Why has gift exchange been an important topic for anthropology Essay

Why has gift exchange been an important topic for anthropology - Essay Example Researchers have established that giving is a composite subject in relation to describing human interactions and the ways that people become social within a society. In some quarters, many argue that gift exchange is an act of reciprocation and it can be a way of integrating people and culture in a society. Others also view gift giving as a way of influencing social communication especially for people that do not speak the same language or share the same cultural practices (Evens 2013, p. 123). The implication of this that gifts can be a representation of expression making them to convey cultural meanings that the other party may understand as the expressions of intended plans. Essentially, the act of giving or exchanging gifts becomes a tool for influencing social responsibilities and ways of providing political contrive. With this, this essay will explain the reasons as to why gift exchange is a relevant topic in anthropology by presenting the arguments, counter-arguments and the e vidence to support both of these claims. 2. Arguments One of the key contributors to the argument that gifts formed part of the anthropology researches was Mauss Marcel who was a French sociologist in the nineteenth century. For one, Mauss argued that the issuance of gifts was never free, but rather they opened up avenues for reciprocal exchanges for those that received the gifts in the first place. In essence, the process of anthropology requires that a researcher dwells among the people that are the subject of the study in order for them to acquire first hand information concerning their way of living. Ideally, this was the most appropriate way of gathering data within the anthropology study as the information gathered was accurate and factual as compared making researches based on secondary data. However, the process of engaging the natives involved in the study was a tricky affair because of the difference in culture and language attributes (Ensminger 2002, p. 106). Therefore, a nthropologists had to be creative hence making them to devise ways of how the natives would come to trust them in order for their study being a success. Mauss shared a contrary view in his argument that the gifts given to the natives were not free and that the recipient had to find a way of reciprocating for it. Subsequently, Mauss could not understand the content of the gifts that made them to have the reciprocating nature, but concluded that the gesture of receiving or giving somehow had spiritual attributes. Mauss concluded that the act of giving fostered social bonds between people from different cultures hence making the receiver to develop the obligation to reciprocate for the kind gesture shown by the giver (Ben-Amos 2008, p. 5). On the other hand, the giver also had to part with something that was somehow of value to him, which meant that the giver had shared a part of him influencing the bond to be a social one. As part of his theoretical views on the subject of giving and receiving gifts, Mauss three basic principles of his ideology that were giving, receiving, and reciprocating as part of developing social relationships. When a person gave, they portrayed their interest in developing and maintaining healthy relationships while the receiver could not refuse the gift. Failure to accept the gift was illustrating that the person was not interested in forming any formidable ties with the giver, but if they accepted the gift they had the moral obligation of reciprocating as part of showing liberation (Peoples & Bailey 2012, p. 147). However, the postmodern aspects of examining anthropology illustrate the

European law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

European law - Essay Example refers a question of EC law to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for a preliminary ruling so as to enable the national court, on receiving that ruling, to decide the case before it. Questions of EC law will arise in cases before the courts of different Member States. The function of the preliminary reference procedure is to ensure uniform interpretation and validity of EC law across all the Member States.† It also said that the procedure is laid down in Article 234 EC: ‘Where such a question is raised before any court or tribunal of a Member State, that court may, if it considers that a decision on the question is necessary to enable it to give judgment, require the Court of Justice to give a ruling thereon.’ (European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions. 2005) On the other hand, preliminary ruling is defined as: ‘a special type of action before the ECJ by which national courts ask the ECJ to interpret EU law or to decide on validity and direct effect of EU acts; ECJ ruling is binding and not subject to appeal.’ (GLOSSARY OF EUROPEAN UNION COMMONLY USED TERMS, no date) The reference procedure, therefore, is a creation of the treaty makers who are the member states themselves. The fact that ECJ ruling would be binding and not subject to appeal as a result of the reference is itself a conferment of a strong power to the ECJ. To say therefore that the reference procedure has made the ECJ more than how it should function is to imply attribution of more powers than it was originally conferred under the treaty. (European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, 2005) Alter said that ECJ started as fairly weak international tribunal from many of the problems faced by international courts. The court then, according to her, lacked cases to adjudicate and since no enforcement was in place, its decisions were not taken seriously. The author further said that the ECJ created a base of political leverage for

