How far does your reading of The Merchants Prologue and Tale lead you to agree Essay Example

How far does your reading of The Merchants Prologue and Tale lead you to agree Paper The Tale is essentially farcical, enriched by a satirical character study of Januarie, with miniatures of May and Damyan, (T. W. Craik) this is the stance of some critics regarding Chaucers presentation of Januarie. They argue that Chaucer dwells on him and therefore exhibits his character by dramatic means as oppose to a brief summary, this constant attention towards Januarie develops the character in full satirical detail, so that his downfall is morally satisfying and at the same time richly comic. Chaucer articulately integrates the coarse satire of the fabliaux, much enjoyed by Chaucers gentil audience, which was often crammed with extended jokes or tricks, often bawdy and full of sexual connotations, but it also employs a remarkable range of narrative methods. The effect of this is to widen its satirical attack and give a serious resonance to the entertainment. The building up of Januaires character as a worthy knight who lived in greet prosperitee and his profligate history, hints at the fact that the noble, rich knight will suffer a fall thus becoming a tragic figure, as was standard in the fabliaux. From the opening of the tale; Chaucer subtly blends the numerous ironies, disparities and unrealistic reasoning to depict Januaries sense of self-delusion but the greater amusement lies in the fact that he remains oblivious to the numerous hints, suggesting that he is blind even before he looses his sight. We will write a custom essay sample on How far does your reading of The Merchants Prologue and Tale lead you to agree specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on How far does your reading of The Merchants Prologue and Tale lead you to agree specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on How far does your reading of The Merchants Prologue and Tale lead you to agree specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer By allowing Januaire to speak for himself, Chaucer is almost allowing him to ridicule himself, through his we are lead to believe that he is in fact a figure of fun. Januarie puts forth numerous arguments, to justify his motives of marriage, which equate to that in this world no oother lyf is worth a bene; for wedlock is so esy and so clene, that in this world it is a paradis, here we see he is deluding himself in order to gain the pleasures, his inconsistent justification of marriage amuse the audience. The old mans illusions, however are not his alone. The praise of marriage in the first part of the tale represents what is commonly said in its favour, the generalisation is obtained by putting this speech in the mouth of the narrator and not Januarie. The mockery, though clearly present, is still subdued. As we dwell deeper into Januaries thoughts the comic elements exceed the audiences expectations. The most cutting satire of the Merchants Tale is reserved for the notion that in wedlock a man may do no sinne with his wyf ne hurte himsleven with his owene knyf, the double-edged irony of this line looks forth to him being cuckolded. There is humour in the account of the nuptial chamber, having seen the Januaries desires grow throughout he wedding feast as he anticipates his impotent lust in action, is both repulsive and amusing, especially since he sees himself as the great lover and compares himself to Paris yet ironically he requires aphrodisiacs to laboureth till dawn. The happiness of Januarie at this point prepares us for his misfortunes later. The introduction of the garden as his special preserve for love, used in the summer for his sexual activity. Irony returns when Januarie seems to express genuine love for his wife, the passage is a parody of the Song of Solomon, and is the most beautiful and poetic lines within the tale, with references being made to the voice of a turtledove and columbine. Interestingly Chaucer increases the readers sympathy for January by allowing him to express his love for her during the moment that she is most ruthless. The irony is enriched by his reference to her as trewe deere wyf. When in actual fact she is inviting Damyan into the garden with somewhat equally eloquent gestures. Januaries strict precautions to ensure that his is the only key to the garden and his confidence that they are alone within the walled garden create a farcical atmosphere of what is to come. The ultimate farcical irony is when May leads Januarie to believe that she carves he pears and she must have them as a woman in her plit implying pregnancy. January is of course enraptured that an heir may be in the offing and laments the absence of a servant who could climb the tree for May, and ironically is happy to assist her into her lovers arms. He is to embrace the tree, whilst she climbs on his back. She is treading on him physically and metaphorically into Damyans arms, this is visually very strong as it is a sign of dominance or even victory. No matter how coarse and perverted Januaries character has seemed, at this point inevitably, the audience are sympathetic towards the cuckolded husband. As a farce this is perfect, but once Januaires sight has been restored May once again confidently answers him, which seems to satisfy Januarie. the credulous Januarie is left, full of the joys of prospective fatherhood, now a distinct possibility thanks to Damyan, and he is now as much the victim of his illusions as he was at the beginning. Januaries character is amusing in itself and offers Chaucer opportunities of showing it off, putting the reader in good humour as well as giving the necessary facts. The Merchants tale picks up strands from the previous tales. It continues the theme of war between the sexes but the merchants stance sides with neither, his tale backs neither the husband nor the wife but shows each abusing the other for his or her pleasure rejecting the idealistic concept of love in marriage.

