Culture Adaptation And Cultural Change Essay

Culture refers to the lifestyle or rather a system of tradition that dictates the thought and even action of a given group of people in a society. It gets its expression in the language, beliefs, customs and even food thus offering a direction for effective successful living. Culture gives one identity of the everyday symbols, customs, body language; food and social cues which becomes very difficult to lose overnight. Cultural adaptation is the processes through which an individual undergoes in order to adjust to another culture different from his normal way of life. Different countries or environment have differing cultural practices and its common for people to feel disoriented when they leave their familiar surrounding to a different environment or countries. It is quite true that culture restrains our behavior because it plays a vital role in our day to day lives. Culture socializes us into a given way of life and is responsible for determining who we are and our view of the entire world. Who we are does not only depend on our nature and personality but also the culture that surrounds us. Humans are sum and substances of nature, personality and the culture all of which contributes importantly to the final individuals. Our culture affects how we think, how we behave, who we are and how we respond to our surrounding and it is easily transmitted from generation to generation through the parents, education systems and even peers. Since culture is greatly embedded in our nature and personality, that is, culture is a central ingredient in the production of a human person; it’s a big huddle to adapt to other cultures. However, we are daily confronted with issues that call for modification, recreation and even elimination of some of the elements of our cultures. For effective cultural change to be obtained there is need to understand the underlying differences in the current culture and the culture one wants to create. Our culture is transformed by our daily pressure on what old tradition that needs to be dropped, how to combine the diverse elements of cultures that surrounds us and the daily decision of the new ideas to be included in the culture. Cultural change is possible when we define precisely the culture we are building and use those terms to inflict the necessary changes we want to make in the existing culture. As groups of people migrate from places to come together they tend to merge cultures and finally come up with a common cultural practice for all. The most common element of culture that experience drastic changes is the language especially when the groups are interested in trading with each other, they will need a common mode of communication thus the language would be quickly changed to ease trade. However, there are other elements of culture that cannot be wholly eradicated, such as food preferences and the norms that outlast the reason for their development. For cultural change to be effected all the stakeholders must be willing to change. The social nature in humans that tends to drive them to share their experiences and knowledge with others is another powerful tool in effecting cultural change. Reference: Samuel P. Huntington. Cultures Presentation: Colorado College’s 125th Anniversary Symposium, February 4, 1999.

Censoring essays

Censoring essays America would need a command and control network, linked from city to city, state to state and base to base. No matter how thoroughly that network was armored or protected, its switches and wiring would always be vulnerable to the impact of atomic bombs. A nuclear bombardment would reduce any network to tatters. Any central authority would be an obvious and immediate target for enemy missiles. The center of a network would be the first place to go. So RAND mulled over this puzzle in deep military secrecy and arrived at their solution. In 1964 their proposed ideas became public. Their network would have no central authority, and it would be designed from the beginning to operate while in tatters. All the nodes in the network would be equal in status to all other nodes, each node having its own authority to originate, pass and receive messages. The messages themselves would be divided into packets, each packet separately addressed. Each packet would begin at some specified sour! ce node and end at some other specified destination node. The particular route that the packet took would be unimportant, only the final results counted. Each packet would be tossed around like a hot potato from node to node, more or less in the direction of its destination, until it ended up in the proper place. If big chunks of the network were blown away, which wouldn't matter, the packets would still stay airborne, moving across the field by whatever nodes happened to survive. This system was efficient in any means (especially when compared to the phone system), but it was extremely tough. In the 1960's this concept was thrown around by RAND, MIT and UCLA. In 1969 the first such node was installed in UCLA. By December of 69, there were four nodes on the network, which was called ARPANET, after its Pentagon sponsor. The nodes of the network were high-speed supercomputers. (supercomputers at the time, desktop machines now) Thanks to APRANET scientists and ...

