Essay --

The Power of Conformity There are many type of social concepts; however, there is one that I personally experienced through: social conformity. Conformity is a type of social influence involving a change in belief or behavior in order to fit in a group. Growing up as an immigrant is a perfect example for changing me in order to adapt to a new environment. Conformity can also be simply defined as â€Å"yielding to group pressures† (Crutchfield, 1955). Group pressure may vary in many forms such as bullying, persuasion, teasing, or criticism. Conformity is also known as group pressure. The term conformity is often used to describe one side arguing with the other side by a desire to ‘fit in’ or be liked, or because of a desire to be correct, or simply to conform to a social role. The desire to be accepted and belong to a group is every human’s need. However, how does this need affect an individual? There are many researches that include groups can change their members’ thoughts, feelings and behaviors. There are several types of conformity include compliance, internalization and identific...

Ambrose Bierces’ An Occurence At Owl Creek Bridge Essay -- Occurence O

Ambrose Bierces’ Story â€Å"An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ambrose Bierces’ story â€Å"An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge† tells the story of a confederate secessionist, who is being hanged by Union troops. At the time of the hanging, the soldiers drop him from the bridge. Luckily, just as he falls the rope snaps and the man dives into the â€Å"sluggish stream†. He miraculously takes off his ropes and swims away. When he reaches the bank of the creek, he runs for what seems like forever. He finally reaches home, where his family is waiting so anxiously for him. However, Bierce chooses to surround this intriguing tell with elements that carry visual, concrete, and intangible symbolism. The symbolic elements of â€Å"An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge† imply that the protagonist, Peyton Fahrquhar, is out of touch with reality, which evidently leads to the added twist at the end of the story.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Many of the symbols in the story have to do with visual representation. For example, Bierce focuses on one specific color, which is gray. Gray is the color of the Confederate soldiers’ uniforms. It is the also the color the Union soldier wears to deceive Fahrquhar. Gray is the color of the figures he sees in the distance in his delusion. It is also the color of the sharpshooter that misses him. Since gray is mentioned so often, the reader can assume that it has a meaning outside its visual representation. First, the color gray is used to describe the mood of the story. Generally, when one think of the color gray, a poignant feeling arouses. Linking the two, the mood of the story is therefore also distressing. Secondly, the color gray is used to symbolize Fahrquhars’ role: a middle man without much sense or direction. In the story, the first mention of the color is used to describe him. â€Å"He wore a moustache and pointer beard, but no whiskers: his eyes were large and dark grey†¦ † The reader should also notice that Fahrquar is the only one who sees gray, which means the color, represents him. Gray is the intermediate in character and position. Like Fahrquar, who is considered to be in the middle of the situation, only trying to do what he believes is right.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Bierce use of symbolism is far great than the actually concept of the story. He also uses solid or concrete objects to convey his hidden messages. For example his constant mention of the Bridge. Obviously it... ...ot so bad; but I do not wish to be shot. No; I will not be shot; that is not fair.† In Fahrquars’ hallucination, he gets mad at the thought of being shot after he managed to escape his hanging. Depression kicks in when Bierce says â€Å"By nightfall he was fatigued, footsore, and famished. He knew it (his neck) had a circle of black where the rope had bruised it.† Fahrquar is tired and confused. This is a clear sign that death is near, leading him into depression, which sheds light on his impossible endurance. Acceptance occurs when Bierce says, â€Å"†¦he has merely recovered from a delirium†¦ and sees home†¦ all bright and beautiful†¦ † This clearly shows that Fahrquar has accepted what is happening, almost as if he has given up. He finally enters the last stage of his symbolic dying process. Bierce says, â€Å"†¦then all is dark and silent†¦Peyton Fahrquar was dead†¦Ã¢â‚¬    Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge† is riddled with symbolic meaning. Bierce creates a realistic disguise of events until the very end of the story, where he allows the reader to realize that Fahrquars’ escape did not actually occur. He uses symbols to convey the true meaning of this breathtaking story: Perception is Reality.

