Functionalist Views on Religion Essay Example for Free

Functionalist Views on Religion Essay The functionalist view of religion stems from Durkheim who said that society is like the human body. He argued that that religion reinforces collective conscience that leads to a unity within society as a whole and that each member of the society is joined in solidarity, therefore it acts as glue. It does so by reinforcing social norms and values that bring the community together. It allows people to accept that society is about more than just the individual. However this can be questioned as western societies such as Britain are becoming increasingly secular. This means that they don’t believe in religion as much, and therefore how can religion act as a collective conscience. People are turning to science as a way of life, theories which head down the evolutionary approach. It suggests that the theory is out of date. Malinowski looked at the psychological function of religion. This looked at when things such as funerals and divorce occur. Religion acts as an act of hope which allows individuals to feel at ease when they are increasingly stressed out. They are brought together like a community within things like a funeral because it allows the individual to grieve but collectively with active members of the family and church/synagogue/mosque etc. At times of uncertainty and stress, religion helps people to gain control of themselves again, and community acts like funerals progress that. This is supported by the study of the Trobriand Islanders. The fisherman had a number of prayer rituals which they performed before going out to sea. They did this as a group of individuals to have a sense of a belonging to a community of fishermen. They would not perform these then they were sailing because of safety. Malinowski suggested that the threat of the open sea to them, was like a threat to the stability of their community and therefore they had to perform those prayer rituals to prevent that from happening. However Marxists would criticise this and say that actually religion teaches people social control. And actually when people have grieved at a funeral it doesn’t allow them to fully express their grief, they are socially controlled into â€Å"getting over it† which is morally wrong. Parsons agreed with Malinowski and Durkheim, but went further and suggested that religion provided answers to unanswered questions about the meaning of life, and about things like death, it also prevented anomie. He agreed that religion promotes social solidarity, and agreed that it helps in times of stress. EG during the Second World War, people began to gather together in churches as a community as a source of comfort. Bellah suggested that there were functional alternatives to religion known as â€Å"civil religion†, which brought whole countries together regardless of their faith but on behalf of a civil religion. He suggested that instead of religion facing secularisation it is facing transformation into isms such as Americanism. Uses religious images to promote national identity, EG in America having â€Å"God bless America† on coins or the Queen’s coronation in Britain. It is an act that allows the country to come together without questions of ethnicity, gender, religion etc. The functionalist theory of religion benefits wider society and the individual through marriage, bar mitzvahs, christenings, pilgrimages to Mecca/Lourdes, praying the holy books – Quran, Bible, Torah, and things like hymns. Religion helps to bring communities together and also helps individuals who may not feel wanted, welcomed into religious practices. However, contemporary examples suggest that religion doesn’t bind people together at all; in fact it allows the complete opposite. For example, in Northern Ireland there is conflict between the Catholics and the Protestants, which suggests that religion doesn’t help equality between religious groups. And as functionalism is a consensus theory it is doing the actual opposite – allowing conflict. Functionalism has been criticised because of today’s multicultural society. Theorists such as post-modernists are questioning whether religion can actually integrate a multi-faith society, where lots of small groups have different religious views. They would agree that Durkheim’s view of religion was accurate for a primitive society but not for a complex society such as today. Many other theorists have criticised functionalists and their theories about religion. Marxists would argue that religion oppresses groups of women and the poor, so how can religion benefit the individual or society. If an individual is being separated due to his/her gender and class then how can religion allow them to fit into a community when the elites would look down upon them. People recognise that Bellah’s approach of civil religion begins to overcome the problem, but again can something like Americanism be considered as a religion, especially if there is no belief in he supernatural? Some people would argue that religion is spread as a plan to spring hatred on one group of people. It benefits one group but puts down another. Today’s example would be of Pastor Terry Jones, wanting to burn the Quran. He brought about this plan to make Muslims angry, and therefore how can a group of Muslims be part of a community when someone in a position like his can provide such hatred for another religious group. It goes back to the question of integrating a multi-faith society. Granted that the church proposing this was small, but sometimes minority influence has an impact which is why it was all over the media. This provides evidence that religion isn’t able to benefit society or an individual because certain groups are always made to feel alienated, from a mainstream trend. To conclude, religion is inevitably able to help people in terms of crises, and does prevent anomie, but on the other hand it does allow for social cohesion to break down, as hatred for religious groups grow subtly in countries.