Marketing Plan for Product Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Marketing Plan for Product - Essay Example highly rated industries for stability and success, the company offers mobile phones with special features to everyone who wants an excellent product. (Kotler and Armstrong 87). Marketing Strategies In general, marketing strategy deals with pricing, selling, and distributing a product. Using a market development strategy for a special mobile phone for aged people, the company will capture a larger share of an existing market for current products through market saturation and market penetration or develop new markets for current products. It is "the combination of choices you make about which tactics you use" ((Kotler and Armstrong 76). Product differentiation will be the main strategy followed by the company. Differentiation will be achieved by unique product image and features, low price and support services proposed fro all customers. The company will follow penetration pricing strategy. Penetration pricing refers to the establishment of price levels low enough to penetrate markets deeply, and to discourage potential competitors from entry. Although prices are set relatively low, expanding markets arc recognized. Pursuit of this policy slows down the recouping of investments and expenses. Which policy to use depends on the total marketing plan and an assessment of cost-revenue market factors (Boone and Kurtz 132). Segmentation Segmentation for a special mobile phone for aged people will be used to understand individual customers in the sports market place and to group them together to form distinct segments which are identifiable, accessible and substantial. In markets, segmentation is often used to make selling more cost effective by prioritizing the companies that require regular face-to-face salespeople and that can be served better by telesales and direct... The researcher states that new product management is one of the most complex and complicated tasks for an entrepreneur today. The proposed product is a special mobile phone for aged people with poor eyesight and deafness. The idea is to create a mobile phone device with big screen and special signals which help old people with poor eyesight and deafness to communicate with relatives and use mobile phone in emergency situations. The main goal of the new business is to get and keep a customer. Also, the product is aimed to achieve competitive advantage and sustainable competitive creating value for consumers, select markets where they can excel and present a moving target to their competitors by continually improving their position. Three of the most important factors are innovation, quality and inventory reduction. Using a market development strategy for a special mobile phone for aged people, the company will capture a larger share of an existing market for current products through m arket saturation and market penetration or develop new markets for current products. Marketing mix will involve telemarketing and direct sales, promotion through medical institutions and mobile stores outside the country. In conclusion, the researcher analyzes differentways of promoting the mobile phone for aged people and discusses the strategies adopted and implemented by the firm including product, price, promotion and distribution issues, that are aimed when advertising features and products to older people.

The Negative Impacts of Tourism on Egyptian Culture Research Paper

The Negative Impacts of Tourism on Egyptian Culture - Research Paper Example There has been a substantial growth of the tourism sector in Egypt due to massive tourists visiting the country. Despite the numerous benefits brought about by the tourism sector, there are also several challenges. This paper will evaluate the impacts of tourism on Egyptian culture. It presents a brief introduction of the state of tourism in the country, discuses some benefits brought about by the sector, as well as the need to curtail tourism in Egypt, especially because of the negative impacts it is having on Egyptian culture. Introduction For the last two hundred years, tourism has been an important component in Egypt’s economy. In addition, tourism for the last generation has become an important part of the economy, which contributes about 45 percent of the country’s yearly foreign currency earnings. To improve the infrastructure to the required standards, there has been a very significant investment by both the public and by the private sectors in addition to all t he budgetary planning by the Egyptian government. This is because of the assumption that there is need for this infrastructure to hold an ever-growing number of tourists. As a result, there is an annual expenditure of millions of dollars to encourage and promote tourism especially in the neighboring Arab countries, which now represent a growing segment of the Egyptian tourist market (Icomos, 71). Because of the thriving roads, trade, and economy in general, there was massive expansion of the travel industry. For instance, there was a rise in the number of transit customers through Egypt from 275 in 1844 to 3,000 in 1847. To cater for the outstanding increase in the number of travelers between the years 1848 – 1879, the government began to issue regulations and organize the services given to the travelers, who spent about ?60-?80 during three months stay in Egypt. Tour guide (TG) was among the first services to emerge immediately because of the expansion of the travelling indu stry. The tour guide became the intermediary between the region and the visitors (El-Sharkawy, 78). The Egyptians have been able to carry out easy market promotion for a long time because of the Egypt famous historical heritage sites. However, when the marine resort tourism became the main tourism product in the 1990s there was change in conditions. Consequently, Egypt has to compete with its competitor countries in many features, for example service level and price, in the marine resort market. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a suitable market promotion plan (Rady, 2). Impacts of Tourism in Egypt Tourism has an important effect to the society. Among the direct economic gains of tourism are augment of foreign exchange earnings, contribution to government revenues, income generation and generation of employment. In addition, tourism offers indirect effects on the economic sectors, for instance fisheries, agriculture, construction and handicraft manufacturing, which provide the goods and services for the tourism sector. Moreover, tourism offers other facilities and services that promote the economic and cultural development of the community in the region for example the improvement of transportation and other infrastructure (Rady, 26). Tourism in Egypt is peculiar on the types of travel and cross-cultural transactions including religious and intellectual pilgrimages, colonialism and imperialism, archaeology, anthropology, and more, which for centuries have been important components in building Egyptian national subjectivities and identities. The basis of the Western tourism is an imagination of an ancient Egypt scattered with the excavated monuments of a pharaonic past. On the other hand, the West’

