The Role of Music in Religion - 1395 Words

Music is a powerful thing. It evokes feelings and has the power to bring people together. Music plays an important part in all our lives. It is very difficult to imagine our world without it. We choose the music we listen to in our personal lives, but are subject to music in different environments. Music plays in restaruants, stores, when we are on hold, it also plays a very important part in movies and tv programs. Music communicates emotion and thought when we are at loss for words. It plays an integral role in the spiritual and emotional well being of our lives. Music is a constant companion in our lives. What is the role of music in religions? In most religions, music has an uplifting effect designed to help its performers and listeners achieve union with their higher power, music has an exceptional role in Christianity, Judaism, Islam and Dogon religion. What is music? The ancient Greeks understood music to be something related to tie every structure to the universe. The â€Å" music of the spheres† was originally thought to be the sounds of the concentric spheres of the universe rubbed against each other, and music was created. Music is a very important part of Christian worship and celebration. Music unites the congregation so that God is worshipped with one voice. A variety of music is used in Christian worship including hymms, gospel songs, psalms, contemporary music, and instrumental music all of which are played for meditation and reflection. Since the beginning,Show MoreRelatedMusic And Community : Native American Music1199 Words   |  5 PagesCALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY Northridge Music and Community: Native American Music A paper submitted in partial satisfaction of the Requirements for MUS 309, Lecturer: â€Å"Gee† Rabe By Abhimanyu Ranjit Lalchandani Spring 2015 Introduction This paper will demonstrate the various analysis of the Native America music and some details about history of Native American Music and themes which represents the religion and music. It also gives importance’s to the music which are used based on the eventsRead MoreImpact Of Greek Culture710 Words   |  3 Pages Greek culture, in my opinion, contributed the most to the development of other future civilizations culture. They paved the way to what is known about Greek and their culture as of today. With the idea of their Religion, Art, Worship of many Gods, and ancient Greek music being the focal point of it all. Which happens to be a great deal of the reason I chose Greek culture as my answer. Majority of the time when you discuss Greece you bring up their past or how Greece came about and the impact pastRead MoreThe Effects Of Music On A Desert Island848 Words   |  4 PagesI can think things through. For many people, music would be their soothing factor. However, if I were stranded on a desert island, I would not be calmed by music. Until this day, I have not created an emotional connection with music. It has never played a major role in my life and most likely never will. Therefore, if I were stranded on a desert island, music would be of no significance to me. A major reason for why music does not play a role in my life and would be of no benefit to me ifRead MoreThe Between Religion And Music Essay1500 Words   |  6 PagesMusic and religion are often intertwined, whether it be religious chanting or hymns used to worship. However, in the case of Islam, the relationship between religion and music is more strained, as Islamic law strictly forbids listening to music. However, there is a very strong religious debate on what constitutes music as diversion and what is acceptable to use in worship and religious purposes. There are two concepts in Islam which are relevant to this conversation: sama and ghina. The ghinaRead MoreMusic and Its Functions and Roles1625 Words   |  7 PagesMusic and its Functions and Roles Music has always been an integral part of human civilization. It is what binds individuals to their culture, people to their country. From the majestic stories of India to the concert halls of Vienna to the radio station playing mariachi music here in LA, music pervades our lives. Since our beginnings, music has accompanied rituals and ceremonies, and as time passed, began to fill other roles in religion, society, education, and entertainment. Within these differentRead MoreIndia Is A Western Country Near Asia1457 Words   |  6 PagesIndia is a western country near Asia. India is the seventh largest country there is and second for the population of people who inherit this beautiful country. There are many different religions native to this country as well as many different types of music. The country of India has history dating back thousands of years, and the culture that is placed here is still Indian. Most of Indian culture has been preserved throughout the centuries, with only slight variations coming from other culturesRead Morescientific study religion in society1520 Words   |  7 Pagesscientific study religion in society. This course can be seen as an example of a scientific study of religion due to the fact that throughout this course we have examined the study of religion as social scientists examining different aspects of culture value and beliefs. The critical analysis of different religions within society is an objective scientific study that provides insight onto other cultures globally. 