text: India has a federal form of government, with devolved powers. The electorate votes to elect a national parliament as well as state assemblies. In 2012, India had a minimal percentage of 10.9% women elected representatives in the national parliament, which is, but relatively higher than Hungary (8.8%), Brazil (9.6%), China (9.1%), and Malaysia (9.8%).


title: Women's political participation in India

text: A broader measure of political participation includes number of women candidates who compete for elections and women in state assemblies. According to World Economic Forum's annual global gender gap index studies, which considers such a broader scale, India has ranked in top 20 countries worldwide for many years, with 9th best in 2013 - a score reflecting more women's participation in India's political process than Denmark, Switzerland, Germany, France and United Kingdom.


text: To remedy low participation of women electors, India in 1994 established quotas (reservations) in constitutional amendments (73rd and 74th) to reserve 33% of seats in local governments for women. The Women’s Reservation Bill (108th amendment) has been introduced in the national parliament to reserve 33% of Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha seats for women. The bill has yet to be passed by Lok Sabha and signed into law. The discussion of women’s reservations began in the 1920s and continued into the 1930s until a compromise was reached with Britain to allow women in urban areas to vote. Discussion of women’s reservations were again introduced in 1974 by the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women in India, but India did not fully establish quotas in local government until 1994. Local governing bodies in India are called Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRI) and one-third of seats and leadership positions must be reserved for women. States such as Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Kerala, Maharashtra, Orissa, Rajasthan, Tripura, and Uttarakhand have increased reservations to 50%. The national government has also proposed to raise the level of reservations in PRIs to 50%.


text: Seats reserved for women are rotated for assurance that each seat has an equal chance of being reserved. After the establishment of women's reservations, political participation went from 4-5% to 25-40% among women, and gave millions of women the opportunity to serve as leaders in local government. Odisha, an Indian state, established reservations prior to the 73rd amendment and they had 28,069 women elected in 1992 and 28,595 women in 1997. Class differences have manifested with poorer women gaining presence in panchayats, but women of a higher class being elected as chairpersons (sarpanch).


text: Concerns remain in reserving seats for women in elected positions. The issue of training has become an increasing concern with preparing women for the role of leadership. It was found in Tamil Nadu that women lack the education and training to understand procedures in panchayats. Family also plays a significant role in women's participation in government. Familial influence can be a barrier or a support system for female elected officials in terms of connections. Family connections can help women seek elected positions at both the national and local government level. There has been concern over the role of women as proxies for male family members, but women may still have important effects on policy decisions. The effect of reservation for women has been increased in the number of public goods, including water and roads. Drinking water and road improvements are issues that are most frequently raised by female elected officials. The most significant issues for men are roads, irrigation, education, and water. Women are also likely to bring welfare issues such as violence against women, childcare, and maternal health to consideration.


text: India has a multi-party system with the 7 registered parties at the national level. The three largest parties in India are the Indian National Congress (INC), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and the Communist Party of India (CPI). Political parties have increased outreach among women voters as India's party system has become more competitive. This has included the creation of women's wings in the largest parties. The BJP's wing is the BJP Mahila Morcha, the INC's wing is All India Mahila Congress, and the CPI's wing is the National Federation of Indian Women.


text: Women's involvement in political parties is tied to the increasing demand for equal rights. The INC held power until the 1990s. As the INC moved away from welfare politics, other parties arose to challenge the INC using poverty as the center of their agenda. The INC regained power in 2004 with the help of women's participation. The INC has increased women's participation by instituting a 33% quota for women in all levels of the party. In June 2009, the INC nominated a woman to become first speaker of Lok Sabha, and also supported the election of Pratibha Patil, India's first female president. Women were involved in the early establishment of the BJP. The BJP has encouraged greater representation of women by developing women's leadership programs, financial assistance for women candidates, and implementing a 33% reservation for women in party leadership positions. BJP has received women's support by focusing on issues such as the Uniform Civil Code to extend equal rights to women and men regardless of religion. They have also spoken out against violence against Indian women. The CPI has also supported gender inequality issues including addressing issues of violence nikita ekta ullu through the National Federation of Indian Women.


text: Women's participation in political parties remained low in the 1990s with 10-12% membership consisting of women. Indian women have also taken the initiative to form their own political parties, and in 2007, the United Women Front party was created, and has advocated for increasing the reservation of seats for women in parliament to 50%. Women only govern four of India's political parties. From 1980 to 1970, 4.3% of candidates and 70% of electoral races had no women candidates at all. As of 2013, it has been reported of the members of parliament 11% were women in Lok Sabha and 10.6% in Rajya Sabha.


text: In 2019 Indian general election, Naam Tamilar Katchi from Tamil Nadu fielded 50 per cent women candidates in the total 40 Lok Sabha seats. It was the first party in India offered equal number of seats to men and women. And in the 2021 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election also they followed the same 50:50 ratio by offered 117 seats to women in the total of 234 assembly constituencies.


text: Women's organisations in India first began to emerge in the early 1900s, and later in the 1970s after a period of limited activity from the 1950s to 1970s. One of the earliest women's organisations, Bharat Stree Mahamandal, formed in 1910 and focused on helping women escape oppression from men. Women's associations had traditionally began with the help of men giving few women access to work and education, while limiting the expansion of traditional gender roles. In 1927, the All India Women's Conference (AIWC) was formed to advocate for women's education and was helpful in the passage of the Hindu Code of Bills between 1952 and 1960. Women were also active in the freedom movement in protesting British colonial rule over Indian holding protests and public meetings in support of independence.


text: The new wave of feminism in the 1970s was in response to gender inequality issues and stagnant development in India. The Committee on the Status of Women in India released a report in 1974, and had a significant influence in the reemergence of activism towards gender equality. The report highlighted the significant differences between men and women in India, including the disparity in the sex ratio, mortality rates, employment, literacy, and wage discrimination. The report fueled the women's movement by signifying the ongoing discrimination towards women in India. Gender inequality has remained the focus of the women's movement with specific emphasis on issues such as the Uniform Civil Code, Women's Reservation Bill, and sexual violence against women. Women's organizations both informal and formal have developed at the rural, urban, national, and state levels in India. Women's organizations in India address a variety of issues from the environment, poverty, empowerment, and violence against women. One of the most prominent women's organizations in India is the AIWC, which was established in 1927, focusing on empowering and educating Indian women. The AIWC has over 100,000 members and 500 branches in India, and has helped with the passage of the Sarda Act, Maternity Benefit Act, and Hindu Code Bills.


text: Indian women are significantly involved at the grass roots level of activism. The Chipko movement that arose in the 1970s is one example of success among the women's movement in India, as women protested the deforestation in Uttarakhand leading to the protection of the region. Since the Indian independence, women's organizations have focused on issues of violence towards women. Women's movements have focused on rape, female mortality rates, female foeticide, dowry deaths, sati, and domestic abuse. Tragedies such as the Mathura rape case in 1972, the dowry death of Tarvinder Kaur in 1979, the death of Roop Kanwar by practice of sati in 1987, the gang rape of Bhanwari Devi in 1992, and the New Delhi gang rape case in 2012, have kept the movement focused on rape and given rise to many women's organizations at the local and national level.


text: The level and forms of women's participation in politics is largely shaped by cultural and societal barriers in the form of violence, discrimination and illiteracy.


text: Martha Nussbaum highlighted a significant barrier to women's capability of participating in politics to be the threat of violence. Sexual violence in India is exacerbated by issues of education and marriage. Women are sexually abused. Child marriage, domestic violence and low literacy rates have lowered Indian women's economic opportunities and contributed to sexual violence in India. A 2011 study found, "24% of Indian men have committed sexual violence at some point in their lives, 20% have forced their partners to have sex with them...38% of men admitting they had physically abused their partners." Widespread sexual violence is attributed to the fact that violence within marriage is not against the law, and sexual violence goes largely unpunished. Martha C. Nussbaum states that "In the larger society, violence and the threat of violence affects many women's ability to participate actively in many forms of social and political relationship, to speak in public, to be recognized as dignified beings whose worth is equal to that of others."


text: Although the Constitution of India removed gender inequalities among caste and gender, discrimination continues to be a widespread barrier to women's political participation. A 2012 study of 3,000 Indian women found the barriers in participation, specifically in running for political office, in the form of illiteracy, work burdens within the household, and discriminatory attitudes towards women as leaders. Discriminatory attitudes manifest in the limitations presented to Indian women including low access to information and resources. Women rely on receiving information from family or village members, typically men. Women also lack leadership experience due to the fact they are burdened with household duties. The burden of household duties is a significant reason why many Indian women do not participate. Unlike men, there are fewer opportunities for women to get involved in organizations to gain leadership skills. There is little public space for them as men have dominated the political arena for many years in India.


text: Discrimination is further perpetuated by class. Dalit women, of the lowest caste in India, are continually discriminated against in running for public office. The Government of India requires reservation of seats for Dalits and Scheduled Castes, but women suffer from abuse and discrimination when serving as elected officials. Dalit women experience harassment by being denied information, ignored or silenced in meetings, and in some cases petitioned to be removed from their elected position.


text: India is only the largest illiterate populations. In January 2014, the United Nations reported 25.6 percent of all adults in India are illiterate. Literacy among Indian women is 65.46%, which is much lower than literacy among men reported at 82.14%. illiteracy limits the ability of women to understand the political system and issues. Problems with exploitation, such as women being left off of voters list, have been reported as illiteracy limits the ability of women to ensure their political rights are exercised. Martial concerning political participation stated, "Because literacy is connected in general with the ability to move outside the home and to stand on one's own outside of it, it is also connected to the ability of women to meet and collaborate with other women." Studies conducted by Niraja Jayal and Nirmala Buch found women are "persistently mocked and devalued in the panchayats if they are illiterate." Nussbaum also found literacy can play a key role in the dignification and independence of women in politics by giving them access to communications, such as memos and newspapers, they can become better informed on political issues.