Behavioral Influences Essay Example for Free

Behavioral Influences Essay Expectancy theory is related to the motivation of the employees which is dependent upon the employees’ behavior and incentives given by the management. If the management is able to motivate its employees they will put in more effort while working, which means efficiency higher returns for the company. The three components of the expectancy theory are expectancy, valence and instrumentality (Vroom, 1964). All of these three variables are required if an employee needs to be motivated positively. The expectancy component is the belief that increase in efforts will accounts for better performance and vice versa. This means that a person is motivated if there is a positive relationship between efforts and performance given that he has proper training, resources and direction to perform the job. Expectancy is also affected by the confidence the employee has about on his capabilities. Valence component in the expectancy theory refers to the value people place on the expected outcome or rewards of their efforts. If a person is motivated mainly by money, he might not value free insurance given by the company. Valence is the intensity of the desire of a worker for extrinsic and intrinsic rewards such as promotion, fringe benefits, bonuses, overtime and satisfaction (Droar, 2003). Instrumentality, the third component of expectancy theory is the confidence on the higher authorities that if the performance is well, the desired or promised reward will be received (Vroom, 1964). Instrumentality will be affected by the trust in people who make decisions of the outcomes and degree of biasness of the process of getting an outcome. Therefore the theory tells us that the relationship between the effort and performance is positive, which means that increase in effort will enhance performance (Vroom, 1964). According to the theory the relationship between performance and rewards is also positive, which implies that better performance will result in more rewards. In the given scenario, Supervisor A’s employees are facing difficulty in coping up with the new production process. The main reason for this is that the employees are not being compensated for their work. Those who achieve their goals are not given enough compensation therefore they feel unmotivated. When employees are not motivated, they do not put in enough effort to achieve their goals and hence their performance is not fine. The employees who have mastered the production process are not worried about accomplishing their goals because they know that even with added effort if they attain their goals, the compensation they will get is not worth the effort. Other employees, who have not mastered it, are not putting in enough effort because they think they are not capable of doing so. Therefore there is a dire need for motivation of the employees who are under Supervisor A. The supervisor should find out what resources, training or management of employees is needed to motivate the employees; this is the expectancy component of the expectancy theory. The supervisor should also find out what do the employees value, their bonuses and salaries should be increased according to their performance; this is the valence part of the expectancy theory. Supervisor also has to make sure that the perception of the employees about their supervisor’s promises is correct, they should be compensated as promised; this is the instrumentality component. In the scenario, the employees’ salaries are not being increased as promised by the supervisor; their bonuses after withholding tax are very small. Thus if the supervisor is able to fill the gaps in all of these three components, he will be able to motivate the employees to increase effort and hence performance and the goals will be achieved. Task 2 The leadership style of Leader B is transactional, Leader C is transformational and Executive has a â€Å"Level 5† leadership style. Transactional leadership focuses on setting specific goals for each team member and encourage them to meet the agreed upon goals (Bryant, 2003). In the scenario it is given that Leader B establishes clear goals by clarifying role and task requirements and continually guiding subordinates in the direction of these goals, and therefore it is a characteristic of transactional leadership. In transactional leadership, the team members are awarded when they are able to achieve their goals on time and punished when agreed upon goals are not achieved or are not achieved on time (Iain, 2007). In the scenario given, Leader B considers the team member to be personally at fault if the delegated task is not completed and issues punishments for failures. Transactional leadership recognizes accomplishments of individual subordinates and they are rewarded for achieving the objectives agreed upon (Iain, 2007). In the scenario given, Leader B believes in a clear chain of commands and in rewarding good performance and recognizing employee accomplishments. Leader B also rewards subordinates for their successes. Leader B’s transactional leadership style has been justified now by including the examples from the given text. Transformational leadership depends more on personal relationship with subordinates and is supported by trust rather than committing to contracts (Jung Avolio, 1999). In the scenario it is given that Leader C tried to remember his team members’ birthdays and makes an effort to work with them as their coach instead of their manager. Transformational leadership also tries to satisfy its followers’ self-interest and encourages the followers to replace these interests with the interests of the team. In the scenario, Leader C encourages the group to surpass their own self-interest for the betterment of the organization. This type of leadership also focuses on organizational change through stress on new values and different vision of the future which transcends the status quo (Gellis, 2001). Leader C in the scenario also