2. Apply Chidester’s theory that pop culture can do the work of religion (from the â€Å"ChurchRead MoreHumanities And Discuss The Role Of Role1468 Words   |  6 Pagesand discuss the role they play in your life. Stanford humanities center defined the humanities as the study of how people process and document the human experience (Stanford Humanities). In order to understand our world, humans use philosophy, literature, religion, art and music. The knowledge of recording these human experiences gives us an opportunity to focus on our similarities and differences, and also to learn important life’s lesson. The textbook states that through arts, music, literature etcRead MoreThe Anatomy Of Religion By Anthony Wallace1378 Words   |  6 Pages In his article â€Å"The Anatomy of Religion†, Anthony Wallace discussed how certain behavior can be considered as religious behavior. In this article, he named thirteen different behavior that are religious. While not all the thirteen behavior are going to be observed in every religion, but it is certain that many of them will be observed in every religion. It is also important to note that some of these behaviors are more obvious in certain religions. For example, one of the behavior is sacrificeRead MoreAnalysis Of Bertrand Russells What I Have Lived For805 Words   |  4 Pagesthings to me that I am more passionate about. Love is the most relatable one because I feel like without it people can get unstable. Bearing what the author says I have organized my three passions of life16. My three main passions in life are love, religion, and creativity.1 First theres the passion for love. Bertrand talks about how love brings you ecstasy, for me it’s a bit different. It’s hard to explain love unless you don’t have love. To me love brings warmth to your heart. My family11 is a

The Vietnam War A Very Interesting Topic - 1188 Words

The Vietnam War is a very interesting topic. Even today, it’s legacy still goes on. The Vietnam War has greatly impacted not only Vietnam, but also the rest of the world — the West in particular. The reason for conflict in Vietnam could be described as â€Å"the straw that broke the camel’s back†. Since the late 19th century, French had been colonizing Vietnam as part of their quest to take over Indochina for its vast amount of resources. Following World War I, a group of Vietnam nationalists gathered in Paris. They petitioned at Versailles for Vietnam’s independence, but were virtually ignored. One of these nationalists would go on to play a huge role in Vietnam’s future— Ho Chi Minh. Ho Chi Minh later went on to Moscow to study the ideologies of Communism. During World War II, France had fallen to Germany’s forces. Because of Germany’s alliance to Japan, this allowed Japan to occupy Vietnam. At the same time, Ho Chi Minh had returned to Vietnam to force the Viet Minh or the League for the Independence of Vietnam as it was also called. The Viet Minh had seen many conflicts with Japanese forces. In 1945, Japan withdrew from Vietnam and left France to take control of the now independent Vietnam. France’s re-arrival was not taken lightly as the Viet Minh immediately seized control of the city of Hanoi. The Viet Minh forces quickly rose to power as Ho Chi Minh formed the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in what was now considered North Vietnam. France had been left seeking to regainShow MoreRelatedAnalysis of the Fog of War: Eleven Lessons by Robert S. Mcnamara1156 Words   |  5 PagesFog of War Eleven Lessons by Robert S. McNamara was in so much as a great representation of the life of Robert S. McNamara. It showed his life to be dramatic and traumatic in many different ways. The lessons he learned and shared during the documentary movie were truly astounding to me. I personally thought the movie was a tad bit on the boring side, but it was a documentary after all. The Fog of War was a very informative piece of work. During Errol Morris s documentary, The Fog of War, ElevenRead MoreThe Things They Carried Questions1139 Words   |  5 Pagesâ€Å"The Things They Carried† Questions a) The main topic of this novel is burdens. O’Brien is writing about what burdens the soldiers and he had to carry throughout war, physically and emotionally. One way I know is because of the title- â€Å"The Things They Carried.