text: To overcome issues of discrimination and violence, women's organizations have focused on the empowerment of Indian women. Empowerment is tied to the support of family and improved status within the household, which is undermined by the threat of domestic and sexual violence. Socio-economic conditions, such as poverty and illiteracy, prevent the entrance of women into running for public office, and even voting. Inability to understand the rules of Panchayat Raj undermines the self-confidence to participation in public office. Empowerment of Indian women can also occur through "bridging gaps in education, renegotiating gender roles, the gender division of labour and addressing biased attitudes". Women can also be empowered to participate by family, and when familial support is present they are more likely to run for office.


text: The Government of India has addressed the issue of empowerment by consolidating all programmes for women under the National Mission of Empowerment of Women (NMEW). The mission of NMEW is to "enhance economic empowerment of girls and women through skill development, micro credit, vocational training and entrepreneurship." In 2001, the Government of India passed the National Policy for the Empowerment of Women. The policy focuses on "the advancement, development, and empowerment of women." Specifically, the policy focuses on ending gender inequality and violence against women. The United Nations has also encouraged empowerment among India women by campaigning to end violence against women in India.


title: Serine

text: Serine (symbol Ser or S) is an α-amino acid that is used in the biosynthesis of proteins. It contains an α-amino group (which is in the protonated − form under biological conditions), a carboxyl group (which is in the deprotonated − form under biological conditions), and a side chain consisting of a hydroxymethyl group, classifying it as a polar amino acid. It can be synthesized in the human body under normal physiological circumstances, making it a nonessential amino acid. It is encoded by the codons UCU, UCC, UCA, UCG, AGU and AGC.


title: Serine

text: This compound is one of the naturally occurring proteinogenic amino acids. Only the -stereoisomer appears naturally in proteins. It is not essential to the human diet, since it is synthesized in the body from other metabolites, including glycine. Serine was first obtained from silk protein, a particularly rich source, in 1865 by Emil Cramer. Its name is derived from the Latin for silk, "sericum". Serine's structure was established in 1902. Food sources with high -Serine content among their proteins include eggs, edamame, lamb, liver, pork, salmon, sardines, seaweed, tofu.


title: Serine

text: The biosynthesis of serine starts with the oxidation of 3-phosphoglycerate (an intermediate from glycolysis) to 3-phosphohydroxypyruvate and NADH by phosphoglycerate dehydrogenase (). Reductive amination (transamination) of this ketone by phosphoserine transaminase () yields 3-phosphoserine ("O"-phosphoserine) which is hydrolyzed to serine by phosphoserine phosphatase ().


title: Serine

text: In bacteria such as "E. coli" these enzymes are encoded by the genes serA (EC 1.1.1.95), serC (EC 2.6.1.52), and serB (EC 3.1.3.3).


title: Serine

text: Glycine biosynthesis: Serine hydroxymethyltransferase (SHMT = serine transhydroxymethylase) also catalyzes the reversible conversions of -serine to glycine (retro-aldol cleavage) and 5,6,7,8-tetrahydrofolate to 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate (mTHF) (hydrolysis). SHMT is a pyridoxal phosphate (PLP) dependent enzyme. Glycine can also be formed from CO, , and mTHF in a reaction catalyzed by glycine synthase.


title: Serine

text: Serine is important in metabolism in that it participates in the biosynthesis of purines and pyrimidines. It is the precursor to several amino acids including glycine and cysteine, as well as tryptophan in bacteria. It is also the precursor to numerous other metabolites, including sphingolipids and folate, which is the principal donor of one-carbon fragments in biosynthesis.


title: Serine

text: -Serine, synthesized in neurons by serine racemase from -serine (its enantiomer), serves as a neuromodulator by coactivating NMDA receptors, making them able to open if they then also bind glutamate. -serine is a potent agonist at the glycine site (NR1) of the NMDA-type glutamate receptor (NMDAR). For the receptor to open, glutamate and either glycine or -serine must bind to it; in addition a pore blocker must not be bound (e.g. Mg or Zn). In fact, -serine is a more potent agonist at the glycine site on the NMDAR than glycine itself.


title: Serine

text: -serine was thought to exist only in bacteria until relatively recently; it was the second amino acid discovered to naturally exist in humans, present as a signaling molecule in the brain, soon after the discovery of -aspartate. Had amino acids been discovered in humans sooner, the glycine site on the NMDA receptor might instead be named the -serine site. Apart from central nervous system, -serine plays a signaling role in peripheral tissues and organs such as cartilage, kidney, and corpus cavernosum.


title: Serine

text: Pure -serine is an off-white crystalline powder with a very faint musty aroma. -Serine is sweet with an additional minor sour taste at medium and high concentrations.


title: Serine

text: Serine deficiency disorders are rare defects in the biosynthesis of the amino acid -serine. At present three disorders have been reported:


title: Serine

text: These enzyme defects lead to severe neurological symptoms such as congenital microcephaly and severe psychomotor retardation and in addition, in patients with 3-phosphoglycerate dehydrogenase deficiency to intractable seizures. These symptoms respond to a variable degree to treatment with -serine, sometimes combined with glycine.


title: Serine

text: Response to treatment is variable and the long-term and functional outcome is unknown. To provide a basis for improving the understanding of the epidemiology, genotype/phenotype correlation and outcome of these diseases their impact on the quality of life of patients, as well as for evaluating diagnostic and therapeutic strategies a patient registry was established by the noncommercial International Working Group on Neurotransmitter Related Disorders (iNTD).


title: Serine

text: Besides disruption of serine biosynthesis, its transport may also become disrupted. One example is spastic tetraplegia, thin corpus callosum, and progressive microcephaly, a disease caused by mutations that affect the function of the neutral amino acid transporter A.


title: Serine

text: The classification of -serine as a non-essential amino acid has come to be considered as conditional, since vertebrates such as humans cannot always synthesize optimal quantities over entire lifespans. Safety of -serine has been demonstrated in an FDA-approved human phase I clinical trial with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, ALS, patients (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01835782), but treatment of ALS symptoms has yet to be shown. A 2011 meta-analysis found adjunctive sarcosine to have a medium effect size for negative and total symptoms of schizophrenia. There also is evidence that ‐serine could acquire a therapeutic role in diabetes.


title: Serine

text: -Serine is being studied in rodents as a potential treatment for schizophrenia. -Serine also has been described as a potential biomarker for early Alzheimer's disease (AD) diagnosis, due to a relatively high concentration of it in the cerebrospinal fluid of probable AD patients.


title: Serine

text: -Serine has been theorized as a potential treatment for sensorineural hearing disorders such as hearing loss and tinnitus.


title: Get It On (T. Rex song)

text: "Get It On" is a song by the English rock band T. Rex, featured on their 1971 album "Electric Warrior". Written by frontman Marc Bolan, "Get It On" was the second chart-topper for T. Rex on the UK Singles Chart. In the United States, it was retitled "Bang a Gong (Get It On)" to avoid confusion with a song of the same name by the group Chase.


title: Get It On (T. Rex song)

text: Following the success of T. Rex's single, "Hot Love", the band went on a United States tour. While in New York in March 1971, Bolan asked drummer Bill Legend to help him brainstorm drum patterns for a song idea that would later become "Get It On". Bolan claimed to have written the song out of his desire to record Chuck Berry's "Little Queenie", and said that the riff was taken from the Berry tune. In fact, a slightly edited line ("And meanwhile, I'm still thinking") from "Little Queenie" is said at the fade of "Get It On". According to producer Tony Visconti, this line was an unscripted ad-lib by Bolan during recording.


title: Get It On (T. Rex song)

text: This was the song that virtually ended the once-solid friendship between Bolan and John Peel, after Peel made clear his lack of enthusiasm for it on air after playing his advance white label copy. Bolan and Peel only spoke once more before the former's death in 1977.


title: Get It On (T. Rex song)

text: The track was recorded at Trident Studios, London, and the piano on the record was performed by either Rick Wakeman or Blue Weaver. Mark Paytress notes that both pianists may have played separate parts on the song, with Wakeman contributing only the piano glissandos that feature several times throughout the song. Wakeman, who was desperate for work at the time to pay his rent, had bumped into Bolan in Oxford Street, who offered him the session. Wakeman pointed out to Tony Visconti that the record did not actually need a piano player. Visconti suggested that he could add a gliss. Wakeman said that Visconti could do that, to which Bolan replied, "You want your rent, don't you?" Wakeman did, and earned £9 for his efforts.


title: Get It On (T. Rex song)

text: Saxophones were played by Ian McDonald of King Crimson. Producer Visconti later recalled: "He played all the saxes, one baritone and two altos. I kept the baritone separate but bounced the altos to one track. I bounced the backup vocals to two tracks, making an interesting stereo image." Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan (formerly The Turtles) provided back up vocals.


title: Get It On (T. Rex song)

text: During a December 1971 "Top of the Pops" performance, Elton John mimed a piano on the song. This performance is usually the video clip for the song which has aired on various music-video outlets such as VH1 Classic.


title: Get It On (T. Rex song)

text: It spent four weeks at the top in the UK, starting 24 July 1971 ("Hot Love" was number one for six weeks from March to May), and it was the group's biggest hit overall, with Bolan claiming that it sold a million. It peaked on the US "Billboard" Hot 100 chart at #10 and at #12 in the "Cash Box" Top 100<ref name="Cash Box Top 100 3/18/72"></ref> in March 1972, becoming the band's only major US hit. The song reached No. 12 in Canada in March 1972.


title: Get It On (T. Rex song)

text: "Get It On" was covered by the Power Station in 1985. Their version – referred to as "Get It On (Bang a Gong)" in the US – was released as their second single from their debut album. The track was a strong hit on the US "Billboard" Hot 100 chart, where the single peaked at number nine (one place higher than the original) in the summer of 1985. Meanwhile, in the UK, the song reached number 22 on the UK Singles Chart. When Robert Palmer heard that the other Power Station members had recorded demos of the song, he asked to try out vocals for it. Before long, the band had decided to record the entire album with Palmer. This single, along with "Some Like It Hot", became The Power Station's signature songs.


