Personalistic and Naturalistic Theory Essay - 1139 Words

The study of history enables a society to understand the present better, prevent one from thinking the past is always better, and aids in the understanding of human nature. Psychology is an ever changing and evolutionary field. Recent years have presented numerous changes and increasing interest by many individuals, which have been inspired to help enhance the growth of modern psychology (Woodworth, 1918, p. 1). The use of the certain tools that have been deemed to be reliable in the fields of biology and physical sciences have been implemented in modern psychology to aid in the fields growth to take on an identity of its own (Schultz Schultz, 2004, p. 2). This paper will discuss the personalistic and naturalistic theory and how the two†¦show more content†¦The reasoning for the lack of recognition on the behalf of Vesalius and Harvey has been contributed to the personalistic theory. According to the definition of the personlistic theory, Vesalius and Harvey were not consid ered as great men of their generation and did not possess the uniqueness to cause a great impact on society. The personlistic theory does not consider the facts of the historian studies, even though there was sufficient evidence to support their theories. However, according to the zeitgeist steps in order to attempt to explain this by being the spirit of that generation was not open to the new idea’s of these two men, and therefore, their theories were rejected by that generation. According to McCauley, the definition of a zeitgeist is â€Å"spirit of times† McCauley (2008, p. 10). Zeitgeist is believed to be the compelling drive to cause major changes in history through unknowing forces. Social, economic, and political forces are considered as a part of zeitgeist theory to influence the ever changing field of psychology Schultz Schultz (2012, p. 11). Dean Keith Simonton a known researcher of leadership, talent, and esthetics describes zeitgeist as follows: â€Å"The traditional explanation of multiples is founded on what can be called the zeitgeist theory of creativity. According to this social deterministic view, the individual creator is largelyShow MoreRelatedNaturalistic vs Personalistic Approach in Psychology Essay1077 Words   |  5 PagesPersonalistic vs the Naturalistic Viewpoint History is a troublesome word in the English language, having a number of meanings and usages. We often use the term without really considering the underlying concepts it represents. We use history to stand for actual events that took place in the past. The view of history as a collection of events, a flow of actions and reactions is as old has human curiosity about things happened before their own time. The human mind has always seemed to seekRead MoreInvestigating The Expository Qualification And The Debate Between The Personalistic And Naturalistic Position1574 Words   |  7 PagesThe objective of this task is to investigate the expository qualification and the debate between the Personalistic and Naturalistic position in the originations of experimental history in psychological research, it likewise clarified the correlation between the two ideas and how the zeitgeist secured the associations with each of these ideas. Zeitgeist portrays as the â€Å"spirit of the time† and amid the seventeenth and nineteenth hundreds of years. On the occasion of the recorded advancement of exploratoryRead MoreRene Descartes: The Personalist vs. the Naturalist Viewpoint1203 Words   |  5 Pagespersons with the theories they are trying to support as a group. In this case, we see that society is ready for an innovation and that sometimes even multiple people, some of which might have even had this idea many years before, influence the creation of new concepts or even products because there is a societal demand for them. I have chosen to look at Rene Descartes as my philosopher and believe that in many ways he supports the Personalistic theory. When thinking of the personalistic Name and dateRead MoreHistory of Modern Psychology Essay754 Words   |  4 Pagesof philosophers and psychologists, which also celebrates â€Å"classic studies† and â€Å"breakthrough discoveries† (Goodwin p. 7). Furumoto believed that old history is based more on presentist, internal and personalistic views where as new history views are based more on historicist, external, and naturalistic approaches. Presentism versus Historicism The definition of presentism is to interpret the past only in terms of present concepts and values. Example, if an individual were to look at the RevolutionaryRead MoreAugust Comte- Zeitgeist2118 Words   |  9 PagesAuguste Comte: Personalistic Naturalistic Positions Claudette Spear Dr. Joan Hageman Northcentral University Abstract This paper will focus on Auguste Comte, the founder of Sociology and how he uses both views of both Personalistic and Naturalistic positions in order to justify his findings. Also it will explain how his personal feelings about numerous subjects greatly influenced his studies and works in which things were manipulated to support his findings. FinallyRead MoreThe Personalistic vs. the Naturalistic Viewpoint1752 