Different Societal Institutions Such as the Family, Government and Religion Essay Example for Free

Different Societal Institutions Such as the Family, Government and Religion Essay Different societal institutions such as the family, government and religion, have been seen to have an impact on marriage. The government plays a role in marriage and mate selection when divorce raises issues. Not only does the government play a role in marriage and mate selection, religion also raises conflict for married couples, such as where and how a couple may get married, and if the religion supports the legal issue of divorce. Lastly, family plays a important role in marriage and mate selection through the way their children are raised since people tend to marry people who share similar beliefs and values. The societal institution such as the government, have been seen to have an impact on marriage such as divorce and cohabitation when legal rights come into force. When a divorce happens between couples, the legal issues will give you rights to things such as child support-if you have children, property division and spousal support. Both parents are forced into supporting their family financially in the legal rights called child support. If you and the other parent do not live together, you must split the costs of caring for your child. In most cases, child support is paid until the child can be dependent until the age of 18. However, if the child choses to get married or leave home under the age of 18, they are no longer considered dependent. Now you must be wondering how much child support will cost an individual. The costs may vary depending on the province you are currently living in. This is called the Child Support Guidelines. Many factors are involved in deciding how much child support is paid such as gross income, and how many dependent children the parent with physical custody is supporting. Furthermore, when you apply for child support, the court is entitled to know information about both spouses’ finances. This is known as financial disclosure. Did you know that in Ontario you must be at least 18 years old to get married? Since that in Canada it is a law that you cannot marry another person if you are already married, also known as polygamy, divorce becomes a legal issue. The Divorce Act and the process of getting a divorce remains the same all over Canada. First, you or your spouse must apply for a divorce in court. When you are applying for a divorce, you must be able to demonstrate that the marriage has broken-down. The most common situations that the court sees is that you and your spouse have been separated for at least a year by living in separate housing, if you or your partner committed infidelity, or if the marriage is abusive that it is no longer safe to live with each other. Functionalist might say that divorce is dysfunctional in society since it goes against the norm in marriage where it states that two people are united until â€Å"death do you part†. The societal institution such as religion, have been seen to have an impact on marriage such as same sex marriages and the ceremonies people have when they get married. There are many types of marriages that you can have as we witnessed in the film, Get Him to the Greek, where the family wanted a religious ceremony performed by a religious organization listed in the Marriage Act. In contrast, some couples prefer a civil ceremony that is performed by a judge, justice of the peace, city clerk or someone else who is licenced to perform marriages. Divorce also brings religious barriers to remarriage. Some religions do not believe in divorce and say that you cannot get remarried in a religious ceremony. Furthermore, religion can have a barrier on same-sex marriage. Some religions consider same-sex marriages to be abnormal, so it can be tough for the family to accept that their son or daughter is gay or lesbian. Family acceptance is important to the individual’s self, and if the individual’s family does not accept a part of who they are, they might feel disowned and a loss of self-worth, which leads to conflict in the relationship. Family plays a role in marriage and mate selection through the way they raise their children for the reason that people tend to marry people who share similar beliefs and values. Martin Whytes study of dating and marriage mentions that marital success can be determined. He mentions in his study that the dating experience was not a predictor of success, enduring married couples had several characteristics in common, which are having similar values, enjoying similar leisure time activities, pooling their incomes, sharing in power and decision making in their relationship, having friends in common and having an active social life together. Whyte, 2001) Family has an impact on people’s beliefs and values, how they spend their leisure time, and their social life. System theorists agree that families have an impact on marriage and mate selection of their children because the system theory can help explain issues seen in an individual such as social issues by looking at how they were raised. Different societal institutions present may challenges for married couples. Many factors from divorce amongst all the legal issues associated with it, to religion beliefs, of when and how a couple gets married and the family acceptance of same-sex marriages. Last of all, factors of exactly how an individual is raised by their family plays a significant role in marriage and mate selection and Martin Whyte explains. All three of the different societal institutions play a significant role in determining the success of the couple’s relationship.

