Big Brother Media Essay essays

Comparing Sweden Immigration Policy with German Immigration Policy

Presentation Among the numerous arrangements set up by different countries, migration approaches are a portion of the states’ laws that have numerous predispositions joined to them. Aristide characterizes migration arrangement as â€Å"any strategy of an express that manages the travel of people over its outskirts into the nation particularly those that plan to work and stay in the country† (2006, p.23).Advertising We will compose a custom paper test on Comparing Sweden Immigration Policy with German Immigration Policy explicitly for you for just $16.05 $11/page Learn More A nation may decide to deny the travel of individuals over its fringes or rather grant free development of individuals. Be that as it may, as monastery referenced, even in circumstances of free migration, the state must build up some standard of recognizing individuals who fit from the individuals who don't. One of such biasness may involve the issuance of an order to allow the confirmation of residen ts having a place with a given multi or two-sided type of an association, for example, ward among others. All the more frequently, researchers have scrutinized movement arrangements dependent on what portrays them: strict or even racial biases. As Herrera and Moualhi place, â€Å"In liberal-vote based nations, the topic of ‘who makes movement policy’ inspires the topic of the degree at which those strategies reflect the inclinations of a dominant part of residents, or rather those of little intrigue groups† (2004, p.1). The most favored answer being to cultivate multiculturalism disposition in the detailing and usage of the migration approaches inside a nation. In view of this, the paper investigates the Sweden and Germany migration arrangements. The attention lies on revealing the up and coming racial disparities that describe these two nations combined with directing an assessment of how ongoing social arrangement added to keeping up or decreasing the imbalance s. Migration approaches in Germany and Sweden Over the years, movement has established a worldwide wonder worth controlling by authorizing different state strategies. While not discrediting changeless settlers, the immigrants’ populace comprises both transiently, boondocks and regular specialists. Masked as one of these lawfully adequate settlers, the migrant populace likewise contains unlawful workers and shelter searchers who might be legitimately perceived. As Luciani Posits, â€Å"In Europe, new streams into the customary nations of resettlement, for example, Italy, Spain and Portugal have enhanced the since quite a while ago settled relocation designs from ex provinces to the UK and France, and of Turks to Germany† (1993, p.59). Throughout the decades, both eastern and focal Europe have encountered passionate political changes that have thus come about to the production of heavenly movement pressures among the residents. Regardless of whether Sweden or Germany, th e vast majority of the workers originate from creating countries. The creating countries confronted the difficulties of the high populace development rates, which exceed the rate at which their administrations can make work openings. Thus, migration acts like a security valve, which has noteworthy points of interest regarding arrangement of employment.Advertising Looking for exposition on sociologies? How about we check whether we can support you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In this end movement is to some degree powerful in that â€Å"Remittances can be a critical wellspring of remote trade, while returning vagrants may carry capital and abilities to encourage financial growth† (Luciani 1993, p.57). In this unique situation, migration remains as a basic component for guaranteeing free development of capital and abilities over the globe: something that is important for augmentation of worldwide government assistance. Be that as it may, the augmentation of wor ldwide government assistance through empowering migration faces basic test since as Esping-Anderson contends, â€Å"†labor can't retain itself for long without plan of action to elective methods for subsistence† (1990, 37). Tragically, financial powers are by all account not the only determinants of migration arrangements: legislative issues assumes huge jobs in setting of movement strategies. â€Å"The getting countries’ migration approaches decide the size of movement flows†¦it is their national monetary assessment of the expenses and advantages that is integral to understanding this phenomenon† (Luciani 1993, p.70). West Germany had made mind blowing attempts to make a pivot of the settler work approaches through the â€Å"guest workers† framework. This framework had encountered an astounding disappointment since, as Krauss and Baumol (1979) figure, it didn't â€Å"prevent the rise of a changeless settler network which surpassed 10% of the workforce one fourth was Turkish† (p.37). The year 1967 through 1968 saw Germany experience a downturn. At the point when Germany experienced an oil costs stun in 1973 through 1974, an explanation behind adjustment of its strategies including movement approaches was fundamental. One of such an influx of changes involved augmentation of grants for the essential movement combined with conduction of outside work enlistments by November 1973. At around a similar time, â€Å"the number of licenses for family members of existing transients was expanded successfully perceiving the disappointment of the rotational system† (Luciani 1993, p.67). Downturns established one of the methods of reasoning behind the usage of progressively inflexible movement controls in Germany at that point. In any case, as Hansen places, â€Å"the accessible proof of joblessness rates among incompetent specialists (approx. 0.1%) recommends other political contemplations were of more noteworthy signif icance than the condition of the work market† (1993, p.90). In this unique circumstance, the powers of interest and gracefully never impacted the inflow of workers. This is maybe moves from accept that â€Å"Within the market, the liberal authoritative opinion of opportunity seems advocated: the laborer can openly pick between elective utilities, occupations, bosses, and relaxation exchange offs† (Esping-Anderson 1990, pp.36-37). There were occupations openings that developed with the beginning of high industrialization.Advertising We will compose a custom paper test on Comparing Sweden Immigration Policy with German Immigration Policy explicitly for you for just $16.05 $11/page Learn More Immigrants were required to fill these openings for work and not those held by the locals. Equivalent to Germany, in 1970s, Sweden likewise confronted the situation of whether to allow free movement or not. In 1972, Sweden had conveyed techniques that guaranteed the decrease of the mi gration grants. It additionally proclaimed remote work movement enrollments. Ostensibly, the need to hold business open doors for the local populace might not have sufficiently clarified the underlying mid 1970s movement controls, trailed by support of the equivalent. The clear addition of the