† This title almost summarizes the whole book. O’Brien frequently showed and explained the burdens that were inner conflicts of his and outer conflicts too. In the chapter â€Å"The things They Carried,† O’Brien showed an emotional burdenRead MoreLittle Bit ( Mis ) Judged1472 Words   |  6 Pagesthe most overrated. Lyndon B. Johnson, the 36th President of the United States, arguably had an impactful presidency, but he was also a very overrated one. His domestic policy looks good because he addressed the Civil Rights at the right time, but at the same time his War on Poverty left unanswered problems. His foreign affair was dominated by the horrid Vietnam War, but he also played a part for the CIA-supported coup d†™etats that resulted in deaths of thousands of innocent people all over the worldRead MoreEssay on Between Two Fires: A Review947 Words   |  4 Pages David Clay Large, Between Two Fires: Europes Path in the 1930s (New York: W.W. Norton amp; Company, 1990). David Clay Large wrote an interesting account of the situation in Europe during the 1930s. His account was interesting for three reasons that will be discussed throughout this review. Firstly, his purpose was clear and he managed to follow it throughout the book. Secondly, his organizational structure was logical, appropriate and well designed. Finally, his innovative approach to aRead MoreA Renewed Sense Of Hopelessness : American Sentiment Following The Vietnam War1395 Words   |  6 PagesFollowing the Vietnam War.† Since I’m interested in studying how film actively molded Americans’ interpretation of the Vietnam War, I picked Francis Ford Coppola’s film, Apocalypse Now, as my artifact. I thought that it would be a good choice because it’s one of the most well-known war films and it came out just a few years after the Vietnam War. This image from the beginning of the film shows napalm being dropped on the Vietnamese forest, setting everything on fire. - The Cold War began shortlyRead MoreThe Class : A Study On The Culture, History, Geography, And History Of Southeast Asia1464 Words   |  6 Pagesreligions, political systems, geography, and history of Southeast Asia. This class was beneficial to me for many reasons. With this portfolio essay I will discuss what I learned in the class, then I will draw my on reflections an opinions about certain topics we discussed during the class. This will be based upon the question posted on the discussion board, videos and audio broadcasts, reading materials, and also any outside materials that I have learned. There were a number of things that changed forRead MoreThe Sorrow of War: Book Review998 Words   |  4 PagesThe experience of war brings out the moralities of war and the tragedies of loss and death. Bao Ninh portrays these realizations and tragedies throughout his novel The Sorrow of War. The stories told follow the central character Kien whose story shows the moralities of war and tragedies of loss and death. Bao Ninh’s The Sorrow of War is a novel depicts the horrors that are a result of war. Kien is the main character whose life is used to depict these horrors; a soldier who’s lost all his comradesRead MoreWas the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki the only way to put an end to World War 2?716 Words   |  3 Pages1. â€Å"Was the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki the only way to put an end to World War 2?† 2. â€Å"Were the bombings worth all the innocent (civilian) lives lost?† The following topic was chosen because it was very moving and interesting, as well as wanting to know about how the war (WWII) came to an end, some internet research was done in order to get to the bottom of how WWII ended thus the topic was decided. Then devastation set in followed by shock, meaning that it couldn’t be understood as to whyRead MoreThe United States Military History1570 Words   |  7 Pageswe talked about several different topics that are very pertinent to the shaping’s of today’s military. They are mainly important whether the individual serve in the United States Army, United States Air Forces, United States Navy, or United States Marine Corps. History is the study of the past. Studying may not be interesting to some, but if you do not understand your history, you will be liable to repeating some of the same mistakes made in the past. So it is very important to try and understand aRead MoreThe Vietnam War And The Military Interventions1643 Wo rds   |  7 PagesNapoleon’s mistake in Russia, and the United States from their repeated errors in Afghanistan and Vietnam. Unfortunately history isn’t the most interesting genre people seek when learning. Today movies have made it possible to transmit a narrative about an historical event in a more direct and personal way than books. Two historical moments that have acquired attention in both theater and literature are the Vietnam War and the military interventions in the Middle East post 9/11. The way these conflicts are

Workers During The 1900s S - 1682 Words