believes that the group can have great success when they are passionate and enthusiastic about a vision. Transformational leaders motivate its followers to achieve their goals through nurturing their individual skills and capabilities (Barbuto, 2005). Leader C in the scenario sets high hopes for subordinates, instills individualism of employees for the benefit of organization and takes a rational problem-solving approach. The Level 5 leadership is described as being hesitant and unruly, shy and fearless and modest with a stern commitment to high standards (Jon Jenkins and Gerrit Visser, 2001). This type of leadership takes struggling organizations from being fine to great and produces other fine leaders within the organizations for future. The Level 5 leadership takes responsibility for the failures and accredits other leaders for accomplishments (Jon Jenkins and Gerrit Visser, 2001). This leadership also establishes unique ideas, long-term vision and values for the organization. In the scenario, Executive A is clearly a level 5 leader as he shies away from attention and accredits others for achievements. He accepts responsibility for failures and poor results; and feels delighted to produce strong leadership within the organization. Therefore it is apparent that Executive A is a Level 5 leader as he took the struggling organization into hands and reshaped the stock prices and company profits into eye-catching ones and he also shares his long-term vision, ideas and values with other leaders of the company. When the Executive A retires and if Leader B is appointed as the CEO, then most of the employees in the organization will start working for their own interest as they will be held responsible for their failures and accomplishments and will be compensated accordingly. Supervision of the employees will become an integral part of managers’ routine as they may use organization’s resources for their personal interests. Transactional leadership is successful in stable organizations because it helps to improve control over employees and reinforces constructive administrative actions through rewards and punishments. Therefore Leader B may find his style appropriate in the organization. Transformational leadership maintains employees’ performance through loyalty to organization, trust in the leader and changes in values and standards of the organization. Leader C has this style of leadership, and if appointed the CEO, the employees will surely have higher motivation and self-confidence; they will get chances and supervision to improve their skills and capabilities. Through self-realization of employees and personal relationships with them, Leader C will be able to make them feel an integral part of the organization and increase their performance beyond expectations. Task 3 Individuals often take one of the bases of power in an organization in which they are employed. There are five bases of power which act as a source of organization; they will be discussed one by one. The first one is Position in Hierarchy (Woldring, 2001), that is the rank of the individual in an organization. The higher the individual’s place in the organizational rank structure, the greater the power he will have. In the given scenario, Employee 1 is using position in hierarchy as the source of his power. He has worked in the marketing department for 12 years and he frequently comes to the office on weekends or stays late to make sure smooth running of tasks. The second base of power is Referent Power (Woldring, 2001); this is the personal relation of an individual with others who are higher in the organizational hierarchy. It only exists if the individual can actually reference the authenticity of relationship so that it can act as a basis of power. Employee 2 has this power as he negotiated with his manager to work four days a week and is the only person who is allowed to have a shorter work week. Third type of power is Reward Power (Raven, 1959); individuals who have a greater degree of control over resources of organization, have greater power. Individuals even lower in the organizational hierarchy can have greater controller over resources of the organization (Woldring, 2001). This power is based on the ability to give valuable reward to others who perform well (Raven, 1959). In the scenario given, Employee 1 has this power as he is controlling the resources of his department to get the large bonus at the year end, and he will spend this bonus on his vacations. The fourth base of power is Demonstrated Expertise (Woldring, 2001); an individual who has an exceptional capability or special knowledge that no other has in the organization. Only having expertise is not sufficient, others should know about the importance of this person’s expertise and its value. Employee 2 has this power as he is the only company employee who can prepare financial statements. The fifth and final source of power is Personality Power or Coercive Power (Woldring, 2001); the perceived personality of the individual is the power here. If the person has strong interpersonal skills, charming and attractive personality, then he will be able to influence others to conform to his ideas or demands (Raven, 1959). This is the case with Employee 3, who has been in the organization for just a year, but because of his personality power, he was able to change entire department’s beliefs. Relationship between Bases of Power and Dependency: The Bases of Power use the concept of Dependency. An employee can only use its base of power on another employee if the other one is dependent on him. As Emerson (1962, p. 32) argues that â€Å"power resides implicitly in the other‘s dependency† and that â€Å"the power of A over B is equal to, and based upon, the dependence of B upon A†. Therefore if a person B is dependent of another person A, only then the power of A exists. The level of power of person A depends upon the degree of dependence of person B on person A and the alternatives available to person B. If there is no dependence then power over another person does not exists. The accounting manager in the given scenario is the person who is dependent upon Employee 2 because of the Expertise power of Employee 2. Employee 2 is the only person in the organization who can prepare the financial statements and so the manager is dependent upon him to prepare it. Employee 