Australia’s Religious Landscape Post 1945

â€Å"We live in a postmodern world in the sense that no single religion, system or ideology has any convincing claim to be the one voice of truth. We are yet to grasp the full reality that Australia is a pluralistic, multicultural, multi-religious society in which among people of different traditions and with indigenous people is a requirement of social cohesion. In a global world our national identities in no way preclude our responsibilities for the well-being of all humanity and the one earth we share. † – Dr Gerard Hall SMDr Gerard Hall says we now live in a ‘postmodern world’ where ‘no single religion, system or ideology’ can ‘convincingly claim the one voice of truth’. Australia has been long dominated by the Christian faith with the 1911 census reporting 96% of Australians subscribing to any denomination of Christianity. This large percentage of Christians can be attributed to the White Australia policy. However, the 2011 c ensus revealed a decrease of Christians with only 61% aligning themselves with the faith, half of the overseas-born population also reporting a Christian denomination.Non-Christians affiliations and those reporting ‘no religion’ have increased radically since the last census. The number of people reporting ‘No Religion' increased from 15% of the population in 2001 to 22% in 2011. This is most prevalent among younger Australians with 28% of people aged 15-34 reporting they had no religious affiliation. There are over 59 religious traditions present in Australia today. Globalisation has influenced the growth of eastern religions and new age fads in Australian society.Migration has led to an increase in the number of religious adherents in non-Christian faiths such as Buddhism, Sikhism, Taoism and Hinduism. Hinduism has grown exponentially since 1911 at 189%, followed by Islam at 69%, and Buddhism at 48%. Atheism or citizens who have no revealed any religious affilia tion has risen due to scientific advancement, rise of secularism, immigration and births. Along with this there is renewed interest in and awareness of Indigenous spirituality.Due to the ‘pluralistic, multicultural, multi-religious society’ of Australia, multi-faith dialogue is important for the cohesion and harmony of Australian society. Sometimes tensions between religious traditions or against a particular religion result in violence or discrimination. To illustrate this point, ignorant and prejudiced media portrayals of Muslims have encouraged anti-Islamic attitudes and stereotypes despite the peaceful religious teachings of the Koran. Dr Ameer Ali (President of Australian Federation of Islamic Councils) recognised that interfaith dialogue was essential to ‘understand each other’.Similarly, Archbishop George Pell believes that interfaith dialogue must be established to maintain currently peaceful relationships before potential hostilities have a chance to escalate. In 1964, Pope Paul VI recognised the need for interfaith communication, stating that; â€Å"We do not wish to turn a blind eye to the spiritual and moral values of the various non-Christian religions, for we desire to join with them in promoting and defending common ideals in the spheres of religious liberty, human brotherhood, education, culture, social welfare, and civic order.Dialogue is possible in all these great projects, which are our concern as much as theirs and we will not fail to offer opportunities for discussion in the event of such an offer being favourably received in genuine, mutual respect. We readily accept the principle of stressing what we all have in common rather than what divides us. This provides a good and fruitful basis for our dialogue, and we are prepared to engage upon it with a will. â€Å"Multi-faith dialogue assists in keeping peace and social unity in society, especially with organisations such as the NSW Council of Christians and Jews who recognise their common heritage in order to promote understanding and combat anti-Semitism. They organise activities that include an annual Passover demonstration directed to non-Jewish audiences, panel discussions and seminars on current subjects of interest, multi-denominational evenings for poetry and music, Holocaust education and an annual Christian commemorative service for the Holocaust held in the crypt of St Mary’s Roman Catholic Cathedral.Along with interfaith dialogue between Christians and Jews, the NSW Council of Christians and Jews also seek to broaden the interfaith relations with Islam in particular. Some past interfaith activities in Australia include the 2001 Anzac Day service at St. Mary’s Cathedral for Buddhist Monks and Christian Ministers, Centenary of Federation celebrations in Melbourne, Prayer services at Martin Place by the Muslim-Christian Council for peace in Indonesia, Prayer services for September 11, Asian Boxing Day Tsunami and Bali bombings.As Dr Gerard Hall says, in the current ‘global world, our national identities in no way preclude our responsibilities for the well-being of all humanity and the one earth we share’. This statement is illustrated by a number of international councils, one being the World Conference on Religion and Peace – an international council founded by the Buddhist Nichiko Niwano in 1970 that organises bi-annual ‘Heads of Faith Meetings’ that are attended by the leaders of the Catholic, Protestant, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Jewish and Baha’i faiths.The meetings conducted by the World Conference on Religion and Peace provide an opportunity