Workers in the 1870s to 1930s Throughout history many people, such as politicians, officials, and generals, have been noted to have molded the United States, neglecting the fact that workers have also played an important role in shaping this nation’s history. During the 1870s to the 1930s, laborers faced many hardships; they had trouble keeping their jobs, had their wages decreased, and were forced to work sixty-hour weeks without insurance. Over time, workers began to feel aggravated by their employers’ demands and began to voice their opinions. Only by forming into unions and standing up to what employers’ thought was â€Å"freedom† in the workplace were the laborers able to change working conditions more favorable for them. Early in the†¦show more content†¦Eventually the workers began to protest. They went on strikes, formed unions, and even used violence against the employers. One of the unions called the Knights of Labor, founded in the 186 9, fought for eight-hour workdays and wage equality among male, female, black, and white workers. They participated in many strikes, boycotts, and other activities protesting for workplace freedom. Another labor union was the American Federation of Labor founded in 1881 consisting of mostly skilled workers. Formed in 1903, the International Ladies’ Garment Workers Union and Women’s Trade Union League also played a role in aiding workers, specifically female laborers, to gain work rights. These labor movements played significant roles in history because they influenced or forced employers to make changes in the workplace. One of the key issues that workers were fighting for was wages. During the 1870s to 1920s, employers often lowered the workers’ wages. For example, when the legislature of Massachusetts enacted a fifty-four hour working limit per week, employers decided to lower the wages. During the first national labor walkout, laborers protested against employers decreasing their wages; this event became known as the Great Railroad Strike of 1877. An example of a successful strike was in New Orleans of 1907, 10,000 dockworkers were able to stop employers from reducing their wages. In 1912, the Industrial Workers of the World and other workers went on strike

Data management on wilmington university Free Essays

Student database management model provides information on student’s course schedule and their basic information. Course schedule like their major and minor names, courses Ames, course id, instructor names, day, time, room number, credits per course and student details like student name, addresses, contact number, date of birth, student id. Before this data is stored is books and printed on paper. We will write a custom essay sample on Data management on wilmington university or any similar topic only for you Order Now If there is a change in schedule or exam It would be difficult to reach about this to the students. Now it is easy store and change information by this we can save time and paper. After the registration the course information is directly stored in the database. Now if we want to view course schedule we can simply go to database of the university and check it out and change in schedule can directly reached to mobile by text message. This is very easy model to use and we will get current data and will be secure. Therefore my design mainly focuses on 2 different users: 1) Student 2) administrator Background: Wilmington university is a fast growing private non-profit university in u,s. For the convenience of students they added student schedule and exam details to the blackboard and when there is change in the class room, date and time it will informed through text messaging immediately when uploaded in the student database. The main aim of this is that the make a message regarding he class as possible for student convenience. Background Information: upholding an effective system can be done by using good software and hardware requirements specifications that provide the following: System Needs user – Accessible Sec re Scalability Compatible with other systems Hold large information of student data Database expansion and maintenance. Secure backup and recovery Facilitate resource sharing through the internet all over the university Business Goals: Increase the ability of storing data and make it available to users. Provides data to the user in seconds. It should be helpful to the management to get information to get data of the registered student profiles. Easy to inform the attendance of students and those who are get promoted to next semester. Easy to inform the students about the alerts of the class schedule via text message User Requirements: Data of the student should be made available and be stored within 3 seconds. The system should be accessible for 24 hours. The system should have the capacity to hold 80,000 customer records at any time. The system should have the capacity to add 1 00,000 records a year for 10 years. The system should send Text messages to all students in database. Data Model For this model I am relational database model through which entities, attributes and relations can expressed Data requirements Student Details: Student name, Student ID, USN number, Address, Phone Number, Date of Birth, Sex. Department details: Department Name, Department code, College, office Number Course Details: Course old. Course Name, Course level Attendance: Total classes, No. Of classes present, No Of classes absent, Student ID Exam type: Midterm exams, Final exams, Weekly Quiz, Exam ID Text message: phone number, reason for delay, time of class, date of class, addresses of the class Schedule: Student ID, Course ID, Course name, class room no, Date, Time Supports Data Management for finding: Student data in each Department Internal Average Marks Scored of a student. Attendance Shortage of pupil. Text message to each student Exam Result of student. Report Requirements: 1. User feedback report. 