Words   |  8 Pagesand explain the course of historical events. In considering the historical development of scientific psychology two main views of the historical progress the field of science have emerged: personalistic theory and naturalistic theory. The personalistic theory often times called the â€Å"great man† theory holds that a chosen few individuals are unique in that they are endowed with an extraordinary inner quality giving them the ability to do extraordinary things. When applied to scientific historyRead MoreEssay on The New Psychology and The New Psychologist1874 Words   |  8 Pageswill be discussing the new psychology and the new psychologist. You will learn the meanings of personalistic and naturalistic theories and their relation to zeitgeist. During this topic you may find that personally you fall in to one of these categories of belief. As humans ones finds themselves acting in certain ways or adopting different theories over another and do not understand why. These theories will help to bring into perspective decision making and thinking processes. We will also exploreRead MoreMulti Dimensional Factors Which Influence The Planning, Implementation, And Evaluation Of Health Interventions2092 Words   |  9 Pagesare often used as well as using herbal plants for healing. Taboos belief is common also, cause of illness can be attributed to mystical, personalistic and naturalistic. Mystical theory is the result of unfulfilled obligations of ancestors so commonly believe as bad karma. Personalistic theory is that evil spirits or witches gives the disease. Lastly, naturalistic, states that stress, infection, food and drugs are all causes of illness. These are the main taboos and practices that can be found aboutRead More Principles for Cognizing the Sacred Essay4240 Words   |  17 Pageslevels through which one could develop a true understanding of an objects essence.(1) A.Tchanyshev emphasized naturalistic and anthropomorphic principles for cognizing the essence of objects,(2) whereas B.T. Grigorian, through the principles of objectivism and subjectivism, made it possible to comprehend the notion of essence with regard to human beings.(3) Yu.A. Shreider juxtaposed natura listic and individualistic principles for cognizing the world.(4) S.N. Smirnov emphasized functional and structural

The Constitution Of The United States National Government

The Constitution The American Constitution is â€Å"a system of basic laws and principles that establish the nature, functions and limits of a government or other institution† (Harr, Hess Orthmann, 2012). The purpose of the Constitution was to make it so that no single person would be able to have power over all others. Before the Constitution even came about, there was the first development of the Articles of Confederation. The Articles of Confederation were written after the United States had declared independence from Great Britain. It established what the functions of the United States national government would be. This created a weak central government and it did not allow each individual state to create their own foreign diplomacy†¦show more content†¦By November of 1778, New Jersey agreed to ratify the Articles. Then in February of 1779, Delaware agreed. Maryland finally agreed to ratify the Articles in March of 1781 when Virginia agreed to relinquish t heir western lands. While the Articles of Confederation did create a sovereign, national government, it also brought limits to the states’ rights. It limited their right to conduct their own foreign policy and diplomacy (OHBPA, n.d.). The Articles of Confederation had many problems surrounding it. Congress didn’t have the authority to enforce the 1783 Treaty of Paris provisions and the exportation of convicts from the British government could not be prevented by the Confederation government (OHBPA, n.d.). There were also issues with the fact that any acts that were passed by congress could not be enforced because there was no executive branch to enforce them. Congress needed a 9/13 majority vote in order for laws to be passed. Regardless of the size, each state only had one vote in Congress. Congress didn’t have any power to regulate interstate and foreign commerce, nor did they have the power to tax. In order for any Amendments to the Articles of Confe deration to be passed, they need a unanimous vote. There was also no national court system (Constitutional Facts, n.d.). All of these problems had the delegates realizing that they needed a more powerful central

Lincoln One of America’s Best Film Free Essays

