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It has everything--A-list celebrity members whose success has been attributed to it, extraordinary institutional wealth, a raft of artifacts demonstrating its special qualities, and cultural identification with modernity, not antiquity. It is relevant. It is now. And, if the testimonials are any guide, it gets results. I'm having great wins on the Scientology Basic Books and Lectures. I've been a Scientologist for many years, and I've had lots of Scientology auditing (spiritual counseling) and training. But I feel in many ways I'm just now becoming a Scientologist through studying these Basic Books and Lectures, exactly the way L. Ron Hubbard intended. (Jenny, 2008) With the possible exception of Notre Dame varsity, nobody has recently gone on record saying that he or she is "having great wins" on the Christian Bible. That would appear to diminish Christianity as a religion relevant to modern culture, and although the testimonial might also be explai

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Introduction Rossi and Freeman (1993) define evaluation as "the systematic application of scientific methods to assess the design, implementation, improvement or outcomes of a program." In Approaches to evaluation of training: Theory & Practice, Deniz Eyersel (2002) argues that "existing models fall short in comprehensiveness and they fail to provide tools that guide organizations in their evaluation systems and procedures" (p. 7). Eyersel's (2002) main argument is the need for a unified model of evaluation theory that takes into consideration the need for a collaborative approach to valuation and the complexities involved in the process. Body Eyersel (2002) maintains that current evaluation programs do not take into account the complexities of evaluation, specifically the multiple goals and multiple levels involved and the need for evaluation of training programs to be "viewed as a collaborative activity between training designers, training managers, floor ma

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Introduction The purpose of this paper is to take an in-depth look at Mel Gibson's movie, "The Passion of Christ," about the crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth. The paper focuses on the debate that has accompanied the movie. This debate involves whether Gibson's movie was a work of art that made the spiritual message of the crucifixion of Christ come alive for viewers or whether it was an overly violent movie that promoted anti-Semitism. The debate is examined from several angles. These include examining reviews of the movie as well as discussing it in relation to religious studies, history, philosophy, art, and violence in film. Reviews of the Movie Movie critics Roger Ebert (2004:1), Daniel Edelstein (2004:1), and Lutheran Minister Robert Benne (2004:1-2) all reviewed Mel Gibson's "The Passion of Christ." Edelstein's review portrayed Mel Gibson as a man obsessed with the cinemagraphic portrayal of violence throughout his long career. Given this obsession, it was no surp

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From the 1950s through the 1980s, major events shaped the fabric of American society, economics, and politics. Socially, Brown v. Board of Education (1954) was a landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court which struck down the "separate but equal" doctrine established in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896), effectively ending segregation in public education (Brown, 2008, p. 1). In the 1950s, the threat of Communism and the rise of the Cold War led to what was known as "McCarthyism," a term that equates to the "intense anti-communist suspicion in the U.S." (McCarthyism, 2008, p. 1). Eventually, U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy was accused of leading witch hunts against innocent citizens and discredited. During the 1960s, the outbreak of the Vietnam War witnessed bitter fighting between Communist (i.e. China) and U.S. and Vietnam forces. Highly unpopular in the U.S., the Vietnam War generated

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Driving the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren makes you one of the fastest and most elite drivers in the world. The Mercedes SLR, which stands for "speed, light, and racing," is the world's fastest automatic transmission car in the world ("Mercedes," 2008). With a price tag of $495,000 and a limited production of only 500 cars per year, it is also among the world's most exclusive cars ("Mercedes," 2008). Driving the Mercedes McLaren is not only one of the most privileged but also one of the coolest experiences you will ever have. With a body based on the Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR of 1995, the McLaren features gull-wing doors that provide a futuristic look and feel to the driving experience. Others will notice as you

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The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act of 1996 is not entirely consistent with Christian social ethics. As Thompson (58) points out, the reformers of our original welfare system "had a variety of motives and objectives," many of which had nothing to do with the well-being of welfare recipients. Although the premise that "Welfare should be a second chance, not a way of life" is lau

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In Japan, The System That Soured, Richard Katz (343-44) maintains that "The changes in Japan are likely to be at least as far-reaching as the reforms that Deng Xiaoping made in China in the 1970s." For both China and Japan, the economic and social reform process is ongoing, with significant reforms still required by both nations that are plentiful and interconnected. To continue economic advancement, both China and Japan need to implement a number of reforms. Chief among these reforms for China is a profound need to "depoliticize the economy" in Naughton's (64) view. For Japan, one of the most significant reforms essential for continuing economic advance is removing obstacles to growth built into its political economy, such as "corporate collusion" and "protective regulations" (Kambayashi 46). One of the biggest obstacles to both China and Japan for the implementation of effective economic reforms is each country's deep-seated opposition to reform. In both nation