2. Individual or Group Attendance Report. 3. Student wise Examination Report. 4. Student Detail. 5. Text message sent report 6. Examination time-table for different examinations. How to cite Data management on wilmington university, Essays

Accident Analysis Eastern Flight 401 free essay sample

In December 29, 1972, on a cold winter evening, a new Lockheed L-1011 Tristar, the Eastern Airlines number 310, Flight 401 left John F. Kennedy International Airport’s Terminal One bound for Miami. It crashed on final approach, killing 103 of the 153 onboard. I would like to provide an insight of the accident, focusing on the human errors that contributed to the disastrous incident. Al though the Captain, Co-pilot, and Flight engineer were very much experienced and distinguished in their fields, and knowledgeable with the technicalities of aviation, every bit of their expertise was doomed with their collective reaction to a very minor malfunctioning of a very minor part of the aircraft – a faulty light bulb. The chain of errors started with the unlit nose gear indicator light. This has led to manifest the crew’s under utilization and mismanagement of the resources available on the plane, and the Miami ATC’s seeming lack of effective protocol in giving warning signals. We will write a custom essay sample on Accident Analysis Eastern Flight 401 or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page First, the crew focused their attention to the faulty light bulb. While they attempted to repair it, they had neglected to monitor other flight instruments at the control surface altimeters, vertical speed indicator, and most importantly, the low altitude warning alarm while the plane descended 200 feet per minute. Thus, their preoccupation with the indicator light blinded them of the other instruments just within their reach. Second is that the Captain wasn’t able to facilitate and organize the crew’s effective communication in the cockpit as he also missed to effectively delegate authority over the other crew members.   His command to the flight engineer to go to the hell hole to visually check if the nose gear was down, was delayed. This happened because the Captain was also preoccupied with supporting functions such as radio communication. If EF 401 Crash 3 only he was able to be firmly in command, it could not have happened that three crew members were focused on doing a single task. Lastly, the ATC, which was responsible for external monitoring should have given a sterner warning to the aircraft. In addition to this, its personnel could have politely given suggestions and/or reminders to the crew, as they (ATC) are also aware of the resources available in the plane. The professional authority of the Captain and his crew may have deterred the ATC in doing so, but ethically speaking, the welfare of the passengers should be their utmost concern. This accident was fully preventable. If only the backup system of checking the wheel was successful, if the crew knew their fundamentals in resource utilization by heart, and if only a pilot was clearly in command and was focused in monitoring and flying the aircraft, 103 lives could have been spared. This accident is a lesson for other crews as well. The crew of the Eastern Flight 401 were experienced, skillful, and knowledgeable. However, they experienced a chain of errors, which was aggravated by apparent lack of monitoring and authority, effective communication, and resource management skills in time of adversity. Moreover, the disengagement of the autopilot system reminds us that we, humans become complacent with the efficiency of automation. We cease to monitor its function. We depend and trust too much on it. But when it fails, we face the consequences, even if lives are at stake. Thus, this accident reminds us that we should handle and utilize automation responsibly. We should not cease to figure out its limitations and behavior in varying situations.   References The Crash of Eastern Air Lines Flight 401, from http://eastern401.googlepages.com Elder, R., et al. (1997). Crash. Atheneum, New York Kilroy, Chris. Special Report: Eastern Air Lines Flight 401  from http://www.airdisaster.com Crash of Eastern Airlines Flight 401 from http://www.freshgasflow.com/flight401.htm

Christian Rap vs. Mainstream Rap free essay sample