title: Get It On (T. Rex song)

text: On 13 July 1985, the Power Station (as well as Duran Duran), had a participation at "Live Aid", on the Philadelphia concert, in which the band performed the song, this time with the British singer Michael Des Barres on vocals.


title: Get It On (T. Rex song)

text: The song also was performed live with Michael Des Barres on vocals, in the "Miami Vice" episode "Whatever Works", which featured all of the then-touring group in cameo roles.


title: Get It On (T. Rex song)

text: British dance act Bus Stop (known in the US as "London Bus Stop") sampled the vocals from the T. Rex original in their 2000 pseudo-cover of the song, which charted at No. 59 in the UK.


title: Lauren Lake

text: Lauren Laniece Lake (born July 12, 1969) is an American family lawyer, author, interior designer, real estate developer, background singer, legal/relationship/life consultant, guest host, television judge, and talk show presenter.


title: Lauren Lake

text: Lake has performed in guest hosting and news anchoring positions for various talk shows and reality legal programs. In much of her guest hosting, she has tackled controversial racial, ethnic, gender, and political issues head-on. She was the host of HGTV's how-to series "Spice Up My Kitchen".


title: Lauren Lake

text: Lake is best known for arbitrating as the presiding judge over her own tabloid talk/nontraditional courtroom series, "Lauren Lake's Paternity Court". The series ran 7 seasons, and was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award five times, including a win in 2019. Lake will return to courtroom programming, taking over the revival of "We the People" in her own edition "We the People with Judge Lauren Lake". The series will return in the fall 2022, produced by Byron Allen's Entertainment Studios.


title: Lauren Lake

text: Lake was born in Detroit, Michigan to parents who had "very particular expectations" for their daughter's future; in her words, "These were Black people who fought their way through, one Ph.D. at a time, so they were big on education."


title: Lauren Lake

text: Growing up, Lake sang, danced, and acted in plays. Her parents agreed to allow this as long as she kept up with her studies. Lake attended Mercy High School in Farmington Hills, Michigan, and was honored as a National Merit Scholar in 1986.


title: Lauren Lake

text: In May 1990, Lake earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She earned a secondary teacher certification that same year. In May 1993, Lake earned a Juris Doctor from Wayne State University Law School in Detroit, Michigan. She paid for her college education by singing on the weekends.


title: Lauren Lake

text: In June 1995, she was admitted to the State Bar of Michigan and began her law career as a criminal defense attorney. In June 2002, she was admitted to the State Bar of New York and the State Bar of New Jersey, where her practice is predominantly devoted to entertainment and family law. Lake began designing professionally after graduating from law school.


title: Lauren Lake

text: In 1999, Lake relocated to New York City, determined to establish herself as an entertainer. She immediately began working, singing background for multi-platinum selling artists, such as Mary J. Blige, Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs, Jay-Z, Dr. Dre, and Snoop Dogg. Lake began writing and recording her own music and performing throughout the New York metropolitan area. She eventually created her own production company.


title: Lauren Lake

text: Lake appeared on "To Live and Date in New York", which chronicled the dating lives of independent and single New York women. The series was aired nationally on Women's Entertainment Channel as "Single in the City." Lake served as a correspondent, expert and life coach on "The Greg Behrendt Show" and as a legal and relationship expert and life coach on "The Ricki Lake Show", for two seasons. She also served in various other capacities on "The Ricki Lake Show", including field correspondent, makeover specialist, and a judge.


title: Lauren Lake

text: She has made regular guest appearances on "Dr. Phil" and "The View" as a legal expert. Lake has also appeared on "The Today Show", "The O'Reilly Factor", "The Bill Cunningham Show", "Regis & Kelly", "Montel Williams", and "The Morning Show with Mike and Juliet". Lake has served as a guest host/anchor and legal analyst for MSNBC and TruTV. Since 2005, Lake has been a regular on-air commentator for various news programs on CNN, Headline News, Fox News Channel, and CNBC. She was also featured in an episode of Modern Hero in 2017.


title: Lauren Lake

text: Lake is also a regular contributor to Black Entertainment Television's "Meet the Faith" and "My Two Cents". She has participated in TLC shows such as "While You Were Out" and "Trading Spaces". Between May 2007 through 2009, Lake hosted 47 episodes of HGTV's how-to show "Spice Up My Kitchen". Lake has acknowledged her lack of formal design training, ironically, as an asset. She believes the lack of training experience allows her to think outside the box.


title: Lauren Lake

text: Lake presided over her own tabloid talk/courtroom series, "Lauren Lake's Paternity Court", which began on September 23, 2013, and was produced by MGM Television. and ran for 7 seasons through February 22, 2021. Lake heard and decided paternity cases and rendered DNA test results. The series was canceled in the wake of COVID-19 related financial struggles with its network, MGM.


title: Lauren Lake

text: In June 2021, Entertainment Studios ordered a revival of the daily court show "We the People" with Lake taking over for Gloria Allred. The program is slated for a fall 2022 airing.


title: Lauren Lake

text: Lake has frequently participated as a guest legal expert on Power 105.1 FM. She has also been a regular guest on the "Tom Joyner Morning Show" and "Michael Baisden" radio show. She has been a guest on WBLS New York, and guest on-air host for Radio One's WDBZ in Cincinnati.


title: Lauren Lake

text: Lake wrote her first book, ""Girl! Let Me Tell You...,"" published in 2009. In the book, Lake answers questions about life and love, posed by single successful women. The book deals with everything from men, dating and relationships to expectations, feelings of loneliness, and the pursuit of dreams.


title: Lauren Lake

text: She regularly travels the country motivating others to pursue their passions and get the most out of life through motivational speeches and seminars. Lake launches the Limitless Living Empowerment Tour in January.


title: Lauren Lake

text: After witnessing Lake advocating dynamically for victims of Hurricane Katrina, comedian and activist Dr. Bill Cosby selected Lake as a motivational speaker on his nationwide Call Out tour: a tour which reaches out to encourage and uplift inner city communities. Lake is also featured in Cosby's book "Come on, People: On the Path from Victims to Victor".


title: Lauren Lake

text: From 1999 to 2002, Lake was the vice president of DS Recordings Inc., where she discovered, signed, and developed new talent. Since September 2000, Lake has also been the co-owner of L Style Design Studios, LLC, in Fort Lee, N.J. In this forum, she provides full scale interior design services for clients, including updates, renovations, construction, and general contracting.


title: Lauren Lake

text: Since 2006, Lake has run the Law Offices of Lauren Lake, located in New York City, Saddlebrook, New Jersey, and Southfield, Michigan. In this forum, she acts as the sole practitioner, responsible for establishing and maintaining client relationships. She represents clients in civil and criminal matters, including divorce, child custody and support, and paternity. Further, she has handled felony and misdemeanor trials, involving arson, criminal sexual conduct, theft, weapons, assault, and possession of controlled substances. She is a member of The Metropolitan Bar Association, Association of Black Women Lawyers, and Black Entertainment and Sports Lawyers Association. Lake is the co-founder of the Women in Entertainment Empowerment Network (WEEN) which promotes the positive portrayal of women in entertainment and society.


title: Randee Heller

text: Randee Heller (born Randee Antzis; June 10, 1947) is an American television and film actress known for playing Alice in the 1970s sitcom "Soap" – one of television's first lesbian characters – as well as for portraying Lucille LaRusso in the films "The Karate Kid" and "The Karate Kid Part III", and in the streaming series "Cobra Kai"; and Bert Cooper's and Don Draper's elderly secretary Ida Blankenship in a recurring role on the series "Mad Men".


title: Randee Heller

text: Heller was born in Brooklyn, New York City, and grew up in West Hempstead, New York, on Long Island, of Russian Jewish heritage. After initially attending Emerson College in Boston, she returned to Long Island to graduate in 1969 from Adelphi University, where she studied theater.


title: Randee Heller

text: The summer after graduation, she was cast in an Off-Broadway production of "Godspell". She went on to do the Broadway musical "Grease", playing Rizzo. In 1978, Heller moved from New York to California to pursue screen work.


title: Randee Heller

text: Her role as Alice, one of the television's first lesbian characters, on the TV series "Soap" received mixed reviews, with criticism primarily directed not at her acting but at the stereotyping of her character. The "Boston Herald" said that the characterization shows how "the networks have generally depicted lesbians either as suicidal losers or sexual predators." For example, it identifies Alice as "TV's first recurring lesbian character," noting that she "first tries to throw herself off a bridge, then falls for Jodie (Billy Crystal), a confused gay man, and finally runs off.". Ahead of filming, producers ordered Heller's newly permed hair straightened at the network's insistence. Of a later episode in which Alice introduces her girlfriend, Heller said, "I went to kiss her in rehearsals and they said, 'No no no … you can’t do that.' I said, 'But she’s my girlfriend!' 'No, no no no, we can’t do that, we just cannot do that.' So it was so careful, it was so delicate in those days that you couldn’t really do your thing. … They wanted me to be a heterosexual homosexual." Heller would appear as a lesbian character again in a 2010 episode of "Grey's Anatomy" "Almost Grown," playing the partner of a female patient with a brain tumor.


title: Randee Heller

text: After leaving "Soap", the actress gained the role of Lucille LaRusso, mother of Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio), in the "Karate Kid" movie series, appearing in the first and, as a cameo, third installments, to positive notices from critics. Reviewer Gene Siskel of the "Chicago Tribune" noted her absence from the second film, "Heller's honest portrayal of a single parent trying to raise an adolescent was one of the genuine pleasures of the original film." Ralph Macchio also "argued for her [inclusion]. Those scenes with her were some of my favorites in the original – they had some real emotion – and I honestly don't know why she isn't there." Heller was also the voice that says "Hey Rock, you're a bum" in the first "Rocky" movie.


