The national character of British and American people
Further education in Britain
'Further education' is usually understood to mean academic courses which are below degree level and also advanced training courses leading to careers in business or industry.It has traditionally been characterized by part-time vocational courses for those who leave school at the age of 16 but need to acquire a skill, be that in the manual, technical or clerical field. In all, about three million students enroll each year in part-time courses at further education (FE) colleges, some released by their employers and a greater number unemployed
Some of them who decide to leave school at the age of 16 may go to a further education college where they can follow a cource in typing, engineering, town planning, cooking , or hairdressing, full-time or part-time. Further education colleges have strong ties with commerce and industry.
There's an interesting form of studies which is called the Open University. It's intended for people who study in their own free time and who 'attend' lectures by watching TV and listening to the radio. They keep ih touch by phone and letter with their tutors and attend summer schools. The Open University students have no formal qualifications and would be unable to enter ordinary universities.
Some 80,000 overseas students study at British universities or further education colleges or train in nursing, law, banking or in industry.
Religion in America
Religion has always played an important role in the USA. Freedom of religion is guaranteed in the First Amendment to the US Constitution. This gives it a high priority in the USA and also enables different religions and denominations to exist side by side. Protestant Christians form the biggest religious subgroup in the USA, but there are a lot of other religions which all enjoy equal rights and recognition before the law.
ReligionintheUnitedStateshasahistoryofdiversity, dueinlargeparttothenation'smulticulturaldemographicmakeup.
MostU.S. adultcitizensidentifythemselvesasChristians (76.5 - 78.5%).A2001surveyfound15% oftheadultpopulationtohavenoreligiousaffiliation, stillsignificantlylessthaninotherpostindustrialcountriessuchasUnitedKingdom (44%) andSweden (69%). AccordingtoARISandotherstudies, non-Christianreligions (includingJudaism, Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, andothers) collectivelymakeupabout5.5% oftheadultpopulation.
TheUnitedStatesisuniqueamongstotherpost-industrialcountriesinthatithasarelativelylowpercentageofpeopleclaimingtohavenoreligiousbeliefs. Butthefluidityofreligioninthecountryishigh, withstudiesshowingaroundhalfofAmericanadultsleavethefaithtraditionoftheirupbringingtoeitherswitchallegiancesorabandonreligiousaffiliationaltogether.
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Christianity. ThelargestreligionintheUSisChristianity, practicedbythemajorityofthepopulation (nearly76.5% in2001). Roughly51.3% ofAmericansareProtestants, 23.9% areCatholics, and1.7% areMormons (thenamecommonlyusedtorefertomembersofTheChurchofJesusChristofLatter-daySaints), and1.6% tovariousotherChristiandenominations.
Noreligion. A2001surveydirectedbyDr. ArielaKeysarfortheCityUniversityofNewYorkindicatedthat, amongstthemorethan100categoriesofresponse, "noreligiousidentification" hadthegreatestincreaseinpopulationinbothabsoluteandpercentageterms. Thiscategoryincludedatheists, agnostics, humanists, andotherswithnotheisticreligiousbeliefsorpractices. Figuresareupfrom14.3millionin1990to29.4millionin2001, representingaproportionateincreasefrom8% ofthetotalin1990toover14% in2001.
Judaism. AfterChristianityandno-religion, Judaismisthethird-largestreligiouspreferenceintheUS.JewshavebeenpresentintheUSsincethe17thcentury, thoughlargescaleimmigrationdidnottakeplaceuntilthe19thcentury, largelyasaresultofpersecutionsinpartsofEasternEurope.
Buddhism .BuddhismenteredtheUSduringthe19thcenturywiththearrivalofthefirstimmigrantsfromEasternAsia. ThefirstBuddhisttemplewasestablishedinSanFranciscoin1853byChineseAmericans.
Duringthelate19thcenturyBuddhistmissionariesfromJapancametotheUS. Simultaneouslytotheseprocesses, USintellectualsstartedtotakeinterestinBuddhism.
Islam. ThehistoryofIslamintheUSstartsintheearly16thcenturywiththeconfirmedarrivalofMuslimexplorerandsailorEstevanicoofAzamorOnceverysmall, theMuslimpopulationhasincreasedgreatlyinthelastonehundredyears. ThereismuchcontroversyoverrecentestimatesoftheMuslimpopulationintheUS. Muchofthegrowthhasbeendrivenbyimmigrationandconversion.
Hinduism. ThefirsttimeHinduismenteredtheUSisnotclearlyidentifiable. However, largegroupsofHindusimmigratedfromIndiaandotherAsiancountriessincetheImmigrationandNationalityActof1965. Duringthe1960sand1970sHinduismexercisedfascinationcontributingtothedevelopmentofNewAgethought. DuringthesamedecadestheInternationalSocietyforKrishnaConsciousness (aVaishnaviteHindureformorganization) wasfoundedintheUS.
