Hindu Influences in America Essay Example for Free

Hindu Influences in America Essay Discuss some Hindu influences in America. Hinduism has had an influence in America since being introduced by Swami Vivekananda in 1893, at the Worlds Parliament of Religions. Religion is a complex component of our lives and it encompasses much more than our own particular traditions or personal experiences. Hinduism has had a reflection on interests around vegetarian concentration, yoga meditation, reincarnation and alternative medical treatments that have become popular in the United States. Hinduism has also introduced words, such as yoga, mantra, and chakra, to name a few, that have been incorporated into the American language as quasi-religious practices. As Hinduism grows in populations so does the interests in what the religion has to offer. Yoga is used as a relaxation exercise to unite oneself with God or ones true self. Yoga practices have become so popular and widespread that newer populations may mistake them as being entirely American tradition. Mantra is a means of chanting or meditating and consists of a set of sacred words or syllables used to unite one with the deity they represent. These are some of the benefits Americans feel provide them with a newfound faith. Hindus of Indian descent in America have created a balance between their religion and Indian cultural religion with the pressures to Westernize. Temples have been built in American in the styles of northern or southern India and dedicated by Hindu priests from India. These temples create a place to worship. There is always the threat that modern American traditions, such as eating meat, racial intermarriage, and considerable mobility in society may interfere. The temples welcome the serious seeker of non-Indian descent which speaks well for Hindu hospitality. The population of Hindus is continually growing in America. It is believed that Hinduism isnt just a faith but is related to the union of reason and intuition. As most Americans we find new things intriguing by feeling they may bring us closer to oneself or to God. In my opinion it is likely that this belief will continue to entice Americans in the years to come.

External and Internal Forces in Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte Essay

External and Internal Forces in Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte In Charlotte Brontà «Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s Jane Eyre, the eventual goal of Jane Eyre’s journeys and struggles as a character is for Jane to be strong enough within herself to stand on her own. It is not until she finds this internal strength that she can live as a content individual and weather the distracting demands put on her by the external forces that surround her. Throughout most of the novel, Jane makes the mistake of looking for this internal peace through external forces like Mrs. Reed, Mr. Rochester and St. John. To convey this tendency, Charlotte Brontà « constructs her narrative so that, rather than looking within herself to find internal solace, Jane turns away from cold, alien internal imagery, and looks instead to fickle external imagery that is at times a friend, and at times a foe. The internal imagery is reflective of Jane’s own internal state, and the external imagery is reflective of the state of the external forces that surround her; until Jane realizes t hat she cannot find solace in the ever-changing external forces around her, and must instead look inside herself for this solace, the internal imagery must remain cold and alien, and the external imagery must remain unpredictable in its ability to comfort. For the purposes of this paper, the external world is defined as any force, whether this force is human or of the natural world, that is outside of Jane Eyre, and thus threatens to distract Jane from her essential journey as a character. The internal self is within Jane, and must be strong in order for Jane to stand on her own and able to withstand the external forces of the narrative. From the very first scenes of the novel, Jane looks to the external wor... ...the wood symbolizes and find their way home, toward the internal happiness that â€Å"home† represents. The novel Jane Eyre details one woman’s journey to find a place for herself in a world that does not want her. In order to do this, she must find internal strength and solace. For a large portion of the novel, she seeks and fails to find this through external forces. For every two steps forward, she takes one step back because of external forces that draw her away from this internal self. However, Jane does manage to progress and eventually find internal happiness. Her journey and her turn to the external, battle with the internal, and eventual acceptance of her internal self in spite of external forces is embodied in the external and internal imagery that Bronte uses throughout the course of the novel. Such imagery is inherently necessary to Jane’s evolution.