buy custom Case Report on National Australia Bank (NAB) essay

buy custom Case Report on National Australia Bank (NAB) essay Introduction Analyzing case study Australian Banks in Asia, it is necessary to say that Australian business begins to integrate into Chinese market. National Australia Bank (NAB) is one of the most active players in the Chinese market. However, the main challenge of NAB is management issue that is connected with cultural differences between Australian and Chinese markets. Cultural differences between markets concern many banks at the present time; therefore, it is important to regard this management issue. Management issue is a problem that prevents the company from the development and growth in the market. Management issues can be connected with strategic renewal, structure, governance, communication, culture, and leadership, especially when it concerns international market. Cultural differences between markets should be studied due to globalization of business and its integration into international market. This report will reveal peculiarities of NAB operating in the Chinese markets and recommend the ways of solving the management issues concerning cultural differences. The report aims to prove that the cultural difference is the main barrier that prevents NAB from successful integration into Chinese market. The main purpose of this report is to identify management issue and evaluate development and strategies of NAB in the Chinese banking market. Issue Identification For NAB, the Chinese market appears to be challenging since there are numerous regulatory limitations as well as cultural differences in many areas. The Chinese market has tough conditions for all kinds of business and thus, even such successful Australian bank as NAB requires additional investment to employ Chinese human resources and attract Chinese customers. Understanding cultural differences is a must for global business. Indeed, NAB runs business in other nations such as China, Britain, or the USA as it is a wonderful opportunity to get large profits and win the respective market (Staniuline, 2009). From the case study, it is evident that cultural implications have an impact on reception and longevity of a new brand regardless of bank's services, experience, and size. Anothe management issue is that NAB cannot operate in Chinese market of other domestic banks and impose its values. It means that NAB should save its cultural identity and be respectful to Chinese traditions of business. International business practices require knowledge of cultural differences to avoid misunderstanding and conflicts. Besides, it is important for NAB to be tolerant of Chinese management styles to gain new opportunities and agreement (Raspin, 2007). Critical Discussion The case study shows that cultural differences can be both driving and restraining force while operating in the global business community such as China. However, it has been argued that the management issues of NAB are connected with differences between Australian and Chinese values. Hofstede's theory of organizational culture is applicable in this particular case and it helps to show the differences between Australian and Chinese markets. The argument centered on whether Hofstede's theory of organizational culture may solve the problem of cultural differences between Chinese and Australian markets (Alvesson, 2002). Power distance concerns social inequality including the issues of race and gender. In countries with high power distance, subordinates have high dependency to superiors and don't disagree with superiors directly (Khastar, 2011, 321). In Australia, power distance is not so evident and thus, social inequalities and discrimination are not typical for NAB. The huge Chinese market is attractive, but its culture is a major issue for NAB. China has high power distance. Uncertainty avoidance is another factor that defines organizational culture. It develops good corporate strategy and strategic leadership (Brooks, 1997). Uncertainty avoidance index (UAI) is high in both China and Australia. In cultures with high UAI, people try to be structured, and behave what they are expected and want to know that will happen in the future (Khastar, 2011, 321). This cultural aspect proves that NAB has all opportunities of being successful in Chinese market. Another cultural difference between Chinese and Australian banking markets concerns individualism and collectivism. IIndividualism versus collectivism is regarded with the degree of people feeling belonged to a group and the identity of relations between group and people (Khastar, 2011, 321). Chinese culture is collective, while Australian culture is individual. It is a crucial gap between them. Masculinity versus femininity is another cultural barrier for Australian bank in Chinese market. In Australian society, both women and men share the same set of values and have equal rights. On the other hand, China is a masculine society, where men have more rights than women, and the latter are treated with injustice. NAB can provide equal rights for men and women, and this will help to improve customers responsiveness. The strength of NAB is that it is not afraid of cultural differences with China and it does not look for easy ways such as European and American banking markets. Hofstede's