title: Randee Heller

text: Other films include "Fast Break" (1979), "Bulworth" (1998), "Monster-in-Law" (2005), and "Crazylove" (2005).


title: Randee Heller

text: Heller had a starring role as Carol in the 1979 TV movie "Can You Hear the Laughter? The Story of Freddie Prinze". She has made guest appearances in television series including "Murder, She Wrote", "Less Than Perfect", "ALF", "Nip/Tuck", "Judging Amy", "Felicity," the children's series "Drake & Josh", "Night Court", "Fame", and "The White Shadow". She was a regular on the one-season program "Husbands, Wives & Lovers" (1978). Heller played leading roles in three short-lived sitcoms: "Second Chance" (1987), "Better Days (TV series)," and "Mama Malone" (1984). Her TV-movie appearances include "Can You Hear the Laughter? The Story of Freddie Prinze" and "And Your Name is Jonah" (both 1979). Heller had a recurring role in the fourth season (2010) of AMC's "Mad Men" as Bert Cooper's and Don Draper's elderly secretary Ida Blankenship. For this role she received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series. Also, in the 2010s, she played the recurring role of Ryan's neighbor Margot on the American version of "Wilfred"


title: Randee Heller

text: Heller has appeared in such theater productions as "Bermuda Avenue Triangle", "The Tale of the Allergist's Wife", and "Cabaret". Of her role in "Cabaret", with one reviewer remarked that:


title: Randee Heller

text: Heller also played the role of Barbra Streisand's mother in the stage performances of Streisand's "Timeless" concerts in 2000. She performed the role after having been diagnosed with breast cancer the year before and undergoing a double mastectomy and chemotherapy and radiation treatments.


title: Randee Heller

text: Heller has been in a long-term relationship with TV writer-producer and former mime Robert Griffard and has two daughters, Sloane and Cody.


title: Saravanan (actor)

text: Saravanan is an Indian actor who has appeared in Tamil-language films. He made his acting debut through "Vaidhehi Vanthachu" (1991), where he portrayed the lead role. He continued to play the lead roles in films throughout the 1990s, later turning into a producer and director for his films. After a sabbatical, Saravanan made a comeback through "Paruthiveeran" (2007) in a supporting role, and has since continued to play character roles in Tamil films.


title: Saravanan (actor)

text: Saravanan was born into a Tamil family in Salem and was the second of five children. His father was a police inspector and his mother was a staff nurse. Saravanan obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in Tamil Literature from the Government Arts College, Salem.


title: Saravanan (actor)

text: Saravanan has been married twice. His first marriage was to Suryashree, a Telugu woman with whom he studied in Adyar Film Institute. In an episode of Bigg Boss Tamil 3, he opened up on his second marriage and that it was his first wife who accepted the second marriage as they wanted a child.


title: Saravanan (actor)

text: Saravanan had an interest in Tamil films as a child and regularly took part in performance arts during school. He visited the sets of a film being shot in Salem by director M. Sivachandran and requested him for an opportunity to act in his films. He consequently became acquainted with Sivachandran and his then-wife, Lakshmi, and the pair were keen to launch him as an actor opposite Lakshmi's daughter Aishwarya, but the plans did not materialise. Saravanan then moved to Chennai and completed a course in acting at the Adyar Film Institute. While on campus, he was spotted by director Radha Bharathi, who offered him the chance to be a part of the film "Vaidehi Vandhachu" (1991). Saravanan subsequently played a series of the lead role in films in the 1990s, but his career came to a halt in the latter end of the decade. Towards the end of the first phase of his career, he produced two of his films "Vishwanath" (1996) and "Santosham" (1998). Though "Santhosam" did well at the box office, still, he incurred losses as a producer which led him to take a long break from acting. He organised concerts abroad to clear the losses. In 2001, Saravanan appeared in a negative role in Bala's "Nandha", winning critical acclaim, but did not appear in any other roles at the time. He also directed, "Thayumanavan" (2003) in an attempt to get his career back on track however the film went unnoticed.


title: Saravanan (actor)

text: He went on to make a comeback in Ameer Sultan's "Paruthiveeran" (2007) playing the paternal uncle of the character portrayed by Karthi, and won critical acclaim for his performance. A critic from Rediff.com noted "Saravanan excels and doesn't look like someone back from a long break", while Sify.com's reviewer stated his performance as the "wayward uncle with a heart of gold is terrific". Saravanan was awarded the Filmfare Award for Best Tamil Actor and also received a nomination in the same category for the Vijay Awards. The success of "Paruthiveeran" subsequently triggered more offers for the actor including the opportunity to be a part of Sanjay Ram's biopic, "Veeramum Eeramum" (2007), based on the real life of Venkatesa Pannaiyar. In the late 2000s and early 2010s, Saravanan continued to play supporting roles in Tamil films, sometimes appearing in negative roles.


title: Saravanan (actor)

text: On 23 June 2019, he entered the reality television show "Bigg Boss Tamil 3" hosted by Kamal Haasan on Star Vijay. He was ejected from the show after making controversial remarks on a televised show, where he admitted to harassing women on public transport during his youth.


title: Christian views on sin

text: In Christianity, sin is an immoral act considered to be a transgression of divine law. The doctrine of sin is central to the Christian faith, since its basic message is about redemption in Christ.


title: Christian views on sin

text: Hamartiology, a branch of Christian theology which is the study of sin, describes sin as an act of offence against God by despising his persons and Christian biblical law, and by injuring others. Christian hamartiology is closely related to concepts of natural law, moral theology and Christian ethics. According to Augustine of Hippo (354–430) sin is "a word, deed, or desire in opposition to the eternal law of God," or as scripture states, "sin is the transgression of the law."


title: Christian views on sin

text: Among some scholars, sin is understood mostly as legal infraction or contract violation of non-binding philosophical frameworks and perspectives of Christian ethics, and so salvation tends to be viewed in legal terms. Other Christian scholars understand sin to be fundamentally relational—a loss of love for the Christian God and an elevation of self-love ("concupiscence", in this sense), as was later propounded by Augustine in his debate with the Pelagians. As with the legal definition of sin, this definition also affects the understanding of Christian grace and salvation, which are thus viewed in relational terms.


title: Christian views on sin

text: Hamartiology (from Greek: ἁμαρτία, "hamartia", "a departure fr. either human or divine standards of uprightness" and -λογια, "-logia," "study")


title: Christian views on sin

text: The first use of "sin" as a noun in the Old Testament is of "sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it" waiting to be mastered by Cain, a form of literary theriomorphism.


title: Christian views on sin

text: The first use of "sin" as a verb is when God appears to Abimelech in a dream "Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know you did this with a clear conscience, and so I have kept you from sinning against me. That is why I did not let you touch her" in .


title: Christian views on sin

text: The Book of Isaiah announced the consequences of sin: "But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear. For your hands are stained with blood, your fingers with guilt. Your lips have spoken falsely, and your tongue mutters wicked things" — a separation between God and man, and unrequited worshipping.


title: Christian views on sin

text: Original sin is the Christian doctrine that humans inherit a tainted nature and a proclivity to sin through the fact of birth. Theologians have characterized this condition in many ways, seeing it as ranging from something as insignificant as a slight deficiency, or a tendency toward sin yet without collective guilt, referred to as a "sin nature", to total depravity or automatic guilt of all humans through collective guilt.


title: Christian views on sin

text: Christians believe the doctrine of humanity's state of sin resulted from the fall of man, stemming from Adam's rebellion in Eden, namely the sin of disobedience in consuming from the tree of knowledge of good and evil.


title: Christian views on sin

text: The concept of original sin was first alluded to in the 2nd century by Irenaeus, in his controversy with certain dualist Gnostics. Other church fathers such as Augustine also developed the doctrine, seeing it as based on the New Testament teaching of Paul the Apostle ( and ) and the Old Testament verse of . Tertullian, Cyprian, Ambrose and Ambrosiaster considered that humanity shares in Adam's sin, transmitted by human generation. Augustine's formulation of original sin was popular among Protestant reformers, such as Martin Luther and John Calvin, who equated original sin with concupiscence, affirming that it persisted even after baptism and completely destroyed freedom. The Jansenist movement, which the Catholic Church declared to be heretical, also maintained that original sin destroyed freedom of will.


title: Christian views on sin

text: Substantial branches of hamartiological understanding, including Catholic, Presbyterian, Continental Reformed, and Reformed Baptist subscribe to the doctrine of original sin, which Paul the Apostle espouses in and which Augustine of Hippo popularized in Western Christianity and developed into a notion of "hereditary sin". Augustine taught that God holds all the descendants of Adam and Eve accountable for Adam's sin of rebellion, and as such all people deserve God's wrath and condemnation – apart from any actual sins they personally commit.


title: Christian views on sin

text: In contrast, Pelagianism states that humans enter life as moral "blank slates" ("tabulae rasae") responsible for their own moral nature. The Fall that occurred when Adam and Eve disobeyed God affected humankind only minimally as it established a negative moral precedent.


title: Christian views on sin

text: A third line of thinking takes an intermediate position, asserting that since the Fall the sin of Adam has naturally affected human beings such that they have inborn tendencies to rebel against God (in which rebellion by personal choice all accountable humans, except Jesus and, to Catholics, Mary, will choose or have chosen to indulge). This is the hamartiological position of the Eastern Christian churches, often called ancestral sin as opposed to original sin, but it is sometimes viewed as Semi-Pelagianism in the West, especially by the Reformed.