1 is dependent upon marketing manager for the award he wants, that is why he stays late in the office to make sure of the completion and accuracy of the work and he often come to office on weekends. Employee 3 was selected as the leader of the team working on new project; all others related to the project are dependent upon him because of his Coercive power. Task 4 The first problem with the company’s current evaluation form is that the rating scales in the form mostly focus on relationships with other employees and on the personality; it is more of a personality test rather than performance and skills evaluation. Instead of evaluating the neatness of the workplace, relationships with peers, attitude with others and friendliness, the questions should be more specific to the performance and quality of work. Performance factors such as knowledge, skills, abilities, quality and timeliness of work, efforts of the employee, works habits, supervisory factors, cooperation, adaptability and effectiveness of communication should be evaluated. The second concern in the evaluation form is that the rating scales are not specific and measurable. The scale being used is to rate an attribute is not numeric or scalar, high, low-medium, medium are being used to score against the attribute. A better approach of scoring will be to use a scale with numeric scale, the highest described as â€Å"Superior† and lowest as â€Å"Unsatisfactory†. Another option of â€Å"Not Applicable† should also be present with all attributes. The use of measurable scale will ease the work for evaluator and he will be able to rate the employee’s attributes more accurately. The third concern in the evaluation form is that the performance factors are not specific. When the manager had to give rating on the engineer’s attitudes, he had to take in to account the engineer’s attitudes towards his job and tasks that he is assigned to do and also his attitudes towards co-workers and manager. The factors should be more specific so that the evaluator can give the ratings to specific attribute and every attribute is taken into account. In the scenario, the manager gave engineer a low rating in the attitude factor although his attitude towards work was very serious and he completed his tasks in a very well manner. He got a low rating because of his poor attitude towards the peers and manager. The 360-degree approach to employee evaluation involves supervisor, peers, and subordinates into the evaluation of an individual. This approach has its own pros and cons. Many people participate in evaluating a person so it gives complete view of the performance of the person. The performance view is captured from the supervisor, peers and the subordinates, they respond as they see the person’s performance. It reduces the bias of the supervisor or the manager towards an employee. It the supervisor does not likes the attitude of appearance of the employee, and then he might rate the employee with a lower score. If the employee’s attitude with the supervisor is not favorable but the peers and subordinates like the attitude of the employee, then this can be captured in the evaluation process. Many people participate in the evaluation process, so the score becomes more reliable and more accurate. The supervisor may not have a personal relation with the employee and may not know him too well to rate his personality and attitude towards work. It is also possible that the employee have had some kind of incident with the supervisor in the past and since then the attitude towards the employee had become unfavorable. Then the supervisor would obviously rate him low in the performance factors. Most of the times in an organization, peers and co-workers know the employee better than the supervisor; so when the peers will evaluate the employee, they will be able to give the ratings more accurately and their ratings will be more reliable than any others. The attitude of a person towards his sub-ordinates is also very important, this attitude can be recorded when sub-ordinates will take part in the evaluation process of the employee. And then after the evaluation, the employee can leverage his strengths according to others’ perception of his performance and personality. So, 360-degree approach to performance evaluation helps in evaluating the employee from many views and in recording reliable and more accurate information then the traditional forms of evaluations and is not only helpful to the management to make important decisions but also is useful to the person being evaluated . There are some disadvantages too of including the supervisor, peers and subordinates in the evaluation process. One of the main disadvantages is that all the peers and subordinates may not like the personality of the employee being evaluated and may rate him very low based on his attitude and personality. The main purpose of evaluating an employee is to evaluate the performance and skills and attitude towards the work and tasks assigned to him. The co-workers and subordinates may have issues with employee being evaluated because of personality clash, and although his work is up to the mark and performance is well, but still the peers, supervisor and subordinates might give him low score on performance. There are a handful of employee performance evaluation methods; three of them are top-down, peer-to-peer and 360-degree. Top-down is the most commonly used in the organizations today. It involves the direct manager of the employee in the evaluation process and is only useful if the manager knows his employee well enough. Peer-to-peer entails the employees of the same levels to review each other. Nobody knows the capabilities and performance of an employee better than his peer or co-worker. While it can be effective method, it can also be very unsuccessful at times. If there is jealousy among the co-workers or if there is competition then it is obvious that they will not rate each others in a reliable manner. When there are multiple managers or multiple peers of an employee then these methods prove successful. The third method is 360-degree evaluation which takes into account the reviews of peers, subordinates and the managers or supervisors. In some organizations even suppliers and customers are involved in the evaluation process. While the advantage of multiple points of views is