Characteristics of an Ideal Entrepreneur Essays -- Entrepreneur

What an Entrepreneur Is An entrepreneur is a person who finds it worth risking, especially in term of his or her finances, in a particular project with a hope of introducing new related ventures that will culminate into visible success financially (Foley, 2006). Sometimes, an entrepreneur can also be taken to mean a person who is in the verge of organizing a virtually new project and targeting to use previously unused channels after discovering a hidden opportunity in the eyes of others. Evidently, in both cases, there is a risk factor and therefore maximum care and guided moves are things to take care of first. More often than not, the term entrepreneur is employed in a business context. Some other people argue that entrepreneurship is not a real profession. No, not until one has started something that can be seen on the ground. In short, one cannot create fame in the name of becoming an entrepreneur by just portraying mere intensions nor even when the whole planning of scope and schedule are complete. A person will be termed as an entrepreneur once the first foundation stone is laid on the ground. That means that the effectiveness of one’s ideas is crucial. Therefore the qualities or characteristics of such a person must enable a confident kick-off and somehow guarantee success. Characteristics of an Ideal Entrepreneur An ideal entrepreneur must be innovative enough. This means that his or her venture must be backed by relevant knowledge and creativity but encased in achievable limits. Past experience and technical knowhow are integral components that will enhance confidence and enthusiasm while kick starting. In most cases, entrepreneurs act as revivers of a falling business by convincingly intervening with new ideas and ap... ...l of Developmental Entrepreneurship. 8(2), 133-151. Fuller, D., & Dansic, P. (1999). Indigenous Australian and self-employment: small enterprise research. The Journal of SEAANZ. 7(2), 5-28. Harper, L. (2010). 5 Successful Australian Entrepreneurs. Mademan.com. Retrieved 04 21, 2012, from http://www.mademan.com/mm/5-successful-australian-entrepreneurs.html. Rola-Rubzen, M.F. (2009). Critical success factors for aboriginal businesses in the desert, DKCRC Working Paper 38, Desert Knowledge CRC, Alice Springs, Retrieved 04 22, 2012, from http://www.desertknowledgecrc.com.au/publications/downloads/DKCRC- Working-Paper-38-Critical-Success-factors-for-aboriginal-businesses-in-the-Desert.pdf. Thomson, J. (2010). Our Top Female Entrepreneurs. SmartCompany. Retrieved 04 22, 2012, from http://www.smartcompany.com.au/entrepreneurs/20100304-female- entrepreneurs/2.html

All about Deep Purple

Music is said to be around since the dawn of time and it has become an integral part of human life. It took different forms since its evolution and from drums to flutes and harps it became better and numerous instruments were added like piano and guitars. The introduction of electric guitar had the most promising effect on music history as it changed the whole form of music once it came into use by the introduction of guitar solo and heavy amplified guitar in hard rock and heavy metal music.Therefore hard rock and heavy metal music was initiated by the amplified distortion of heavy guitar playing and was called the noisy music by the soft music lovers. But it attracted the people in large numbers and became very popular in early 1970’s and is still recommended by many music listeners especially the young generation(Christe,80). The first bands which performed heavy metal music were Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple and became an attraction for millions of fans.Later on Judas Priest, Motorhead, Iron Maiden, Megadeth and Metallica improved the genre of heavy metal music and punk rock, hip hop, and death metal were introduced in the music industry. Since then many bands have taken over the charge of keeping the spirit of hard rock music alive and kicking. New blends of rock and pop music came into bring and a few mixed hip hop and rock music together to give people a new form of music which they can enjoy and spread.In this era when we talk about greatest rock bands, apart from the pioneers, Guns N Roses, U2, Nirvana, Slipknot, Aerosmith, Audioslave, Linkin Park etc. are mentioned, they have given the music industry some real brilliant songs and people not only appreciate all the new additions but they look up to more genres in music(Phillips,64). This paper talks about the heavy metal and hard rock band Deep Purple, the band’s history, discography and how they took the world by storm. Band’s History and Discography:The English band Deep Purple are said to be one of the pioneers of the heavy metal and hard rock music. The band was formed in February 1968 by Chris Curtis who was an ex-drummer of the band called The Searchers. At that time The Searchers was quite popular among the crowd and was said to be the rival of the great The Beatles but when Curtis left the band he formed a small band with some session players and had a hit called â€Å"Let’s Go to San Francisco† after which he decided to have a