If you the Listener actually listened to the lyrics you would change your mind. Christian rap does spread the word of god but it also express how to be yourself. Most songs encourage young people to do better and make a change to their Life and others. Lyrics such as in the song Make War Dashiki raps, Im filled with the Spirit so tell them dog this is pay back/ as you begin to copy the carbon copies of Christ/ and conform to His written image you should be shinning a light/ if you not, why is that? He summarizes Romans 8:29 which delves into a Christian believer adopting all he traits of Jesus Christ.Lyrics of Christian rap songs are filled with good incentives and positive lyrics. In the song Jesus Music Electra says everywhere I go people caught up in thyself money cars and clothes. They talk about it all the time and put it in they songs. Lyrics such as in the song Make War Dashiki raps, Im filled with the Spirit so tell them dog this is pay back/ as you begin to copy the carbon copies of Christ/ and conform to His written image you should be shinning a light/ if you not, why Is that? He summarizes Romans 8:29 which delves onto a Christian believer adopting all the traits of Jesus Christ.Lyrics of Christian rap songs are filled with good incentives and positive lyrics. In the song Jesus Music Electra says everywhere I go people caught up in thyself money cars and clothes. They talk about it all the time and put it in they songs. They drive around and play it loud like it anti nothing wrong . And all they talk about is sinful stuff, got everybody acting bad thinking that they a thug. By this he Is expressing how corrupt mainstream rap Is, Mainstream rap teaches their listeners how to acts and what to wear.Flame says in Joyful Noise, The light is where Im running I thought I wanted life, drunk, sexed out and blunted But all I really wanted was the One who really won outfought death, beat it gave His life to the public. Flame used to be surrounded by mainstream Influences but he found god and now knows who he should follow. People must overcome the Iron claw that mainstream rap has on them. Electra lets the world know In his song Soiled out. He says we must not be ashamed of ourselves and to be yourself. Man I consider my life until. If I could just finish the race. D complete the job the. Lord Jesus gave me. Live to tell the world his message. Romans 1:16 Im not Ashamed. I Anti Ashamed. . Sometimes faith may be evident in part of a song or other times an entire song or album may focus on Christian beliefs. Mainstream Raps lyrics are much different then Christian Rap. While Christian Rap talks about god and being yourself, Mainstream Rap express their music trough talking about drugs, sex, and violence. These lyrics are broadcasted all over the world showing their listeners that doing those bad things are the right thing to do.Most listeners to mainstream usually dont take the time to understand what they are listening to. They block out all he profanity and enjoy the beat of the music. When you take the time to understand what the songs actually mean you may be discouraged to listen to the song again. Lyrics from Oil Wayne In the song lollipop SSH-she licked me like a lollipop. When we look at specific words such as licked and lollipop it suddenly pops out what they are trying to get across. This is not alright for the radio but it sounds good so it ends up getting played. When he says Shasta Anna thug. Tootles in the club. Shasta want hump and oho I like to touch yea lovely lady lumps. there are so many ad messages getting embedded in your head. Mainstream is filled with explicit language and images. The song Shots by LLAMA encourages drink If you not drunk ladies and gentlemen Get ready to get **** up Lets do it ha, ha and If you anti getting drunk get the **** out the club. If you anti taking shots get the **** out the club. If you anti come to party get the **** out the club. Now where my alcoholics let me see you hands up. Most listeners are in the age f 13 to 24.This is telling children that it is okay to drink. Under age drinking is extremely dangerous . A widespread theme throughout most mainstream rap is a desire for wealth; this wish is part of the American dream, and thus reflects the desires of popular American culture. The constant bombardment of American youths with stereotypes has likely had a negative effect on them. It is common among youths to try and replicate the messages seen in rap videos; this is not surprising. Where we shop and eat even the types of homes we buy are dictated by what we hear the celebrities re doing.That is a powerful influence over an individual. Due to the fact that mainstream rap appeals to the thirteen to eighteen year old audiences and the artists performing come from very similar backgrounds of the listeners, rap music is able to control the way that youth think. The new generation of rappers is taking the lyrics of rap music more literally. Without the youth being able to distinguish fantasy from reality rap music has turned the youth more violent, disrespectful and it is teaching them to stand on the block and hustle or even kill someone over a minor agreement.Rap music has control of the 12-19 year