Doctor Faustus Essays: Dr. Faustus and the Christian Moral :: Doctor Faustus Essays

Dr. Faustus and the Christian Moral In the play Doctor Faustus the main character sells his soul to the devil and later dies and is sent to hell. A question that comes to mind when reading this book is, "Does Doctor Faustus have a Christian moral?" Even though he is persuaded to sell his soul to the devil he still may have some Christian beliefs. Some of the dialogue in the play gives some signals that tell the reader if Faustus has a Christian moral. The Cultural Studies method is shown in this paper because we are talking about someone's beliefs or morals. In this play, Marlowe shows Dr. Faustus's religious beliefs. In Act I, Faustus is given the chance to ask Mephostophilis whatever he wants to know. Faustus asks where hell is and he wants some information about hell. When the play starts Faustus is not scared of death and he later tells Mephostophilis "I think hell's a fable" (Marlowe 43). You can also make the assumption that he believes that the only place you go after you die is to heaven. Towards the end of the play he believes that heaven and hell exists and that you can spend eternity there. Faustus could be also thought of as an Atheist because during some of the acts of the play he denies that there is a God and he thinks of religion as a false ritual. Faustus even calls on God, "Ah my God... I would weep, but the devil drains my tears"(96). The part of the play that best describes his beliefs is right after he sells his soul to the devil and he deciding whether or not to repent. He states," My heart is hardened, I cannot repent. Scarce can I name salvation, faith, or heaven. Swords, p oison, halters, and envenomed my steel Are laid before me to dispatch myself.......I am resolved, Faustus shall not repent"(45). When he does finally ask for forgiveness and wants to repent to God, he is denied and is forced to spend eternity in hell. The Cultural Studies method describes someone's moral or beliefs. It can relate to other methods, but they are not as well described in this play. In the play we learn about what Faustus' religious beliefs are and how it relates to Cultural Studies. The book was written during Shakespeare's time and what they knew about Heaven or Hell is probably different than what we believe today.