proper band .The band has gone through a lot of twists and turns with some of the members leaving the band and rejoining it later, some just joining the band for a short period of time and then leaving it while a few of them died. Deep Purple initially called â€Å"Roundabout† had the first line up of members with Ritchie Blackmore as guitarist, Chris Curtis and Dave Curtis for vocals, Jon Douglas Lord as pianist and on keyboards, Nick Simper as bassist and Bobby Woodman as drummer.But soon Cur tis left the band with his brother but Blackmore and Lord were enthusiastic to carry on the band and so Curtis was replaced by Rod Evans on vocals and when Curtis left Booby Woodman left the band too based on the fact that it was the experimental situation they were going through so Ian Paice came as the drummer for the band and is said to be the only original member who did not leave the band up till now. Therefore the â€Å"Roundabout† after their small tour of Denmark in 1968 changed the name of band to â€Å"Deep Purple† on Ritchie Blackmore’s suggestion.It is said that Blackmore’s grandmother loved the song deep purple on which he decided to credit her and this line up of band is said to be the Mark I line up and this band has went through almost VIII line ups. The Mark I line up started to gain fame after doing a cover of Hush a song by Joe South and it got 4th place on the US Billboard chart, the song was from their fist album â€Å"Shades of Deep Purple† released in 1968 after which they were signed up for some tours too.The band launched their second album â€Å"The book of Taliesyn† and it reached #38 on the US Billboard chart while the third album â€Å"Deep Purple† but due to bankrupting of the American record company Tetragrammaton and numerous tours, the band got left hanging on a thread with no future possibility and financial assets. Ultimately the group members were left in confusion resulting in Rod Evans and Nick Simper leaving the band after they were fired due to some internal matters.This resulted in the Mark II line up when vocalist and bassist were required by the band. After some searching and auditioning Ian Gillan was selected as the lead vocalist of the band with Roger Glover replacing Simper as bass guitarist. In this time period the band gained popularity with performance at the Royal Albert Hall called Concerto for Group and Orchestra with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under the supervision of Malcolm Arnold.But despite the fact that this move made the band gain fame, some of the band members like Blackmore and Gillan were not amused by this as now the band was being labeled as â€Å"a group who played with orchestras† while their actual goal was to make this band a hard rock and heavy metal group but they did go on with it and later again performed with a different orchestra group.After the orchestral performance the band than started to concentrate on the album launching and finally the album was released in 1970 named â€Å"Deep Purple In Rock† and the song that went to top charts was â€Å"Black Night† which clearly portrayed that the band was a hard rock band as the Lord’s and Blackmore’s organs combination, Paice and Glover’s beat section along with the high screaming voice of Gillan made a lot of people their fans and Deep Purple, now, got the fame all over Europe.The second album during the Mark II line up was â€Å"Fireball† and was launched in 1971 ad the title track with the same name as album gained a lot of popularity among the fans. The members of the band were writing and composing songs at a fast pace as it is said that within a few weeks after the Fireball was released the band had already written and composed songs for the next album. The third album â€Å"Machine Head† was launched by this line up in 1971 in Switzerland and is said to be the band’s most favorite album as some incidents are related to it including the fire that broke out in a hotel and burnt down the whole casino.The song â€Å"Smoke on the Water† is its inspiration, while the other famous song this album had were â€Å"Highway Star† and â€Å"Lazy† so, after the success of the album the band made a tour of Japan and North America. The seventh album in Deep Purple’s history and fourth album of Mark II line up was released as â€Å"Who Do We Think We Are† in 1973 and had the famous number â€Å"Woman from Tokyo† however the internal affairs of the band were not sailing smoothly.So after the band’s second tour of Japan Ian Gillan and Roger Glover both resigned together on the basis that Ritchie Blackmore did not pay heed to their advices and his mood and terrible touring agenda was intolerable. Gillan then went out of the music scene and started a motorcycle manufacturing company and some years later formed his own band with his name while Glover carried out what he did best so after the two left the band the vacancy was to be filled thus auditions were carried out and vocalist David Coverdale and bassist cum vocalist Glenn Hughes were signed in.Coverdale used to play guitars but decided to sing after some support from the people while Glenn Hughes was known for his notable performance in