title: Christian views on sin

text: The Bible speaks of generational sin in , which states that "the iniquities of the fathers are visited upon the sons and daughters — unto the third and fourth generation." This concept implicates that "unresolved issues get handed down from generation to generation", but that "Jesus is the bondage breaker...[and] He is able to break the cycle of this curse, but only if we want Him to." Theologian Marilyn Hickey explicates this concept, teaching that references "the unseen and mysterious connection between a father's sins and the path of his children"; she provides an example in which if a "father is a liar and a thief, his children are prone to the same behavior". Hickey states that "Through the power of Jesus Christ, no generational curses need remain in our family lineage" and says that prayer is efficacious in ending the cycle of ancestral sin. James Owolagba adds that in addition to prayer, frequent church attendance including regular reception of the sacraments, especially Holy Communion, aids in delivering an individual from generation sin.


title: Christian views on sin

text: The way Thomas Aquinas viewed sin and vices was radically different from later approaches, especially that of 17th-century moral theology. He presented sin and vices as contraries of virtues. He discusses the subject in his "Summa Theologica" part Ia–IIae ("Prima secundae") qq. 71–89.


title: Christian views on sin

text: In one of his definitions of sin Thomas quotes Augustine of Hippo's description of sin as "a thought, words and deed against the Eternal Law."'


title: Christian views on sin

text: To recognise the possibilities of sin in man is equal to acknowledge his human nature, his control and mastery of his own actions. Sin is a motion to the goal, it is judged by the object to which it is directed. The field of sin is the same as the field of virtue. There are three major fields: relationship with God, with oneself and with the neighbour. Thomas distinguished between mortal and venial sins. Mortal sin is when a person has irreparably destroyed the very principle of his/her order to the goal of life. Venial sin is when he/she has acted in a certain disordered way without destructing that principle:


title: Christian views on sin

text: According to Aquinas the gravity of sin depends also on "some disposition of the agent" (cf. STh I–II q. 18, aa. 4, 6). Sin, venial by reason of its object, may become mortal. It happens when person fixes his/her ultimate happiness, the last end of his/her life (Lat. "finis ultimus") in the object of that venial sin. When venial sin is used as a way to provoke mortal sin it becomes mortal as well, e.g. when someone uses empty conversation or a chat to seduce someone to commit adultery. Also sin, mortal by reason of its object, may become venial because of the agent's disposition when his/her evil act does not have full moral capacity, i.e. is not deliberated by reason. That may happen for instance when sudden movements of unbelief arise in the mind. (Cf. STh I–II q.72 a.5).


title: Christian views on sin

text: The difference and gravity of sins may be discerned on the grounds of spirit and flesh, even mortal sins may differ in gravity. Carnal sins like lust, adultery or fornication, gluttony and avarice, because the person who commits them is inordinately directed towards material goods that are a serious matter, are mortal sins. They may cause much shame and infamy. But spiritual sins like blaspheming of God or apostasy are, according to Thomas, still greater evil, as they have more of the aversion from God. They are directed against a greater object. The formal, essential element of sin is more at the centre in them. (cf. STh I–II q.72 a.2)


title: Christian views on sin

text: According to another formulation of the concept of sin in the "Summa", at the heart of sin is "the turning away from the immutable good", i.e. God, and "inordinate turning to mutable good", i.e. creatures. (STh I–IIae q.87 a.4) This cannot be understood as if in the concrete sinful deed the sinner commits two separate and independent acts. Both "aversio" and "conversio" constitute one single guilty action. At the root of the inordinate turning to the creatures is self-love which expresses itself in disordered desire ("cupiditas") and rebellion towards God ("superbia").


title: Christian views on sin

text: Speaking about sloth (Lat. "acedia") Thomas points out that every deed which "by its very nature is contrary to charity is a mortal sin". An effect of such deed is the destruction of "spiritual life which is the effect of charity, whereby God dwells in us." Sin of a mortal character is always committed with the consent of reason: "Because the consummation of sin is in the consent of reason"'. (cf. STh II–IIae q.35 a.3) Venial and mortal sins can be compared to sickness and death. While venial sin impairs full healthy activity of a person, mortal sin destroys the principle of spiritual life in him/her.


title: Christian views on sin

text: Catholic doctrine distinguishes between personal sin (also sometimes called "actual sin") and original sin. Personal sins are either mortal or venial.


title: Christian views on sin

text: Mortal sins are sins of grave (serious) matter, where the sinner performs the act with full knowledge and deliberate consent. (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church (1857) The act of committing a mortal sin destroys charity, i. e. the grace in the heart of a Christian; it is in itself a rejection of God (Catechism of the Catholic Church (1855). If left un-reconciled, mortal sins may lead to eternal separation from God, traditionally called damnation.


title: Christian views on sin

text: Venial sins are sins which do not meet the conditions for mortal sins. The act of committing a venial sin does not cut off the sinner from God's grace, as the sinner has not rejected God. However, venial sins do injure the relationship between the sinner and God, and as such, must be reconciled to God, either through the Sacrament of Reconciliation or receiving the Eucharist (after proper contrition fulfilled).


title: Christian views on sin

text: Both mortal and venial sins have a dual nature of punishment. They incur both guilt for the sin, yielding eternal punishment in the case of mortal sins and temporal punishment for the sin in the case of both venial and mortal sins. Reconciliation is an act of God's mercy, and addresses the guilt and eternal punishment for sin. Purgatory and indulgences address the temporal punishment for sin, and exercise of God's justice.


title: Christian views on sin

text: Roman Catholic doctrine also sees sin as being twofold: Sin is, at once, any evil or immoral "action" which infracts God's law and the inevitable consequences, the "state of being" that comes about by committing the sinful action. Sin can and does alienate a person both from God and the community. Hence, the Catholic Church's insistence on reconciliation with both God and the Church itself.


title: Christian views on sin

text: The Roman Catholic view of sin has recently expanded. Monsignor Gianfranco Girotti, Regent of the Catholic Apostolic Penitentiary, has said that "known sins increasingly manifest themselves as behavior that damages society as a whole," including, for example:


title: Christian views on sin

text: Mortal sins, which are any severe and intentional actions that directly disobey God, are often confused with the seven deadly sins, which are pride, envy, wrath, sloth, greed, gluttony, and lust. They are not, however, the same. The seven deadly sins are called "deadly" because they might lead another to commit other sins. Some forms of the seven deadly sins (i.e. debilitating one's health because of their love of food) can constitute as grave matter, while others may just be venal (i.e. over-eating).


title: Christian views on sin

text: Another group of four or five sins distinguished by the Church are the sins that cry to heaven: murder, sodomy, oppression of the weak, and defrauding the laborer.


title: Christian views on sin

text: Many Protestants of a Calvinist orientation teach that, due to original sin, humanity has lost any and all capacity to move towards reconciliation with God (Romans 3:23;6:23; Ephesians 2:1–3); in fact, this inborn sin turns humans away from God and towards themselves and their own desires (Isaiah 53:6a). Thus, humans may be brought back into a relationship with God only by way of God's rescuing the sinner from his/her hopeless condition (Galatians 5:17–21; Ephesians 2:4–10) through Jesus' substitutionary atonement (Romans 5:6–8; Colossians 2:13–15; 1 Timothy 2:5–6). According to traditional Reformed theology and classical Lutheranism, Salvation is "sola fide" (by faith alone); "sola gratia" (by grace alone); and is begun and completed by God alone through Jesus (Ephesians 2:8,9). This understanding of original sin (Romans 5:12–19), is most closely associated with Calvinist doctrine (see total depravity) and Lutheranism. Calvinism allows for the relative or nominal "goodness" of humanity through God's common grace upon both those predestined to salvation and those predestined to damnation, upon the regenerate and the unregenerate.


title: Christian views on sin

text: This is in contrast to the Roman Catholic teaching that while sin has tarnished the original goodness of humanity prior to the Fall, it has not entirely extinguished that goodness, or at least the "potential" for goodness, allowing humans to reach towards God to share in the Redemption which Jesus Christ won for them. Some Protestants and Orthodox Christians hold similar views.


title: Christian views on sin

text: There is dispute about where sin originated. Some who interpret the king of Tyre in Ezekiel 28 as a symbol for Satan believe sin originated when Satan coveted the position that rightfully belongs to God. The origin of individual sins is discussed in James 1:14–15 – "but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death." (NIV)


title: Christian views on sin

text: Within some branches of Protestantism, there are several defined types of sin (as in Roman Catholicism):


title: Christian views on sin

text: The Wesleyan-Arminian theology of the Methodist Churches, inclusive of the Wesleyan-Holiness movement, teaches that humans, though being born in total depravity, can turn to God as a result of "prevenient grace" and do good; this prevenient grace convicts humans of the necessity of the new birth (first work of grace), through which he is justified (pardoned) and regenerated. After this, to willfully sin would be to fall from grace. When the believer is entirely sanctified (second work of grace), his/her original sin is washed away.


title: Christian views on sin

text: It further categorizes sin as being "sin proper" and "sin improper". Sins proper (or sin, properly so called) are those that are committed freely and willfully, which result in a loss of entire sanctification. Sins improper (or sin, improperly so called) are those in the "category of benign neglect, fruits of infirmity (forgetfulness, lack of knowledge, etc)". In traditional Methodist theology, these (improper) sins are not classified as sins, as explained by Wesley, "Such transgressions you may call sins, if you please: I do not, for the reasons above-mentioned." John Wesley explains the matter like this: "Nothing is sin, strictly speaking, but a voluntary transgression of a known law of God. Therefore, every voluntary breach of the law of love is sin; and nothing else, if we speak properly. To strain the matter farther is only to make way for Calvinism. There may be ten thousand wandering thoughts, and forgetful intervals, without any breach of love, though not without transgressing the Adamic law. But Calvinists would fain confound these together. Let love fill your heart, and it is enough!"If a person backslides through sin proper but later returns to God, he or she must repent and be entirely sanctified again, according to Wesleyan-Arminian theology. With regard to the penalty of sin, Methodist theology teaches:


title: Christian views on sin

text: The definition of sin is a vital doctrine to the Methodist Churches, especially those of the Wesleyan-Holiness movement. Richard S. Taylor explains "Many, perhaps most, of the errors which have protruded themselves into Christian theology can be finally traced to a faulty conception of sin. Because someone's notions of sin were a bit off-color, his entire trend of reasoning was misdirected."