string(49) " Lincoln Electric in their foreign subsidiaries\." Both President Clinton and House Speaker Newt Gingrich have referred to Lincoln Electric as an example of an American firm that is one of the best in the world. This statement may be bold, though holds truth in many respects and Lincoln managers like George Willis, who was the CEO in the late 1980s and early 1990s adds to this statement: â€Å"†¦ I believe that we are the best manufacturing company in the world. Lincoln Electric is best known for its productivity incentive program, which has been widely cited over the years, and has attracted thousands of managers to company†s headquarters in Cleveland, Ohio to learn about one of the country†s oldest and most radical pay-for-performance systems. We will write a custom essay sample on Lincoln: One of America’s Best Film or any similar topic only for you Order Now Founded in 1895 by John Cromwell Lincoln to manufacture electric motors and generators, The Lincoln Electric Company shifted its resources into manufacturing arc-welding products in 1911. Today, welding products account for more than 90 percent of net sales and range from basic units for light manufacturing to highly sophisticated machines used in robotics applications and high-production welding and fabrication. The remaining income is generated by electric motors and oxy-fuel and plasma cutting tools. The company is also the leading producer of self-shielded cored-wire electrodes and currently holds ninety percent of the world market in this area. With its over a 100 year existence, Lincoln Electric has had a successful past with a few downtimes, like the one during the 1991 recession because of an ill-conceived foreign-acquisition spree. Even during this time, the company kept its promise to its U. S. workers to pay their bonuses and went to extremes such as borrowing $100 million in 1992 and 1993, even though it lost $84 million in those years. The retired CEO Donald F. Hastings quoted saying: â€Å"We can†t break our trust with this group because of management mistakes and recessions elsewhere. From this unique example, we can understand the company†s genuine commitment to its compensation system. However, some argue that, after the 1995 sale of 40% of the company†s equity to public, this traditional close-knit relationship between management and the workers got affected. Lincoln Electric employs 5,700 workers worldwide and operates 16 manufacturing sites and 17 distribution centers in 11 countries. In 1995, the company celebrated its centennial year by posting record sales of $1. 03 billion. With increasing sales every year after 1995 – $1. 09 in 1996, $1,159 in 1997, the company is holding its leadership position in the manufacture of arc welding equipment and consumables. Lincoln†s longstanding commitments to linking pay to both individual productivity and the profitability of the corporation makes it an ideal case study for any business student. In this paper, I will explain the unique pay-for-performance compensation system of Lincoln Electric as well as investigating this system in our class context, also explaining the international expansion of the company. Incentive Performance System: its strength and weaknesses It was James E. Lincoln, John Lincoln†s younger brother, whose philosophies and beliefs about workplace relations shaped Lincoln Electric†s unique culture during his long term as head of the company from 1914 to 1965. The firm has had only a handful of leaders in a century of operation, which are mostly promoted within the company. Likewise, jobs at Lincoln Electric plants are highly prized and employee turnover is low. I think it is impressive that no one has been laid off since 1948, and the turnover rate is less than 4% among those with at least 180 days on the job. â€Å"There isn†t any other place to work like Lincoln Electric, they take care of you. † says Kathleen Hoenigman, an 18-year veteran. In today†s competitive markets, it is important to have dependable highly skilled workers and Lincoln Electric clearly is a great employer according to some employees like Mrs. Hoenigman. Companies like Lincoln Electric can afford to provide consistent employment, no matter what, by working and managing better. Thinking ahead and having creative solutions for when there is a downturn is what management is all about,† Hastings said. It really makes sense when one thinks about this statement: if no one worried about losing their job, then employees would create change instead and this kind of an ideology would definitely have a great impact on productivity. High wages, high productivity, and a high level of trust between management and workers characterize the laborer-employee relationship and this culture at Lincoln. Policies such as the â€Å"open-door† policy helps build this trust and while encouraging the employees to bring suggestions for improvement also helps the management to have non edited, raw data from their workers. It is true that millions of American workers, from sales representatives to truckers, are paid on a commission basis or according to their output. Many others collect annual bonuses tied to their employers† profits and revenues. But Lincoln is nearly unique among large American companies, paying all shop-floor workers according to a formula based on how much they produce and how much the company earns. Lincoln Electric†s compensation package for factory workers consists of a piecework system for base wages and a year-end bonus. The piecework system however is probably the major part of the total incentive system at Lincoln Electric. With this system, a worker can make more per day or per week or per month during the year with or without a bonus. The workers are paid on the quality of what they