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Throughout history human beings living in societies have been conditioned to perceive obedience as a "virtue" and disobedience as a "vice" (Fromm 1). Whether through threat of punishment or coercion, Nazi Germany shows the degree that people who obey will go to before disobeying a higher power. In Disobedience as a Psychological and Moral Problem, Erich Fromm maintains that this conditioning is a threat to the future of mankind because freedom is required for disobedience and disobedience requires freedom. Far from being the notorious sin it is portrayed as, Fromm argues that Adam disobeying God freed mankind and permitted Adam and Eve to become "fully human" (Fromm 1). Fromm argues that certain perks are provided to those who conform from promotions to increased power, but many of these are not affirming if life. He maintains that despite our conditioning to obey, man most evolves through acts of disobedience. After critiquing this thesis, it is readily apparent that the greatest advances in civilization have come from disobedience rather th

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The life experiences of Edgar Allan Poe shaped his works as deeply as those of any other artist of his stature. In Poe's case, the author experienced a significant number of deaths of family members and loved ones, from leaving him an orphan to witnessing the death of his beloved wife. As Lindsay (1953) explains, "Always haunting him was the thought of the death of his mother, then of the death of women he loved, then of the death of his foster-mother, and finally his wife" (p. 11). The themes of death and the spirit world as a malevolent force are evident in many of Poe's stories and poems. Braddy (1973) explains that Poe creates "ghostly poems" that exhibit the death, near-madness, and indifferent world that were part of Poe's existence (p. 5). This analysis will explore the themes of death and the spirit world as they are conveyed in one of Poe's most haunting and famous poems, The Raven. A conclusion will address what might have driven Poe to focus on these kinds of d

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Article XII of the Constitution of the State or Rhode Island and Providence Plantations (1) establishes it as the duty of the General Assembly to promote schools, to establish a perpetual school fund to support the schools, and to ensure that all donations for the support of public schools or other educational purposes received by the General Assembly are applied according to the terms of the donors. Money is not to be diverted from this fund or in any way borrowed or appropriated for any other purpose. In essence, therefore, the Rhode Island public school system is to be financed and overseen by the General Assembly of the state. In April 2006, the Joint Committee on Legislative Services let a contract to R.C. Wood & Associates (1) to conduct a series of research projects designed to develop an education finance distribution aid formula that would ultimately ensure that funds were targeted on an as needed basis and in a manner that would ensure that the special needs of all s

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The Mexican War ended with Mexico ceding Texas, California, Nevada, and Utah to the U.S., along with vast portions of four other states. Although many argue that the Mexican War was necessary in order to fulfill the destiny of the U.S. and secure control of Western lands, especially in light of Mexican aggression; the war was in reality a blatant and overzealous acquisition of territories rich in resources and strategic interest to the U.S. The war was guided by the belief America needed to gain control of Western lands to increase national security, but this was wrapped in a concept that gave the War a higher purpose for Americans. President James K. Polk would lead the call for war, guided by the increasing influence of the concept of Manifest Destiny and the Monroe Doctrine, which shaped U.S. policy toward Latin America during the era. As Bauer (1) notes, these concepts "hastened the grow

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In "Stop Them, or Let Them Go?: A Captain's Dilemma," Chuck, a Coast Guard Captain, maintains his "constitutional duty" is clear; "enforce the law" (Stop 1). Chuck is not so certain about his moral duty. He believes if he launches the inflatable, some of the passengers on the overcrowded boat will leap for shore though they are still dangerously far from it. He also knows his constitutional duty is to intercept the boat and return the would-be illegal aliens to the Dominican Republic. However, his dilemma stems from his concern over the potential loss of life and what he believes is the guiding principle of the Coast Guard, "above all save life, not endanger it" (Stop 1). In measuring the "right" or "wrong" aspect of

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The U.S. Supreme Court has interpreted the Constitution in many cases; indeed, that is its primary task (Hall, 1992). Emerging from such interpretations are various doctrines said to be embedded or explicitly stated in the Constitution, such as the "Plain View" and "Open Fields" doctrines that address an aspect of the question of whether or not evidence recovered by a police officer is admissible in a court case. The Plain View Doctrine (Plain View Doctrine, 2007), essentially holds that law officers must first possess the authority to seize property believed to belong to a suspect, be present in a place where he or she has a right to be, the discovery of the evidence must be inadvertent, and it must be immediately apparent that the items discovered are evidence related to a case at hand. It is the Plain View Doctrine, as opposed to the Open Fields doctrine (to be delineated below), that is operative in the present case analysis. The Plain View Doctrine is not without limits.