theory of organizational culture is not always ideal and relevant. It does not presuppose the variety of human societies. It is necessary to take into consideration that within a Chinese society, there can be other cultural groups that also have their peculiarities. The limitation of Hofstede's theory of organizational culture is that it does not consider different cross-cultural behavioral patterns. It is evident that this theory does not help to solve the main management issue of NAB. In China, NAB has the problems employing local managers in order to double the amount of branches (Rasmussen and Wangel, 2006). On the contrary, it is evident that Hofstede's theory of organizational culture is still relevant because cultural issues remain unsolved. Moreover, globalization of domestic organization is a must for its transfer on the international level, and Hofstede's theory shows the obstacles that it should remove in order to operate in the international environment (Raspin, 2003). Moreover, it has been determined that in modern international market, banks are ready to implement cultural management to avoid disagreement and conflicts with their customers. It is argued that Hofstede's theory of organizational culture is still applicable in current business world because globalization and internationalization are the two driving forces that destroy boundaries between cultures (Schermerhorn, 2013). Buy custom Case Report on National Australia Bank (NAB) essay

The Basic Differences between the Tradition Term of Group Work and the Essay

The Basic Differences between the Tradition Term of Group Work and the Ideas behind Cooperative Learning Groups - Essay Example The Basic Differences between the Tradition Term of Group Work and the Ideas behind Cooperative Learning Groups Apart from the use of a part (small groups) of a whole, cooperative learning strategies differ fundamentally from traditional group work in a number of ways. Group work does not guarantee the full participation and mutual engagement of students in a group and, by extension, the whole class. The abilities and interests of students in a class are naturally not the same. Some may be very fast in picking while others are slow. Some may be weak in particular aspect of a subject and good in others. A relatively intelligent student in group may find it easy to accomplish group task and as such find the work interesting. A weaker student may not be that lucky and may have to coast along with his group members. There is no good reward that motivates the weak to double up. The group may be awarded points regardless of individual participation and growth. The group may earn recognition even if the weaker students perform woefully or if the gifted only carry along the weaker. The growth of indiv idual students is therefore not recognized as a contributor to group success. Conversely, cooperative learning strategies ensure active participation of all students using a reward structure that makes individual members to invest in each other’s learning. The reward structure is motivational. A group in cooperative learning strategy may earn points when there is comparative improvement of each member of the group.

Intermed Statistics for Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Intermed Statistics for Business - Essay Example The results of the analysis were used in analyzing if strategy and planning are important in undertaking business. Analysis In the process of analysing the 73 small sized companies, we made use of the criteria of business planning. The 73 companies were divided into three different distinct groups and data analyzed from this point of view. For instance, categorized under Index 1, were companies which had plans of up to 15 years while index 2 were for companies which had short terms plans of 1 year and below and finally index 3 categorized companies which had no plans at all (Hays, 2007). The analysis report is outlined below: Revenue Revenue of the 73 small companies was measured with the main comparison being the average revenue growth for a period of five years. Index 1: From the analysis of revenues of companies which had short-term strategic plans, the average revenues of 11 companies out of 73 under this category stood at 78.64%. Index 2: From the analysis of revenues of compani es which had short-term strategic plans, the average revenues of 27 companies out of 73 under this category stood at 22.74%. Index 3: From the analysis of revenues of companies which had no strategic plans, the average revenues of 35 companies out of 73 under this category stood at 37.29%. ... Analysis of the income is analyzed below: Index 1: Companies categorized here had an average income growth of 42.73% in the past five years. Index 2: Companies which had short terms plans on the other hand recorded a 27.07% increase in income over the last five years. Index 3: Companies which had no plans at all on the other hand recorded a 19.4% increase in income in the last five years. The analysis of income shows that the mean income of all the 73 companies stood at around 25.76% growth in the last five years (Hays, 2007). Therefore, we can conclude that companies with short and long term plans performed beyond the expected growth rate as shown by figure 2 in the appendix. Book The book value is used to show