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Atpresent, estimatesforHindusintheUSsuggesttheynumbernearly800thousandpeopleorabout0.4% ofthetotalpopulation
The national character of British and American people
The national character of the English has been described in different ways, but most commentators agree over one quality, which they describe as a sense of superiority or “insular pride”. English patriotism is based on a deep sense of security. If you want to form a correct opinion of the British character, you don't have to concentrate on big cities, you should better go forth into the country, you'd better visit castles, farm-houses and villages and see the people in all their habits and humors. The English are a well-disciplined people and it is probably no exaggeration to say that they have the best manners in the world. You may be struck by the fact that life in Britain is less noisy. For centuries the British have been known as insular, superior, aloof, hypocritical and unsociable. They look at foreigners in general with contempt and think nothing can be done better than in their own country. But ordinary British people are friendly and sociable. Englishmen are rather conservative, they love familiar things. The British have long been famous as a nation of animal-lovers. There is a pet in nearly every family and often the family dog or cat has a special chair near the fire, special food and a special place in the hearts of its owners. All this doesn't mean that the English differ from other human beings. They certainly feel the same emotions: jealousy, envy, joy and happiness as others— only their external reactions are different. they are prudent and careful about almost everything. English people are famous for their habit of politeness. It is considered polite to give up one's seat to a woman who is standing, to open a door for her, carry things for her, and so on. Most British people expect the person in front of them to hold the door open for them. People think you are rude, if you don't do this. British people keep their old traditions and are very proud of them. The traditional love of English people for tea is well known. They like to drink tea with milk. They have their five-o'clock tea not only at home or in offices, but also in tea-rooms and tea-shops, which can be found in every town. The typical feature of the English is their love of games. They love playing all of them. They play football and cricket; games are nowhere so popular as in England. and one of the most characteristic features of Englishmen is their traditions, which they respect, and which they have kept for centuries.
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In one word - British are extremely reserved people. They are also considered to be industrious, polite, tradition-loving, courteous, honest, extremely nationalistic and etc. They are known to have a specificsense of humor. Their humor is delicate. They think the most Important of all human qualities is a sense of humour.They think that the sense of humor is uniquely human. If happiness is one of the great goals of life, then it is the sense of humour that provides the key.
American society seems to be much more informal than the British and, in some ways, is characterized by less social distinction. Students do not rise when a teacher enters the room. One does not always address a person by his title, such as «Major» or «General» or «Doctor» in the case of a holder of a Doctor of Philosophy degree. The respectful «Sir» is not always used in the northern and western parts of the country.
The national character of America is difficult to define as it is changing with the times. Americans tend to be independently-minded people, ever protective of their civil rights and freedoms. Because of massive immigration into the United States, the population is made up of people of such diverse cultures, religions, and ethnicities, that to define an American character is almost impossible.
The American character is based on freedom: freedom of speech, freedom to pursue their own interests, freedom from persecution, freedom of religion, freedom of movement within the country.
I must say that United States of America is very interesting country and people are very kindness, soft-hearted, believe God. The American way of life is an expression that refers to the "lifestyle" of people living in the United States. It is an example of a behavioral modality. Religion plays an important role in the lives of millions of Americans. Most Americans have a great deal of leisure time, and they spend it in a variety of ways.
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Law, crime , justice
The United Kingdom does not have a single legal system since it was created by the political union of previously independent countries, with Article 19 of the Treaty of Union guaranteeing the continued existence of Scotland's separate legal system. Today the UK has three distinct systems of law: English law, Northern Ireland law and Scots law. Recent constitutional changes saw a new Supreme Court of the United Kingdom come into being in October 2009 to replace the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords.The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, including the same members as the Supreme Court, is the highest court of appeal for several independent Commonwealth countries, the UK overseas territories, and the British crown dependencies.
Both English law, which applies in England and Wales, and Northern Ireland law are based on common-law principles. The essence of common law is that, subject to statute, the law is developed by judges in court, applying statute, precedent and common sense to the facts before them, to give explanatory judgements of the relevant legal principles, which are reported and binding in future similar cases (stare decisis). The courts of England and Wales are headed by the Senior Courts of England and Wales, consisting of the Court of Appeal, the High Court of Justice (for civil cases) and the Crown Court (for criminal cases). The Supreme Court is the highest court in the land for both criminal and civil appeal cases in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland and any decision it makes is binding on every other court in the same jurisdiction, and often has a persuasive effect in other jurisdictions.
Scots law, a hybrid system based on both common-law and civil-law principles, applies in Scotland. The chief courts are the Court of Session, for civil cases, and the High Court of Justiciary, for criminal cases. The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom serves as the highest court of appeal for civil cases under Scots law. Sheriff courts deal with most civil and criminal cases including conducting criminal trials with a jury, known as sheriff solemn court, or with a sheriff and no jury, known as sheriff summary Court. The Scots legal system is unique in having three possible verdicts for a criminal trial: "guilty", "not guilty" and "not proven". Both "not guilty" and "not proven" result in an acquittal with no possibility of retrial.
Crime in England and Wales increased in the period between 1981 and 1995, though since that peak there has been an overall fall of 48% in crime from 1995 to 2007/08, according to crime statistics. The prison population of England and Wales has almost doubled over the same period, to over 80,000, giving England and Wales the highest rate of incarceration in Western Europe at 147 per 100,000. Her Majesty's Prison Service, which reports to the Ministry of Justice, manages most of the prisons within England and Wales. Crime in Scotland fell to its lowest recorded level for 32 years crime in 2009/10, falling by ten percent in the last year.
The constitution of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the sum of laws and principles that make up the body politic of the United Kingdom. It concerns both the relationship between the individual and the state, and the functioning of the legislature, the executive and judiciary. Unlike many other nations, the UK has no single constitutional document. This is sometimes expressed by stating that it has an uncodified or "unwritten" constitution.[1] Much of the British constitution is embodied in written documents, within statutes, court judgments, works of authority and treaties. The constitution has other unwritten sources, including parliamentary constitutional conventions.
The bedrock of the legislative British constitution since the Glorious Revolution of 1688 has been described as the doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty: that is, the statutes passed by Parliament are the UK's supreme and final source of law.[3] It follows that Parliament can change the constitution simply by passing new Acts of Parliament.[4] There is some debate about whether the principle of parliamentary sovereignty remains valid,[5] particularly in the light of the UK's membership of the European Union.[6] Another core principle of the British constitution, as enunciated by the legal scholar Albert Venn Dicey, is the rule of law.
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