old crowd more than the parents in the household. It is popular because it speaks to a generation that can/ wants to identify with what the artist is saying. The youth are taking someone elses experiences and making it their own Just for the sake of being cool or being accepted by others. Some people say the Christian rap industry is a business. These people sell records to save souls. So if we look at, it would seem as if Christian rappers are getting commission for every soul saved.Most Christian rappers arent in this business for the money they Just get paid for what they do Just like any other Job. A pastor gets paid to preach every Sunday why would it be any different for a Christian rapper selling Cads. Christian rappers have a positive effect on their listeners. The lyrics promote well being and the word of god. Youth that listen to Christian rap are better off then ones that listen to mainstream rap. Instead of being bombarded by bad incentives they are taught how to be a true follower of Christ and no fall too rower level.These two styles of rap are similar but opposites at the same time. They tempo and beats of the songs are very similar. They have the same basis of how they sound, the thing that makes these to styles different is the lyrics they use in their songs. Mainstream uses profanity while Christian rap uses the words of god. Even though on the radio embedding everything they say into the youths heads and morals. Mainstream should be endorsing lyrics that makes the youth of our nation more well off then filling them with bad images and words.

Second Life an Example by

Second Life Much has been written and spoken of regarding Second Life the Internet based virtual world founded, developed and managed by San Francisco-based Linden Research, Inc. (colloquially referred to as Linden Labs). Although Second Life has been around since 2003, it was not until late 2006 that it came to pop consciousness via coverage in mainstream news media. Second Life allows its participants to interact in a virtual environment that is not unlike the real world, except without many of the physical limitations the latter entails. Need essay sample on "Second Life" topic? We will write a custom essay sample specifically for you Proceed Participants, referred to in-world as "Residents" (rather than members or users) because they have a stake in the world and how it grows. This supposition holds true given the fact that most of the content in Second Life is user-created rather than developed by Linden Labs. After the unceremonious act of registering an account and downloading the client software, your avatar -a 3-D graphical representation of one's self in the world - is introduced to the world via Orientation Island, where Residents learn the basics of communicating, traveling and interacting with objects and people. It took me some time getting used to this since the interface is rather unwieldy and cumbersome. Although movement controls are comfortably identical to those used in action games and some MMORPGs, many of the controls, such as those used for traveling, locating groups and accessing the inventory resemble an office application. Immediately after, Residents get transported to Help Island, where volunteer Residents help new ones with acclimatizing themselves to the world with tips and a freebie store provides Residents with their first taste of "content" such as scripts and clothes. Second Life's in-world geography can be divided into: Islands - small, independent "land" masses that are usually controlled by a private Resident or perhaps a real-world company looking to establish a presence in the game world. Mainland - the core continent of Second Life which is owned by Linden Lab and frequently populated by its own employees. Estates - a collection of regions that are privately owned in nature. Frequently these estates are governed by a single code of conduct, and may or may not be themed in nature. Although Second Life is frequently referred to by some as a "game", the fact that it lacks any clear cut goals, objectives or any other competitive aspects contradicts such a notion. Where MMORPGs (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games) such as World of Warcraft and Ultima Online encourage players to develop abstracted skills and experience points by baking bread and fighting monsters, any competitive drives in Second Life are largely self-imposed due to the emergent social nature of the world. Almost everyone I spoke to seemed to make their claim in such a manner: locating an emergent social need and finding a way to fulfill it, or discovering something that can be done within the world that somehow accrues the Resident some status. Some make their stake by contributing to the content available in the world by sharing and trading objects and skins. Since I have absolutely no skills whatsoever with regards to coding or texture editing, I was completely unable to ingratiate myself within the "local" culture in such a manner. Although there is none