the average book value growth over a period of five years as analyzed below: Index 1: Average growth for companies falling under this category stood at around 69.18%. Index 2: The percentage growth rate for companies in this category stood at 41.41% over a five year period. I ndex 3: The growth rate of companies in this category stood at 11.11% over a period of five years. The analysis of the book value growth show that companies with long term plans had the capability to tremendously growth their book balances over a long term. This is compared to companies with short terms plans who posted impressive results by surpassing the mean growth rate of 31.07%. Companies with no plans had a low book value growth rate compared to other companies (Healey, 2011). This is exhibited by figure 3 in the appendix. Comp This variable was used to measure the average cash compensation awarded to CEO for the 73 companies over the period of the last five years. The analysis of compensation

SLP - RECRUITMENT 401HRM Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

SLP - RECRUITMENT 401HRM - Essay Example CCGB is accountable for promoting and evolving original and prevailing trademarks. Reputable in West London and hiring 130 people, it manages over 20 brands in the Great Britain. On the other hand, CCE produces and dispenses soft drinks for The Coca-Cola Corporation and other additional brand owners. It hires approximately 4,500 people in the Great Britain and has a total of six industrial locations across the republic. The Coca-Cola Corporation employs the use of the following administration style: consultative democratic. This is a management style where the executives permit the workers to create ideas that are then sent to the directors who then consult their team to make the ultimate resolution. This corporation prefers to use this style since the resultant decision is from all the employees and management team. Consequently, the outcome is that it assists in motivating employees as they are conscious that they have a say in the corporation to some degree. The shortcomings of this style, is that the procedure is very time consuming and power will be necessary during the whole process. Management at Coca-Cola Company emphasizes on the procurement and preservation of exceedingly skilful and well-informed workers so that it can uphold its top place in the marketplace. It provides such environments of service and measures that permit all workers to progress a logic of harmony with the corporation and to carry out their responsibilities in the most enthusiastic and operative methods. It also provides for the sanctuary of service to the employees so that they may not be preoccupied by the reservations of their prospect. These goals, policies, guidelines, and curriculums are pre- specified by the firm, which leads the administration and unions in taking decisions. Also, they are in harmony with the administration’s aims, goals, policies, guidelines and its and internal and exterior settings. Job analysis is the process for

Relationship Between Religiosity And Prejudice Psychology Essay

Relationship Between Religiosity And Prejudice Psychology Essay The literature on the relationship between religiosity and prejudice has shown inconsistent findings. We argue that it is necessary to distinguish between different types of religiosity and that the relationship with prejudice is mediated by different values. Results of two studies conducted in Italy showed that identified religiosity and introjected religiosity predict different levels of prejudice towards Muslim immigrants. Moreover, the negative relationship between identified religiosity and prejudice was mediated by prosocial values, whereas valuing conformity mediated the positive relationship between introjected religiosity and prejudice. In sum, results showed that it is possible to better understand the relationship between religiosity and prejudice by disentangling the different ways of being religious. Keywords: religious identity, religious internalization, values, prejudice Religiosity and Prejudice: Different Patterns for Two Types of Religious Internalization Are religious people more tolerant? The question about the relationship between religiosity and prejudice always elicited opposite answers. From one side, one would expect that religious people are more accepting of minority out-groups, basing on the idea that most religions teach love for others (see Hunsberger Jackson, 2005). From the other side, not all people describing themselves as religious have positive out-group attitudes; on the contrary, this relationship often goes in the opposite direction, with more religious people being more prejudiced (see the review by Batson, Schoenrade, Ventis, 1993). It is now evident that, in order to approach these conflicting answers, it is necessary to differentiate between the different ways of being religious (see also Leak Finken, 2011), and to investigate which people, among religious people, are more tolerant and which are not. The most common distinction is between an intrinsic and an extrinsic religious orientation (Allport and Ross, 1967): according to these distinction, intrinsic religiosity is connected with low prejudice whereas extrinsic religiosity is related to relatively high levels of prejudice. However, empirical