Health Provider and Faith Diversity

Health Care Provider and Faith Diversity Health Care Provider and Faith Diversity Delia Stoica Grand Canyon University: HLT-310V February 4, 2012 Abstract The following paper describes three different religions: Judaism, Islam and Hinduism. It will detail the spiritual perspective on healing that all three of the faiths have. A description of what is important to their healing and what is important for the healthcare provider to know in caring for people of these faiths. Also there will be a summary of how these faiths differ from Christianity. Introduction The United States is known as a â€Å"melting pot†.This is due to all the different nationalities and faiths that are seen in our country. As healthcare providers we are faced with trying to understand all the different cultures we encounter on a daily basis in a hospital setting. There are many different faiths, some are well known such as Christianity and some are not quite so known such as Hinduism. Different faiths have different rules and regulations that they follow. Knowing all the intricate ins and outs of every religion is going to be impossible, but that should not stop someone from trying to learn all they can regarding the patients they are caring for.Everyone has probably heard of Judaism, Islam and Hinduism, but that does not mean that a nurse or physician would know all the things that would be different in regards to caring for patients of these different faiths. Hinduism Hinduism is the third largest religion in the world. There are six major philosophies in the Hindu religion. One of the major one is Vedanta. Vedanta teaches that â€Å" that man's real nature is divine, and that the aim of human life is to realize divinity through selfless work, devotion to God, control of the inner forces, and discrimination between the real and the unreal.It recognizes that Truth is one and accepts all religions, properly understood, as valid means of realizing the truth (Guidelines, 2002)†. Hindus believe that the body is just a vehicle for the soul, and that when the body dies the soul transfers to another body until it can finally get to be united with God. They recognize that death is a natural part of life and the true self does not die when the body dies. There are a lot of things that the religion accepts which are part of the Western medical practices.Seeking medical attention is something that Hindus will do, but they believe that Western medicines tends to overmedicate their patients, especially with antibiotics which could make them hesitant to start an aggressive treatment plan. Some people of this religion may practice Ayurvedo or homeopathy to cure some problems. This religion allows for blood transfusions and organ transplantation/donations. There is no rule against performing an autopsy if needed. Because this religion practices modesty, women may prefer to be examined by a physician of the same sex.Hindus are very social and family oriented. It is impo rtant that the family be involved in the treatment and care of the patient. Women of the Hindu religion wear a red dot on their forehead to symbolize that they are married, some also wear necklaces, bracelets or toe-rings, which are not to be taken off, this is something that needs to be considered if there is a need for a procedure such as an MRI that requires all metals to be removed. Men of this faith wear a â€Å"sacred thread† which is never supposed to be removed.Many Hindus are strict vegetarians and will not eat beef or beef products, if at all possible they should be allowed to bring food from home unless there is a dietary restriction. In situations where there is an end-of-life issue, family needs to be very involved. Hindus do not believe in artificially prolonging life and may prefer to die at home. Because Hindus practice cremation and it needs to be done within 24 hours of death it is critical that all the paperwork is in order quickly. Judaism Judaism is one o f the oldest religions still around today.There are Orthodox and non-Orthodox Jewish followers. Orthodox Jews strictly follow all traditional laws of the religion. The faith holds medical practitioners in high regards and even may break some rules if medical experts believe that it may be life saving. Most Jewish people observe the Sabbath, which is from sundown on Friday to sundown on Saturday, in which they are not allowed to work. In this regard a Jewish patient would not be able to write, use the button for a PCA pump, drive or even turn on a light switch. As healthcare ractitioners we need to keep that in mind when caring for patients during this time. The food they eat is â€Å"kosher† foods, which means that there are special ways of preparing beef. Pork, fish and gelatin are not allowed and neither is beef and milk together. Care needs to be taken with preparation of these foods for these patients, as healthcare providers we need to keep in mind that this is not just an issue of them being picky but an extremely important part of their religion. Men in this religion may wear yarmulkes â€Å"skull caps† during prayer and some may wear it all the time (Handbook, 2000).We need to make allowances for up to 10 people in the room during prayer. When dealing with end-of-life issues there are deep debates regarding withholding or withdrawing of life-saving therapy and families may want to consult a rabbi before making any decisions. The Jewish faith requires that burials happen quickly after death and autopsies at not permitted unless required by law. There is a requirement that a family member or representative of the family remain with the body at all times after death until burial, and also that amputated limbs be available for burial.Islam The Islamic religion is slowly becoming one of the largest religions out there. People who follow the Islamic religion are known as Muslims. Islam believes are â€Å" that all events, including health even ts, are the will of God, Muslim patients may be more likely to display acceptance of difficult circumstances and be compliant with the instructions of health care providers (Healthcare Providers, 2010)†. It is believed that the preservation