Rumors Essay -- essays research papers

Rumor   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Rumors can be passed easily and are spread on an everyday basis. A rumor is like gossip; some of it true or untrue, and it is passed around by word of mouth. Most rumors start off being true, then when it is being passed from one person to the other, it starts becoming untrue because some people forget details, add new information in, or just change the whole story around. In the rumor experiment conducted in class, a story was told to one person out of four. The first person had to repeat the same story to the next person who of course was waiting outside of the classroom, until it got to the fourth person. The story that the fourth person ended up with was extremely dissimilar from what was initially told to the first person. This is a prime example of how rumors change while they are being said from one person to the other.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There were two rumors in the experiment conducted for the rumor assignment. Both rumors were very different in context but both proved the same thing in the end. Rumor number one was first told to the first individual who was standing outside of the classroom with three other students. Person one listened as the professor said the rumor, and then they had to remember it, and tell the next person (person two) outside the classroom this rumor. The central theme of rumor one was there were two men on the subway who started arguing while many people watched near by.   Ã‚  Ã‚   ...

What is religion

What is religion? There are many definitions for the term â€Å"religion† in common usage. On this web site, we define it very broadly, in order to include the greatest number of belief systems: â€Å"Religion is any specific system of belief about deity, often involving rituals, a code of ethics, and a philosophy of life. † Thus we include here all of the great monotheistic religions, Eastern religions; Neopagan religions; a wide range of other faith groups, spiritual paths, and ethical systems; and beliefs about the existence of God(s) and Goddess(es). We recognize that most people define â€Å"religion† in a much more exclusive manner. Christianity: There are many definitions for this term as well. Again, we use an inclusive definition: â€Å"An individual or group is Christian if they sincerely, thoughtfully and devoutly believe that they are Christian. † This generates a lot of angry Emails from some visitors to this site who are insistent on excluding the Jehovah's Witnesses, Roman Catholic Church, the Mormons and some other denominations as sub-Christian, quasi-Christian non-Christian, or anti-Christian. We treat Christianity in greater detail than other religions, simply because about 75% of North Americans identify themselves with that religion. Christians outnumber the next largest organized religions, Judaism and Islam, by about 40 to 1 in the U. S. and Canada. We are not in any way implying that Christianity is superior or inferior to other religions. It is simply much more popular. Destructive, doomsday cults: These are fortunately few in number, and are listed elsewhere. Information for these essays was extracted from reliable sources, and believed to be accurate and reasonably unbiased. Where possible, they have been reviewed by a group (typically 3 or more) of persons who follow the belief before the material is placed online. â€Å"World† Religions: There are many, long established, major world religions, each with over three million followers. We have shown the five largest North American religions in bold: Baha'i Faith Buddhism Christianity; Christian groups, denominations and families (Amish to The Way) Confucianism Hinduism Islam Jainism Judaism Shinto Sikhism Taoism Vodun (Voodoo) 1 Neopagan Religious Faiths Neopagan faiths are modern-day reconstructions of ancient Pagan religions from various countries and eras. They experience a high but diminishing level of discrimination and persecution in North America. They were once rarely practiced in public for reasons of safety. This is rapidly changing for the better. Asatru (Norse Paganism) * Druidism Goddess Worship Wicca Witchcraft Notes: Many followers of Asatru regard themselves as â€Å"Heathens† rather than â€Å"Neopagans. † Many followers of these religions refer to themselves as â€Å"Pagans. † We use the term â€Å"Neopagan† because it is less ambiguous. Pagan† has a variety of unrelated meanings. Other organized Religions These are smaller religions, with a well defined belief in deity, humanity and the rest of the universe. Of the many hundreds of faith groups in the world, we have chosen these because of their historical significance, or because of the massive amount of misinformation that has be en spread about them in North America: Caodaism Damanhur Community Druze Eckankar Elian Gonzalez religious movement Gnosticism Gypsies Hare Krishna – ISKCON Ifa, the religion of the Yoruba people of West Africa Lukumi Macumba Mowahhidoon Native American Spirituality Rom, Roma, Romani, Rroma, (a. k. a. Gypsies) Santeria Elian Gonzalez religious movement Satanism; The Church of Satan Scientology Unitarian-Universalism The Creativity Movement (formerly called World Church of the Creator) The Yazidi branch of Yazd? ism Zoroastrianism what is RELIGION? The English word â€Å"religion† is derived from the Middle English â€Å"religioun† which came from the Old French â€Å"religion. † It may have been originally derived from the Latin word â€Å"religo† which means â€Å"good faith,† â€Å"ritual,† and other similar meanings. Or it may have come from the Latin â€Å"relig? e† which means â€Å"to tie fast. † Defining the word â€Å"religion† is fraught with difficulty. Many attempts have been made. Most seem to focus on too narrowly only a few aspects of religion; they tend to exclude those religions that do not fit well. It is apparent that religion can be seen as a theological, philosophical, anthropological, sociological, and