Strategische Marketing

Strategische Marketing This is a first for Sisley, in an overtly gay male campaign, to feature women together. It was featured in Mx Racks, as giveaway postcard ads.While most fashion brands use sexy models to sell their clothes, Benetton is known for its not-so-pretty, controversial advertising that depicts the likes of a frail man with AIDS and death row inmates. Though it has toyed with gay vague imagery before, Benetton has never directly dealt with gay themes - until Sisley.The Italian clothing company's new brand is trying on envelope-pushing ads, one of which looks something like the beginning of a gay porn movie. This one includes two men walking hand-in-hand, one wearing a cartoon-like horse's head.The other ad, which ran in OUT magazine, shows a shirtless young man reclined in bed as he pushes another guy's face toward his crotch (just a thin band of clothing remains).Giancarlo Fisichella driving for Benetton Formula ...And in coded reference to young males, known as "chicken," the ingredients fo r a Palm Springs Chicken Salad appears on the page with the boyish couple.Unlike Benetton ads, Sisley's first gay media advertising is sexually charged and out of the closet."Sisley is a sexy brand, it's about sex and feeling sexy when you're wearing the product," says Benetton spokesman Mark Major. "There are not a lot of companies in OUT doing this." Despite the fashion industry's omnipresent use of sex to sell its merchandise - often "forgetting" to include the very clothing they're trying to sell - few have actually used overtly gay imagery. Designers including Calvin Klein, Gucci, Versace, Abercrombie Fitch and even Benetton itself have only teased consumers with gay vague imagery.In 1994, Benetton created an ad with two twenty-something men wearing pastel shirts in a cheek-to-cheek embrace that left many wondering...

Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar Disorder Essay The phenomenon of bipolar affective disorder has been a mystery since the 16th century. History has shown that this affliction can appear in almost anyone. Even the great painter Vincent Van Gogh is believed to have had Bipolar Disorder Essay. It is clear that in our society many people live with bipolar disorder; however, despite the abundance of people suffering from the it, we are still waiting for definite explanations for the causes and cure. The one fact of which we are painfully aware is that bipolar disorder severely undermines its victims ability to obtain and maintain social and occupational success. Because bipolar disorder has such debilitating symptoms, it is imperative that we remain vigilant in the quest for explanations of its causes and treatment.Affective disorders are characterized by a smorgasbord of symptoms that can be broken into manic and depressive episodes. The depressive episodes are characterized by intense feelings of sadness and despair that can become feelings of hopelessness and helplessness. Some of the symptoms of a depressive episode include anhedonia, disturbances in sleep and appetite, psycomoter retardation, loss of energy, feelings of worthlessness, guilt, difficulty thinking, indecision, and recurrent thoughts of death and suicide (Hollandsworth, Jr. 1990 ). The manic episodes are characterized by elevated or irritable mood, increased energy, decreased need for sleep, poor judgment and insight, and often reckless or irresponsible behavior (Hollandsworth, Jr. 1990 ). Bipolar affective disorder affects approximately one percent of the population (approximately three million people) in the United States. It is presented by both males and females. Bipolar disorder involves episodes of mania and depression. These episodes may alternate with profound depressions characterized by a pervasive sadness, almost inability to move, hopelessness, and disturbances in appetite, sleep, in concentrations and driving.Bipolar disorder is diagnosed if an episode of mania occurs whether depression has been diagnosed or not (Goodwin, Guze, 1989, p 11). Most commonly, individuals with manic episodes experience a period of depression. Symptoms include elated, expansive, or irritable mood, hyperactivity, pressure of speech, flight of ideas, inflated self esteem, decreased need for sleep, distractibility, and excessive involvement in reckless activities (Hollandsworth, Jr. 1990 ). Rarest symptoms were periods of loss of all interest and retardation or agitation (Weisman, 1991).As the National Depressive and Manic Depressive Association (MDMDA) has demonstrated, bipolar disorder can create substantial developmental delays, marital and family disruptions, occupational setbacks, and financial disasters. This devastating disease causes disruptions of families, loss of jobs and millions of dollars in cost to society. Many times bipolar patients report that the depressions are longer and increase in frequency as the individual ages. Many times bipolar states and psychotic states are misdiagnosed as schizophrenia. Speech patterns help distinguish between the two disorders (Lish, 1994).The onset of Bipolar disorder usually occurs between the ages of 20 and 30 years of age, with a second peak in the mid-forties for women. A typical bipolar patient may experience eight to ten episodes in their lifetime. However, those who have rapid cycling may experience more episodes of mania and depression that succeed each other without a period of remission (DSM III-R). The three stages of mania begin with hypomania, in which patients report that they are energetic, extroverted and assertive (Hirschfeld, 1995). The hypomania state has led observers to feel that bipolar patients are ;addicted; to their mania. Hypomania progresses into mania and the transition is marked by loss of judgment (Hirschfeld, 1995). Often, euphoric grandiose characteristics are displayed, and paranoid or irritable characteristics begin to manifest. The third stage of mania is evident when the patient experiences delusions with often paranoid themes. Speech is generally rapid and hyperactive behavior manifests sometimes associated with violence (Hirschfeld, 1995). READ: Englands Greatest Poet And Playwright Was Born At Essay When both manic and depressive symptoms occur at the same time it is called a mixed episode. Those afflicted are a special risk because there is a combination of hopelessness, agitation, and anxiety that makes them feel like they ;could jump out of their skin;(Hirschfeld, 1995). Up to 50% of all patients with mania have a mixture of depressed moods. Patients report feeling dysphoric, depressed, and unhappy; yet, they exhibit the energy associated with mania. Rapid cycling mania is another presentation of bipolar disorder. Mania may be present with four or .