produce. Thus, in a way, Lincoln†s 3,400 U. S. employees are supposed to be self-managing entrepreneurs. Each employee is accountable for the quality of his or her own works and is rated twice a year on quality, output, dependability, cooperation and ideas. The ratings determine how much of the total corporate bonus pool each worker will get, which comes on top of his or her hourly wage. There†s minimal supervision and employers only get paid when they work, and there is no sick or holiday pay, which created some problems for Lincoln Electric in their foreign subsidiaries. You read "Lincoln: One of America’s Best Film" in category "Essay examples" â€Å"How much money you make is in your own hands,† says Thomas Gadomski, a painting-crew leader. All 3,400 Lincoln Electric shop-floor workers do well, with wages averaging $58,000 in 1995 (the last year for which company would provide data), not counting the value of their decent package of medical, vacation and retirement benefits. On the other hand, the programs developed 40 years ago at Lincoln to boost the production are helping contain workers compensation costs. Gil Frey, director of employee benefits and relations, said the company saves about $44,000 per month as a result of its return-to-work strategies. Despite all the incentives and high salaries, the company, which is publicly traded in NYSE, hardly operates as a charity. 1997†³s net income of $85 million represented a 20 percent return on shareholder equity in a very competitive industry. Donald Hastings who is strong defender of the piecework system argues against the people, who consider the piecework system as a type of 19th Century pay system that was designed to take advantage of the worker, and he adds that it is what killed the piecework system in the U. S. Thus, he believes that the piecework system at Lincoln has fairly set rates. However, very few manufacturers have taken the pay-for-performance route, and the reasons are not actually hard to comprehend. For one thing, it is difficult to sustain large differences in pay for the same job category also measuring individual productivity in industrial settings can be a challenge all by itself, unless if you have a well established system like Lincoln. Yet I am sure that, at times inevitably there is ambiguity at Lincoln too, but clearly it is very minimum. These are some of the reasons why it would be difficult to replicate Lincoln†s success, because it also requires highly disciplined and motivated labor. Moreover, in addition to piecework bonus system, guaranteed employment up to 30 hours and the annual bonus system where employees are paid once a year up to an average of 50% to 60% -recent years† average- of the base pay created a sense of ownership among the employees. Lastly, as a result of all these incentive systems, the high productivity and high output rate with less defects, and innovation gives Lincoln Electric the competitive edge in the market. One manufacturing manager explained it perfectly: â€Å"We strive for high productivity based on employee effort, continuous improvement in production processes, and a seven-day-a-week utilization of equipment. By passing on cost savings to our customers, we generate very high demand that allows you to send everything you make straight out the door. † These are the main strengths of Lincoln Electric, but just like any other organization, Lincoln Electric have some weaknesses too. Unfortunately, the Lincoln incentive model is not quite the smashing success it once was. Problems started with the recession in 1991, and in 1995, after management stumbles forced the family-controlled manufacturer to sell more shares to the public. From that point on, Lincoln started looking more like a public company. With new shareholders, and new board members came new ideas, which had impacts on some of the core values of the company, and the worker bonuses has started getting smaller. At the same time, management was readying itself for an expansion to remain globally competitive, putting even more pressure on the balance sheet. Even though that very same year, the company celebrated its centennial year by posting record sales of over $1 billion and record earnings, this was a year of change for the workers. All those factors I listed above crimped bonuses. For workers who expect high bonuses if they deliver in output, this shift must have hurt their morale. As new global markets are emerging for Lincoln†s business, the company has started questioning and reviewing their one-of-a-kind pay system. The company is by no means ready to completely change or get rid of the incentive plan, which once paid employees 100% of their annual wages in annual performance linked bonuses. But now with the new markets that the company is in too, the executives are considering ways to move toward a more traditional pay scheme and away from the regular percentage-bonus formula, or may be a mixture of the two. â€Å"The bonus program is a good program, and it has worked well, but it†s got to be modified some,† says director David C. Lincoln, whose father John C. Lincoln founded Lincoln Electric. So, the question is for how long more Lincoln†s pay plan can survive rapid growth of the company and globalization? Also the wide range of wages cause some problems within the company. The average Lincoln factory worker earns $16. 