research investigating the link between religiosity and prejudice has not clearly supported these connections and, therefore, this distinction does not seem to offer a clear understanding of the inconsistent link between religiosity and prejudice (Hunsberger Jackson, 2005). Another attempt to analyze the relationship between religiosity and prejudice has been to identify intervening variables. Indeed, scholars identified other constructs than can influence the positive or negative effects of religiosity on prejudice. Research showed that differences in prejudice can be explained by considering the mediating role of, for example, political ideology and right-wing authoritarianism (e.g., Rowatt et al., 2009), religious fundamentalism (e.g., Altemeyer Hunsberger, 1992), and sense of meaning (Hunsberger Jackson, 2005). The aim of the present research is to make a further contribution to the understanding of the relationship between religiosity and prejudice, by analyzing two forms of religious internalization and by examining value endorsement as a mediating variable. In particular, we focus on the distinction between what is called indentified regulated religiosity and introjected regulated religiosity (Ryan, Rigby, King, 1993). In addition, we consider the role of the endorsement of prosocial values and conformity values as mediators in the relationship between religiosity and prejudice. The findings of two studies that examine the attitude towards Muslim immigrants of young adults in Italy will be presented. Religious Identification and Introjection Research on religiosity and prejudice has used Allport and Ross (1967) distinction between intrinsic and extrinsic religious orientation (see Batson, Schoenrade, Ventis, 1993). Recently, some scholars questioned the usefulness of this distinction (e.g., Cohen, Hall, Koenig, Meador, 2005; Flere Lavric, 2007) and revised it (Neyrinck, Lens, Vansteenkiste, Soenens, 2010) by using theories of human motivation such as self-determination theory (Deci Ryan, 1985; Ryan Deci, 2000). An alternative distinction has been offered by research in the field of self-determination theory, which proposed a specific conceptualization of the different ways in which religious values are endorsed and religious behavior regulated. Beliefs can be endorsed in a superficial and conditional way depending on circumstances and social pressures (heteronomy), or in a personal and independent way (autonomy) (Ryan Deci, 2000). Within this framework, two types of religiosity emerged that vary in their relative autonomy: introjected regulation and identified regulation (Ryan, Rigby and King, 1993). The former represents religious beliefs and behaviors that are predominantly based on social pressures and the approval of others. The latter represents adoption of beliefs as personal convictions and the enactment of religious behaviors that are personally chosen and valued (Ryan et al., 1993). Introjected and identified internalization of religion appear to be differently associated to psychological outcomes with the latter having positive and the former negative effects on mental health, psychological adjustment, and self-esteem (Ryan et al., 1993). Whereas the psychological implications of both types of religiosity have been examined, little is known about their social implications. In particular, the relation between types of religious internalization and prejudice has not been investigated. In this study we propose that identified internalization may be related to lower prejudice towards Muslim immigrants, which in the Italian context is a significant and generally negatively evaluated minority out-group (Strabac Listhaug, 2008). In fact, individuals who are deeply identified with their religion can be expected to privately endorse religious principles of prosociality and tolerance, if they feel that their religion values prosociality and tolerance. Accordingly, they should display relatively positive out-group attitudes. In contrast, individuals who mainly introject their religiosity do not privately endorse such values but rather seek approval from significant and generalized others, as they feel that to be religious is to be like the majority of people. In view of the wide-spread negative attitudes towards Muslim immigrants in Italy they, therefore, can be expected to be more prejudiced towards Muslim immigrants. Thus, our prediction is that identified religious people will show significant lower levels of prejudice towards Muslim immigrants than introjected religious people. Religiosity and Values Research on religiosity and prejudice has tried to shed light on the reasons why religious people are less or more prejudiced by examining mediating variables (e.g., Rowatt et al., 2009). In the present paper, we consider values as possible mediators between religiosity and prejudice. Thus, we assume that the different values associated with the different ways of being religious can influence the relationship between religiosity and prejudice. Research investigating the relationship between religiosity and values can be broadly divided into two types. A first group of studies focuses on the relationship between religiosity and conformism. For example, a meta-analysis by Saroglou, Delpierre and Dernelle (2003), including 21 samples from15 different