clear, it poses some threats also. Sometimes the subordinates may not give the true feedback of their managers because of the fear that manager will get to know about it. The following are the errors and biases that commonly affect the accuracy of performance evaluation. The first one is that the employees may favor the evaluation questions of their manager as they will fear that the manager will find out and so their review will not be true. The second is that the peers might not be mature enough or experienced enough to evaluate each other and they may form a cartel and rate each other well. The third example is that the manager does not the performance of his employee whom he is to evaluate because of no interaction with him, and he might just do the evaluation providing inaccurate information. In the given scenario, the evaluation form should be made more reliable and bias free and should be more oriented towards the performance of the employee rather than the friendliness and the attitude towards the co-workers. The scale used should be numeric with the highest being the best and lowest being the most poor. Customers, subordinates, and co-workers should also be included in the evaluation process to make it fairer. References Online Journal Iain, Ph. D. Hay. (2007 ). Transactional and Transformational Leaderships Compared. Leadership of Stability and leadership of vola tility, Volume 4, Issue 4. Retrieved 04 16, 2009, from Academic Leadership database. Website Organization/Website/Author name. (Year, Month Day). Title. Retrieved Month Day, Year, from www. url. com Value Based Management. net/Victor Vroom. (2009, 03 23). Motivation and Management Vroom’s Expectancy Theory. Retrieved 04 14, 2009, from http://www. valuebasedmanagement. net/methods_vroom_expectancy_theory. html Arrod. co. uk/Dave Droar. (2006, 12 31). Expectancy theory of motivation. Retrieved 04 14, 2009, from http://www. arrod. co. uk/archive/concept_vroom. php Imaginal Training/Jon Jenkins and Gerrit Visser. (2001). Level 5 Leadership. Retrieved 04 14, 2009, from http://www. imaginal. nl/articleLevel5Leadership. htm Workplace Competence International Limited/Roelf Woldring. (2001). Power in Organizations: A way of Thinking About What You’ve Got, and How to Use It. Retrieved 04 16, 2009, from http://www. wciltd. com/pdfquark/powerorgv2. pdf

The Gathering by Isobelle Carmody portrays the dark side of human nature Essay Example for Free

The Gathering by Isobelle Carmody portrays the dark side of human nature Essay The Gathering by Isobelle Carmody portrays the dark side of human nature. It shows that mans behaviour does not vary over long periods of time and across different cultures. It shows that each and every single person has an evil or dark side to them and it is whether they succumb to this evil or follow the paths of light and goodness that decide what kind of person they are. Cheshunt, where the story is set appears to be a fairly normal town. When Nathanial and his mother arrive, Nathanial instinctively knows that something is not quite right. Nathanial is there for a reason. He and the other members of The Chain must learn the power of friendship to defeat the evil Kraken. The dark side of human nature is seen in many characters: Cheshunts headmaster Mr Karle is a truly evil person. Although Mr Karles only role in the community is Deputy Principal of Three North, he has manipulated those who do have a major role in the community into making himself the main power over all Cheshunt. His goal is to become the ruler of the world, starting with Cheshunt. To make sure that The Chain does not defeat him, Mr Karle defeats one member at a time. Mr Karle portrays the dark side of human nature he has attained power that he then uses to control all those around him. He has become corrupted by this power and with it he is able to manipulate the other characters to perform vicious acts. Mr Karle taunts and mocks in an attempt to emotionally destroy those around him he takes pleasure in others emotional pain. He causes distress in Nathanial when he tells him of his cold hearted father who was Insanely jealous. Unstable. Violent (page 263) and how Nathanials mother learnt not to speak to anyone or smile in fear of what his father would do to her. When Mr Karle reminds Indian that his sister is brain damaged because of Indians own mistakes he does this knowing the heartache this will cause. He mocks Nissa calling her unfeminine and unattractive and how no one could love such a creature except out of pity (page 246). Mr Karle defeats one character at a time. He is physically cruel and used force to hurt them. Mr Karle embodies all that is the dark side of human nature, he is cruel both emotionally and physically Then the Kraken stepped forward and slapped her across the face. A trickle of dark blood ran from the corner of her mouth (page 249). He is corrupted by power, he is manipulative and in all this he takes pleasure. He is a true sadist. The dark side in human nature is also portrayed in many of the other characters, this is evidenced in Buddha Isobelle Carmody has used the name Buddha that represents peace and harmony and made him a killer. He burns Nathanials dog, The Tod, who is Nathanials only true friend and Nathanial loves. The match landed in his tail and flames swept forward up over him. Devoured him. He arched and coiled, yelping in pain and fright, and then he screamed, a long inhuman howl of agony and terror. (page 214). When Buddha burns The Tod it is a vicious, cowardly act and is evidence of how dark mans nature can be, that he can murder a poor, defenseless creature that is incapable of fighting back, also that the act was carried out in front of Nathanial to cause him immense grief and feelings of powerlessness. What is even more disturbing is that this is such a real act that could happen in our everyday life. How the people who are in a position to protect us and how they use this authority in a destructive way is also shown. The police, who are supposed to be good and honest are corrupt and evil. They protect the evil leaders and enforce their law, The pamphlet stuck under the door the day we arrived had welcomed us to the neighbourhood and urged my mother to join the Community Committee. It had a lot of by law information and the bit about the curfew was last. It said no one was to be out in