joblessness at around a similar time in West Germany is an adequate defense of the case. Therefore, an elective clarification of the change of the strategies may lie on the worries limited to social repercussion of the outsider network. Also, the worker populace applied colossal weight on the constrained social comforts, for example, wellbeing, social, training and the security administrations. As Hansen (1993) places, â€Å"Pressure from worker's organizations expected that foreigners would discourage compensation, thusly, dislodging their individuals in employment† (78). These two last concerns depend on the financial worries for allowing free movement. On a bigger degree, the mid 197 0s techniques to shorten movement were to some degree fruitful. Shockingly, a considerable downside was obvious in keeping up the number of inhabitants in the outsider networks inside certain endorsed levels. The common multiplication rates for the settler networks were a lot bigger comparable to the local German people group. In this end, Molle and Mourik (1988) note that â€Å"while the European richness rate is roughly 1.6 youngsters per lady underneath the substitution proportion of 2.1, that of Tunisian ladies occupant in France was 6.19 and by 199210% of all births were to guardians of remote inception in Germany, Belgium, France and the UK† (p.79). This situation was a lot of like what was befalling Sweden. It was then fundamental for the outsider networks to modify their introduction to the world rate to coordinate that of European countries. Sweden is the biggest nation that shapes the Nordic nations as far as populace. Westin (2006) takes note of that â€Å"with a populace of 9,000,000 it is one of the littler individuals from the European Union, which it participated in 1995† (Para 1). The quick expansion of the open segment in the 1950-60 was broadly required by the by the migrant work enrollments which give an additional favorable position in that it gave additional expense base. In this degree, it is maybe adequate to represent an inquiry with regards to whether the foreigners are equivalent residents to the local residents. With the need to cultivate multiculturalism and evading from bigotry, numerous countries would contend that their movement arrangements are liberated from these negatives.Advertising Searching for paper on sociologies? How about we check whether we can support you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Find out More Be that as it may, as confirm by Sweden, â€Å"a number of social markers show that individuals of transient birthplace have significantly higher paces of joblessness than local Swedes and that they are all the more vigorously reliant on social government assistance benefits† (Westin 2006, para.2). This gives a sign of state acknowledged imbalances between foreigner networks and the Swedes, however enhanced by verifiable social arrangements. The time 1949 to 1971 denoted a basic period in the rise of Sweden movement arrangements. During this period, there were strategies

Leisure and Work in the Pre-Industrial and Industrial Era Essay

Leisure and Work in the Pre-Industrial and Industrial Era Essay Leisure and Work in the Pre-Industrial and Industrial Era â€" Essay Example > The paper “ Leisure and Work in the Pre-Industrial and Industrial Era”   is a worthy version of an   essay on history. Leisure can be defined, as the time when one is free from work or other duties. This means that during leisure time one is free to do anything he/she wishes without using a plan. On the other hand, work is a term that can be applied to a whole range of human activities. In its widest sense, work means any human activity whether manual/physical, intellectual or both. In this sense, work includes everything that human beings do. The issues concerning leisure and work can be traced as back as in the creation story found in the Book of Genesis where God created all things in six days and rested on the seventh day (Morris 2000). Massive changes have occurred as regards the relationship between work and leisure over time and this can be attributed to the increased secularization of society. The key factors that have contributed greatly to this change include: the waning control of the church, the multicultural facet of Australian society, augmented geographical mobility, changing work patterns and the significance of the weekend. People are increasingly taking part in leisure activities than in the past and this is due to the need for social involvement, peer group associations, the building of self-respect and personality, community expectations and morals. Leisure and Work in the Pre-Industrial EraIt is difficult to ascertain whether the pre-industrial societies engaged in leisure activities as they had no clear demarcations between time spent engaging in work and time spent on other leisure activities. However, we can say that the time they left over from such activities might probably be deemed leisure time. The importance of taking part in leisure activities gained momentum with the emergence of the middle and working classes during the industrial era. All through, there has been a slackening of work requirements (Dumazedier 1967). Early scholars such as Haworth and Smith (1975) noted that the traditional aboriginal societies he came in touch within the 19th and early 20th century, met their restricted material needs with the restricted expenditure of time. This left them with extra time, energy and passion to be spent on other secondary needs after having satisfied they're when basic needs. During this time they engaged in leisure activities such as having a rest, singing and dancing, fellowshipping and conducting religious rituals. The increase in the population called for specialized occupations such as chiefs, warriors and priests, ‘ the leisure class’ , who did not engage in any labor-intensive work but got their income from the rest- a phenomenal which remained persistent even in the industrial era. Members of the elite were exempted from work, thus creating the class divide between work and leisure (Cunningham 1980). One of the more well-known postulations during the 19th century was that new forms of technology, which saw workers being replaced with machines replacing, would lead to a decrease in work and an increase in leisure. Philosophers like Karl Marx and John Stuart Mill predicted a leisure society where material wealth would decrease the call for demanding workdays and create time for more authentic pursuits. Even so, things did not turn out as anticipated. Advanced technology combined by social, religious and economic factors emphasized hard work and obstructed the possibility of leisure. According to Heidegger, we have been integrated into the technological world and hence we invariably fall prey to its assumptions and habits which emphasis speed, competence, efficacy, and productivity. The technology era has made our lives to become busier. These historical drifts, signifying that the working hours of most workers in the pre-industrial era were considerably shorter than those of indu strial workers at the height of the industrial revolution, are widely accepted (Thomas 1997).