of life overrides all guidelines, rules and restrictions.This faith requires extreme modesty and for men all body parts between the naval and knees need to be covered, for woman all but the face, hands and feet should be covered at all times when in the presence of anyone outside their family. Muslims are required to pray five times a day on a prayer mat facing Mecca. Patients that are ill can be excused from prayer if it is medically deemed that it is detrimental to their health. Patients are required by their faith to perform ablution with water before prayers and after urination and defecation. Islamic rule is that you use your left hand for dirty and right hand for clean duties.Muslims will prefer to use their right hand to eat and as a healthcare provider if you are feeding a Muslim patient it is preferred that you also use your right hand. Islam has a very strict rule regarding consumption of certain foods. Foods that are not permitted include pork, or pork derivatives and alcohol or alcohol containing foods. This could be a problem when giving certain medication that contains pork or alcohol. Providers should be aware of the medication given to a patient that is Muslim in order for them to follow the halal diet.Islam sees death as a natural part of life. They do not require treatment to be provided if it will only prolong a terminal illness. During end-of-life care, families may want to pray with the patient at bedside. This religion forbids autopsies, unless required by law. In the Islamic faith, burial needs to happen as soon as possible after death. The body should be washed by a family member or representative of the family and not by hospital staff, the body also needs to be covered by a sheet and face Mec ca if at all possible. Comparing and ContrastingThe previous religions discussed all have certain rules that need to be followed when it comes to dealing with healthcare. Christianity in general does not put any restrictions on healthcare providers. Certain Christian faiths such as Jehovah’s Witnesses do not allow blood transfusions because they feel it is not part of their body. The three religions discussed feel that anything that can be done to safe the person should be done and that life is important. Interestingly enough Hinduism, Judaism and Islamic faiths all have restrictions on food that they deem unclean.The only Christian faiths that have restrictions on food are Catholics and Orthodox Christians, which do not eat meat during Passover. There are many differences between Christianity and other faiths and not too many similarities when it comes to healthcare. Conclusion In doing the research for this paper, there have been a lot of good points brought up in regards t o taking care of patients that are of a different faith than myself. It is extremely important to me as a person and as a nurse to know who my patients are and what their beliefs and faiths are.In order to be able to take care of a patient, physically and emotionally we need to know the restrictions that we may face in our everyday dealings with them. Working in a hospital that sees an enormous amount of people from all over the world it is important to keep religion and culture in mind when providing care. Being able to do research and finding all the rules and requirements is a great educational tool to use and will make your patients more apt to trust you if they see that you understand where they are coming from. References Bennion, R. (2000). Handbook on cultural, spiritual and religious beliefs.South Devon Healthcare. Retrieved February 3, 2012 from www. e-radiography. net/nickspdf/Handbook%20on%20beliefs. pdf Guidelines for health care providers interacting with patients of t he Hindu religion and their families. (2002). Metropolitan Chicago Healthcare Council. Retrieved February 3, 2012 from info. kyha. com/documents/CG-Hindu. pdf Healthcare providers handbook on Muslim patients. (2010). Queensland Health and Islamic Council of Queensland. Retrieved February 3, 2012 from http://www. health. qld. gov. au/multicultural/health_workers/hbook-muslim.

Example Linguistics Essay - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 7 Words: 2105 Downloads: 10 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Linguistics Essay Type Analytical essay Did you like this example? The Sociolinguistics of British Sign Language: Toward One Languageor a Variety of Languages? What is the future of British Sign Language? With thegrowing number of changes in the language, dialect and idiolect, is it headedtoward a single standardised version? Or will it end up as a collection ofsub-languages collectively known as British Sign Language? In Margaret Deuchars landmark book on British SignLanguage, Michael Stubbs wrote in 1984 that BSL provides a striking example ofa topic about which clear and straightforward information is badly needed byeducators and policy-makers, since there is widespread ignorance and confusionabout what deaf signing is (1984, ix). This remains true today, over twodecades later. . Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Example Linguistics Essay" essay for you Create order Recognition of BSL British Sign Language was formally recognized as alanguage in the UK on March 18, 1993. However, it does not have any legalprotection. This basically means that deaf people do not share the same rightsas hearing people when it comes to access to information regarding education,health and employment. As a language, BSL has much in common with otherlanguages. Still, there is much about BSL that is unique, since it also has manyinnate differences from spoken languages. BSL is the primary language of the deafcommunity in Britain, a community that lives and thrives in a larger society ofhearing people, many of whom remain largely unaware of many of the issues in deafculture BSL variation According to Ronald Wardhaugh, a recognition ofvariation implies that we must recognize that a language is not just some kindof abstract object of study (Wardhaugh 1998, 5). BSL is no different from anyother language in this aspect. There will always be a wide degree of variationin the speech of one individual when