of the traditional material limitations that object creation would have in a real world, the creation of these objects (and scripts) has effectively given Second Life an economy. The question of whether the economy is a real and sustainable one is a central question among academics and business publications fascinated by it. Created objects are tradeable commodities that have given the best object-makers some amount of status. When an object is well made, it becomes desirable and that desire/demand lends it some kind of value. Because of the frequently reported financial gains some Residents have made in trading digital commodities, particularly (un)real estate, there are many who hold similar aspirations of buying, developing and selling such virtual property. They do so by purchasing land -in real-world terms, dedicated CPU resources - from Linden Lab and using it to develop the value of such virtual spaces in order to be sold off to another party for a profit. Prior to signing up, I distinctly remember reading about Anse Chung, With all that said, Second Life basically operates as a social space where pretty much most of the social activities that one engages with "in the real world" have been approximated by users within its space. Some have taken to piping in music and video to create virtual concerts and virtual film screenings and other such virtual events, including but not limited to: charities, fund-raising, beauty pageants, education, seminars, contests and even sports. On a weekday, such an experience is reasonably enjoyable, but on weekends, server load issues can cause such events are ridden with lag, if they haven't already bogged down to a stand still. There is also a lot of sex in Second Life. Granted, it's no pervert utopia, but it is telling when a vast number of Residents I observed seemed preoccupied with flirting with avatars of the opposite sex. A lot of this involves chat-sex and Skype-sex. Another part of this involves dressing in a provocative style or using in-game gestures or user-scripted ones to approximate the movements of sex. At first, I found this odd because avatars in the nude have no gentialia. Upon further inquiry, I found out that you can buy them (I didn"t as I had no money). I'm certain that prudish hearts are thankful that sexual behavior and other similar acts of a graphic nature are forbidden outside of private areas. Other users with a more fantastical taste use Second Life to engage in role-playing sessions or create digital play areas for a various number of subcultures. I initially joined a group for the television program Jericho, but almost nothing was happening there. But a quick look at the group search function shows that just about any subculture is being represented within the world (and in the cases of those that don't, very well have the potential to be represented). For example, some Residents have modified their avatars from their default human appearance to look more androgynous, or sometimes non-human, as is the case with those who fantasize about having sex as anthropomorphic animals. Others use Second Life to re-enact popular worlds from science fiction and fantasy, or recreate historical periods from the past. Entire lands are devoted to a recreation of medieval Europe or Shogun-era Japan, while others focus on Star Trek and Dune. Generally speaking, Second Life is a whole lot friendlier than other virtual worlds. While MMORPGs tend to attract power-hungry individuals who like to make lives difficult for others, Second Life's power dynamic is built entirely on socialization. Any potential mischief made by others tends to be short-lived, and attempts to maintain such misbehavior quickly results in being effectively ostracized by the community. There just isn't much of a long-term career to be had at being a trouble Resident. Linden Labs makes their principles of etiquette pretty clear cut from the very beginning. During installation of the client software, they present six guidelines for the community"s standards, ominously referred to as the "Big Six". They are: 1) intolerance 2) harassment 3) assault 4) disclosure (of privacy) 5) indecency 6) disturbing the peace. From my experience, Residents are just as well behaved as the Big Six community standards expect them to be. But more than one Resident has implied that Linden Lab is not absolutely consistent in how they enforce these standards, and it is usually the Residents themselves who have to come up with clever ways to police others. Second Life most definitely provides a fascinating case study for emergent social behavior among humans since it recontextualizes most of that behavior into an environment that is still quite similar to the real world, but devoid of most of the tangible limitations of it. In fact, the only real problem that Second Life may suffer from is that its Residents can shape the world in any way they want it to be, something which can't be said for real life. Reference S.J.Watson "Second life" Toronto : Harpercollins Canada, 2017.