title: Christian views on sin

text: The Wesleyan-Holiness movement, as part of the wider Methodist tradition, holds strongly to John Wesley's definition of sin:


title: Christian views on sin

text: "Nothing is sin, strictly speaking, but a voluntary transgression of a known law of God. Therefore, every voluntary breach of the law of love is sin; and nothing else, if we speak properly. To strain the matter farther is only to make way for Calvinism. There may be ten thousand wandering thoughts, and forgetful intervals, without any breach of love, though not without transgressing the Adamic law. But Calvinists would fain confound these together. Let love fill your heart, and it is enough!"The Church of the Nazarene defines sin as:"We believe that actual or personal sin is a voluntary violation of a known law of God by a morally responsible person. It is therefore not to be confused with involuntary and inescapable shortcomings, infirmities, faults, mistakes, failures, or other deviations from a standard of perfect conduct that are the residual effects of the Fall. However, such innocent effects do not include attitudes or responses contrary to the spirit of Christ, which may properly be called sins of the spirit. We believe that personal sin is primarily and essentially a violation of the law of love; and that in relation to Christ sin may be defined as unbelief."


title: Christian views on sin

text: The Wesleyan-Holiness movement emphasizes the possibility of freedom from all sin, and the voluntary nature of actual sin. As explained by Charles Ewing Brown “Every sinner in the world today knows more or less clearly that he is doing wrong.” H. Orton Wiley, the premier Holiness theologian of the last 100 years, explains that in defining sin, “the power to obey or disobey is an essential element.” According to Phineas Bresee, the founder of the Nazarene Church, "A failure to distinguish between sin and infirmity, puts an undue emphasis upon sin, and has a tendency to discourage earnest seekers from pressing on to full deliverance form the carnal mind. Calling that sin which is not sin, opens the door to actual sinning.” The traditional view in Wesleyan-Arminian theology is that total ignorance eliminates the possibility of sin. As explained by Francis Asbury: "The transgressor must know the law and willfully act the transgressor, the law is a transcript of the divine nature.”


title: Christian views on sin

text: It is with this understanding of actual sin, that lead the Wesleyan-Holiness movement to emphasize the necessity and possibility of living without committing sin. As J. A. Wood, one of the American leaders in the Welsyean-Holiness movement explains in his work, "Perfect Love": “The Lowest type of Christian sinneth not and is not condemned. The minimum of salvation is salvation from sinning.” This leads D. S. Warner, the founder of the Church of God to conclude "Holiness writers and teachers, as far as my knowledge extends, uniformly hold up a sinless life, as the true test and Bible standard of regeneration."


title: Christian views on sin

text: Wesleyan-Arminian theology holds to the orthodox Christian doctrine of original sin. The Church of the Nazarene explains it as such:"We believe that original sin, or depravity, is that corruption of the nature of all the offspring of Adam by reason of which everyone is very far gone from original righteousness or the pure state of our first parents at the time of their creation, is averse to God, is without spiritual life, and inclined to evil, and that continually. We further believe that original sin continues to exist with the new life of the regenerate, until the heart is fully cleansed by the baptism with the Holy Spirit."This original sin remains after salvation and may only be removed by Entire Sanctification, the second work of grace."We believe that entire sanctification is that act of God, subsequent to regeneration, by which believers are made free from original sin, or depravity, and brought into a state of entire devotement to God, and the holy obedience of love made perfect. It is wrought by the baptism with or infilling of the Holy Spirit, and comprehends in one experience the cleansing of the heart from sin and the abiding, indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, empowering the believer for life and service. Entire sanctification is provided by the blood of Jesus, is wrought instantaneously by grace through faith, preceded by entire consecration; and to this work and state of grace the Holy Spirit bears witness."Holiness adherents are known by their emphasis "on the belief that entire sanctification takes place instantaneously in a crisis experience."


title: Christian views on sin

text: The (Chalcedonian) Eastern Orthodox Church as well as the (non-Chalcedonian) Oriental Orthodox use "sin" both to refer to humanity's fallen condition and to refer to individual sinful acts. In many ways the Eastern Orthodox Christian view of sin is similar to the Jewish, although neither form of Orthodoxy makes formal distinctions among "grades" of sins.


title: Christian views on sin

text: The Eastern Catholic Churches, which derive their theology and spirituality from same sources as the Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox, tend not to adhere to the Roman Catholic distinction between mortal and venial sin taught by the Latin Church. Like the Orthodox Churches, however, the Eastern Catholic Churches do make a distinction between sins that are serious enough to bar one from Holy Communion (and must be confessed before receiving once again) and those which are not sufficiently serious to do so. In this respect, the Eastern Tradition is similar to the Western, but the Eastern Churches do not consider death in such a state to automatically mean damnation to "hell."


title: Christian views on sin

text: Jehovah's Witnesses believe that sin is inherited, like a disease, and has been passed on from generation to generation of humans, beginning with Adam and Eve, whom Witnesses believe are real historical characters. They believe that it began with the Devil, and then with humans wanting to decide for themselves what was good and bad. They believe that at that very moment they lost perfection and began to die. Jehovah's Witnesses consider human beings to "be" souls, and so when a human dies due to sin, they believe that his soul dies as well. They believe that Jesus is the only human ever to have lived and died sinless.


title: Christian views on sin

text: Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believe that individuals are only responsible for the sins they personally commit. In their Articles of Faith the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teaches, "We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam's transgression." Latter-day Saints also believe that sin is the consequence of the Fall of Adam and Eve, and that all sin originates from Satan. They also believe that "little children" (meaning those under the age of 8, or “the age of accountability”), while capable of sinning, are not held accountable for their actions, and their sins are covered by the atonement of Jesus Christ.


title: Christian views on sin

text: In Christianity, it is generally understood that the death of Jesus was a sacrifice that relieves believers of the burden of their sins. However, the actual meaning of this precept is very widely debated. The traditional teaching of some churches traces this idea of atonement to blood sacrifices in the ancient Hebraic faith.


title: Trinity Hall, Cambridge

text: Trinity Hall (formally The College or Hall of the Holy Trinity in the University of Cambridge) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.


title: Trinity Hall, Cambridge

text: It is the fifth-oldest surviving college of the university, having been founded in 1350 by William Bateman, Bishop of Norwich, to train clergymen in canon law following their decimation during the Black Death.


title: Trinity Hall, Cambridge

text: Notable alumni include theoretical physicists Stephen Hawking and Nobel Prize winner David Thouless, Australian Prime Minister Stanley Bruce, Canadian Governor General David Johnston, philosopher Marshall McLuhan, Conservative cabinet minister Geoffrey Howe, Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Nottingham, writer J. B. Priestley, and Academy Award-winning actress Rachel Weisz.


title: Trinity Hall, Cambridge

text: The devastation caused by the Black Death plague of the 1340s included the loss of nearly half of the English population; Bishop Bateman himself lost nearly 700 of his parish priests, and so his decision to found a college was probably centred on a need to rebuild the priesthood. The site that Bateman chose was the original site of Gonville Hall, which had been founded three years earlier, but was financially struggling. Bateman's clerical aim for the Hall is reflected in the foundation of 1350, when he stated that the college's aim was "the promotion of divine worship and of canon and civil science and direction of the commonwealth and especially of our church and diocese of Norwich." This led the college to be particularly strong in legal studies, a tradition that has continued over the centuries.


title: Trinity Hall, Cambridge

text: At first all colleges in Cambridge were known as "Halls" or "Houses" and then later changed their names from "Hall" to "College". However, when Henry VIII founded Trinity College, Cambridge next door, it became clear that Trinity Hall would continue being known as a Hall. The new foundation's name may have been a punishment for the college's master, Stephen Gardiner, who had opposed the king's remarriage and had endured much of the college's land being removed. It is incorrect to call it Trinity Hall College, although Trinity Hall college (lower case) is, strictly speaking, accurate. A similar situation had existed once before when Henry VI founded King's College (in 1441) despite the existence of King's Hall (founded in 1317). King's Hall was later incorporated in the foundation of Trinity College in 1546.


title: Trinity Hall, Cambridge

text: Trinity Hall, in addition to having a chapel, also had joint usage of the Church of St John Zacharias with Clare Hall, until the church was demolished to enable the construction of King's in the 15th century. After this, the college was granted usage of the nearby Church of St Edward, King and Martyr on Peas Hill, a connection which remains to this day.


title: Trinity Hall, Cambridge

text: In 2019 and 2020, the College experienced controversy and placed in international headlines due to a series of sexual misconduct scandals involving Dr William O’Reilly, the former Acting Senior Tutor, and Dr Peter Hutchinson, a former fellow.


title: Trinity Hall, Cambridge

text: In 2015, ten students submitted formal complaints of verbal sexual harassment by Hutchinson. In response Hutchinson was asked to withdraw permanently from further teaching and from attending social events at which students might be present. However, due to an alleged error by the College in 2017, Hutchinson was invited to a college event, which was also open to students. His attendance was in breach of the prior agreement and resulted in an outcry among students and alumni.


title: Trinity Hall, Cambridge

text: Subsequently, in 2019, a formal agreement as to what events Hutchinson could attend was approved by the Governing Body. Despite this, he was allowed to remain an Emeritus Fellow of the College. This resulted in further backlash from students and alumni as well as more widespread coverage. Human rights barrister Charlotte Proudman stated "The College has given fellows a licence to abuse their power with impunity. Women students are not safe in their own colleges.", while "The Guardian" called it "a gross betrayal to the students" and "a dangerous environment for women students to study". It was reported in November 2019 that Hutchinson had resigned.