Genetically Modified Foods †Friend or Foe Essay

In 1998 the first genetically modified (GM) food was approved for public consumption. Since then GM foods have become part of the world’s food supply and are produced in several countries. While horror stories in the 90s promised dire consequences for introducing GM foods to the populace most of those problems have failed to arise as promised. Some scientists say that GM foods are completely safe and the proof might be that we are all still here to debate the point. GM foods are not labeled in the United States and chances are that most Americans have already eaten GM foods. Still, how much is known about the GM foods that Americans are unknowingly feeding to their families? Is managing to survive the experiment the only yardstick we should use to measure risk? Genetically modified foods might be dangerous and more testing is desperately needed to avoid health hazards. While the FDA and their scientists say that GM foods are safe, the U. S. government is already aware that there have been problems with GM foods. Even before genetic modification became the industry it is today there were problems linked with hormonally enhanced foods. Small changes in our food supply can cause large results. Of course, the problems are just a small percentage of the whole. In 1998 Harvard Medical School released a study (as cited by Larsen, 1998, Â ¶ 1) showing evidence that a product known as Recombinant Bovine Somatotropin (rBST) increased the chances of humans developing cancer. Bovine Somatotropin is a hormone produced by cattle which is also known as Bovine Growth Hormone. The Recombinant status means it was synthetically produced using recombinant DNA technology. The synthetic chemical is injected into cows to stimulate milk production. Milk cows in the United States and England were once treated with this chemical but England banned its use after the link between rBST and cancer was shown (Larsen, 1998). The Federal Drug Administration (FDA) says that the chemical is safe and not only approves of its use but does not allow labeling of the products that come from the cows that are injected with rBST (Epstein, 1996; FDA Consumer, 1999). Of secondary concern when dealing with rBST injected cattle is the worry of infection. The more milk a cow produces the more likely it becomes that she will suffer from udder inflammation. This inflammation is regularly treated with antibiotics to which the cows are developing a resistance to over time. Not only can this resistance be passed along to the humans who drink the milk but humans can also have allergic reactions to the antibiotic traces left in the milk (Epstein, 1996). In 1989 approximately 5000 individuals became suddenly ill. This illness was later traced back to a health food supplement that had been created using GM enhanced bacteria. Of those 5000 people, 37 later died and 1500 were permanently disabled. The toxin which caused the problem was present in only 0. 01% of the product. One percent is below the level that would have caused concern or a halt of production. In 1996 a company created a B2 vitamin to be sold with GM bacteria and the FDA approved it as long as any contaminants were not found at greater than 0. 01%. With that standard in place the 1989 toxin problem would not be detected even if it happened today (Antoniou, 1996, Â ¶ 5-6). While the FDA does set the standards there is very little actual oversight of the biotech companies. As of 1992 (as cited by Whitman, 2000) the FDA policy is that biotech companies may voluntarily ask for a consultation with the FDA. The consultation is not compulsory and even if used the company does not have to follow the FDA recommendations. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has the power to quarantine crops that are a danger but the biotech companies do not require a permit from the USDA as long as their product meets a short set of standards created to ensure the safety of the crop itself. To put it simply, the FDA is responsible for food safety and the USDA is responsible for plant and crop safety (Whitman, 2000, Â ¶ 32-35). The FDA sets the requirements that GM foods must meet to be declared safe. The main requirement for safety is that the modified food being judged is substantially equivalent to the original non-modified food (Physicians and Scientists for the Responsible Application of Science and Technology [PSRAST], 2006). For example, if a biomed modified potato is found to still be substantially equivalent to a regular potato then no further testing is needed. The theory is that being substantially equivalent gives them the same level of safety. For a food to be judged substantially equivalent it must be similar on several points, which are chosen by the manufacturers themselves. There must be no overt difference between the GM food and the non-GM food in regard to taste, appearance, and several points selected by the manufacturer in the areas of chemical composition and nutritional composition. The only other test required is to do an analysis looking for allergen markers. If the computers find no reason to believe that the product can cause allergies then the product is approved. Human testing is never required (PSRAST, 2006, Â ¶ 20-25). If genetically altering foods is an inherently safe procedure then the above tests are a perfectly logical way to test GM foods. If the foods are as unsafe as some claim then it is a dangerous policy for the biotech companies and the U. S. government to decide upon. In 1994 the FDA stated that modified foods were as safe as their non-modified counterparts and policy decisions have been based on that statement. The government believes so strongly in the safety of GM foods that they do not require labeling of any kind to differentiate GM foods from non-modified food sources (Whitman, 2000, Â ¶ 38-43). Since there is no way to differentiate GM from non-GM products there is no way for Americans to know if they are eating GM foods. In 2003 six countries produced 99% of the transgenic crops, also known as GM crops, sold in the world. Of these six countries the United States sold, by far, the largest percentage of these crops (James, 2003). The chart below lists the acreage of these crops by millions. Figure 1 Obviously, not all is doom and gloom when looking at the above figures. Although biotechnology can do harm it can also help the world, maybe. According to Raney, Pingali, T. R, & R. R. in 2007 a new variety of rice named Golden Rice was modified to produce beta-carotene. The rice was developed specifically to help the starving and poor in third world countries who become ill from vitamin A deficiencies (p. 108). Three servings of Golden Rice a day will provide an adult with 10% of their daily requirement of Vitamin A. While this