John Ross And Mill s Utilitarianism And Ross Essay

Introduction: Mill s Utilitarianism and Ross Intuitionalism both use moral intuitions as core components of their moral theories, though their valuation of these intuition in making morally sound decisions differ. I will argue that it is this mis-valuation of moral intuition in Utilitarian tradition that makes the moral theory unstable and prone to criticism. Ross deontological approach to moral intuitions provides a more believable, and morally acceptable account of the role these intuitions play in making ethical decisions. In this paper I will begin with underlying both Ross and Mill s valuation of moral intuitions in the framework of their moral theories, followed by a brief explanation of each philosophers view of â€Å"what makes an act moral†. Having established these I will, with the aid of an anecdote about a child and a sled, describe my difficulties with Mill s utilitarian approach to ethics. Finishing with an assessment of some utilitarian complaints about Ross theory. Ultimately Utilitarianism provides a commendable theory for widely applicable and practical moral action, but it s inability to address conflicts with strong moral intuitions weakens it s argument leading me to favor that of Ross more flexible, yet not relativistic, intuitionalism. i) The Value of Moral Intuitions: Both Ross and Mill recognize the existence of what one might call a â€Å"prima facie† duty ( or virtue), this being an action that is intuitively deemed morally rightShow MoreRelatedJohn Ross And Mill s Utilitarianism And Ross Essay1926 Words   |  8 PagesIntroduction: Mill s Utilitarianism and Ross Intuitionalism both use moral intuitions as core components of their moral theories, but their valuation of these intuitions in making morally sound decisions differ. I will argue that it is this misevaluation of moral intuition in the  Utilitarian tradition that makes the moral theory unstable and prone to criticism. Ross deontological approach to moral intuitions provides a more believable, and morally acceptable account of the role these intuitionsRead MoreUse Of Consequentialism, Desire Satisfaction Theory And Objective List Theory1345 Words   |  6 PagesConsequentialism is an approach to Ethics that argues that the morality of an action is reliant on the action s consequence (Mastin, 2008). This theory is based on two main principles, first, that the rightness or wrongness of an act depends solely on the results of it and secondly, that the better act is the one that produces more good as a consequence. What is meant by consequence here is e verything that a certain action brings about, including the action itself. The good end required by an actionRead MoreNormative Theories Of Ethics And Its Principles2769 Words   |  12 Pagestreatment of moral problems, practices and policies in personal, professional life. Applied ethics comprise of medical ethics, bioethics, business ethics, legal ethics and others. The understandings of Applied ethics follows two main approaches – Utilitarianism and Deontological ethics. the major aim of the normative theories of ethics is to articulate and advocate an ethical code in order to provide justifiable and reliable principles to distinguish between the moral and immoral attitude. NormativeRead MoreExplain the Difference Between Narrow and Preference Hedonism. Which Is a More Plausible Theory of Happiness?2995 Words   |  12 Pageswith the intense pleasure induced by opiates or cocaine at one end of the spectrum, and that pain is similar, with the intense pain of passing a kidney stone at the other end. But some hedonists believe that pains are differ qualitatively. John Stuart Mill, for example, thought that there were higher pleasures (e.g., from listening to great music or reading a great novel) and lower pleasures (e.g., from strong drink, drugs, or playing video games). There are deep questions about the nature ofRead MoreApplication of Ethical Theories12285 Words   |  50 Pagesethical theories that differ in the basic criteria used for moral reasoning (Victor Cullen, 1988). These studies demonstrate that individuals usually rationalize their decisions using terminology that expresses different ethical theories such as utilitarianism (Fritzsche Becker, 1984; Premeaux Mondy, 1993; Premeaux, 2004), egoism (Granitz Loewy, 2007), deontology, and virtue ethics (Lahdesmati, 2005). Note that most of these studies focus on utilitarian and deontology theories, or limit theirRead MoreBranches of Philosophy8343 Words   |  34 Pagesutopias of Thomas More, Tommaso Campanella and Francis Bacon. Within Christianity itself, these new movements dovetailed closely with the Reformation. [edit] Early modern philosophy (c. 1600 – c. 1800) Main article: Early modern philosophy [pic] [pic] John Locke Modern philosophy begins with the revival of skepticism and the rise of modern physical science. Philosophy in this period centers on the relation between experience and reality, the ultimate origin of knowledge, the nature of the mind and itsRead MoreLogical Reasoning189930 Words   |  760 Pagesthe arguer is being truthful). d. None of the above. 1. What time does the movie start? 2. This card can save you a lot of money. 3. Vote Republican in the next election because doing so will solve almost all the worlds problems. 26 4. John Adams was the second president of the United States. My history teacher said so, and I looked it up on Wikipedia with my phone. ────9 To find out whether an argument is present, you need to use your detective skills. Ask yourself whether the speakerRead MoreMerger and Acquisition: Current Issues115629 Words   |  463 Pagesand Finance, Journal of Futures Markets, Journal of Derivatives Accounting, European Journal of Finance and Journal of Asset Management. He has authored one book with Professor Joe Zhu and edited nineteen books with Elsevier-Butterworth-Heinemann, John Wiley Sons, Palgrave Macmillan and Risk Books. Karyn L. Neuhauser is an Assistant Professor of Finance at the State University of New York (Plattsburgh), USA. She earned her doctorate in Finance from Louisiana State University and has published articlesRead MoreStephen P. Robbins Timothy A. Judge (2011) Organizational Behaviour 15th Edition New Jersey: Prentice Hall393164 Words   |  1573 Pagesand permission should be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise. To obtain permissi on(s) to use material from this work, please submit a written request to Pearson Education, Inc., Permissions Department, One Lake Street, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458, or you may fax your request to 201-236-3290. Many of the designations by manufacturers John Ross And Mill s Utilitarianism And Ross Essay Introduction: Mill s Utilitarianism and Ross Intuitionalism both use moral intuitions as core components of their moral theories, but their valuation of these intuitions in making morally sound decisions differ. I will argue that it is this misevaluation of moral intuition in the Utilitarian tradition that makes the moral theory unstable and prone to criticism. Ross deontological approach to moral intuitions provides a more believable, and morally acceptable account of the role these intuitions play in making ethical decisions. In this paper, I will begin with underlying both Ross and Mill s valuation of moral intuitions in the framework of their moral theories, followed by a brief explanation of each philosopher s view of â€Å"what makes an act moral†. Having established these I will, with the aid of a brief anecdote, describe my difficulties with Mill s utilitarian approach to ethics. Finishing with an assessment of some utilitarian complaints about Ross theory. Ultimately Utilitaria nism provides a commendable theory for widely applicable and practical moral action, but its inability to address conflicts with strong moral intuitions weakens its argument. Ultimately Ross more flexible, yet not relativistic, deontological intuitionalism becomes a more attractive moral theory. i) The Value of Moral Intuitions: Both Ross and Mill recognize the existence of what one might call a â€Å"prima facie† duty ( or virtue), this being an action that is intuitively deemed morallyShow MoreRelatedJohn Ross And Mill s Utilitarianism And Ross Essay2178 Words   |  9 PagesIntroduction: Mill s Utilitarianism and Ross Intuitionalism both use moral intuitions as core components of their moral theories, though their valuation of these intuition in making morally sound decisions differ. I will argue that it is this mis-valuation of moral intuition in Utilitarian tradition that makes the moral theory unstable and prone to criticism. Ross deontological approach to moral intuitions provides a more believable, and morally