54 an hour, vs. the $14. 25 average manufacturing wage in the Cleveland area. With a 56% average bonus in 1995 – the lowest in years – production employees came out ahead of workers elsewhere even after paying for health-care benefits. But unlike at other companies, Lincoln has huge variations in production-worker pay: from roughly $32,000 to more than $100,000 for the most hard-driving. There is also a tremendous pressure to produce, but an employee board meets regularly with the top management to report workers† concerns. And Lincoln guarantees work to employees with three years† experience. Still, it gets harder and harder everyday to live up to the old deal. Even though, the company has bounced back from stumbling overseas, it has yet more problems to overcome. During this period, Lincoln had financially weakened. To make better acquisitions and expand further, Lincoln made its first public offering in July 1995, pushing outsiders† stake to 40%. It also slashed total debt by 40% to $130 million, and paid a lower bonus per person, though the total bonus pool was a record $64 million. Naturally, slimmer bonuses somewhat changed employees† attitude towards the system and the company. In November of 1995, some employees protested outside headquarters after they learned of the bonus size. Also again during this period, the turnover among the new hires was high, and the disparate pay upset the veteran Lincoln employees. â€Å"If an individual shows he can handle the workload, he should be rewarded with full pay† commented Joseph Tuck, an inspector with 18 years at Lincoln. Because of the protests, CEO Hastings eliminated the two-tier wage on December 1, 1995. This was a dilemma for both the company and the workers, both of which had never experienced this kind of a situation before. To edit the pay system without causing any resentment, the company set up a committee to study the bonus program and had even hired Price Waterhouse to study productivity. Even though, Hastings pledged at the time that the incentive system would remain the same, over time, he wants employees to focus on the overall earnings, not just the percentage bonus they receive. And that should be a tough job to do, to implement this kind of an ideology in employees† mind, who has worked so many number of years in a fixed, particular system. Lincoln Electric†s International Expansion On other hand, as I have mentioned earlier in the paper, because of both legal and cultural issues, Lincoln†s basic systems like the incentive system and annual bonus pay system did not work in many of the overseas operations in the long run, even though at the beginning it was successful. And, I think Lincoln Electric had especially a hard time understanding that operating and international business calls for a lot more than just technological skill. Also, I believe that the company didn†t truly understand the cultures of those countries where it expanded. The general assumptions made, such as the belief that everybody in the world would be willing to work a little harder to enhance their lives and their families and their homes didn†t turn out to be true for everyone. It was an inaccurate assumption and this was one of the main reasons why the company had to pull out of Germany. The underlying reason for this was mainly because Lincoln Electric executives didn†t know how to manage an international operation, nor did they have the international experience. Furthermore, the way Lincoln had gone about expanding internationally was too rapid an unstructured. Also, there were other barriers such as high tariffs, high manufacturing costs, highly unionization and misconception of Lincoln Electric†s incentive system. After closing down plants in Germany, Brazil, Japan and Venezuela, and reporting losses from these operations in 1992 and 1993, I am sure Lincoln Electric is going to be very careful about not starting another acquisition spree. During these losses however, the company expanded the number of employees in the United States, but I am sure that the firm will be going back to overseas in the future. This time though, they want to be very careful in selecting the region for the new facility, as well as the managers and the workers. One of these new markets that Lincoln has interest in is the Asia-Pacific area, including mainland China, and the company is already in the process of getting some alliances in Indonesia and Malaysia. These new interest regions may shape the future of Lincoln Electric. If we were to make a cost-benefit analysis for Lincoln Electric, we would find out that the company has a lot of pluses. Even after all these charges against it, Lincoln†s pay system is likely to remain innovative than most. But as it tries to hire more outsiders, expand further abroad and modernize, â€Å"we†re getting to be a more normal company,† says Director Frank L. Steingass. That may not be quite what eager visitors to the headquarters in Cleveland, who want to learn the