psychological phenomenon of human kind. To limit religion to only one of these categories is to miss its multifaceted nature and lose out on the complete definition. † All of the definitions that we have encountered contain at least one deficiency some exclude beliefs and practices that many people passionately defend as religious. For example, their definition might include belief in a God or Goddess or combination of Gods and Goddesses who are responsible for the creation of the universe and for its continuing operation. This excludes such non-theistic religions as Buddhism and many forms of religious Satanism which have no such belief. Some definitions equate â€Å"religion† with â€Å"Christianity,† and thus define two out of every three humans in the world as non-religious. Some definitions are so broadly written that they include beliefs and areas of study that most people do not regard as religious. Some define â€Å"religion† in terms of â€Å"the sacred† and/or â€Å"the spiritual,† and thus require the creation of two more definitions. Sometimes, definitions of â€Å"religion† contain more than one deficiency. However, this definition contains an element of controversy, because it implies that religions, and thus perhaps deity/deities, are created by humanity and not the reverse. A less contentious meaning might be the sum total of answers to the problem of our relationship with the universe, we call religion. â€Å"Religion is any specific system of belief about deity, often involving rituals, a code of ethics, a philosophy of life, and a worldview. † A worldview is a set of basic, foundational beliefs concerning deity, humanity and the rest of the universe. Thus we would consider Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Na tive American Spirituality, Wicca, and other Neopagan traditions to be religions. We also include Agnosticism, Atheism, Humanism, Ethical Culture etc. as religions, because they also contain a â€Å"belief about deity. Their belief is that they do not know whether a deity exists, or they have no knowledge of God, or they sincerely believe that God does not exist. Some people do not consider their personal spiritual path to be a religion. Many conservative Christians refer to Christianity not as a religion but as an intensely personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Many Native Americans believe that their spiritual beliefs and practices are not a religion in the normal sense of the term. They form a integral and seamless part of their very being, totally integrated into their life experience. Agnostics and Atheists often do not regard their beliefs to be a religion. To most, Atheism and Agnosticism simply represent a single belief about the existence or non-existence of a supreme being. They do not necessarily include ethical matters. The New Age is sometimes referred to as a religion. However, it is in reality a collection of diverse beliefs and practices from which a practitioner may select those that appeal to her/him. The individual often grafts these beliefs and practices onto an established religion. â€Å"True religion is not about possessing the truth. No religion does that. It is rather an invitation into a journey that leads one toward the mystery of God. Idolatry is religion pretending that it has all the answers. † â€Å"†¦ just because you don't bow on your knees and worship an idol or an invisible being, does not mean you are not a Satan worshiper. The worship of any other god (s) is the same thing. There are no other gods. They are demons and Satan is in control of them. â€Å"Yes, Christianity is the one true religion. That may sound awfully dogmatic and narrow-minded, but the simple truth is that Christianity is the only true religion. Jesus said that He alone was the way to the Father (John 14:6), that He alone revealed the Father (Matt. 11:27; Luke 10:22). Christians do not go around saying Christianity is the only way because they are arrogant, narrow-minded, stupid, and judgmental. They do so because they believe what Jesus said. How many religions are there in the world from which to locate the â€Å"true† one? According to David Barrett and team, there are 19 major world religious groupings in the world which are subdivided into a total of about 10,000 distinct religions. Of the latter, there were 270 religions and para-religions which had over a half million adherents in the year 2000 CE. Within Christianity, they have identified 34,000 separate groups (denominations, sects, individual unaffiliated churches, para-church groups, etc) in the world. â€Å"Over half of them are independent churches that are not interested in linking with the big denominations. † 1 Even considering a single religion, Christianity, within a single country, there are often thousands of individual â€Å"Christian confessions and denominations. 4,684 groups in the U. S. ,364 in South Africa. 2,079 in Nigeria. 1,581 in Brazil. 1,327 in South-central Asia. Among other English-speaking countries, there are: 828 groups in the UK. 469 in Canada. 267 in Australia 175 in New Zealand. 