acceptable account of the role these intuitionsRead MoreUse Of Consequentialism, Desire Satisfaction Theory And Objective List Theory1345 Words   |  6 PagesConsequentialism is an approach to Ethics that argues that the morality of an action is reliant on the action s consequence (Mastin, 2008). This theory is based on two main principles, first, that the rightness or wrongness of an act depends solely on the results of it and secondly, that the better act is the one that produces more good as a consequence. What is meant by consequence here is eve rything that a certain action brings about, including the action itself. The good end required by an actionRead MoreNormative Theories Of Ethics And Its Principles2769 Words   |  12 Pagestreatment of moral problems, practices and policies in personal, professional life. Applied ethics comprise of medical ethics, bioethics, business ethics, legal ethics and others. The understandings of Applied ethics follows two main approaches – Utilitarianism and Deontological ethics. the major aim of the normative theories of ethics is to articulate and advocate an ethical code in order to provide justifiable and reliable principles to distinguish between the moral and immoral attitude. NormativeRead MoreExplain the Difference Between Narrow and Preference Hedonism. Which Is a More Plausible Theory of Happiness?2995 Words   |  12 Pageswith the intense pleasure induced by opiates or cocaine at one end of the spectrum, and that pain is similar, with the intense pain of passing a kidney stone at the other end. But some hedonists believe that pains are differ qualitatively. John Stuart Mill, for example, thought that there were higher pleasures (e.g., from listening to great music or reading a great novel) and lower pleasures (e.g., from strong drink, drugs, or playing video games). There are deep questions about the nature ofRead MoreApplication of Ethical Theories12285 Words   |  50 Pagesethical theories that differ in the basic criteria used for moral reasoning (Victor Cullen, 1988). These studies demonstrate that individuals usually rationalize their decisions using terminology that expresses different ethical theories such as utilitarianism (Fritzsche Becker, 1984; Premeaux Mondy, 1993; Premeaux, 2004), egoism (Granitz Loewy, 2007), deontology, and virtue ethics (Lahdesmati, 2005). Note that most of these studies focus on utilitarian and deontology theories, or limit theirRead MoreBranches of Philosophy8343 Words   |  34 Pagesutopias of Thomas More, Tommaso Campanella and Francis Bacon. Within Christianity itself, these new movements dovetailed closely with the Reformation. [edit] Early modern philosophy (c. 1600 – c. 1800) Main article: Early modern philosophy [pic] [pic] John Locke Modern philosophy begins with the revival of skepticism and the rise of modern physical science. Philosophy in this period centers on the relation between experience and reality, the ultimate origin of knowledge, the nature of the mind and itsRead MoreLogical Reasoning189930 Words   |  760 Pagesthe arguer is being truthful). d. None of the above. 1. What time does the movie start? 2. This card can save you a lot of money. 3. Vote Republican in the next election because doing so will solve almost all the worlds problems. 26 4. John Adams was the second president of the United States. My history teacher said so, and I looked it up on Wikipedia with my phone. ────9 To find out whether an argument is present, you need to use your detective skills. Ask yourself whether the speakerRead MoreMerger and Acquisition: Current Issues115629 Words   |  463 Pagesand Finance, Journal of Futures Markets, Journal of Derivatives Accounting, European Journal of Finance and Journal of Asset Management. He has authored one book with Professor Joe Zhu and edited nineteen books with Elsevier-Butterworth-Heinemann, John Wiley Sons, Palgrave Macmillan and Risk Books. Karyn L. Neuhauser is an Assistant Professor of Finance at the State University of New York (Plattsburgh), USA. She earned her doctorate in Finance from Louisiana State University and has published articlesRead MoreStephen P. Robbins Timothy A. Judge (2011) Organizational Behaviour 15th Edition New Jersey: Prentice Hall393164 Words   |  1573 Pagesand permission should be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise. To obtain permissi on(s) to use material from this work, please submit a written request to Pearson Education, Inc., Permissions Department, One Lake Street, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458, or you may fax your request to 201-236-3290. Many of the designations by manufacturers

Literature And The Act Of Reading - 2174 Words

Literature is a narrative that hits emotion in which our minds are free to exercise our empathic levels to feel for those we know very little about such as a character in a book. Literary works and the act of reading them teaches readers to walk a mile in a stranger’s shoes, helping them realize how others feel (empathy). In recent years, studies have focused on the exact empirical connection between reading and empathy (e.g., Hakemulder, 2000; Johnson, 2012; Johnson, 2013; Kidd Castano, 2013; Mar, Oatley, Hirsh, dela Paz, Peterson, 2006; Mar, Oatley, Peterson, 2009). Their findings have shown there is a connection between reading and not reading fictional books and levels of empathy in a person. These results were huge because for so long empathy as an emotion was just known to be something that was inherently something you did or did not possess but now with these studies, there is a whole other avenue of being more than just genetics. But even with all the research done in this area of study, less articles have taken this data and attempted to question what this would look like in younger age levels. Mar (Mar RA, Oatley K, Peterson JB 2009) argued that fiction reading may have profound effects on empathic skills of the reader. When a person reads a story, emotions are triggered by that story. According to Oatley (Oatley, K 2002), fiction presents a simulation of real-world problems, and therefore has real consequences for the reader. Empathy, according to DavisShow MoreRelatedSummary : Professional Accomplishments Essay1637 Words   |  7 Pagesin the Culture Theory Research Unit, under the academic auspices of prof. dr. hab. Jerzy JastrzÄ™bski; from the second academic year – in the Literary Theory Research Unit. 2002 – PhD (doktor) in the humanities, based on the thesis: Gnosis and Literature. Motifs, threads, interpretative models. Doctoral supervisor: prof. dr. hab. Bohdan PiÄ™czka, University of WrocÅ‚aw. 3. The previous employment in scientific units 2002-2003 – assistant lecturer in the Literary Theory Research Unit, Institute ofRead MoreLiterature as a Lense745 Words   |  3 PagesLiterature as a Lense Photography over the last few years has developed and changed drastically. Cameras today take pictures that cameras the year before were not capable of capturing due to their ability for larger pixels and higher frame rates. With the ever increasing and technological advancement of the camera itself, the lenses have also undergone major redesign in order to more effectively capture the photographer’s subject. Two lenses today that are very popular are the twelve and forty millimeterRead MoreMy Love For Reading853 Words   |  4 PagesAt this point in my life, reading would definitely not make a list of my favorite things to do, but this wasn’t always the case. Some of my youngest memories involve reading, and many of these memories are enjoyable. Every night before bed my mom would read to me, and I remember begging to read just one more before she tucked me in almost every night. This is when my love for reading sparked. Throughout grade school, I continued to read fr equently and never found it to be a chore; however, once middleRead MoreHow Does Read Literature Like A Professor1557 Words   |  7 PagesHow to Read Literature like a Professor Thomas C. Foster Entry 1 Foster discusses the idea that when two characters eat together, that moment acts as a bonding experience and causes the characters to come together. I had never noticed the significance of a meal between characters before. After reading this chapter, I can think of so many moments in stories when the characters share a meal together to form friendships or come to a peace. In one of my favorite novels, Nineteen Minutes by Jodi PicoultRead More`` Fun Home, By Alison Bechdel1163 Words   |  5 Pageschildhood and adolescence as she struggles with themes of sexual confusion, gender identity, and convoluted family dynamics. These ideas are explored through the examination of Alison’s relationship with her father, and their shared passion for literature. Early on in her