Cross-cultural analysis of American and Japanese cultures
Edward Tylor (1832-1917) defines culture as a collection of customs, laws, morals, knowledge, and symbols displayed by a society and its constituting members. Culture is form of collective expression by groups of people. Since the dawn of industrial revolution and later, due to an increased integration of cultures across nations, cross-cultural analysis has assumed much import in scholastic discourse within psychology, anthropology, and psychology. Present study is an endeavor to make a cross-cultural assessment of American and Japanese culture. More differences than similarities have been found in both the cultures. Where Japanese culture fosters Aimai, meaning ambiguity and vagueness, Americans are intolerant to this characteristic. Based on Hofstede's four dimensional theory of cross-cultural analysis, findings regarding individualism-collectivism index, power distance index, uncertainty tolerance, and masculinity-femininity index of American and Japanese people have been presented. Secondary research of pertinent literature and rigorous comparative analysis reveals that while both cultures are monocentric and value masculinity, they are diametrically opposed in uncertainty avoidance and individualism-collectivism index. The paper is divided in seven sections each highlighting different but interconnected theme regarding cross-cultural analysis of American and Japanese cultures.
Infallibility and authority of Orthodox Church canons
The will of God is essential in the life of every good Christian. The canons are in this sense the guidelines for every believer in order to live according to God's will and consideration. Moreover, the canons are aimed at helping the believer achieve salvation (Patsavos, 2007)
As Christian life began to develop in all its aspects (doctrinal, moral and liturgical), both clergy and believers have felt the need for well-defined rules.