Religion in Contamination Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Religion in Contamination - Essay Example Cosmopolitanism is still a brewing concept, although the idea has been traced to the cynic Diogenes of Ancient Greece (410 B.C.) who claimed world citizenship and to the 2nd century stoic Hierocles who drew the Concentric Circle Model of the â€Å"self† opening out for concern to family, local group, citizens, countrymen and humanity. Whether it is simply an idea, an ethical way-of-life or a movement, Cosmopolitanism is still to gain wider acceptance by present-day thinkers, moralists, and ideologists. In his book Cosmopolitanism: Ethics in a World of Strangers,† Appiah clarifies that Cosmopolitanism is basically an ethical principle. Still, he forewarns, not every ethical principle, inclusive of religion, which claims universality, is Cosmopolitanism. To understand this mind-set, Appiah’s aforesaid article deserves examination. Unlike his book Cosmopolitanism: Ethics in a World of Stranger, the article under consideration focuses less on Cosmopolitanism and more on the phenomenon of cultural change. Through personally drawn examples, expressed in a descriptive narrative way, Appiah shows that cultural assimilation takes various forms. And in his own home place in Asante, Ghana, Appiah finds exotic traditional customs being observed by fellow-Ghanaians, even as they show signs of modern 21st century living, wearing Western suits and using technology gadgets like cellphones.... Each and everyone is a citizen of the world, but the world is not closer to Cosmopolitanism, he adds, when homogeneity means only superficiality or artificiality in cultural changes. He describes how common it is for people to change in ways they like â€Å"inventing new forms of differences: new hairstyles, new slang, even new religions† (Appiah article, 2006). Also, some changes may be liked, while others disliked. For example, the influence of global economy may be a problem to those who have to adjust crops and livelihood, although acceptable even exciting for the well-placed who find opportunities in global change. In the case of religion, Christianization may have succeeded by way of mass conversions, but some elements of folk religious practices continue to prevail showing the fact that Christianity has been accepted in external form, but not in essence. In this article, Appiah treats religion in two distinct ways: First as a cultural artifice, subject to change as any other, and secondly as a dangerous new form of anti-cosmopolitanism. In the first form, religion plays the role of a cultural artifact, which undergoes change, and evokes different responses, good or bad. In this way, religious cultural change is like other cultural changes that are brought about by increased globalization of ideas. It plays a common role as other aspects of culture, such as dress, language or custom. It simply affects change, and some people like that, some do not. Appiah thinks that diversity in culture, including religious traditions, is an acceptable situation. However, the process of cultural change which creates only one cultural mode is unacceptable. This is so, since

Proposal document Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Proposal document - Essay Example advancement of technology has brought with it additional academic pressures since professors expect that students can harness the information highway optimally to enhance the learning process and, concomitantly, expectations have risen insofar as quality of student output is concerned. Currently, there are four hundred public computer stations at the IUPUI library that provide access to campus electronic resources and to the internet, but they are not connected to the net either locally or wirelessly. In fact, it is not possible to download data on some computers in the library that are not equipped with the necessary software. The Policies: One of the variables that make things difficult is the set of policies imposed at the library. In the IUPUI library, there are four types of computers that students are permitted to use with added caveats, as listed below: The problem is the inability to download data using all computers available at the IUPUI library. This is a direct fallout of the library policy as detailed supra. Limiting the types of PCs that may be used for downloading data to only two categories, i.e., PCs with yellow tags and MAC computers, reduces the computer units usable in downloading certain software in furtherance of their assignments and projects. According to the Help Desk Supervisor, Adam, there are only eighty-six PCs on the third and fourth floors with yellow tags. Although MAC computers can also be used to download data, many students are not be able to use them due to their unfamiliarity with MAC computers. Even with the assumption that MAC computers are fully utilized, the paucity of units available is an impediment that is beyond the control of students needing access to PCs. Computer Information Technology (CIT) major students, like me, are left with no recourse but to purchase their own Laptop computers and bring them to the library, which is an undesirable and avoidable stop-gap measure. An analysis has been carried out by me to