childhood, Alison came to the realization that her family was different. As individuals, and as a unit, they were just plain weird. Unlike most young girls, Alison lacked a strong bond with her parents, most notably her father,Read MoreThe Uk Civil Partnership Act 20041670 Words   |  7 PagesIntroduction The introduction of the article involves analysis of various literature and researches on the policies and laws that govern lesbian and gay equality. The mention of the different definitions and arguments pave the way for the introduction of the UK Civil Partnership Act 2004 (Taylor 589). According to the introduction part of the reading, same-sex legal recognition has always revolved around two specific positions that are framing the lesbian law towards equality or view acknowledgmentRead MoreThe Importance Of Selfishness In Literature1306 Words   |  6 PagesSelfishness is defined as the act of being someone who lacks concern for others, only caring for personal gain. Often, people are selfish due to a lack of empathy, misinformation, or a lack of information. The ability of literature to have us experience different worlds through different perspectives is fairly useful for combating this. In fact, literature can shock us about the idea of selfishness and give us pause and new i nsights into it, if not necessarily cause us to realize our own lack ofRead MoreThe Lost Art Of Reading1043 Words   |  5 PagesThe constant distractions of everyday life that make reading a difficult challenge are exploited in David L. Ulin’s article- The Lost Art of Reading. People are often too involved with daily activities such as checking their latest notification, browsing the internet, or playing apps on their phones to gain the focus required to interact with well composed literature. Although Ulin expresses the difficulty to read in today’s world, he is not correct on everything. The distractions are only temporaryRead MoreA Curriculum Analysis Of The Glencoe Mcgraw Hill Texas Treasure Literature Curriculum Essay1664 Words   |  7 PagesGlencoe McGraw-Hill Texas Treasure Literature Curriculum The Texas Treasure Literature Curriculum is published by Glencoe McGraw-Hill, and based on the information provided from their website and textbooks, I discovered the authorship team includes senior program consultants, program consultants, special consultants, Glencoe’s National Reading and Language Arts Advisory Council, and a Texas Advisory Board. Most of these members hold Ph.D.’s in fields such as Reading, Literacy, as well as CurriculumRead MoreThe Role of Multicultural Literature Essay1213 Words   |  5 PagesAssessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in 2011 shows there is a significant achievement gap between the reading scores of ELLs and non-ELLs, with the non-ELL’s scores being much more higher than the ELLs( NAEP 2011). There have been many ways argued to help improve ELL’s literacy skills in order to raise their reading scores, one way being is using multicultural literature. Multicultural literature can be used to create a motivating envir onment for the ELL student to help them feel included in the classroom

Effects of Parental Death Free Essays

string(61) " parent are becoming more common in the United States today\." The Effects of Parental Death and its causes On Their Children’s Behaviors. By Tameka L. Flynt A paper presented in Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements of CST 5006 – Survey of Research Methodology Capella University May 2010 Address: P. We will write a custom essay sample on Effects of Parental Death or any similar topic only for you Order Now O. Box 1987 Griffin, GA 30223 Phone: 678-588-9932 Email: Tameka_8402@yahoo. com Instructor: Trent Nguyen Abstract The purpose of this study is to review literature related to the effects of parental death on children. Children who experience the death of a parent is considered an at risk population for psychological, behavioral, and social problems. There are many factors relating to the way children adjust to parental death. Some of these factors include the age of the child, the gender of the child, the circumstances surrounding the death (accidental, expected, or violent death), the adjustment of the surviving caregiver, etc. Children who experience the accidental or violent death of a parent are more at risk to develop psychological problems, such as depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, than those children who experience the expected death of a parent. Table of Contents Abstract2 Table of Contents3 Introduction4 The Statement of the Problem5 Review of Literature5 Qualitative Research5 Quantitative Research9 Conclusion14 Annotated Bibliography15 Introduction Four percent of youth in the United States lose at least one parent by age fifteen (Samide amp; Stockton, 2002). The Death of a parent is a major and devastating event for a child. It can affect a child’s psychological and social development, which can lead to low academic performance and behavior problems. Everyday someone dies whether it’s from a sudden death such as a car accident, a natural disaster, and violence or an expected death such as long term illnesses. Many people that die have at least one child that live in the home under the age of eighteen. Understanding how the children are affected by parental death is important for developing effective prevention and interventions strategies that can be used by children counselors, social workers, and school counselors. Studies have been done to understand how these children are affected but there is room for further research. The Research questions that guided this research for the review of literature include: 1. Does the cause of death have a different effect on the way children grieve or adjust to life without their parent? . What are the most common problems children experiences after the death of a parent? 3. How are children affected by parental death? 4. What are the needs of children who experience parental death? The Statement of the Problem This research proposes to identify the different effects parental death has on children and the factors (cause of death, age of child, gender of child, gender of surviving parent, etc) that relates to the adjustment of the child to the death of a parent. Review of Literature Qualitative Research Hope and Hate (2006) performed a qualitative study to explore the factors that affect children’s adjustment to the death of a parent. The authors of this study reviewed literature and found that many factors contribute to the way children adjust to parental death. Previous research shows that children experience distress related to the loss of a parent. Factor that affect the way a child adjust includes the age of the child, the sex of the child, circumstances of death, relationship to the deceased parent, adjustment to the remaining caregiver, amp; participation in post death rituals such as funerals. Other studies have compared the adjustment of children who have lost a parent to suicide to those who have lost a parent to terminal illness. Hope and Hodge (2006) conducted this study to obtain insight from social workers who work with childhood grief. They interviewed five social workers asking questions related to the adjustment of children who lost a parent. They focused on the age of children, the sex of children, the circumstances of death (sudden or expected), and adjustment of the current caretaker. They focused on these factors because they found that these were the most common studied but the findings are the most contradictory. After interviewing the social workers Hope and Hodge (2006) found that they had observed similar patterns regarding the factors that affect the adjustment of children who lost a parent to death. Boys tend to show externalizing behaviors whereas girls tend to show internalizing behaviors due to the lost of a parent. They found that the cognitive level rather than the age of the child affects their adjustment more. Therefore younger children and preadolescents seem to have more difficulty adjusting to the death of a parent than adolescents. The results did not support earlier findings that sudden death present more difficulty adjusting than expected death. Most of the participants reported that sudden and expected death is equally traumatic to children. The participants also said that the adjustment of the caretaker is important for a positive adjustment for the children. The caretaker must be able to grieve while supporting the child’s need to grieve. This study shows that children of different ages and genders react different to the death of a parent. The authors of this study choose to perform a qualitative study because of the small number of participants. The sample