2 Differences in the beliefs and practices of various faith groups: Probably the one area where religions differ the most is over the nature of deity. Various groups teach Agnosticism, Animism, Atheism, Strong Atheism, Deism, Duotheism, Henotheism, Monism, Monotheism, Panentheism, Pantheism, Polytheism, the Trinity, and probably some others that we have missed. Perhaps the next greatest range of beliefs are about the fate of people after death: whether there is simple annihilation, some form of energy-less existence as taught by the ancient Hebrews, Purgatory as taught by the Roman Catholic Church, Heaven or Paradise as taught by many religions, Hell which is also taught by many faiths, Limbo, reincarnation, transmigration of the soul, nirvana, an alternative world much like Earth, and probably some other places or states that we have missed. There is also a great range of beliefs and practices among different religions over other theological beliefs, ritual, organization, family structure, personal sexual behavior, and other topics. For example, differences exist on matters such as: abortion access, adult celibacy, animal sacrifices. ppearance factors (shaving, jewelry), birth control usage, calendar, clergy celibacy, clergy gender, clergy organization, meeting day, documentation, family power sharing, family types, gender of deities, homosexual rights, meeting place, nature of deities, nature of humanity, new year date, number of deities, origin of the universe, prayer, pre-marital sex, role of women, sacred texts, suicide, surgical modifications to the body, special clothing, symbols, etc. More details To our knowledge, no two religions teach the same message or expect the same practices from their followers. One would be hard pressed to find two faith groups within the same religion which have identical teachings and practices. If a â€Å"true religion† exists, then it would probably have to be one or a few faith groups within one of the 10,000 religions. All of the other religions and faith groups would be in error. What do faith groups teach about their own status? Most religious groups teach that their own beliefs and practices are the only true set, and that all other faith groups contain some degree of error. For example, the largest single faith group in the U. S. in Canada, and in the world is the Roman Catholic Church. According to the Times News Service, a year 2000 statement by the Church titled â€Å"Dominus Iesus† implies that â€Å"Churches such as the Church of England, where the apostolic succession of bishops from the time of St. Peter is disputed by Rome, and churches without bishops, are not considered ‘proper' churches. † Only the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Churches are â€Å"churches in the proper sense. † They suffer from â€Å"defects. † Dominus Iesus further states that religions other than Christianity are considered to be â€Å"gravely deficient. Their rituals can constitute â€Å"an obstacle to salvation† for their followers. 3,4 Other faith groups are either more inclusive or more exclusive than the Roman Catholic Church regarding the â€Å"truth† status of other faith groups. Which, then, is the true religion? Because religions are so different, only one could be the â€Å"true religion. † Perhaps none are. Within the â€Å"true religion† there may be more than one faith group that are sufficiently accurate in their beliefs and practices that all could qualify as â€Å"true. † The problem is how to find out which religion and which faith groups have this status. Some methods of determining the â€Å"true† religion are conduct an opinion poll. Unfortunately, beliefs differ around the world: In Saudi Arabia, the government claims that 100% of the population is Muslim. So there is probably a very high probability that a given citizen picked at random would firmly believe Islam is the true religion and that theirs is the true faith group. India is about 80% Hindu. There is a very high probability that any given citizen believes that their tradition with Hinduism is the true religion. The U. S. is about 75% Christian. The population in the American â€Å"Bible belt† is significantly higher than that. There is a very high probability that any given citizen in South Carolina, for example, believes that their denomination within Christianity is the true religion. It is obvious that one's personal beliefs about the true religion is largely a function of the country in which one happens to have been born, the area of that country, and the beliefs of one's parent(s): Pray to God 5 and ask to be enlightened. The founder of the Mormon movement, Joseph Smith, did precisely this. Mormons believe that God and Jesus Christ appeared to him side by side, and told him that none of the then existing Christian denominations were the true religion. He was instructed to create a new denomination to restore Christianity to its first century CE purity before it fell into heresy. This method appears to be unreliable. When people pray to God for enlightenment, most seem to conclude that their own religion and faith group is the true one. If people could access the will of God on this matter, then a vast majority of the world's population — the folks who pray — would realize that their faith group was not the true one. They would gradually migrate to the true religion. There would eventually be only one religion and one tradition within that religion left standing. Otherwise, people would be rejecting the will of God. All the other 11,000 religions and their tens of thousands of denominations or traditions would be phased out. The OCRT, the group that sponsors this web site, conducted a pilot study to determine whether a person can assess the will of God through prayer. We used a controversial topic: whether God favors same-sex marriage for homosexuals and some bisexuals. The answer that we found was that people appear to be unable to assess the will of God through prayer. Communication from God: God could initiate a direct communication to humanity. In order to be convincing, it would have to be totally unambiguous, clear and convincing. One example might be for God to rearrange a few thousand stars to spell out in the evening sky the name of the true religion. Unfortunately, at least within the Judeo-Christian traditions, God seems to be progressively withdrawing from humanity. He walked in person with Adam and Eve. Later, he only appeared in rare occasions as at Mount Sinai. Still later, he communicated with humans only through prophets. Most Christians believe that Jesus Christ is God and walked among humans in first century CE Palestine. However, he was seen by only a miniscule percentage of the human race. Now, access to God is through prayer. Unless God were to take the initiative, it appears that there is no way for humans to determine which religion is â€Å"true. â€Å"