the streets after ten at night without a specific reason. (page 20). The police either stood aside and let the people of Cheshunt be intimidated and bullied or were doing the intimidating and bullying themselves. Seth is a part of the chain that is needed to defeat the evil but Seth has given in to his dark side. He has a very weak character. Despite Seth being a brain (page 10), looking like one of those perfect guys off Coke ads (page 10) and coming from a good family, His father is a policeman (page 55) he is pathetic. He is sneaky and drinks alcohol to escape facing reality. He cant deal with his own problems (his parents are divorced and he cant deal with being in the Chain and the effort it takes to defy Mr Karle) and uses his weaknesses as an excuse to attempt to commit suicide, Seth lay on his back between them, his face dead white. (page 142) He breaks promises You promised, Nissa said icily. (page 138). He also betrays those around him Mr Karle gave Nissa a radiant smile. Got him? But you misunderstand, Nissa. I didnt get Seth. He came to us. (page 250). Nathanials father is a character who shows that mans dark side does not vary over long periods of time. Nathanials father was a violent jealous man who liked to have complete control over everything. He was jealous of Nathanial and the attention he got from his mother, especially when Nathanial was a baby I had to sometimes hold your mouth to stop the crying (page 264). Mans darkest nature was shown when his father attempted to kill Nathanial, Children should be seen and not heard, he said, and his big hands closed around my neck. And squeezed. (page 247). This is absolute evidence of innate evil that a father could try to murder his own son. In conclusion, The Gathering shows us the dark side of human nature and it is vividly portrayed. It has a realness that shows that evil is present in the past and in the future and is occurring right now, in all parts of our life. It shows that power can corrupt you and consume you absolutely. It also shows us that cruelty, deceit, jealousy and manipulation are just some of the many ways evil can be shown.

Separation Between Church And State

Separation Between Church And State The concept of separation between the church and state refers to the strained relationship distance between organized religion and the nation state. The relationship between the Church and feudal state in the medieval era went through a series of developments, round about the end of Roman Empire down to the birth of Reformation. The Western world is shaped due to the struggle for power between the kings and Popes. With the idea of divine right monarchs ruled for centuries. Monarch began to use this to support the notion that king to rule not only his kingdom but also the churches within the kingdoms boundaries such notion can be known as caesaropapism. On the other hand, the catholic doctrine stating the Pope being the Vicar of Christ in earth is to have absolute power over the Church and also secondary over the state. Furthermore, the relationship between Church and State can be related as the institutional form of the relation between religion and politics(Answers). Due to this com plication, Church and State has been a remarkable concern of the Western and Christian. This is not only because Western secularization has desired a limit of powers that is to belong to the religious authorities, though its origins sprung form an earlier period, during the advancement of separate Church and State institutions in Christendom which were natural rivals to a level which was incomprehensible in the sphere of other well-known religions. Thus the conflict between Emperor and Pope was an important feature to Europe in the middle Ages of politics also during the twelfth, thirteenth, and fourteenth century the rivalry between the Guelphs and the Ghibellines was one of the greatest contest in Italian politics. Western society therefore has a great past of conflict between Church and State, which has helped advance the movement in anticlerical and secular spheres. Countless modern states and parties embrace the separation of Church and State, but a suspicion has often been att ached to predominantly Protestant countries Catholic politicians, such as John F. Kennedy, that they are, whatever they may say, religiously committed to extending the influence of their Church over the State.(Cambridge University) In ancient civilizations the segregation of political and religious orders was not given meaning. With the occurrence of Christianity, the concept of two separate orders emerged, on the bases of Jesuss command to Render unto Caesar what belongs to Caesars, and to God what belongs to God (Mark 12:17). The intense union of religion and politics, nevertheless, proceeded even after the victory of Christianity as emperors such as Constantine who exercised authority amongst both church and state. During the premature Middle Ages secular rulers claimed to rule by Gods grace, and later in the Middle Ages popes and emperors fought for global supremacy. During the Investiture Controversy the church clearly established distinct and separate secular and religious orders, which lead to the so-called papal monarchy foundation. The Reformation greatly weakened papal authority, and the pendulum swung toward the state, in addition many monarchs demanding to rule both the church and state by divine ri ght. Enlightenment thinkers, as evinced in the U.S and post-revolutionary France, influenced the concept of secular government. In Western Europe today all states protect and maintain freedom of worship along with the distinction between religious and civil authorities. However, during the Middle ages the Pope claimed the right to overthrow the Catholic Kings of Western Europe and often exercise these rights, because the kings where taking control over the churches in their border which turned out successfully sometimes and sometimes not, such cases were with Henry VIII of England and Henry III of Navarre. In the West, the matter of separation of church and state during the medieval period focused on monarchs who ruled in the secular sphere but violated the churchs rule of the spiritual sphere. For example, in 1530s Henry VIII, angered by the Catholic Churchs refusal to annual his marriage with his wife Catherine of Aragon, resolved to break