secret of incentive system expect to hear. But if Lincoln can adapt to new times without sacrificing employee good will, another model pay plan may yet emerge out of this company. The over century long history and tradition, along with great organizational and pay systems, Lincoln Electric has a very strong organizational culture, especially in the United States. However, with the new emerging markets around the world today, Lincoln Electric can not afford to stay out of the global competition. Finally, I believe that its employees will always move Lincoln Electric to greater heights, no matter what. The former CEO Donald Hastings states this idea in a very profound way: â€Å"It†s a two-way street at Lincoln. We look after our people and they look after us. â€Å" How to cite Lincoln: One of America’s Best Film, Essay examples

Buddhist free essay sample

For my field research report my partners and I visited the largest Chinese Buddhist temple in Mississauga called Fo Guanh Shan Temple of Toronto on February 11th during their festival of the Chinese New Year. Originally this is my first time visiting a Buddhist temple in Canada, but the very first Buddhist temple I visited was at the age of six with my family on a trip to Thailand. During my visit in Toronto, I was really overwhelmed with all the different artefacts and architecture laid throughout the temple, the principles and guidance was outrageously fascinating. As we entered, the individuals working had recognized that we weren’t members of the Buddhist community but still displayed genuine hospitality and guided us around the temple. The culture I witnessed in this religious building really caught my interest, especially the unique artefacts and architecture in which I examined using Raymond Williams and Malory Nye’s theory on elite and popular culture and concluding that the people that interacted with this temple were seeking and describing what it means to reach the peaks of human expression. We will write a custom essay sample on Buddhist or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page As well as the way the temple had advertised their culture and religion, in which, I analyzed through Stuart Hall’s theory on popular culture and concluding that business views in this community were definitely present. When we first forward to the entrance I pointed the unique artwork along the white entrance railings. The railings had some sort carvings that appeared to look like dragons, and as we approached to the foyer all I could see were vibrant colours. The lady at the countered enlightened me and explained that architecture on the building of such animals is part of the Chinese culture where animals symbolize characteristics, for example dragons symbolizes prosperity and good fortune. I began to get very curious and anxious to witness many interesting things around this religious building and the lady guided us to our first destination, which was the heart of the temple, the prayer hall. As we approached the doors, an individual that volunteered at the temple had notified us that due to respect to the Buddha everyone must take their shoes off before entering and that absolutely no pictures are allowed. Once I entered the very first that that captured my eyes was the artwork done along the walls of the prayer hall. At the front were three lively sculptures of Buddha for which the people pray towards. I took great interest in the architecture and one of the volunteer that was accepting offerings given from individuals had educated me about the artwork along the walls. In fact, the artwork in the eyes of the Buddhist community is more like a family portrait. In other words, along the walls there was a particular photo and below the photo there was a name written in Chinese, these were all ancestors of the Buddhist religion. What really amazed me is how they had presented their ancestors in such a beautiful and respectable way. The next stop was at the Buddha’s Cultural Figure 2: Picture Taken by Zain Malik Buddhas Cultural Museum Figure [ 2 ]: Picture Taken by Zain Malik Buddhas Cultural Museum Museum where many different artefacts, sculptures, and other pieces of art related to Buddhist culture were present. As I walked along the museum each piece of art had been given a cue card that had information on it. The key information was the material used to create such art, the material that was commonly used were: cooper, wood, bronze, ceramic, and clay. What leaves a question mark is that do these materials play a symbolic role in the culture that was present in certain Buddhist eras. I came across a sculpture of a huge elephant, which had been stated that it symbolizes power, commitment and action. A lady working at this section of the temple had informed me that in the Chinese Buddhist culture one gifts this art piece in situations of victory (war, sports, marriage, etc. ). Also, the lady had polished my knowledge and explained that each piece of art could Figure 3: Picture Taken by Zain Malik Sculpture1 Figure 3: Picture Taken by Zain Malik Sculpture1 ave multiple Figure 3: Picture Taken by Zain Malik Sculpture2 Figure 3: Picture Taken by Zain Malik