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Ever since man first discovered fire, the impact of new technologies has changed the way he does things and expanded the range of things that he is able to do. In the history of technology are many important technologies that have come to be part of everyday life, yet without which progress as we know it would not exist. The most important of these have to do with communication and transportation, the most critical elements that have furthered society through the ages. In addition, though, are the technologies that enable man to do more work more easily and in less time. My top ten most important technologies include, in this order: 1. The printing press 2. The wheel 3. Electricity 4. Air conditioning and refrigeration 5. Indoor plumbing 6. The telephone 7. The Internet 8. The motor 9. Photography 10. the Global Electronic Library The invention of the printing

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Introduction There could be fewer more distinct edifices than the Le Corbusier designed Villa Savoye (1927), Poissy, France, and the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, designed by Frank Gehry (1997) (See Image I & Image II). The clean, simple lines of Corbusier's Villa Savoye are characteristic of the International Style in architecture, versus the whimsical and playful Postmodern style of Gehry's Guggenheim design. Though the purity of Corbusier's design is characteristic of the International style of design in architecture, Gehry's Guggenheim design is much more characteristic of modern perspectives on architecture and its function and purpose. This analysis will compare and contrast the two designs in order to illustrate this argument. A conclusion will address how culture continues to impact design style in architecture. Body In the works of Charles Edouard Jeanneret (better known as "Le Corbusier"), the elements of what is known as the In

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Introduction and Purpose Globalization has become a fashionable buzzword to signify the changes in the way life manifests for the human polity in an increasingly network-based, global society. Although globalization is one method of social discourse of the contemporary world it is sometimes an emotional discourse that has not yet developed scientific legitimacy. Globalization encompasses an interdisciplinary approach to studying the broad spectrum of cultural, economic, and political realities that exist today. Hence, globalization is a historical process with a set of social rationales that transforms the present social condition into a uniform global community with a single, relatively uniform, culture (Barger, 2007). International joint ventures and other strategic alliances between companies are furthering this effort. Many definitions of "culture" can be identified. A few of the more common definitions of the term as it is used by social scientists and others i

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According to an essay published online by Answers.com, historically the distinction between amateur and professional golfers had a lot to do with social class. In 18th and 19th century Britain, golf was played by the wealthy. Early golf professionals in England were often working class men who learned to play the game and made a living from the game in a variety of ways including work as a caddy, a greens keeper, or a club maker. When golf arrived in America at the end of the 19th century, it was also considered to be an elite sport - a sport that would be played only by the wealthy. Early American private golf clubs even hired teaching professionals from Britain to teach wealthy Americans how to play the game (Professional Golfer). According to an essay published online by Wikipedia, in developed countries the class distinction in golf is now almost entirely irrelevant because golf is affordable to a large proportion of the population. Most golf professionals from deve

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In Martin Luther King Jr.'s Strength to love, the Civil Rights leader offers a number of his sermons on everything from communism and Christianity to Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi, whose own nonconformity and nonviolent civil disobedience influenced King's own methods. One of the main themes of this work is that racial prejudice and its injustices are often perpetuated or reinforced through social institutions like the criminal justice system or even the Catholic Church, which King makes culpable here in promoting slavery and segregation. Support by the Christian church for racism throughout history is one of the "shameful tragedies" revealed by history in King's (1981) view. This analysis will review King's book and a number of its main ideas and themes. A conclusion will address how the book might be used to help teach high school social studies students about civil rights history. In King's (1981) Strength of Love, the overall message that comes across is that the Civil Rights leader strongly believes in a higher and ben