Communicating With and About People with Disabilities Essay

1. The network etiquette consists of some rules, which are important to adhere to, when you are in the cyberspace. There are several rules, which I comply with, when I am communicating in chats, discussing something in forums or exchanging letters. The first rule is that the relation with the interlocutor in the virtual world has to be like the one in the real world. The second rule is not to abuse your power. In my opinion, these rules are particularly important, because they encourage Internet users to be polite in the virtual space. The first rule is very important due to the fact that it always reminds you that in cyberspace you have to behave yourself as if you were speaking to a man or woman face to face. In my opinion, compliance with this rule helps you to observe other rules of network etiquette. The second rule reminds the Internet users to keep their advantages to themselves and not to use these advantages in their own interests. In wider context, this rule corresponds to the principle of tolerance, which is the cornerstone of the democratic society. Finally, in my point of view, observance of these two rules of etiquette helps you to behave politely in the cyberspace. 2. There are some suggestions of communicating with persons with disabilities, which I have never used before. These are some tips for communicating with individuals who are blind or visually impaired and suggestions that offer assistance, if the individual has difficulty opening a door (1, 2007). If I were therapist, I would always use these suggestions, in order to speak to people with disabilities. For example, when I am speaking with individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, my voice is very loud and clear. Sometimes I write what I want to say, so that the patient clearly understands me. If I had a patient with sign language interpreter, it would be very important to speak directly to the person and to look at the patient eyes, but not at the interpreter. In conclusion, observance of suggestions for communication with persons with disabilities allows me to approach their problems more closely. I would find common language with patients very quickly, and we   would understand each other better.