for religious world leaders to exchange ideas and information and establish a working alliance between these religious traditions. The promotion of understanding and the education of interfaith co-operation assists in pursuing social justice issues, for example, Aboriginal reconciliation and rights. Reconciliatio n is the process whereby Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and non-Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples move towards the future with a relationship based upon mutual recognition, understanding and respect.For this to happen there must be acknowledgement of past mistakes such as land dispossession and the stolen generation in order to make amends, such as restoring Native Title. Reconciliation is a long process which began with the 1967 referendum giving ATSI people the right to vote and the Commonwealth government the authority to make laws in the interest of ATSI people. Additionally, most churches have helped facilitate this reconciliation.The NCCA (National Council of Churches Australia) acknowledge that many of its member churches played a role in culmination of the stolen generations and issued a public statement on the ‘Bringing Them Home’ report making recommendations in support of Reconciliation. The Week of Prayer for Reconciliation began i n 1993 with the goal of providing an interfaith week of prayer encompassing all faiths with the common goal of reconciliation. It is to devote time to prayer, thought and reflection on the soul of a nation and the relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.Attempts at reconciliation by various religious denominations have helped to bring out acceptance of the synchronization of Christian and Aboriginal religious traditions; as an example: many Aboriginal clergy incorporate Indigenous symbols and rituals from their own culture to express Christian concepts such as using Indigenous coconut milk instead of wine and damper or yam instead of bread, Christian stories are often retold with an Indigenous slant (instead of fire, they talk about fire sticks), red ochre is used instead of ashes/oil on the forehead and prayers are told in Indigenous languages.Many Christian churches incorporate Aboriginal Ministries and Aboriginal Spirituality into services, particularly Pro testant churches though many people feel that incorporating Aboriginal beliefs into Christianity degrades both. Critics claim that ‘Self-determination’ is now replaced with ‘Main-Streaming’. ‘Practical Reconciliation’ is now the term used rather than a real acknowledgement of past wrongs.The Catholic Church has also made many positive overtures towards Reconciliation starting with Pope John Paul II’s visit to Alice Springs in 1986 who stated that â€Å"there is the need for just and proper settlement that lies unachieved in Australia’ Pope Benedict’s recent address to Australia encouraged ongoing assistance for Reconciliation. In 1998 the Catholic church joined with other churches to issues a statement called ‘Towards Reconciliation in Australian Society – Reconciliation and Aboriginal Australians’.They also pressured for more assistance for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders due to the ongoing psychological trauma of the Protection and Assimilation policies. National Reconciliation Week is a week of Catholic initiatives promoting reconciliation with emphasis on Aboriginal health. Other Christian churches involved in Reconciliation include the Anglican Church who expressed its support for Reconciliation during 1998. It also provides funding to National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Ecumenical Commission (NATSIEC) that assists in rebuilding Indigenous communities.Anglicare Australia and the Anglican Board of Missionaries formed the Anglican Reconciliation Working Group which provides accommodation, health care, family support for Indigenous communities and helps fund training of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. The Ecumenical movement Uniting Church formed a Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress in Townsville that works with Indigenous people to promote compensation and healing for past wrongs. The Uniting Church National Assembly has also made a formal apology for its part in the harmful policies in the past and a commitment to a better future.Christian leaders and leaders from other religious faiths united in rejecting the Howard Government’s attempts to weaken the Wik legislation. Their conviction no doubt assisted in changing opinions and rallying support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander rights. Interfaith dialogue especially between Dreaming and Christianity illustrate the importance of multi-faith communication. There are, however, limitations of interfaith dialogue as critics believe there are important differences between faiths that cannot be overlooked.There is also controversy that religions are trying to change and distort their religious beliefs to attempt to reconcile with other religions. Despite the criticisms of interfaith dialogue it still plays an essential role in Australian society to maintain peace and social cohesion. ————————â₠¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€œ [ 1 ]. The Importance of Inter-faith Cooperation; available from http://www. buddhistinformation. com/importance_of_inter_faith_cooperation. htm [ 2 ]. Pope John Paul II’s public statement at Alice Springs, 1986; available from http://www. austlii. edu. au/au/orgs/car/docrec/relevant/docbook/p7. htm