does not seem earth shattering it shows a company attempting to use biotech to help others. Of course, even assuming the FDA is right and the problems caused by GM foods are an aberration there is the USDA’s bailiwick to ponder. Are the crops safe for the biosphere itself? That is a difficult question to answer, as well. Just like the food safety issue there are people on both sides of this argument who are convinced that they are right. On one side are the scientists who fully believe that the creation of GM foods cannot harm the biosphere and on the other are the scientists who believe that cross pollination will cause problems. According to the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences at Colorado State University (2004) a list of recommended separation distances for GM crops was released by the USDA. According to the USDA if the separation distance is maintained and divider crops are planted then the risk for migration or cross pollination is minimal. Divider plants are tall plants that will block the flow of pollen from wind caused migration. With these precautions in place biosphere damage is supposed to be minimal. A photo taken by Percy Schmeiser and provided by The Nature Institute in 1994 shows that even if the worry of cross pollination or plant migration is overblown it is not an unproven phenomena. The field in the picture was planted with wheat in 1999. In the year 2000 they allowed it to lie fallow, in layman’s terms they did not plant anything so to regenerate the soil. They sprayed the soil twice with a weed killer known as Round Up but somehow an herbicide resistant strain of canola plants migrated into the field. The bushes in the below picture are all a GM crop that was never planted by the farmer. No one is sure how it appeared in the field (Holdrege, 2004, Â ¶ 11). Figure 2 Even discounting the possibility of seed migration via accident or wind there is always the chance of cross pollination. With cross pollination one plant can pollinate or breed another plant via insect help or wind that it was not scheduled to pollinate. In this way a plant type that was supposed to be non-GM can be infected with GM genes without the farmer or company being aware of the problem. This has happened before to rice crops that were sold to Europe from the U. S. and caused the temporary halt of rice exports to certain companies in Europe. The rice in question was not approved for human consumption and no one is sure how it appeared either in the field or the food supply (Vogel, 2006). Besides cross pollination and migration one other crop issue needs to be addressed. Monsanto has produced crop plants that either target the RNA in insects to kill off their larvae, are tolerant of herbicides like Round Up to kill off weeds, or produce pesticides of their own to kill predatory insects (Whitman, 2000, Â ¶ 4-5; Webb, 2007). While these functions are beneficial to farmers in that they save money and protect the crops, there are some concerns with these changes. There is always the possibility of cross breeding or cross contamination affecting a species for which these changes were not intended. There is also the chance that the insect killing modifications will kill off non-pest insects like butterflies. Lastly, there is a chance that plants that produce pesticides will be toxic to the humans or animals that ingest it (Whitman, 2000, Â ¶ 18-22). While opinions still vary on GM food safety, what becomes obvious is that there are more questions than answers. More testing and more rigorous safety and control laws are needed to protect the populace from unmeant harm. While GM foods can be a boon to the world they can just as easily become a curse. Disease, poisonings, and even dangers to the biosphere itself are just some of the risks we currently run. The best way to safeguard our future is to demand that congress takes our safety seriously. References Antoniou, M. (1996). Is GM food devoid of DNA safe. Retrieved January 21, 2008, from http://www. purefood. org/ge/noDNA. htm Department of Soil and Crop Sciences at Colorado State University. (2004). Concerns about current farming practices. Retrieved January 28, 2008, from http://cls. casa. colostate. edu/TransgenicCrops/croptocrop. html Epstein, Samuel S. (1996). Unlabeled milk from cows treated with biosynthetic growth hormones: a case of regulatory abdication. International Journal of Health Services, 26(1), 173-185. Holdrege, C. (2004). The trouble with genetically modified crops. Retrieved January 15, 2008, from http://www.natureinstitute. org/pub/ic/ic11/gmcrops. htm James, C. (2003). Preview: Global status of commercialized transgenic crops: 2003. Ithica,NY: International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications [ISAAA]. Larsen, H. (1998). Milk and the cancer connection. Retrieved December 27, 2007, from http://www. vvv. com/healthnews/milk. html Physicians and Scientists for Responsible Application of Science and Technology [PSRAST]. (2006). Inadequate safety assessment of GE foods. Retrieved January 18, 2008, from http://www. psrast. org/subeqow. htm Raney, T. , Pingali, P. , T. R. , & P. P. (2007, September). Sowing a gene revolution. Scientific American, 297(3), 104-111. Retrieved December 7, 2007, from EBSCOhost database. Safety of rbST Milk Affirmed. (1999, May). FDA Consumer, 33(3), 4. Retrieved January 23, 2008, from EBSCOhost database. Vogel, G. (2006, September). Tracing the transatlantic spread of GM rice. Science, 313(5794), 1714. Webb, S. (2007, November 10). Silencing pests. Science News, 172(19), 292. Retrieved December 7, 2007, from EBSCOhost database. Whitman, B. (2000). Genetically modified foods: harmful or helpful. Retrieved January 23, 2008, from http://www. csa. com/discoveryguides/gmfood/overview. php.

Buddhism The Seven Wonders Of The Buddhist World

In a world filled with tradition and conventions, one man underwent a rigorous journey to achieve Nirvana; that man was Siddhartha Gautama. With his success, came the birth of a new religion called Buddhism. His journey to reach Nirvana was marked by important sites that are now popular and religious attractions visited by Buddhists everywhere. These historic sites are known as the Seven Wonders of the Buddhist World. The Mahabodhi Temple, also known as the â€Å"great awakening† temple, is located in Bodh Gaya in North-Eastern India. The beginning of Buddhism began when Siddhartha Gautama reached Enlightenment under the Bodhi Tree at this temple. Even with the torment of demons, Siddhartha Gautama reached Nirvana when the sun rose up in the east. It was here where the Buddha finally understood the human condition of suffering and sorrow. The original structure of the temple was erected during the reign of Gupta Kings. 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