compared with the speech of anotherindividual. In addition, there will be variations within that variation. AsWardhaugh points out, no individual can act freely and do just exactly what heor she pleases so far as language is concerned (Wardhaugh1998, 6). Otherwise,the result will be mass confusion, perhaps even gibberish. This is as true of BSLand its many variations as it is of spoken languages. Citing Chomsky, Wardhaugh also points out that languageis essentially a set of items (Wardhaugh1998, 10). Whether these items arespoken or signed will necessarily affect the methodology of research, but willnot change the basic fact that language is the key to how societies a restructured and how people manage to live together. There are a number of factors to explain why British SignLanguage is so rapidly changing and growing. According to Deuchar, just as wefind variation in English, we also find it in BSL, at the same kinds of levelsof the language, and linked to the same kind of social factors (Deuchar 1984, 130).This was reiterated again more recently by Rachel Sutton-Spence and Bencie Woll.They asserted in 2000 that just as there are variations according to region,social group membership and the social situation, so there are regional, socialand situational differences in BSL (Sutton-Spence and Woll 2000, 23). Thereare a number of societal structures responsible for the variations in BSL. Someof these are directly related to education of the deaf. According to Deuchar,the deaf in Britain are unlike the deaf in some other cultural minoritiesbecause they have not lived in isolation. On the contrary, they have lived inmany different parts of the country. Therefore, the places where they wouldcome together as a meeting point would be institutions for deaf individuals. Thesewould be for the most part educational institutions, particularly those thatare specifically structured for members of the deaf community. Other explanations for variations in BSL center around language userscharacteristics. According to Deuchar, these include such qualities as range of competence age of speaker response to setting (formal/informal) level of social skills. Range ofcompetence may vary from user to user, depending on individual ability as wellas level of depth of exposure to BSL. Response to setting may also be a highlyindividual characteristic; different individuals, including members of thehearing population as well as those in the deaf community, respond with varyinglevels of comfort to different settings. While some individuals movecomfortably between formal and informal settings, others will feel moreuncomfortable in less familiar surroundings (Deuchar 1984; Sutton-Spence Woll 2000). Anotherfactor that accounts for much of the variation in BSL is geographical distance.This can be the cause of both differences and similarities in vocabulary. Onetelling example of this is an experiment Deuchar did regarding variation innumber systems. The investigation was conducted in 1981 among deaf adults inLancaster. She found that a certain variant of the number SIX (right index onleft fist) was only used by people over the age of forty who had attended aschool for the deaf in NW England. In this case she concluded that both thesocial factors of age and schools seem to be significant (Deuchar 1984, 131). Additionalexamples of users characteristics that are responsible for variation areoffered by Brennan et al. Some pairs of BSL signs have identical manualcomponents, and the only way to tell them apart is through non-manualactivity such as the facial gestures that accompany the manual components. Forexam ple, the signs ENOUGH and FED UP are distinguished only by facialgesture. Another example is that of the signs SMART and CANT BE BOTHERED,which make use of exactly the same action of the hands, but in the latter casea distinctive mouth pattern is used (Brennan et al., 1984, 2). Sociolinguistics in the BSL/language continuum Thesociolinguistics of a language is the study of linguistic and sociologicalvalues. It can also be described as the study of how that language functionswithin society and how it is affected. The sociolinguistics of Sign Languagesis not unlike the sociolinguistics of any other languages. The same issues thataffect other languages affect Sign Languages, although the issues may beexpressed differently. Thefact that BSL is now officially accepted as a language is an important part ofthe history of BSL. It is partially responsible for changing the way BSL isperceived by the larger community. Other sociological and historical changeshave occurred over time. Many of these are due to education. As Sutton-Spenceand Woll point out: BSL changed when schools started using it nearly 200 yearsago, and again when it was banned in schools. Another factor that has affectedthe socio-historical change in BSL is technology, particularly television (Sutton-Spence Woll 2000, 35). Status in BSL: Political Correctness Asnoted earlier, British Sign Language (and Sign Language in general) is like anyother language in many aspects. This includes political correctness. Politicalcorrectness has caught up with sign language for deaf people. Gestures used todepict ethnic and religious minorities and homosexuals are being droppedbecause they are now deemed offensive (Mickelburgh 2004). This is true of AmericanSign Language as well: Traditional sign language words and letters for the useof the deaf in America are being changed to be made more culturallyappropriate (Davis 2000). However,it is true that many signs are still in use that may be considered as racist.One explanation for this is that deaf communities often feel that hearingprofessionals try to impose their own values on deaf culture, which isconsidered offensive and intrusive by many members of the deaf community. Thisis not concerned with the dangers of offending someone by mistake, but withsigns that are considered unacceptable because of deaf politics and deaf pride'(Sutton-Spence Woll 2000, 249). Sociallyunacceptable language in BSL is similar to socially unacceptable language ingeneral, and includes taboo signs linked to taboo topics, insults, andexpletives. Other Variations in