”The Knife Sharpener” by Bonnie Burnard Essay

The Knife Sharpener a short story written by Bonnie Burnard. This story is very interesting you never know that the knife sharpener will appear as a bad person because he appeared as a good old man who just borrowed a knives to sharpening and said â€Å"Maybe you’ve heard from your neighbours. I come around every March. Do mowers as well† as he was offering to do he mower for her in the beginning. Janet is a mother of three children. She do all the work in the house since her kids are still young to do some of the house work. Erin is six years old eldest child of Janet. The Knife Sharpener is an old man who sharpen knives and do mowers. The story happened in Janet’s place. The story happened during the day. The incident started happening when the knife sharpener took Erin’s hand and brought her somewhere. The story gets more intense when Janet starts panicking and decided to go after Erin and look for her. Janet saw Erin’s scarf on the ground stuccoed corner of a garage twenty yard ahead. Janet saw the knife sharpener talking to Erin in a gentle old man’s voice and Janet took Erin’s hand and questioned the knife sharpener. The knife sharpener said â€Å"Please don’t call the police†. The knife Sharpener by Bonnie Burnard is about the family, intense and it tells us not to trust any stranger and reveals the certain personality of some stranger when the old man took Erin away from her home. Why Janet didn’t call the police? And Why Janet having thoughts whether she’s going to tell about it to her husband or just keep it by herself and not to tell to anyone? The Knife Sharpener might have a bad intension to the family of Janet. The knife sharpener appeared to be a good old man who just a knife to use for sharpening and offered to do their mower so he can go inside the house. He even made Janet’s feelings comfortable around with him and he suddenly changed his mood when Janet said that her eldest is going to be home soon for lunch. The knife sharpener waited for Erin to go out again and reached her hand and brought Erin somewhere. I think that the knife sharpener will going to do something bad to Erin or kidnap Erin since he took her twenty yards away from her home. There is only two possible thing he will do it is either the knife sharpener will rape Erin or he will kidnap Erin.

Play “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller Essay

â€Å"The Crucible† by Arthur Miller is a play set during thte hysteria of the Salem witch trials of 1692. The word â€Å"crucible† is defined as â€Å"a severe test† or â€Å"a container for melting or purifying metals.† The title of this play is incredibly appropriate because the charactersin the play were faced with a great test while attempting to purify their community. WHen faced with a conflict, the citizens of Salem begin to act on basic animal instincts, and their true colors shine through. The word â€Å"crucible† is appropriate because the intention of the court was to purge the town of Salem of any evil beings, but the court only created a way for wrong-doers to go unpunished and those who stayed true to their values be killed. The additional definition of â€Å"crucible† is appropriate because the characters in the play were faced with a choice of doing what was morally and ethically correct or doing what was wrong. For example, John Proctor is tested several times throughout the play. â€Å"Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life†¦I have given you my sould; leave me my name† (Miller, 1166). The audience is able to see Proctor’s true character through this quote. Although he is sentenced to be hanged, he refuses to soil his name or jeopardize his morals, not even in exchange for his life. Mary Warren represents the bulk of the citizens of Salem because she was driven by fear. â€Å"I cannot, they’ll turn on me† (Miller, 1129). When Mary Warren trys to to undo her wrongs, she becomes frightened to stand on her own and risk being accused of witchcraft. Many of the citizens of Salem that were accused of witchcraft sacrificed their morals and their values in order to keep their lives. When the citizens of Salem become scared, they lose their ability to think logically. Many of them lie to save themselves or lie to gain something. The choas brought out each characters true personality.