was collected purposefully to focus on what social workers experienced when working with bereaved children. The methods used in this study limits generalizability. The participants all live in the same are of Virginia, therefore it is questionable if the results would be the same all over the country. It also focused on one culture so the results can be different with other cultures the authors also realized that the interviews may have been biased because of the answers that were given and the styles and opinions of the interviewer. Through this study social workers can gain a better understanding of how children adjust to the death of a parent so they can develop intervention strategies when working with these families. Children who witness the homicide of a parent are becoming more common in the United States today. You read "Effects of Parental Death" in category "Papers" There is very little research done that evaluates the children after such a traumatic event. Eth, Spencer, Pynoos, amp; Robert (1994) conducted a qualitative study where they performed a psychiatric evaluation of children who witness the homicide of a parent. They interviewed 55 children and adolescents between the ages of 3 to 17 in Los Angeles. They interviewed children from hours to weeks after the homicide to study the child’s immediate response. They also interviewed children who had witness the homicide years earlier to study the continued impact of the event. The purpose of this study is to contribute to our understanding of the nature of child’s experience of trauma, the influence of development phase on symptoms expression, and the interaction of grief and trauma (Eth, Spencer, Pynoos, amp; Robert, 1994). The results of the interviews indicate that children who witness the violent death of parent results in a variety of juvenile post-traumatic stress. The interviews also suggest that the developmental phase of the child influences the development of post-traumatic stress. These interviews suggest that witnessing a homicide impairs the child’s ability to grieve because they tend to focus on the mode of death which disrupts thoughts about the deceased. The sample in this study is small so it only represents a small population. The limitations also include the fact that the study was only performed in a specific community therefore it limits the generalizability of the study. The sample was selected purposefully because they chose to focus only on children who witness the homicide of a parent. Eppler (2008) performed a study to explore the themes of resiliency in children after the death of a parent. After the death of a parent many children experience difficulty grieving. They may experience feelings such as shock, guilt, and anger. They may lash out at their peers for a topic other than death. Eppler (2008) reviewed several literature related to bereaved children and their experiences. He found that children who experienced the lost of a parent display lower levels of self esteem and self efficacy. The purpose of this study was to explore qualities of resiliency in children. The research question that guided this study was â€Å"What resilience factors are identifiable in the stories of grieving children? † (Eppler, 2008). The sample included 12 bereaved children who loss a parent within the past 36 months. The children were between the ages of 9 and 12 years old. There were 7 female and 5 male participants. The sample was collected purposefully to broaden the understanding of children who experience grief. The participants were individually interviewed after gaining the parent’s or guardian’s written consent. The children were asked questions related to life before the death, how they found out about the death, their current situations, and what they thought would happen in the future. They were asked to write their stories after answering the questions. The author analyzed the data by reading and rereading the transcripts, notes, and stories. He also increased validity by directly quoting the participants. Eppler (2008) found that sadness was the dominate theme reported when a parent dies. The children in this study also reported that they see themselves as happy, nice, helpful, normal, and fun. Most of the children reported that they had support from immediate family, extended family, school, and some peers. Children that reported a full range of emotions and a support system did not seem to focus on sadness, fear, anger, and isolation. Limitations of this study include that children from one developmental age group participated in the study. There should be studies done to examine resilient factors in adolescents and younger children. This study is also not generalizable to other ethnic groups because the majority of the sample was White. There was one participant who was African American. It is important that other studies be done to include other ethnic groups. Quantitative Research Children who experience the death of a parent may have problems adjusting to the new lifestyle. They tend to develop psychological and social problems. Children who experience the death of parent through accidental or sudden death may experience depression symptoms and post-traumatic stress disorder. A longitudinal study conducted by Brent, Melhem, Donohoe, Walker (2009) examined the effects of grief on children 21 months after parental death. A previous study was conducted by them nine months after the death of a parent. The questions that guided this study is 1) what are the predictors and pathways of depression and post traumatic stress disorder in parentally bereaved children and 2) does children of parents who died of suicide, accidents, or sudden natural death show a difference in the incidence and course of depression. Brent, Melhem, Donohoe, amp; Walker (2009) hypothesized that youth who lost a parent to death would continue to show a higher prevalence and symptom severity of depression and post-traumatic stress disorder than non bereaved children 21 months after the death of a parent. They also hypothesized that children who parents died by suicide would show higher prevalence of depression and that predictors would include stressful life events, negative coping, low social support, and prior history of depression. The sample consisted of 176 children of parents who died by suicide, accident, or sudden natural death and 168 children of parents who both are still alive. The participants were recruited through coroner’s reports and newspaper advertisements. The participants were interviewed two times, once at nine months after the death and once at 21 months after the death. They were assessed on socioeconomic status and household income, psychiatric disorders, experiences surrounding the death, severity of depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and suicidal ideation, and family cohesion, social support, coping, and self-esteem. The results supported the hypothesis that parentally bereave children would show a higher prevalence of depression and post traumatic stress disorder than non-bereaved children. Children whose parents died by suicide and accidents showed a higher rate of major depression than the comparison group (Brent, Melhem, Donohoe, Walker, 2009). They found that the incidence of PTSD was higher in the bereaved group than the comparison groups during the first nine months but not during the 21 month follow up. The rate of incident depression was higher in the children who lost a parent to suicide than in those who lost a parent to sudden natural death which supports the second hypothesis made by the authors. One limitation of the study is that the majority of the subjects is Caucasian and does not include homicides therefore it limits the generalizability. Although the participants were randomly selected the Hawthorne effect could have took place. Participants that knew they are a part of a study could have act differently. A study conducted by Raveis, Siegel, amp; Karus (1998) conducted a study to examine the potential predictors of children’s psychosocial adjustment to parental death. The predictors examined include the child’s age, child’s gender, deceased parent gender, time since death, length of illness, presence of siblings, and parental communication. The authors reviewed literature related to bereaved children. They found that younger children and those in early adolescence appear to have poor adjustment to parental death. They also found some controversy regarding the child’s gender. Ravels, Siegal, amp; Karus, (1998) stated that some studies reported that girls are more vulnerable to poor adjustment following the death of a parent where other studies found that boys are more vulnerable to poor adjustment. One study found no difference