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Philip Levine, in "Every Blessed Day," presents a paradoxical portrait of how a working class man copes with the realities of his life. In the course of what is ultimately a fairly brief excursus on the meaning of work, of life, and of manhood, the overarching theme addressed by the poet is that after a certain point in one's maturation, there is very little to truly differentiate one day of life from one another. Levine's (8) protagonist awakens to a hard edged world where water tastes of iron and where he knows "exactly how much light/and how much darkness is there/before the dawn, gray and weak,/slips between the buildings." This is a bleak world filled with the rude awakening of "more and more colder water/ (poured over his head)" (8). It is a world in which this working man "thinks of places he/has never seen but heard/about, of the great desert/his father said was like no sea he had ever crossed" (8). In essence, he is haunted by the dreams and stories transferred to him by his own father and yet aware that he will never have the experiences that his father appears to have taken for granted. Nevertheless, it is in these recalled stories that he

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For many individuals the family system represents a support network where encouragement, understanding, and love are often shared among family members. For a number of others, familial influence is far from positive and quite often influences development issues in members. As Fristad and Clayton (1991) maintain, there are "two general types of studies examining familial influence on child psychopathology" (p. 46). The first of these focuses on genetic transmission of pathology, and the second of these is environmental influences (such as impaired communication or expressed emotion) (Fristad & Clayton, 1991). In William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie, and Lillian Hellman's The Little Foxes, we see that the families involved are of the latter type described above. The parents in all three of these dramas exhibit negative environmental influences toward their children. However, while this negative influence creates tragedy fo

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Scott Horton (2008) described the actions of Birmingham, Alabama U.S. Attorney Alice Martin, who has used her position to pursue a number of questionable cases against a variety of individuals and businesses. Notable in Martin's performance is her effort to punish a company called Axion for allegedly giving restricted documentation regarding critical parts for a Blackhawk helicopter to a Chinese company which was providing materials to Axion. The case was ultimately dismissed and Axion was awarded costs and attorneys fees because the government was found to have acted unfairly under the AECA framework. The ethical issues involved in the case against Martin center on (1) whether she has misused her position to target businesses owned by Democrats or Democratic officials;

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The interaction of supply and consumer demand is significant to consumers because the interplay of these two forces typically sets the price of a good or service. As one economist notes, "The resultant market price is dependent upon both of these fundamental components of a market" (How, 2008, p. 1). When buyers and sellers agree on a price, what is known as the "equilibrium price," and exchange of goods or services occurs (How, 2008). For consumers and sellers, the law of supply and demand is a rule of thumb that holds true in the market. As one financial analyst defines the law of supply and demand, "Other things being equal, price and the quantity demanded are inversely related" (Supply, 2008, p. 1). This means the greater the demand for a product or service the higher the price and the lower the demand for a product or service the lower the price. "Other things being equal" refers to factors that can affect demand, such as the availability of substitute goods or chan

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The question to be addressed herein is whether or not the United States should promote democratization in countries that have not previously experienced democracy, and the related issue of whether this kind of intervention in the affairs of an autonomous nation-state are appropriate. In 1982, former President Ronald Reagan wrote that "Freedom is not the sole prerogative of a lucky few, but the inalienable and universal right of all human beings" (Evans, 1). Since that time, all American presidents have incorporated the idea of democracy promotion into their foreign policy agenda, with varying degrees of success (Ivins, 2). The argument to be advanced herein is that promotion of democratic institutions and processes is a desirable activity, but for democracy to succeed in taking root, a country and its people must embrace it and adapt many of its institutions to their indigenous culture. Consequently, the American model of a democratic republic may not necessarily be replicable i

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Scholarly research suggests that wife beating can be traced to the emergence of monogamous relationships and patriarchal social systems in which women and children were regarded as the property of their husbands (Committee against Domestic Abuse, 1). Women could be burned at the stake for refusing intercourse with their husbands or for having miscarriages. The church and the state in Europe during the Middle Ages and beyond authorized men to chastise wives physically for any disobedience. The French Code of Chivalry, for example, specified that a husband of a scolding wife could "knock her to the earth, strike her in the face with his fist, and break her nose so she would always be blemished and ashamed" (Committee Against Domestic Abuse, 1). Only gradually has domestic abuse and wife battering become a crime and it is even more recently that the government has taken steps in the United States in general and in Minnesota in particular to intervene in cases of wife battering and

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The statement, "Know Thyself," is attributed to the early Greek philosopher Socrates. Socrates is famous for arguing that to be wise is to Know Thyself, and writing that the unexamined life is one not worth living. It is often thought that Socrates wisdom was that he knew that he didn't know about himself and by implications about the reasons for the actions and behaviors of others; the foolishness of his fellow Athenians was that they didn't know that they didn't know. Socrates believed that the most important knowledge to be pursued involves s

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