countries, examined the link between religiosity and Schwartzs (1992) model of human values. The analysis showed that religiosity is mainly associated with valuing the maintenance and adoption of social and cultural rules and conventions. A second group of studies highlights the association between religiosity and prosocial values. For example, in his review Regnerus (2003) found that religious adolescents are more likely to be involved in prosocial behaviours than non religious peers. Furthermore, Hardy and Carlo (2005) showed that prosocial values partially mediate the relationship between religiosity and prosocial behaviors. These studies indicate that religiosity is associated with valuing conformity as well as prosociality and these two sets of values are likely to play a different role in intergroup attitudes. In general, the prosocial value of concern for the welfare of others tends to lead to accepting and positive behavior (Hardy Carlo, 2005), whereas valuing conformity and respect for tradition tends to lead to discrimination of non-traditional out-groups, including immigrant groups in Italy (Sniderman, Peri, de Figueiredo, Piazza, 2002). We expected conformity values to be most strongly connected with introjected religiosity because this type of religious belief is predominantly based on approval of others. In contrast, prosocial values were expected to be connected with identified religiosity. In turn, the conformity and prosocial values were expected to be independently associated with prejudice. Thus, the second prediction of the current research is that higher identified religiosity is asso ciated with lower levels of prejudice because of the endorsement of prosocial values, whereas higher introjected religiosity is associated with higher levels of prejudice because of the endorsement of conformity values. The Present Study In the present study, we tested the relationship between religious internalization and anti-Muslim prejudice, and the potential mediational role of prosocial and conformity values. We predicted two paths: identified religious people should endorse in a greater way the religious principles of prosociality and tolerance, thus, we expected a path from identified religiosity to less prejudice, via the endorsement of prosocial values Because of the other-based-approval of introjected religiosity and because those who prize conformity will tend to yield to social pressure and have more negative attitudes toward immigrant groups (Sniderman et al., 2002), we expected the endorsement of conformity to mediate the relationship between introjected religiosity and prejudice. Method Participants. Participants were 164 Italian young adults, self-identified as Catholics, of age between 17 and 30 (M = 21.68, SD = 3.20), with 64.2 % females. Procedure. Participants were contacted by a member of the research team in schools and religious associations. They were asked to fill in an online questionnaire and participation was voluntary. Participants who completed the questionnaire had the chance to take part in a prize draw. All respondents signed an informed consent form before completing the questionnaire. Measures. Respondents completed the questionnaire in Italian. All the measure included were translated into Italian with a back-translation procedure, as recommended by the guidelines of the International Test Commission (Hambleton, 1994). The Christian Religious Internalization Scale (Ryan et al, 1993) was developed for research with a Christian population and measures the reasons why a person engages in religious behavior. There are two reliable and validated subscales, Introjected Religiosity and Identified Religiosity (response scale: 1, not at all true, 7, very true). Two example items for the introjected religiosity subscale (five items) are: an important reason why I attend church is because one is supposed to go to church, when I turn to God, I most often do it because I would feel guilty if I didnt. Example items for the identified religiosity subscale (six items) are: when I turn to God, I most often do it because I find it satisfying to me, an important reason why I attend church is that by going to church I learn new things. In the present sample Cronbachs alpha showed acceptable values (introjected religiosity ÃŽÂ ± = .70; identified religiosity ÃŽÂ ± = .86). Prosocial values were measured with five items adapted from Flanagan, Cusmille, Gill, and Gallay (2007). The scale prompt is the question When you think about your life and your future, how important isà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. Subsequently, participants are asked to respond to five items (5-point scale): to do something in order to build a better society, helping those who are less fortunate, to make a contribution to your country, etc. (ÃŽÂ ± = .82) Prejudice towards Muslims. Following Verkuyten and Yildiz (2010) we focused on the acceptance of Muslim immigrants expressing their religious identity in Italy. Using five items, participants were asked to indicate their agreement (7-point scale) with Muslims expressive rights. Two examples are: to show and express their religion in public life, to wear a headscarf. The scores were recoded so that a higher score means less acceptance of Muslims rights and, thus, more prejudice (ÃŽÂ ± = .87). Conformity. Following