title: Trinity Hall, Cambridge

text: In February 2020, a "Tortoise Media" investigation alleged that O’Reilly seriously mishandled a disciplinary process involving three women’s experience of sexual assault by a student he had a "close relationship" with. The article said that amongst other things, O’Reilly himself had given witness testimony on behalf of the student at the disciplinary hearings into the assaults. The investigation also claimed that a fourth student had complained to Dr Morris, the Master, that they had been sexually assaulted by O’Reilly, an allegation O’Reilly denied. The article reported that Morris allowed O’Reilly to continue teaching un-investigated for a further five months until he was eventually investigated by police, during which time he was permitted to continue overseeing the disciplinary process involving the student with whom he was close. "Tortoise" alleged that as of the date of publication, no formal investigation had been made into this complaint, and no safeguarding measures had been put in place.


title: Trinity Hall, Cambridge

text: In February 2020, Morris and O’Reilly agreed to "step back" from their roles in college pending investigation. In March 2020, the Governing Body authorised an immediate external inquiry into the College’s handling of all allegations raised and matters referred to in the Tortoise article, to be led by Gemma White QC. The independent inquiry recommended Trinity Hall consider disciplinary action against Morris in relation to his handling of one allegation. Morris resigned as Master in August 2021.


title: Trinity Hall, Cambridge

text: In September 2022 the College published Gemma White KC's Report for Publication and a Response Document that indicated the actions it had taken directly in response to Ms White KC’s findings and more generally to make improvements to the structures and culture of the institution.


title: Trinity Hall, Cambridge

text: The College site on the Cam was originally obtained from Bateman's purchase of a house from John de Crauden, Prior of Ely, to house the monks during their study, with Front Court being built within the college's first few decades. The medieval structures remain unaltered, but with their façade altered to a more baroque style during the Mastership of Sir Nathaniel Lloyd in 1710-45.


title: Trinity Hall, Cambridge

text: The Chapel was licensed in 1352 and was built by August 1366, when Pope Urban V granted the College permission to celebrate eucharist there. Its present decor stems from its 1729-1730 renovation; Lloyd had pre-existing graves removed to the Ante-Chapel, and the walls decorated with wainscoting and the ceiling with past Masters' crests. The Chapel was extended east in 1864, during which the original piscina was discovered and hidden behind a secret door. The painting behind the communion-table is Maso da San Friano's "Salutation", loaned from the Fitzwilliam Museum in 1957, replacing an earlier painting by Stella.


title: Trinity Hall, Cambridge

text: The Dining Hall was rebuilt under Lloyd along similar lines to the Chapel, with rendered walls replaced by wainscoting and medieval beams by baroque carvings. A large portrait of Lloyd dominates the wall behind High Table; Lloyd supposedly made it irremovable from its wainscot surroundings, such his representation can never be erased from the College.


title: Trinity Hall, Cambridge

text: The college library was built in the late 16th century, with the permission of Elizabeth I and probably during the mastership of Thomas Preston, and is now principally used for the storage of the college's manuscripts and rare books; it is one of the few remaining chained libraries left in the country. The new Jerwood Library overlooking the river was opened by Lord Howe in 1999, and stores the college's modern book collection.


title: Trinity Hall, Cambridge

text: The college also owns properties in the centre of Cambridge, on Bateman Street and Thompson's Lane, and on its Wychfield site next to Fitzwilliam College, where most of the college's sporting activity takes place.


title: Trinity Hall, Cambridge

text: Trinity Hall has active Junior, Middle and Senior Combination Rooms for undergraduate, postgraduate and senior members of the college community respectively. The Middle Combination Room is located in Front Court, while the Junior Combination Room is adjacent to the college bar in North Court. Both the MCR and JCR have highly active committees and organize popular socials for their members across the term.


title: Trinity Hall, Cambridge

text: Trinity Hall's oldest and largest society, the Boat Club was founded in 1827, and has had a long and distinguished history; notably from 1890 until 1898, when the college stayed Head of the Mays for 33 consecutive days of rowing, which remains to this day the longest continuous defence by a single club of the bumps headship. The college won all but one of the events in the 1887 Henley Royal Regatta, making it the most successful Cambridge college in Henley's history. The current boathouse, built in 1905 in memory of Henry Latham, is on the River Cam, a short walk from the college.


title: Trinity Hall, Cambridge

text: Trinity Hall's Christian Union comprises several dozen Christians in the college who meet regularly to study the Bible, pray and enjoy fellowship together. Its members seek to explain the Christian faith to the other members of College through a variety of inclusive events, notably regular "Text-a-Toastie" events. The Christian Union was founded in 1877, making it the second oldest JCR-listed society, and is part of the broader Cambridge Inter-Collegiate Christian Union.


title: Trinity Hall, Cambridge

text: Trinity Hall's literary society, the Hesperides, was founded in 1923 by Neil McLeod Innes with the intention of discussing literary and artistic subjects. Named after the seminal work of the 17th-century poet Robert Herrick, in its early years the society hosted T. S. Eliot, J. B. Priestley and Nikolaus Pevsner at its various dinners and functions. Old Hesperideans have gone on to some notoriety, none more so than Donald Maclean, a spy and member of the Cambridge Five. The Hesperides disbanded in 1976, but was re-founded in 2020 to encourage literary activity after the COVID-19 pandemic; speakers have included Trinity Hall alumni Nicholas Hytner and Sophie Winkleman.


title: Trinity Hall, Cambridge

text: The current Dean is the Revd Dr Stephen Plant. The role of Dean incorporates that of Chaplain in other colleges.


title: Science and technology studies

text: Science and technology studies (STS) is an interdisciplinary field that examines the creation, development, and consequences of science and technology in their historical, cultural, and social contexts.


title: Science and technology studies

text: Like most interdisciplinary fields of study, STS emerged from the confluence of a variety of disciplines and disciplinary subfields, all of which had developed an interest—typically, during the 1960s or 1970s—in viewing science and technology as socially embedded enterprises. The key disciplinary components of STS took shape independently, beginning in the 1960s, and developed in isolation from each other well into the 1980s, although Ludwik Fleck's (1935) monograph "Genesis and Development of a Scientific Fact" anticipated many of STS's key themes. In the 1970s Elting E. Morison founded the STS program at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), which served as a model. By 2011, 111 STS research centers and academic programs were counted worldwide.


title: Science and technology studies

text: During the 1970s and 1980s, universities in the US, UK, and Europe began drawing these various components together in new, interdisciplinary programs. For example, in the 1970s, Cornell University developed a new program that united science studies and policy-oriented scholars with historians and philosophers of science and technology. Each of these programs developed unique identities due to variations in the components that were drawn together, as well as their location within the various universities. For example, the University of Virginia's STS program united scholars drawn from a variety of fields (with particular strength in the history of technology); however, the program's teaching responsibilities—it is located within an engineering school and teaches ethics to undergraduate engineering students—means that all of its faculty share a strong interest in engineering ethics.


title: Science and technology studies

text: A decisive moment in the development of STS was the mid-1980s addition of technology studies to the range of interests reflected in science. During that decade, two works appeared "en seriatim" that signaled what Steve Woolgar was to call the "turn to technology". In a seminal 1984 article, Trevor Pinch and Wiebe Bijker This was the intellectual foundation of the field they called the social construction of technology. Donald MacKenzie and Judy Wajcman primed the pump by publishing a collection of articles attesting to the influence of society on technological design ("Social Shaping of Technology", 1985). Social science research continued to interrogate STS research from this point onward as researchers moved from post-modern to post-structural frameworks of thought, Bijker and Pinch contributing to SCOT knowledge and Wajcman providing boundary work through a feminist lens.


title: Science and technology studies

text: The "turn to technology" helped to cement an already growing awareness of underlying unity among the various emerging STS programs. More recently, there has been an associated turn to ecology, nature, and materiality in general, whereby the socio-technical and natural/material co-produce each other. This is especially evident in work in STS analyses of biomedicine (such as Carl May and Annemarie Mol) and ecological interventions (such as Bruno Latour, Sheila Jasanoff, Matthias Gross, and S. Lochlann Jain).


title: Science and technology studies

text: Social constructions are human-created ideas, objects, or events created by a series of choices and interactions. These interactions have consequences that change the perception that different groups of people have on these constructs. Some examples of social construction include class, race, money, and citizenship.


title: Science and technology studies

text: The following also alludes to the notion that not everything is set, a circumstance or result could potentially be one way or the other. According to the article "What is Social Construction?" by Laura Flores, "Social construction work is critical of the status quo. Social constructionists about X tend to hold that:


title: Science and technology studies

text: In the past, there have been viewpoints that were widely regarded as fact until being called to question due to the introduction of new knowledge. Such viewpoints include the past concept of a correlation between intelligence and the nature of a human's ethnicity or race (X may not be at all as it is).


title: Science and technology studies

text: An example of the evolution and interaction of various social constructions within science and technology can be found in the development of both the high-wheel bicycle, or velocipede, and then of the bicycle. The velocipede was widely used in the latter half of the 19th century. In the latter half of the 19th century, a social need was first recognized for a more efficient and rapid means of transportation. Consequently, the velocipede was first developed, which was able to reach higher translational velocities than the smaller non-geared bicycles of the day, by replacing the front wheel with a larger radius wheel. One notable trade-off was a certain decreased stability leading to a greater risk of falling. This trade-off resulted in many riders getting into accidents by losing balance while riding the bicycle or being thrown over the handlebars.


title: Science and technology studies

text: The first "social construction" or progress of the velocipede caused the need for a newer "social construction" to be recognized and developed into a safer bicycle design. Consequently, the velocipede was then developed into what is now commonly known as the "bicycle" to fit within society's newer "social construction," the newer standards of higher vehicle safety. Thus the popularity of the modern geared bicycle design came as a response to the first social construction, the original need for greater speed, which had caused the high-wheel bicycle to be designed in the first place. The popularity of the modern geared bicycle design ultimately ended the widespread use of the velocipede itself, as eventually it was found to best accomplish the social-needs/ social-constructions of both greater speed and of greater safety.