Explain How Practices That Support Equaity and Inclusion Reduce

Amanda Hopwood Cache Level 2 in Diploma in Children’s Care, Learning and Development Pin/Enrolment Number – 30169038 ULN – 6939676189 Assessor – Jennifer Hughes Assurer – Helen Tweddle SHC 21 Introduction to equality & inclusion in health, social care or children 7 young people settings 1. 1 –Explain what is meant by: Diversity – means is to understand that each child/young person is individual, unique and different i. e. , it could be the differences in race, heritage, customs, beliefs, physical appearance, mental capability.Diversity should be valued and respected as each person are completely different to any other person, even in the examples I have stated above. We need diversity as is gives us different views and opinions. We must value our diversity so we can work together to live a happy life. Equality – means to give all children/young person equal opportunities to achieve their best in the setting. Each child is differ ent so you have to respect that. Some children might need support. You can do this by planning ahead to achieve all aspects of learning and development for all children irrespective of disability, heritage etc.It's about getting the balance between each child. Inclusion – means to ensure all embodies such as children and their families have the right support regardless of their ability to take part in a range of activities in the setting. Inclusion is the process of making this happen. to do this in the setting you must take away all barriers and give each person a warm and welcoming attitude whilst in setting. Discrimination – means a child/young person is treated differently because of their membership such as race, colour, gender, religion, ancestry, origin, disabilities.It involves excluding or restricting child/young person in a membership from opportunities that are available to other children/young person. Children may experience discrimination because of their colour, culture/religion, impairments, gender, race, size because they are disabled or have special educational needs. Children who are discriminated may feel undervalued and may lose confidence. They may find others will have a low expectations of what they can achieve. Others might assume they cannot do an activity as they can't cope.

The car industry brought its decline on itself. Comment, with Essay

The car industry brought its decline on itself. Comment, with reference to the period since 1960 - Essay Example The government tried to play its role in curing the demise of the car industry in Britain. However, it ended up making decisions and policies that adversely affected the state of the British car industry. They include the steel rationing scheme, improper investments and development to support mergers, and unsuccessful regionalization policies. On the other hand, the management practices prevalent in the industry did not help its condition either. There was unsystematic authoritarian leadership, poor integration after mergers, and other improper strategies that also played their role in bringing down the growing car manufacturing industry of Britain. (Church, 1994) This paper will shed light over the ineffective government policies and the poor management that, together, led to the demise of the British car industry. It also discusses some specific cases and examples from the history of Britain’s auto industry and points out where the mistakes were made and how management could have avoided them. Some may argue that the government’s economic policies could have had an adverse affect on the development of the industry. The factors that may have contributed towards the meltdown of the auto industry in UK may include the steel rationing scheme, unsuccessful regionalisation policies by the government and the failure to maintain the development of the newly funded mergers. After the success of the auto industry in the UK, in 1945 the multinationals expanded their factories in order to increase the productivity. The government supported this effort made by the multinationals as it would increase employment in the surrounding areas. But the scarcity of resources such as steel kept the government to keep the supply under their control also known as the steel rationing scheme; this prevented the firms to produce the maximum output. The changes in energy