â€Å"Trapeze†. This group or Mark III then launched their first album and overall eighth album titled â€Å"Burn† in February 1974, this album is also said to be the best comeback of the band as both the new members did their jobs in a brilliant and fruitful way producing a better output that the band required to get back in shape.The songs that made the spot light were â€Å"Might Just Take Your Life† and â€Å"Burn†( Thompson ,90). The second album was released named â€Å"Stormbringer† in 1974 but as this album had funky playback, although the album had many popular songs like â€Å"The Gypsy† and â€Å"Lady Double Dealer† guitarist Ritchie Blackmore again showed desperation and left the band in 1975 to form his own band Rainbow, stating that he was not into funky soul music.The departure of Ritchie Blackmore was the greatest set back for the band as his position was one of the most important and no other guitarist was available who could perform like him, but the real shock to the fans came when the band decided to carry on replacing the irreplaceable Blackmo re with Tommy Bolin who was an American famous for many musical performances making this a forth line up better known as Mark IV line up.So the band than released the album entitled â€Å"Come Taste the Band† in October 1975, the album was a hit but again the problems arrived with the band’s future when Bolin’s drug addiction interfered the bands performance as due to his condition many concerts and low scale appearances were being cancelled. The Mark IV only lasted a year after Bolin was found dead due to drug overdose while after the Britain’s tour in March 1976 Coverdale quit and the band officially announced the split in July 1976(Prato,35).The band was then split up for almost eight years and during this time each member started some side projects concentrating on them but after an eight year separation the band made a return with the Mark II line up in April 1984 and released an album â€Å"Perfect Strangers† in October 1984 and this time it was a massive hit reaching #6 on US Billboard 200. The band’s tour was initiated worldwide in Australia, North America and Europe which made the band financially better too.â€Å"The House of Blue Light† was the band’s twelfth album launched in 1987 but in 1989 Gillan was dismissed as the rivalry between him and Blackmore grew therefore he was replaced by vocalist Joe Lynn Turner who belonged to the band Rainbow of Blackmore. The Mark V line up than recorded only one album â€Å"Slaves & Masters† but this was not given a positive response by the fans as they thought it was more Rainbow than Deep Purple.So after the Mark V made a tour Turner was removed by the record company to bring Gillan back for the bands 25th anniversary, resistance was made by Blackmore but after some cash transfer he agreed and the Mark II line up again released the album â€Å"The Battle Rages On† which is the band’s fourteenth album however as the rivalry of Gillan a nd Blackmore was still on so Blackmore left the band for good in November 1993.Thus the band’s Mark VI line up came when the famous Joe Satriani replaced Blackmore but due to his own record company contracts he could not carry out the job permanently and therefore he left in 1994 after completing and helping he band with the tours. The band then drafted Steve Morse to take Blackmore’s position permanently and he is still the band’s member today. This was the Mark VII line up of Deep Purple and this line up was carried out till 2002 during which the band released the albums Perpendicular in 1996 and Abandon in 1998.In 2002 the band’s oldest and pioneer member Jon Lord left due to some personal reasons and his replacement was Don Airey who was a former member of Rainbow thus the band’s final Mark VIII line up came into being and almost two more albums were released named â€Å"Bananas† and â€Å"Rapture of the Deep†. This is the final c hange made in the band and currently the members o the band are Ian Gillan on vocals, Steve Morse on guitars, Roger Glover as bassist, Ian Paice on drums and Don Airey on keyboards(Heatley,74).Conclusion: Deep Purple is said to be the pioneer of heavy metal music and they have indeed proved it through hard rock songs which are still regarded as the best ever made and they were the inspiration to many young generation bands who loved hard rock. Deep Purple are said to be the one of the best touring bands of all time since their formation till present and they earned a unique award for selling 150,000+ tickets in 2007 in France.Listed as the â€Å"World’s Loudest Band† by Guinness Book of World Records they are surely one of the best bands that shaped the music industry and no matter how may changes occurred in the band members they continued to produce some best songs. Work Cited Page: Christe, I. , Sound of the Beast: The Complete Headbanging History of Heavy Metal, It Books, 2004. Heatley, M. , The Complete Deep Purple, Reynolds & Hearn, 2008. Phillips, W. , Encyclopedia of Heavy Metal Music, Greenwood, 2009. Prato, G. , Touched by Magic: The Tommy Bolin Story, Greg Pato, 2008. Thompson, D. , Smoke on the Water: The Deep Purple Story, ECW Press, 2004.