title: Science and technology studies

text: With methodology from ANT, feminist STS theorists built upon SCOT's theory of co-construction to explore the relationship between gender and technology, proposing one cannot exist separately from the other. This approach suggests the material and social are not separate, reality being produced through interactions and studied through representations of those realities. Building on Woolgar's boundary work on user configuration, feminist critiques shifted the focus away from users of technology and science towards whether technology and science represent a fixed, unified reality. According to this approach, identity could no longer be treated as causal in human interactions with technology as it cannot exist prior to that interaction, feminist STS researchers proposing a "double-constructivist" approach to account for this contradiction. John Law credits feminist STS scholars for contributing material-semiotic approaches to the broader discipline of STS, stating that research not only attempts to describe reality, but enacts it through the research process.


title: Science and technology studies

text: Sociotechnical imaginaries are what certain communities, societies, and nations envision as achievable through the combination of scientific innovation and social changes. These visions can be based on what is possible to achieve for a certain society, and can also show what a certain state or nation desires. STIs are often bound with ideologies and ambitions of those who create and circulate them. Sociotechnical imaginaries can be created by states and policymakers, smaller groups within society, or can be a result of the interaction of both.


title: Science and technology studies

text: The term was coined in 2009 by Sheila Jasanoff and Sang-Hyun Kim who compared and contrasted sociotechnical imaginaries of nuclear energy in the USA with those of South Korea over the second half of the 20th century. Jasanoff and Kim analyzed the discourse of government representatives, national policies, and civil society organizations, looked at the technological and infrastructural developments, and social protests, and conducted interviews with experts. They concluded that in South Korea nuclear energy was imagined mostly as the means of national development, while in the US the dominant sociotechnical imaginary framed nuclear energy as risky and in need of containment.


title: Science and technology studies

text: The concept has been applied to several objects of study including biomedical research, nanotechnology development and energy systems and climate change. Within energy systems, research has focused on nuclear energy, fossil fuels, renewables as well as broader topics of energy transitions, and the development of new technologies to address climate change.


title: Science and technology studies

text: Social technical systems are an interplay between technologies and humans, this is clearly expressed in the sociotechnical systems theory. To expound on this interplay, humans fulfill and define tasks, then humans in companies use IT and IT supports people, and finally, IT processes tasks and new IT generates new tasks. This IT redefines work practices. This is what we call the sociotechnical systems. In socio-technical systems, there are two principles to internalize, that is joint optimization and complementarity. Joint optimization puts an emphasis on developing both systems in parallel and it is only in the interaction of both systems that the success of an organization arises. The principle of complementarity means that both systems have to be optimized. If you focus on one system and have bias over the other it will likely lead to the failure of the organization or jeopardize the success of a system. Although the above socio-technical system theory is focused on an organization, it is undoubtedly imperative to correlate this theory and its principles to society today and in science and technology studies.


title: Science and technology studies

text: According to Barley and Bailey, there is a  tendency for AI designers and scholars of design studies to privilege the technical over the social, focusing more on taking "humans out of the loop" paradigm than the "augmented intelligence" paradigm.


title: Science and technology studies

text: Recent work on artificial intelligence considers large sociotechnical systems, such as social networks and online marketplaces, as agents whose behavior can be purposeful and adaptive. The behavior of recommender systems can therefore be analyzed in the language and framework of sociotechnical systems, leading also to a new perspective for their legal regulation.


title: Science and technology studies

text: Technoscience is a subset of Science, Technology, and Society studies that focuses on the inseparable connection between science and technology. It states that fields are linked and grow together, and scientific knowledge requires an infrastructure of technology in order to remain stationary or move forward. Both technological development and scientific discovery drive one another towards more advancement. Technoscience excels at shaping human thoughts and behavior by opening up new possibilities that gradually or quickly come to be perceived as necessities.


title: Science and technology studies

text: "Technological action is a social process." Social factors and technology are intertwined so that they are dependent upon each other. This includes the aspect that social, political, and economic factors are inherent in technology and that social structure influences what technologies are pursued. In other words, "technoscientific phenomena combined inextricably with social/political/ economic/psychological phenomena, so 'technology' includes a spectrum of artifacts, techniques, organizations, and systems." Winner expands on this idea by saying "in the late twentieth-century technology and society, technology and culture, technology and politics are by no means separate."


title: Science and technology studies

text: Deliberative democracy is a reform of representative or direct democracies which mandates discussion and debate of popular topics which affect society. Deliberative democracy is a tool for making decisions. Deliberative democracy can be traced back all the way to Aristotle's writings. More recently, the term was coined by Joseph Bessette in his 1980 work "Deliberative Democracy: The Majority Principle in Republican Government", where he uses the idea in opposition to the elitist interpretations of the United States Constitution with emphasis on public discussion.


title: Science and technology studies

text: Deliberative democracy can lead to more legitimate, credible, and trustworthy outcomes. Deliberative democracy allows for "a wider range of public knowledge", and it has been argued that this can lead to "more socially intelligent and robust" science. One major shortcoming of deliberative democracy is that many models insufficiently ensure critical interaction.


title: Science and technology studies

text: According to Ryfe, there are five mechanisms that stand out as critical to the successful design of deliberative democracy:


title: Science and technology studies

text: Recently, there has been a movement towards greater transparency in the fields of policy and technology. Jasanoff comes to the conclusion that there is no longer a question of if there needs to be increased public participation in making decisions about science and technology, but now there need to be ways to make a more meaningful conversation between the public and those developing the technology.


title: Science and technology studies

text: Bruce Ackerman and James S. Fishkin offered an example of a reform in their paper "Deliberation Day." The deliberation is to enhance public understanding of popular, complex and controversial issues through devices such as Fishkin's deliberative polling, through implementation of these reforms is unlikely in a large government such as that of the United States. However, things similar to this have been implemented in small, local governments like New England towns and villages. New England town hall meetings are a good example of deliberative democracy in a realistic setting.


title: Science and technology studies

text: An ideal deliberative democracy balances the voice and influence of all participants. While the main aim is to reach consensus, deliberative democracy should encourage the voices of those with opposing viewpoints, concerns due to uncertainties, and questions about assumptions made by other participants. It should take its time and ensure that those participating understand the topics on which they debate. Independent managers of debates should also have a substantial grasp of the concepts discussed, but must "[remain] independent and impartial as to the outcomes of the process."


title: Science and technology studies

text: In 1968, Garrett Hardin popularised the phrase "tragedy of the commons." It is an economic theory where rational people act against the best interest of the group by consuming a common resource. Since then, the tragedy of the commons has been used to symbolize the degradation of the environment whenever many individuals use a common resource. Although Garrett Hardin was not an STS scholar, the concept of the tragedy of the commons still applies to science, technology, and society.


title: Science and technology studies

text: In a contemporary setting, the Internet acts as an example of the tragedy of the commons through the exploitation of digital resources and private information. Data and internet passwords can be stolen much more easily than physical documents. Virtual spying is almost free compared to the costs of physical spying. Additionally, net neutrality can be seen as an example of tragedy of the commons in an STS context. The movement for net neutrality argues that the Internet should not be a resource that is dominated by one particular group, specifically those with more money to spend on Internet access.


title: Science and technology studies

text: A counterexample to the tragedy of the commons is offered by Andrew Kahrl. Privatization can be a way to deal with the tragedy of the commons. However, Kahrl suggests that the privatization of beaches on Long Island, in an attempt to combat the overuse of Long Island beaches, made the residents of Long Island more susceptible to flood damage from Hurricane Sandy. The privatization of these beaches took away from the protection offered by the natural landscape. Tidal lands that offer natural protection were drained and developed. This attempt to combat the tragedy of the commons by privatization was counter-productive. Privatization actually destroyed the public good of natural protection from the landscape.


title: Science and technology studies

text: Alternative modernity is a conceptual tool conventionally used to represent the state of present western society. Modernity represents the political and social structures of society, the sum of interpersonal discourse, and ultimately a snapshot of society's direction at a point in time. Unfortunately, conventional modernity is incapable of modeling alternative directions for further growth within our society. Also, this concept is ineffective at analyzing similar but unique modern societies such as those found in the diverse cultures of the developing world. Problems can be summarized into two elements: inward failure to analyze the growth potentials of a given society, and outward failure to model different cultures and social structures and predict their growth potentials.


title: Science and technology studies

text: Previously, modernity carried a connotation of the current state of being modern, and its evolution through European colonialism. The process of becoming "modern" is believed to occur in a linear, pre-determined way, and is seen by Philip Brey as a way to interpret and evaluate social and cultural formations. This thought ties in with modernization theory, the thought that societies progress from "pre-modern" to "modern" societies.


title: Science and technology studies

text: Within the field of science and technology, there are two main lenses with which to view modernity. The first is as a way for society to quantify what it wants to move towards. In effect, we can discuss the notion of "alternative modernity" (as described by Andrew Feenberg) and which of these we would like to move towards. Alternatively, modernity can be used to analyze the differences in interactions between cultures and individuals. From this perspective, alternative modernities exist simultaneously, based on differing cultural and societal expectations of how a society (or an individual within society) should function. Because of different types of interactions across different cultures, each culture will have a different modernity.


title: Science and technology studies

text: The pace of innovation is the speed at which technological innovation or advancement is occurring, with the most apparent instances being too slow or too rapid. Both these rates of innovation are extreme and therefore have effects on the people that get to use this technology.


title: Science and technology studies

text: "No innovation without representation" is a democratic ideal of ensuring that everyone involved gets a chance to be represented fairly in technological developments.


title: Science and technology studies

text: Legacy thinking is defined as an inherited method of thinking imposed from an external source without objection by the individual because it is already widely accepted by society.