Sculpture2 meanings, as in the sense of the temple it was placed to dignify the religious place. The presence of different sculptures and artefacts is way of the Buddhist culture to express human expressions. The art itself expresses the creativity on the individual or persons cre ating it, in other words the visual representation of their culture. As one of the members of the temple had told me that the techniques used in their architecture has been part of their culture for ages and has been passed down by their ancestors. Also, through architecture, one can express the culture’s environment, the association of people or dynamics of human interaction, customs, habitats, and as well as the relationships between all these aspects. Examining this portion of Buddhist culture at the temple referring back to Williams and Nye’s theory on elite and popular culture was very amusing. The focus on this essay is regarding chapter 2 in Malory Nye’s text, Religion: The Basics. In this chapter Nye makes emphasis on culture in correlation to religion (Nye 2008, 23). He had stated that culture is something that is done and is what people do (Nye 2008, 23). Williams had interpreted culture in the senses of engaging it and possessing it. In further contrast, one of his main arguments was that culture is an ideal or elite (Nye 2008, 24). In other words, elite culture revolves around high quality and artistic worth products. These products are could be an example of the Holy Bible that the Christians consider a spiritual text or, as Nye would say a piece of high culture (Nye 2008, 25). But Williams made an excellent and intriguing point that culture is beyond the ideal and elite stage, in fact it has approached the documentary level (Nye 2008, 25). In this level culture is viewed through forms such as: film, television, sport, science, geography, and even architecture. As I observed throughout the day at the temple, I seemed to gather a thought that architecture is the popular form of culture used in this Buddhist community. There methods and ways may be different but as Williams stated, its not about which artist is better, its about which artist produced cultural work (Nye 2008, 28). It is self-explanatory that these people have expressed cultural work in a magnificent manor. At the temple, the Buddhist people influence and enforce a lot of discipline. The elderly to the youth of the Buddhist community teaches such aspects. As I entered the bookstore held inside of the temple a lady had explained to me the different materialistic items that elderly reward kids for remarkable religious efforts, for example bracelets, clothes, etc. Also, I was escorted to attend the library where a collection of religious material was held, there an individual had assisted me and told me that the famous religious Buddhist text is called the Sutra. What makes this text different than other religious text like the Bible is that Sutra is not a single book. The Sutra is a large collection of books and teachings that were transcribed by Buddha. These materials have been duplicated and are for purchase in the bookstore, as well as other religious items like religious beads for prayers. Many things were for sale in the book store such as music which played stories in musical form of the Buddhist religion, ornaments, history books on the religion, beads, necklaces, bracelets, and much more. This leads to my analysis using Stuart Halls theory on culture, the business of culture. Stuart Hall had emphasized his interest on how to interpret popular culture, and the point that I am going to focus on is mass appeal and the business of culture (Nye 2008, 29). The standard points to note is that for one to be popular it must be on some scale have mass appeal. The problem to this theory is that in order to obtain mass appeal consumer commercialism is extremely crucial (Nye 2008, 30). This is why religions advertise their products such as books, religious items, history, etc. (Nye 2008, 30). Therefore, interpreting Halls theory into the circumstances at the temple, it seems that the bookstore is way for people to promote their culture and increase mass appeal because nothing was listed as free. During this research assignment, there was a lot of difficulty communicating with the people in the temple, as their first language was Mandarin. In situations for example where I couldn’t understand a single word that they were saying. I felt like if I knew the language they spoke or had a partner who spoke their language I could have gathered much more valuable pieces of information to make my essay even stronger than what it is. Overall my experience at the Chinese Buddhist temple was phenomenal with some exceptions. The people were very humble and friendly to assist us throughout this experience that I am thankful for. The knowledge I absorbed opened my eyes about Buddhism and religion itself with the help of Malory Nye’s text, Religion: The Basics in which Williams and Hall’s theories facilitated my analysis in the cultural aspects of religion. Bibliography Nye, Malory. 2008. Religion: The Basics, 2nd edition. London and New York: Routledge. Essay Grading Rubric