properly Pennsylvania German because the so-called Pennsylvania Dutch have nothing to do with Holland, the Netherlands, or the Dutch language. These settlers originally came from German-speaking areas of Europe and spoke a dialect of German they refer to as Deitsch (Deutsch). It is this word Deutsch (German) that has led to the second misconception about the origin of the term Pennsylvania Dutch. Did Deutsch Become Dutch? This popular explanation of why the Pennsylvania Germans are often incorrectly called Pennsylvania Dutch fits into the plausible category of myths. At first, it seems logical that English-speaking Pennsylvanians simply confused the word Deutsch for Dutch. But then you have to ask yourself, were they really that ignorant- and wouldnt the Pennsylvania Dutch themselves have bothered to correct people constantly calling them Dutchmen? But this Deutsch/Dutch explanation further falls apart when you realize that many of the Pennsylvania Dutch actually prefer that term over Pennsylvania German! They also use the term Dutch or Dutchmen to refer to themselves. There is another explanation. Some linguists have made the case that the term Pennsylvania Dutch goes back to the original English use of the word Dutch. Although there is no definitive evidence that links it to the term Pennsylvania Dutch, it is true that in the English of the 18th and 19th centuries, the word Dutch referred to anyone from a wide range of Germanic regions, places that we now distinguish as the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. At that time Dutch was a broader term that meant what we today call Flemish, Dutch or German. The terms High Dutch (German) and Low Dutch (Dutch, nether means low) were used to make a clearer distinction between what we now call German (from Latin) or Dutch (from Old High German). Not all Pennsylvania Germans are Amish. Although they are the best known group, the Amish make up only a small portion of the Pennsylvania Germans in the state. Other groups include the Mennonites, the Brethren, and sub-groups within each group, many of whom use cars and electricity. It is also easy to forget that Germany (Deutschland) did not exist as a single nation state until 1871. Prior to that time, Germany was more like a quilt-work of duchies, kingdoms, and states where various German dialects were spoken. The settlers of the Pennsylvania German region came from the Rhineland, Switzerland, Tyrol, and various other regions beginning in 1689. The Amish, Hutterites, and Mennonites now located in the eastern counties of Pennsylvania and elsewhere in North America did not really come from Germany in the modern sense of the word, so it is not entirely accurate to refer to them as German either. However, they did bring their German dialects with them, and in modern English, it is best to refer to this ethnic group as Pennsylvania Germans. Calling them Pennsylvania Dutch is misleading to speakers of modern English. Despite the fact that Lancaster County and various tourism agencies keep using the quaint term Pennsylvania Dutch on their Web sites and promotional materials, and despite the fact that some Pennsylvania Germans prefer the Dutch term, why perpetuate something that contradicts the fact that the Pennsylvania Germans are linguistically German, not Dutch? Support for this opinion can be seen in the name of the Pennsylvania German Cultural Heritage Center at Kutztown University. This organization, dedicated to the preservation of the Pennsylvania German language and culture, uses the word German rather than Dutch in its name. Since Dutch no longer means what it did in the 1700s and is very misleading, its more appropriate to replace it with German. Deitsch Unfortunately,  Deitsch, the language of the Pennsylvania Germans, is dying out. Learn more about  Deitsch, the Amish, other settlement areas.