Administrative and Politics Dichotomy

For many years, the political-administrative dichotomy has been one of the most disputed theories of public administration. Despite serious debates and critiques, the differences between politics and public administration have been present over the past decades. The question still remains today whether or not politics and public administration can work together for one common good-to serve the people for which hey govern.Today, politics and administration are linked in many ways. A few examples are: administrators initiate policy, administrative acts have political consequences, and administrators shape policy after the fact and civil servants are not politically neutral. Skelley, B. D. (2008) Another aspect of the administrative-political divide is the philosophical ideals in the western culture of the Greek civic-culture (political) and political-administrative relationship has been an important question for over a century now. Skelley, B. D. 008) Woodrow Wilson, in his article â⠂¬Å"The Study of Administration† (1887), wrote of how to position public administration in relation to politics. His idea is the forefront to which the idea that public administration is somehow distinct from politics. Public administration is supposed to be the instrument used or the delivery vehicle for translating policies into action, while politics is about making the policies. Demir, T. & Nyhan, R. (2008) The dichotomy is still influencing public administration due to numerous public administrators are laiming neutrality from political influences.Neutrality refers to the ability to do government work, do it to the standard that has been set, rather than to one's own standard or for other loyalties or personal gain.

Maximizing the Professional Performance and Learning Rate Essay

Maximizing the Professional Performance and Learning Rate - Essay Example In my role as Head of Dance, I picked up on many of the technical and inner workings of management. As part of my position I was required to report to both Managers and Directors meetings and had to learn to work within the people above me. You learn how to report back to them your successes as well as your failures, and I learned to always keep them aware of what was going on inside my department. I also got to attend many seminars, including some held by Trinity College, London, Council for Dance Education and Training, Learning Skills Council, Dance UK, and the Music and Dance Scheme. I then got to report back my findings from these seminars to the â€Å"higher-ups† and learned how to easily and casually report things you have learned in a management setting. One of the jobs I found I simply picked up on as was never taught is the skill of organizing and documenting everything, and doing so in an accurate and clear way. Now, truth be told, simply working with documents and passing papers is a task that I wasn’t too fond of, and I don’t think there are many people who live simply to keep records. However, despite this, I had to adapt, overcome, and do the tedious work of keeping accurate records. I learned through experience that it is important to keep these records precise for future needs, some of which could even be down the road legal problems. I also learned how important it was to keep the confidentiality of all records as it should be, as that is also an important legal proceeding to keep in mind.