BSL Othervariations in BSL may be due to ethnicity, religion, sexual preference, andsocial networks. Ethnic Variations In someareas (for example, this is particularly true in the U.S.), there are cleardivisions between some black ASL dialects and some white ASL dialects [largelydue to segregation]. In Britain, however, the variation in BSL between blackand white signers appears to be less marked (Sutton-Spence Woll 2000, 27).Some explanations for this include the fact there were relatively few blackpeople in Britain until the 1950s. In addition, black deaf children attended mixeddeaf schools, and were therefore less inclined to be divided by racialcategories. Thereis, however, a growing sense of identity among black deaf adults in Britain.This has lead many researchers to conclude that eventually there will be adefinite variation along based on racial divisions, resulting in a distinctive blackdialect of BSL as time goes on (Sutton-Spence Woll 2000, 28). Incontrast, the British Asian deaf community relatively small. However, genetic deafnessseems to be more common to British Asians, so as t his segment of the deafcommunity grows, its members may develop a dialect of their own as well. Religious Variations Religionalso has an effect on BSL, particularly the Roman Catholic and Protestantreligions. The signing of deaf British Catholics is strongly influenced byIrish Sign Language because Irish monks and nuns have provided education forCatholic deaf children.and Irish-trained priests serve the Catholic deafcommunities in Britain (Sutton-Spence Woll 2000, 28). In addition,signers tend to have two variants of BSL, and will use them differentlydepending on whether they are communicating with people within their ownreligion, or with those outside of it. Gender/Sexual Variations It hasalso been noted that in some variations of Sign Languages, the differencesbetween genders are markedly different. This has been attributed to the factthat often males and females are educated in separate institutions, and whenthey leave these institutions must learn how to communicate with each other.However, this is not the case with British Sign Language, where the differencesin language between male and female members of the deaf community are reportedto be unimportant (Sutton-Spence 2000, 26). Situational Variations Situational changes have an effect on BSL as they do on all other languages. Changes occurdepending on the number of people the speaker is addressing; for example, whenaddressing a single individual as opposed to addressing an entire group.Changes also occur when the signer is addressing someone who does not have astrong grasp of BSL, either a member of the deaf community who is foreign, oran English-speaker who is not a member of the deaf community. Other situationalchanges also affect BSL, as when the signer is addressing strangers, oraddressing small children (Sutton-Spence Woll 2000, 31). Language Planning: Status Planning and Corpus Planning Accordin gto Peter Trudgill, government involvement in language is often referred to as languageplanning. Sometimes this is a commendable and welcome activity, butnot necessarily. Trudgill further distinguishes between status planning andcorpus planning. Status planning occurs in countries which have to first choosea national language or languages and subsequently are faced with the issue ofdeveloping and/or standardising the language or languages (Trudgill 2000, 131-132). Often, however, the role of a national government goes beyond selecting a nationallanguage. For example, the language, having already been chosen, must bedeveloped and standardised; a suitable orthography must be chosen, or decisionshave to be made over selection of one dialect over another. This may get asspecific as the government being required to assist in vocabulary, grammatical,and phonological development. This type of language planning is much morespecific and involves much more active involvement on t he part of thegovernment, and is referred to as corpus planning (Trudgill 2000,135). It has been noted, however, that the distinction between corpus planningand status planning was first distinguised by H. Kloss in 1969 (Covarrubias1983, 42). Corpusplanning in terms of BSL standardisation is a complex issue. Some researchesassert that this will increase cultural understanding and go some way towardsalleviating racial prejudice and tension (Sutton-Spence Woll 2000).Social inclusion was also emphasised with respect to users of BritishSign Language. Most agree that promotion of BSL will add to the qualityof life for many people. It does remain important that enactment of policies by the government recognizethe ongoing significance of British Sign Language within the signing community.The fact that the deaf have spent many years and much effort fighting theiridentification as disabled is ofprimary importance. It is essential that the government continue to treat BSLlike any other minority language within the EU. Democratic institutions should seethat mechanisms are put into place that recognize the merit of different voicesand perspectives. This is the only way members of the deaf community will beable to effectively organize and increase their empowerment within society atlarge. Other Issues in Standardisation Accordingto Sutton-Spence and Woll, it is very clear that there is not a single,standard form of BSL (2000, 37). The BSL/English Dictionary has onlyrecently been published and contains a limited number of signs, they write. StandardEnglish is used o television and radio and by government organisations. BSL ontelevision is not standard and deaf television presenters use differentregional signs (Sutton-Spence and Woll 2000, 38). Although it is believed thata form of standard BSL may eventually emerge, they assert that because thesocial context of BSL varies so widely from that of English, that it isimpossible to predict what form it will eventually take. Furthermore,there is the issue that the signs of BSL can be divided into those of theestablished lexicon, or those of the productive lexicon, although BSL clearlyhas far fewer basic signs fixed in the lexicon (Sutton-Spence and Woll 2000,197).