Secure Computer System Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Secure Computer System - Essay Example Firewalls are the most common security measures for computer networks. Certain mechanisms are put in place in order to provide adequate security to protect resources on the trusted network against potential access by attackers. There are numerous mechanisms in network security, one of which is the DMZ or Demilitarised Zone. DMZ is a network which is semi-protected and is common to medium scale to large scale enterprise (Pickering, 2009). DMZ has two (2) disadvantages: First, the firewall can be created to pass trusted'' services within the application gateway(s), thus, subverting the policy. The trusted'' services which get passed all around the application gateway typically end up being in contact with the site systems. Another disadvantage is placed on the routers for the provision of security. Packet filtering routers seemed complex to configure and errors could disclose the whole site to security holes (Wack, 2009). Added by Pickering (2003), the application proxy firewalls usually require frequent software updating to run the latest versions of the proxy code. This is important particularly when new exploits are detected, needs to be blocked, and in the event when problems emerge interactions between the proxy as well as widely deployed applications. Meaning, when the proxy is found actually breaking. 3. Using a Microsoft XP or 2000 system, open Internet Explorer. Open Internet Options under the Tools menu. Examine the contents of the Security and Privacy tabs. How can these tabs be configured to provide: a) content filtering, and b) protection from unwanted items like cookies Some actions that Microsoft XP or 2000 system allow a user to do in order to configure content, filtering, and protection from unwanted items like cookies are: 1. To personalize Windows XP settings for each user; and also 2. To assign user to create accounts and passwords in the computer to control the users who can access on the system. In other words, users who are not the "administrators" will have no access, unable to change critical system files or delete it. The system may also be upgraded by logging off from a regular user account, then, logging back in as

Corporate Investment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Corporate Investment - Essay Example Some of the junk bonds are very profitable but they have the highest risk for investment losses. Individuals and corporations must carry out appropriate risk management when purchasing bonds. The issuer make announcement that bonds are to be issued. Usually, the bond is associated with a face value that is redeemed when it is sold by the purchaser in open market. The bond is issued at a value less than the face value, the difference is the profit for the purchaser. The underwriter takes its commission also. Once the purchaser buys the bond, he/she can sell it in the open secondary market or can keep it till maturity when full face value of the bond will be returned by the issuer. If bond is traded before maturity, the selling price is lower than the face value to accommodate profits for the next purchaser. Though bond and stock markets operate separately, yet stock market does have an impact on bond market. The company whose shares are trading at premium in stock market has a better chance to get its bonds purchased by many purchasers. Also, they are in a position to sell bonds at a higher discount rate to minimize its own losses when the bond face value is to be returned at the time of maturity. A company that is not doing well on stock market also faces difficulty in selling its bonds in bond market. I think lower taxes on dividend and ca... A company that is not doing well on stock market also faces difficulty in selling its bonds in bond market. PART 2 Data: 500 shares at $30 per share = $15,000 Initial Margin requirements = 55% = (15000)(0.55) = $8,250 Hence, Loan amount = 15,000 - 8,250 = $6,750 Interest payment = 13% = (6750)(0.13) = $877.5 Dividends received = $1 per share = $500 (for 500 shares) 1. Sold stock for $40 per share: Total earnings from sale = (500)(40) = $20,000 Total earnings + dividends = 20,000 + 500 = $20,500 Total expenses = $878 Net earnings = $19,622 Hence, rate of return = (19,622 - 8,250) / 8,250 Rate of Return on investment = 137.84% 2. Sold stock for $20 per share: Total earnings from sale = (500)(20) = $10,000 Total earnings + dividends = 10,000 + 500 = $10,500 Total expenses = $878 Net earnings = $9,622 Hence, rate of return = (9,622 - 8,250) / 8,250 Rate of Return on investment = 16.66% 3. Cash Purchases: (i) Sold stock for $40 per share: Total earnings from sale = (500)(40) = $20,000 Total earnings + dividends = 20,000 + 500 = $20,500 Total expenses = $15,000 Net earnings = $5,500 Hence, rate of return = 5,500 / 15,000 Rate of Return on investment = 36.67% (ii) Sold stock for $20 per share: Total earnings from sale = (500)(20) = $10,000 Total earnings + dividends = 10,000 + 500 = $10,500 Total expenses = $15,000 Net earnings = ($4,500) Hence, rate of return = (4,500) / 15,000 Rate of Return on investment = -30% PART 3 I think lower taxes on dividend and capital gains can enhance economic development. This is because if taxes are low, the individuals are able to save