Snidermans et al. (2002) research in Italy, participants were asked to rate their agreement (7-point scale) with four statement about conformity values. Two example items are: one should distrust those who act differently from most people; rules are there for people to follow, not to try to change (ÃŽÂ ± = .71). Results and Discussion Constructs were modeled as single-indicator observed variables, by calculating the mean score of the scale items. We conducted a series of path analyses with prejudice towards Muslims as the dependent variable, using the software Amos 16. Means, standard deviations and intercorrelations among the variables are displayed in Table 1. The mean for identified religiosity is higher than for introjected religiosity (t = 21.22, p. Table 1. Means, Standard Deviations and Correlations. Variables 1 2 3 4 5 1. Identification 2. Introjection .36** 3. Prosocial values .44** .12 4. Conformity .06 .18* -.01 5. Muslim prejudice -.07 -.05 -.27** .35** Mean 4.67 2.51 4.03 3.08 3.67 SD 1.17 0.94 .73 1.18 1.60 *p We first tested a model in which introjection, identification, prosocial values and conformity values were independent predictors of prejudice towards Muslims. Fit indices for this model were not acceptable (à Ã¢â‚¬ ¡Ã‚ ² (5) = 34.321, p. We then tested a full mediation model, whereby the influence of introjection and identification on anti-Muslim prejudice was carried respectively by the endorsement of prosocial and conformity values. The model showed a good fit with the data (à Ã¢â‚¬ ¡Ã‚ ² (5) = 2.341, p. > .05; NFI= .97; CFI= 1.00; RMSEA= .00, 90% confidence interval: .00- .07) and accounted for 20.0 % of variance in prejudice towards Muslims. Significant parameters from this model are shown in Figure 1. We then calculated the indirect effects on the basis of Preacher and Hayes (2008) bootstrapping method. There was a significant indirect effect from identified religiosity via prosocial values on anti-Muslim prejudice (the standardized indirect effect was estimated as -.12; this value lies between the estimated 95 % confidence interval, -.03 to -.22). There was also a significant indirect effect from introjected religiosity via conformity to prejudice towards Muslims (ÃŽÂ ² = .06, 95% confidence interval: .01 to .12). To further examine our mediational hypotheses we tested an alternative model in which the endorsement of prosocial and conformity values predicted the outcome measure indirectly through identified and introjected religiosity, respectively. The fit indexes for this model were not acceptable (à Ã¢â‚¬ ¡Ã‚ ² (6) = 52.763, p. .44** Prosocial values Identification -.28** -.12* Prejudice towards Muslims .36** .06* .36** .18* Introjection Conformity Figure 1. Results of the path analysis showing the empirical mediation of prosocial values and valuing conformity. Solid lines represent direct effects and dashed lines represent indirect effects. Numbers are standardized regression weights. **p In sum, the findings confirm the prediction of the independent associations of identified and introjected religiosity with prejudice. Besides, they also confirm the mediational hypotheses about the role of values endorsement. In particular, there appeared to be two pathways: one from identified religiosity via the endorsement of prosocial values to lower prejudice towards Muslims, and the other from introjected religiosity to valuing conformity to higher prejudice. General Discussion The research aimed to test the prediction that different forms of religious internalization are independently associated with prejudice, and that these associations are mediated by the endorsement of different types of values. Thus, we selected a religious sample in order to shed light on the different ways of being religious. Results showed that higher identified religiosity was related to stronger acceptance of Muslims rights (i.e. lower prejudice) and that this was connected to the endorsement of prosocial values. Conformity values which accounted for the indirect relationship between introjected religiosity and prejudice. A first interesting finding is that religious identification and religious introjection were independently and in contrasting ways related to prejudice. They emerged as two dimensions of religiosity that are indirectly associated with prejudice, one with a positive sign and the other one with a negative sign. To our knowledge, this is the first time that such a clear pattern emerge. Therefore, this conceptualization of religiosity could be a useful model that is able to overcome some of the problems with Allport and Ross (1967) distinction, that was not systematically and consistently related to prejudice (see Hunsberger Jackson, 2005). A second finding is that, in agreement with research on values and religiosity (Saroglou et al., 2003), we found a relationship between religiosity and conformity and with the endorsement of prosocial values. Additionally, we were able to identify which form of religious internalization predicts the association with which set of values. Prosocial values were clearly connected with identified religiosity, whereas valuing conformity was associated with introjected religiosity. A third result that contributes to the literature relates to self-determination theory (Ryan et al., 1993). The findings enrich Ryan