in gender at all and another study found that the deceased parent gender may affect the way they adjust. The sample used in this study consisted of 83 families with school age children whose parent died of cancer. They conducted interviews with the surviving parent and the child. They also had the child of the deceased parent to complete the Children’s Depression Inventory (CDI) and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Youths (STAIY) if they were 12 years or older or the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children (STAIC) if they were 11 years or younger. The results of this study suggested that the bereaved children whose surviving parent have an open level of communication have a lower level of distress. The gender of the child correlated with depression with girls reporting higher levels of symptom than boys. Anxiety correlated with the age of the child with older children reporting lower levels of anxiety than younger children. One limitation of this study is that it is solely relying on the answers provided by the surviving parent and the children which can become unreliable. Also the families participating in the study is predominantly White and middle or upper class. The socioeconomic factors may affect the children’s adjustment process differently. The last limitation is that the deceased parent died due to cancer. Other causes of death such as accidents, homicides, or other natural illness may yield different results. McClatchy, Vonk, amp; Palardy, (2009) conducted a study to evaluated the prevalence of childhood traumatic grief and post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms in children who have lost a parent to death. They compared the results of children who lost a parent to sudden/violent death to those who lost a parent to expected death. The questions that guided this research are 1) Do children who experience an expected death of a parent suffer from Childhood Traumatic Grief (CTG) to the same extent as those children who lose a parent to a sudden or violent death, 2) Do children who experience an expected death of a parent suffer from post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD) symptoms to the same extent as those children who lose a parent to a sudden and/or violent death, and 3) To what extent do parentally bereaved children experience CTG and PTSD symptoms. The sample used in this study consisted of 158 parentally bereaved children ages 7-16. The children completed the University of California at Los Angeles Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Reaction Index for DSM-IV to measure PTSD symptoms and the Extended Grief Inventory (EGI) to measure CTG symptoms. The results of this study showed that the incidence of PTSD and CTG was not different in children who had experienced an expected loss of a parent compared to those who had experienced a violent or sudden death (McClatchy, Vonk, amp; Palardy, 2009). Children who experience both expected and unexpected losses showed signs of PTSD and CTG symptoms. African American children exhibit CTG symptoms at a higher degree than White children. This study suggested that elementary school children have higher CTG symptoms than older children. One limitation is that of generalizability because a purposive sample was used. The sample was recruited from bereavement camps therefore it is likely that those parents who were having more issues with their bereaved child were most likely to register their children up for bereavement camp. Another limitation includes the measurement tool. The EGI is a newly developed instrument and its psychometric properties have not been fully investigated (McClatchy, Vonk, amp; Palardy, 2009). Conclusion Understanding how children are affected by the death of a parent in essential to those professionals who work with children. Studies have shown that children are indeed affected by the loss of a parent whether it is a sudden death or expected death. Depression symptoms and post traumatic stress disorder symptoms are the most common problems that parentally bereaved children experience. They also experience behavioral problems such as aggression, acting out, lashing out at others, etc. These problems can result in academic problems in school. Parental death not only has immediate effects on children but long term effects as well. There are many factors that affect the way children adjust to parental death including age, gender, adjustment of surviving parent, circumstances of death, etc, professionals working with children needs to understand that all children react different to parental death so the needs of the children are different. Overall children need to be allowed to grieve in their own way, they need to be able to communicate with the surviving parent about the death, and they need support from others beside family because family members are usually tending to their own grief. The needs of children who experience parental death are important for those professional to develop prevention and intervention strategies to eliminate the development of emotional and social problems. Therefore further researcher is important to develop a better understanding of parentally bereaved children. Annotated Bibliography Ayyash-Abdo, H. (2001). Childhood Bereavement: What School Psychologists Need to Know. School Psychology International , 27 (4), 417-433. This article is a review of literature on children’s conception of death, factors influencing the conceptions of death, and reactions to the death of a parent. This article also provides intervention strategies including play therapy, bibliotherapy, and group therapy for school counselors to utilize when working with bereaved children. Brent, D. , Methem, N. , Donohoe, M. B. , ;amp; Walker, M. (2009). The Incidence and Course of Depression in Bereaved Youth 21 Months After the Loss of a Parent to Sucide, Accident, or Sudden Death. The American Journal of Psychiatry , 166 (7), 786-794. This study was performed to compare the incidence and course of depression between those children who lost a parent to suicide, accident, or sudden natural death. One hundred and twenty six children, ages 7-26, who experienced the death of a parent and 168 non-bereaved children were the participants in this study. Children who loss a parent to death were more vulnerable to depression and alcohol or substance abuse. Eppler, C. (2008). Exploring themes of Resiliency in Children Affte the Death of a Parent. Professional School Counseling , 11 (3), 189-196. This is a qualitative study to explore how quickly children recover after the death of a parent. Twelve children, who experienced the death of parent in the past 36 months was interviewed while the sessions were recorded. They also were asked to write story about the death of their parent. Sadness was a theme that was reported by all the participants. They also had a range of emotions. Children who have helpful support systems does not focus on sadness or anger but see themselves as happy and normal. Eth, Spencer, Pynoos, ;amp; Robert. (1994). Children Who Witness the Homicide of a Parent. Psychiatry , 57 (4), 287. This article is a qualitative study that evaluated children who witness the homicide of a parent. Fifty-five children and adolescents were interviewed. This study showed that children who witness the death of a parent results in posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms. It also showed that the developmental phase of the child effects the PTSD symptoms found in these children. Hope, R. M. , ;amp; Hodge, D. M. (2006). Factors Affecting Children’s Adjustment to the Death of a Parent: The Social Work Professional’s Viewpoint. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal , 23 (1), 107. This qualitative study was performed to explore the factors that affect children’s adjustment to the death of a parent. The authors interviewed professional social workers with 11/2 to 22 years of experience working with bereaved children. Age, gender, circumstances of the death, and the adjustment of the caregiver are the factors that was explored. The social workers interviewed had similar observations regarding the factors that affect the adjustments of children who experience the loss of a parent. McClatchy, I. S. , Vonk, M. E. , amp; Palady, G. (2009). The Prevalence of Childhood Traumatic Grief- A Comparison of Violent/Sudden and Expeted Loss. Omega , 59 (4), 305-323. This study compared the prevalence of childhood traumatic grief and posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms of those children who lost a parent to violent/sudden death and those children who expected the loss of a parent. There were 158 children that participated in the study. Sixty-three children lost a parent to expected death and 60 percent of the children lost a parent to a sudden or violent death. The incidence of CTG and PTSD did not differ in children who experienced sudden/violent loss of a parent from those who experienced an expected loss. Ravels, V. , Siegal, K. , amp; Karus, D. (1999). Children’s Psychological Distress Following the Death of a Parent. Journal of Youth and Adolescence , 28 (2), 165. This article focused on the families with children who had a parent die of cancer. The children psychological distress was examined in this article. The authors of this article focused on the attributes of the family environment and what role it plays in the distress of the child. Another factor is the circumstances surrounding the death of the parent. Eighty-three families participated in this study. The level of distress in the bereaved child was found to be affected by the way the child perceives the surviving parent. Saldinger, A. , Cain, A. , Kalter, N. , ;amp; Lohanes, K. (1999). Anticipating Parental Death in Families with Young Children. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry , 69 (1), 39-48. This article focused on the children who are losing a parent to illness and the association of mental health outcomes of these children. The sample included 41 families. The authors of the article interviewed the surviving parent and gave the children self repots to complete. Anticipating the death was associated with better mental outcomes that sudden death according to the authors. How to cite Effects of Parental Death, Papers

It is much harder to be a Christian now than it was when Jesus was with His disciples. Essay Example

It is much harder to be a Christian now than it was when Jesus was with His disciples. Essay Christianity is a worldwide religion and this leads us to believe that it is possible to be a true disciple in the modern world. Modern Christians believe that they are called to follow the example Jesus set. They spend time discovering the teachings of Jesus from the bible and trying to put those teachings into practice. Discipleship is usually thought of as following Jesus, being a preacher, teacher. My personal definition of a disciple is someone who believes in something, or who believes in someone, and leaves everything behind them to try to make others believe the same. A disciple of Jesus is also a follower of Him; they are like students because they learn from Jesus and have faith in him.Our society is generally materialistic and money-oriented thus causing suffering. The pressures which may cause this are for example, mass media such as Television. This can sometimes promote non-Christian values to increase pressure on Christians which is true in terms of relationships and v iolence. However, in Jesus day there were other pressures such as political and social issues. The demands which Jesus set are high, for example in the Sermon on the Mount. Christians then could keep these standards only through the help of the Holy Spirit. The same is true today. The Old Testament also makes clear that people would be tempted to steal, kill, commit adultery and tell lies. This was true at Jesus time and is still true in modern society. Jesus warned against pride, self righteousness and hypocrisy. These are still problems today. Also, human nature has not changed as opposition to God can be manifest.If Jesus is not all-powerful and not personally with us to the end, and if we do not trust him to be that for us, we will simply ignore the needs of others and live for our own private comfort. No one gets an exemption from hardship on planet Earth. How we receive it depends on whether we believe in an alternate reality that transcends the one we know so well. The Bible never minimises hardship or unfairness but simply asks us to deny final judgment until all the evidence is in.Do not be afraid is the most frequent command in the Bible, which seems entirely appropriate in an era when terrorists could strike at any moment. We each have a thousand fears: mammograms and prostate tests, our future as well as our present, retirement funds, job security, crime. We also fear not getting the job we want or the lover we desire, and if we have them we fear their loss. In the face of such everyday fear, Jesus points to nature such as a sparrow, and calmly says, Trust. Seek first the kingdom of heaven. This shows trust does not eliminate the bad things that may happen, whatever sparked our fear in the first place. Trust simply finds a new passage for anxiety and a new grounding for confidence: God. We should therefore let God worry about the worrisome details of life.Consequently, I believe it is just as hard to be a Christian yesterday, today and forever as God and Jesus Christ have not changed, meaning His standards have not altered. By praying and presenting your requests to God, God will answer you if you will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. If the practicalities of those words in view of all the terrible things that have happened to Jesus followers over the years are questioned, you should remind yourself that Gods peace can transcend all understanding. It is much harder to be a Christian now than it was when Jesus was with His disciples. Essay Example It is much harder to be a Christian now than it was when Jesus was with His disciples. Essay Christianity is a worldwide religion and this leads us to believe that it is possible to be a true disciple in the modern world. Modern Christians believe that they are called to follow the example Jesus set. They spend time discovering the teachings of Jesus from the bible and trying to put those teachings into practice. Discipleship is usually thought of as following Jesus, being a preacher, teacher. My personal definition of a disciple is someone who believes in something, or who believes in someone, and leaves everything behind them to try to make others believe the same. A disciple of Jesus is also a follower of Him; they are like students because they learn from Jesus and have faith in him.Our society is generally materialistic and money-oriented thus causing suffering. The pressures which may cause this are for example, mass media such as Television. This can sometimes promote non-Christian values to increase pressure on Christians which is true in terms of relationships and v iolence. However, in Jesus day there were other pressures such as political and social issues. The demands which Jesus set are high, for example in the Sermon on the Mount. Christians then could keep these standards only through the help of the Holy Spirit. The same is true today. The Old Testament also makes clear that people would be tempted to steal, kill, commit adultery and tell lies. This was true at Jesus time and is still true in modern society. Jesus warned against pride, self righteousness and hypocrisy. These are still problems today. Also, human nature has not changed as opposition to God can be manifest.If Jesus is not all-powerful and not personally with us to the end, and if we do not trust him to be that for us, we will simply ignore the needs of others and live for our own private comfort. No one gets an exemption from hardship on planet Earth. How we receive it depends on whether we believe in an alternate reality that transcends the one we know so well. The Bible never minimises hardship or unfairness but simply asks us to deny final judgment until all the evidence is in.Do not be afraid is the most frequent command in the Bible, which seems entirely appropriate in an era when terrorists could strike at any moment. We each have a thousand fears: mammograms and prostate tests, our future as well as our present, retirement funds, job security, crime. We also fear not getting the job we want or the lover we desire, and if we have them we fear their loss. In the face of such everyday fear, Jesus points to nature such as a sparrow, and calmly says, Trust. Seek first the kingdom of heaven. This shows trust does not eliminate the bad things that may happen, whatever sparked our fear in the first place. Trust simply finds a new passage for anxiety and a new grounding for confidence: God. We should therefore let God worry about the worrisome details of life.Consequently, I believe it is just as hard to be a Christian yesterday, today and forever as God and Jesus Christ have not changed, meaning His standards have not altered. By praying and presenting your requests to God, God will answer you if you will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. If the practicalities of those words in view of all the terrible things that have happened to Jesus followers over the years are questioned, you should remind yourself that Gods peace can transcend all understanding.