Arab Culture and MTV - 708 Words

MTV Networks launched MTV Arabia in a partnership with Arabian Television Network and as part of a global standard. On one side of the debate, proponents believed that introducing MTV to the region would provide more of an international connection to youth that is craving both information and participation from the West. On the other side, more conservative Islamic elements see the Western cultural influence as decadent and divisive. From a sociological point of view, the sharing of cultures as society becomes more global can only bring people closer together, binding them in the commonalities of music, dance, and the arts (The Arab World, 2007). However, history has shown that while the Arabian culture has a large number of youths who desire more openness and contact with the west, Arabian culture itself is known for reacting negatively to anything controversial. This is primarily due to their long Islamic tradition of law and religion being one, and an overall socially conservative cultural ethos. Indeed, Islamic law has developed to touch almost every aspect of human life, and is called Sharia. There are the dietary laws, banking laws, welfare laws, criminal laws, and even warfare laws. While these laws have evolved over time, in much of the Muslim world, the conservative ideas of Sharia are maintained even today. The basis of Islam falls into several duties that humans must perform in order to establish and perfect their relationship with God. Islamic law, like the OldShow MoreRelatedMtv Networks: the Arabian Challenge1338 Words   |  6 PagesMTV Networks: The Arabian Challenge 1. Question 1 Experts felt that one of the biggest challenges faced by MTV while launching MTV Arabia was the prevalent culture in the Arab world. Discuss the Arab culture. How is it expected to pose a challenge to MTV? 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What MTV wanted to do now, was enter the Arabian/Middle Eastern markets where everything is different. However, the company faced the most challenging test in late 2007 with its launch of MTV Arabia in the Middle East, which some experts considered as the biggest launch in the channel s history. While the market in the Middle East offered MTVN huge opportunities due to its huge youth populace , MTV s controversial content that was known forRead MoreMtv Networks And The Middle East1648 Words   |  7 PagesAbstract Since 1981, MTV Networks (MTVN) has developed a reputation for its ability to provide localized content without compromising the MTV culture. However, the company faced challenges in late 2007 with its launch of MTV Arabia in the Middle East, making it one of the biggest launches in channel history. While the market in the Middle East offered MTV with lucrative business opportunities, the networks controversial content could potentially backfire in the conservative environment prevalentRead MoreMtv : The World Of Art And Entertainment1511 Words   |  7 PagesSince its inception in 1981, MTV has been a cultural phenomenon as a leading force for pop culture and has changed the world of art and entertainment. The network captured the hearts (and wallets) of millions of young people and quickly built this American cable channel into a global youth cultural mega empire. MTV Networks (MTVN) has developed a prominent global reputation for its ability to provide content without compromisin g the MTV culture. However, the company faced its biggest challenge inRead MoreAaron Abrams . Professor Harding . Mgt375 . 3/21/17. 1.1220 Words   |  5 Pages 1. In Arabic’s culture their followed the Koran and it laws. This means that there is no alcohol consumption. 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To order copies, call +91-40-2343-0462/63 or write to Icfai Center for ManagementRead MoreMtv Networks And The Middle East Essay1953 Words   |  8 Pages Introduction MTV Networks is known as the biggest music television channel in the world embraced a new challenge of introducing their channel to the Arab countries. The thriving of globalization and the world’s growing love of celebrities, MTV executives decided to approach the growing Arabian market with target the music lover and youth entertainment industry. MTV saw this opportunity to gain new market shares and a move that could unite the Arabian population by showcasing localRead MoreArabian Challenge4526 Words   |  19 PagesMTV NETWORKS: THE ARABIAN CHALLENGE MTV Networks (MTVN) was launched MTV Arabia on November17, 2007 partnership with Arabian Television Network (ATN) as part of their strategy to extend their network over the world including in Middle East. General Manager of MTV Arabia, Patrick Samaha (Samaha) have to ensure their strategy which is to ensure the programs won over the hearts of the Arabs and adhered to local taste and culture without diluting MTV global brand. Timeline / Background of MTVN Read MoreAssignment 2 Essay2202 Words   |  9 Pagesï » ¿ Analysis of MTV Networks: The Arabian Challenge Introduction With the boom of globalization and the world’s growing love of celebrities, it was about time that the music and youth entertainment industry tapped into the consumer hungry Arabian market. MTV saw this opportunity as a move that could unite the Arabian population by showcasing local talent on a world stage, as well as bringing international stars into the region. The market for an international music channel in the Middle East