Aspects of Policing Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Aspects of Policing - Research Paper Example Democracy and Disorder Beginning in the civil war era, our nation experienced one of the most deadly riots on American shores known as the "anti-draft riots," which rocked New York City shortly after the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863. While the estimates vary, most historians agree that about 100 soldiers and civilians, many of whom were African Americans who were targeted as the reason Lincoln was fighting the war in the first place, were killed. Federal soldiers had to be diverted from around Washington D.C. to quell the outrage (Encyclopedia of War & American Society, 2005). The rise of organized labor near the turn of the century meant that organized police forces were even more important than ever. Several state police forces had their beginnings and endings related to the use of police as strike breakers in factories and on railroad holdings. This had the adverse effect of developing resentment by legislatures in various parts of the country towards police who had been used to e nforce the power of management over unions (Johnson, 2003). During World War II, young Hispanic men whose attire was unique, fought with soldiers and sailors home on leave during the so-called "zoot suit" riots in Los Angeles, California. Servicemen who were dating the Hispanic women of Los Angeles were involved in numerous brawls with Hispanic men over the rights to courtship. The police were often accused of enforcement that was prejudicial to the Hispanic men (Wilson & Taub, 2006). The 1960s brought the "Civil Rights Movement" into American consciousness, and was anything but boring for law enforcement. Protest marches, sit-ins, and demonstrations, particularly in the South, brought National Guard troops out as well as police dogs and horses to attack passive, mostly Black Americans expressing their constitutional rights. As free speech was taken to another level at Berkeley in 1964, America watched as students crusaded while yelling four letter words (Stevens, 2002). Television and the media were beginning to play a role in the American psyche of social unrest. Images of the Harlem riot of 1964 were brought to us by virtue of television (Johnson, 2003). The images of New York cops ducking and dodging the rocks and heavy masonry being dropped on them from skyscrapers and firing their side-arms at the roofs on occasion were brought into American living rooms. Less than a year later, in August 1965, two brothers would fight with California Highway Patrol during an arrest, and the Los Angeles Police Department would get the blame for starting the Watts Riot (Johnson, 2003). Innumerable buildings shooting flames into the night sky and looters carrying televisions and appliances away from shattered businesses would be occurrences that the American public would see again and again (Johnson, 2003). Riots seemed to engulf the nation in 1967 and 1968, especially in the wake of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King. By the late 1960s through the early 1970s, co untless protests over the Vietnam War dragged on and inflamed groups large and small (Johnson, 2003). Then on May 4th, 1970, four university students would be slain by a volley of fire from the Ohio National Guard. The effect of Kent State was considered by many media analysts as one of the most unnecessary and yet most momentous events leading up to the popular disavowal of the war in public opinion polls (Kelner and Munves,

Educational Standards and Leadership Traits Assignment

Educational Standards and Leadership Traits - Assignment Example The essay will also analyze the traits possessed by the writer of this work and evaluate them against ISLLC standards. School culture is a collection of behavioral attributes that determine the day-to-day activities in educational institutions. School culture is a vital factor in the success of any educational institution. This is because of its contribution to the principles, outlook, and behaviors of students, the teaching staff, and non-teaching staff. In some cases, school managers leave school culture to develop on their own. However, this can be highly ineffective due to the students’ psychological immaturity. This is the reason as to why leaders in educational institution would prefer molding the culture in a way that it would help the schools attain their intended purposes. Leadership traits like persistence, honesty, being knowledgeable, punctuality and self-discipline play a big role in establishing and supporting a positive school community and culture (Owings, Kapl an, & Nunnery, 2005). Having patience when dealing with both the students and members of staff can help in bringing out the best of them. This is because with the patient, they are likely to be aware of their capability to improve. This will also enable a leader in an educational institution to be able to treat all the students fairly, given that some students might take longer to grasp some concepts. Punctuality and self-discipline can also help the leaders set a good example to the students. This is because giving the students theoretical teaching on ethical issues like self-discipline and punctuality might be meaningless if they do not see the institutional leaders practicing it (Waters, & Kingston, 2005). The students might turn out to be highly unethical because they will lack faith in the values and importance of being ethical. Absolute honesty and fairness is a vital trait in school leadership. This is because it helps in enhancing peaceful coexistence amongst the institution s’ communities. This can be associated to the saying, â€Å"honest leaders make honest subjects.† The students will also be able to have a conducive learning environment because they will have to worry less about being subjected to unfair situations (Bryant, Hessel, & Isernhagen, 2002). Honesty and fairness will also increase the level of trust that the students would have on the institution leadership. This type of trust would limit the possibility of dissatisfaction of the school’s management by the students. This will hence prevent occurrences like students’ strikes, which will promote smooth operation of the learning institution. With the smooth operation, the students are likely to benefit highly from the saved time and economical resources. A good sense of humor can also be beneficial to a school leader. Applying humor when interacting with the students will reduce the tension brought by either the generational gap or the gap brought by the differen ce in their status in the learning institution. An environment such as this one, a good sense of humor will enhance the learning process and interaction in the school in general (Waters, & Kingston, 2005). A relaxed environment will also enhance maximum participation of the students in the learning process. This participation increases the quality of education, as it will give room for better communication in the learning i