with the Church thereby setting himself as the ruler of the new church of England; the Anglican Church, thereby ending the separation that had existed between Church and State in England. Of the many remarkable structural and ideological changes that have taken place in the European history, the French revolution renders an essential social shift in the relations between the people and the church as prosperous partner with the state. By discussing how the French Revolution produced a dramatic and structural restrain in the relation of the Church to the state, I do not intend to propose that the revolution ended in a complete separation of the church and state. It does, nevertheless, the contribution to the diminishing role of the Church in state and in public affairs are indicated by important factors such as the role of the nation-state has diminished. In early modern Europe, the churchs power over people was reduced by the birth of the sovereign state. In the role of religion in regards to a state, theres no doubt in mind that civil liberties for all citizens and the full protection of human rights can be endangered by religion. For instance, the rights of non-believers and supporters of other religions the right of homosexuals along with the rights of women, at the most basic level, this is mostly an issue of tolerance, we should not impose their moral values, beliefs, and practices on others if such people dont inflict harm, even if we think people act immorally from their religious point of view and neither should we draw a distinction among people when they think speak or act in ways that are conflicting with our own beliefs. But the problem goes beyond the level of relations between citizens. The question about the proper role and place of religion in a state isnt restricted to the dilemma of how we act toward each other in our daily lives. In a democratic state, the people interpret their beliefs in government policy and legi slation. Hence, I wonder to what extend people can use their religious beliefs as basis or reason for legislation. Religion appears in liberal theory first and foremost as an occasion for neutrality and tolerance. The initiation is supplemented by both the categorization of religion as essentially as a private issue and the belief that religion is in some sense survival from an earlier era not a field of vital growth within modernity. We should see religious internationalism both under the problematic structure of colonial and postcolonial missionary work and in the engagements shaped by Vatican II, peace movement and liberation theology.(Burleigh) To summarize all, the proper role of religion in a state is based on individuals and their distinctive religious beliefs and faith. It has become a stock phrase that the spread of modernity throughout the industrial west and much of the world beyond has developed a system of secular nation-states that actively promote science but refrain the advancement of religion. This idea is much in line with contemporary controversy over globalization, postmodernism, human rights and church-state relations. Yet the growing recognition that science is a cultural and social product would seem to weaken the asymmetry between religion and science upon which this modern notion of the state rests . Observers of politics in the early modern era took it for granted that a state conscious of its own interest would or at least out to guide the religious behavior of its subject. Until recently, similar hypothesis about the importance of state policy in religious activities have informed historical writing about Europes protestant and catholic reformation. But scholars of the last four decades or so has made it vivid that one cannot ima gine the religious life of the people as simply decided for by their rulers. The modern state advanced toward a concept of secularism, whereby a state or country purports to be officially neutral in matter of religion, supporting neither religion nor irreligion. Most modern states claim to treat all its citizens equally regardless of religion, and claims to avoid preferential treatment for a citizen from a particular religion or non-religion over other religions or non-religion. Secular states become secular either upon establishment of the state or upon secularization of state, for example Frances religious monopoly was politically challenged by secular institutions, which lead to the comprehensive victory of secularism. Historically, the process of secularizing a state typically involves granting religious freedom, disestablishing state religions, stopping pubic funds to be used for religion, freeing the legal system from religious control, freeing up the education system, tolerat ing citizens who change religion or abstain form religion, and allowing political leadership to come to power regardless of religious beliefs. Many states of nowadays are secular in practice may have legal mark of an earlier established religion. Secularism also has various forms that may coincide with some magnitude of official religiosity. Thus, in the Commonwealth Realms, the head of state is required to take a Coronation Oath swearing to sustain the Protestant faith. The United Kingdom also retains positions in its upper house for 26 senior clergymen of the prominent Church of England known as the Lords Spiritual. While Scotland is part of the United Kingdom the Scottish Parliament proclaimed Scotland a secular state but conserves the religious monarch. The reverse sequence can also occurs, a state can go from being secular to a religious state as in the case of Iran where the secularized state of the Pahlavi dynasts was replaced by the Islamic Republic. Over the last few decade s, there has been a trend towards secularism. In the modern period, the separation of the church and state and the exercise of secularization have brought about a movement away form folk pattern of ordered religion. Migration of ethnic groups as an end result of colonial expansion, the rise of modern capitalism and individualism have also brought about a much greater recognition of the multi-cultural nature of society and a significance upon personal choice with respect to the issue of religious affiliation. One consequence of thee western world has been the tendency to convince religion as importantly a private rather than a pubic matter.