et al. (1993) conceptualization because they empirically show that the difference between identified and introjected religiosity not only has consequences for individual well-being but also for value endorsement and thereby for prejudice. In fact, the different ways of being religious are strongly associated to different values and this lead to opposite outcomes. Conclusion In the present study, we aimed at investigating the relation between different types of religious internalization and different levels of prejudice. The study indeed presents some limitations, first because of the correlational nature of data and second because of the composition of the sample. In fact, participants are of young age and all live in Italy, making it difficult to generalize the findings to other countries, maybe where religiosity has a different distribution among the population. Similarly, we need to examine other targets of prejudice (e.g., Jews, homosexuals) before reaching general conclusions. Nevertheless, we think that some interesting directions for future research a can be drawn from these findings. A first one refers to the internalization of religion: identified internalization turned out to be a form of religiosity that has the potential to encourage prosocial orientations and out-group tolerance. Thus, it would be interesting, for future research, to look at the factors that promote identified religiosity among religious groups and families (e.g., Assor, Cohen-Malayev, Kaplan, Friedman, 2005). A second suggestion is that future research should investigate other determinants of individual differences in religiosity and try to identify the different ways of being religious with their specific consequences (Pargament, 2002): for example, it is possible that not only identified and introjected internalization have effects on prejudice, but also religious practices and participation in religious organizations and groups(e.g., prayer, church attendance, volunteering, et c.). To sum up, our research add to the investigation of religiosity and prejudice by showing that two forms of religious internalization have independent and contrasting associations with prejudice, and that these associations are accounted by the endorsement of different values. This means that religiosity can both promote and hinder positive intergroup relations, depending on the way religion is internalized and the related values that are endorsed. This seems to indicate that more research is needed about the different ways of being religious and the mediational mechanisms that intervene in the religiosity-prejudice link.

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Remember the time when Michael Jordan hit the game winning shot, with Byron Russel from Utah in is face, to win his six NBA title? Remember all the times that Joe Montana and Jerry Rice connected for touchdowns? Remember the time when Mark McGuire hit his sixty-second home run to break the old record? All of these sporting events are part of the mosaic that is the American society. The media bombarded American viewers with dazzling athletic feats and heroism. But has the media gone too far in making these sport figures seem larger than life? Could it be that the media has corrupted the spirit and integrity of the once proud and traditional games?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  During the pre-television era sports were filled with hard work, loyalty, and self-determination but as times changed people began looking for instant gratification. It is easy to see this happening in the much watched and listened to game of baseball. Thus the fans preferred the towering home runs of Babe Ruth rather than the hard work style of base hits, base stealing, sacrifices and hit-and-run plays personified by Ty Cobb. American heroes were no longer lone businessmen or statesmen, but more often the stars of movies and sports. Young boys now dreamed of becoming athletic heroes rather than the Captains of Industry.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The incredible influence television has had on sports is clearly stated in the scholarly essay In Its Own Image: How Television Has Transformed Sports by Benjamin Rader. This scholarly essay is a well-written piece of work that takes a look at how much of an effect television really has on sports.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Benjamin Rader states as his thesis â€Å"Television has essentially trivialized the experience of spectator sports. With its enormous power to magnify and distort images, to reach every hamlet in the nation with events from anywhere in the world, and to pour millions of additional dollars into sports, television-usually with the enthusiastic assistance of the sports moguls themselves-has sacrificed much of the unique drama of sports to the requirements of entertainment. To seize and hold the attention of viewers and thus maximize revenues, the authenticity of the sporting experience has been contaminated with a plethora of external intrusions. To capitalize upon the public’s love of sports, television-again with the aid of sports promoters-has swamped viewers with too many seasons, too many games, too many teams, and too many big plays. Such a flood of sensations has diluted the poignancy and potency of the sporting experience.