The impact og globalisation on communication and impediments towards Essay

The impact og globalisation on communication and impediments towards free growth - Essay Example The impact of the globalization in the previous 150 years has been such wide and massive that often it seems that the global politics and relations are all set bound by the chains of communication that not a single country can take any action without affecting the global communication mechanism. the rise of technology, interdependence of states on each other, growing cultural exchange, availability of information at a press of a button and growth of international and regional organization like UNO, OPEC, SEATO, NATO and EU have over the time changed the way communication has been taken in the long past. The communication and globalization go parallel as both have a directly proportional effect on each other (Ali Mohammadi, 1997). The growth of communication around the world has strengthened the globalization and ever-growing globalization is making communication an important element of the life of countries and societies. It is a undeniable fact of our existence at the moment but the growth of communication and globalization does not go with criticism. ... The world as we see it today is more interdependent and more progressive than before as it has been established that one simply can not reach the shores of success and prosperity without the ships of other nations sailing beside them. This has led the developing countries to make arrangements to take the developed countries along with them. The spread of communication has changed the face of information exchange which is more rapid and immediate than ever before and the world is moving even more social and cultural integration leading the whole state of affairs of the world to be imbued in a single fabric of a single globalized world. The growth of industries and merging markets around the globe has greatly facilitated the growth of international organizations and has put a great impact on globalized production methods. The abrupt change and development in the globalization that is there today is due to the development of communications methods and channels that have not evolved in t he recent years but have taken years to come and develop. The globalization and international communication development is not something that happened in a one or two decades, but the process started with the first man stepping foot ahead to find new lands and opportunities (Thomas L. McPhail, 2010). Globalization of international communication has effected the international laws that govern states and the mutual relations of the states on the global level and leads the nations to devise national policies accordingly to foster concrete communication linkages for mutual development. The development of international communication over time has taken politics and national policy formulation to the international stage. Countries assist and guide each other for responsible national policy

Cultural Homogenisation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Cultural Homogenisation - Essay Example Cultural homogenization has resulted due to the mix up cultures where there has been development one culture in the world. It is one of the effects of increased globalization of culture. Cultural homogenization defines the aspect of achieving one culture which is used to as a bench of all other cultures in the world. As the wave of globalization takes on the world, there has been increased mix up of people and in the same way mix up of culture. One of the areas in which people have interacted most is in the area of tourism and hospitality industry. Global tourism has been on the rise in the recent past which has seen the growth of the industry by large margins. Global tourism refers to the aspect of people visiting foreign countries for leisure, business or for other purposes. Most of the people participating in global tourism have been doing so for holidays although in the recent past there has been increased global tourism for other purposes like medical tourism, cultural tourism, business tourism, and others. Hospitality industry has been one of the areas that have enabled global tourism to grow at such rate. Hospitality industry is mainly engaged in provision of service to those who are not in their homes which defined in the context of tourism will mean those who are touring other areas awa y from their homes. This is one of the industries which have been serving diversity in the world as it is involved in serving people of diverse origins. Therefore it is one of the areas that have been able to achieve cultural homogeneity as it employee's people of diverse cultures and also service the same kind of people. Examples of hospital industry are hotels, lodging, lodges, and others. Modernity is an aspect that refers to the modern way of life. The concept of modernity was coined in order to reflect the changing life of the world which was being reflected in many things. But this has been overrun by the post modernity period which is marked by the current wave of globalization and in which the focus has shifted from observing the changes taking place in the world towards achievement of standardized way of doing things in the world. (Carley 1998, p. 43; Castles 1996, p. 81) Background After the Second World War in 1945 there were marked changes in the world. There was increased response to the concept of having one world which was united in solving many problems that the world was facing. There was marked development of modern society since 1945. One way in which the society was coming together was through the formation of the United Nations immediately after the war. This was however a political arrangement of nations. There was systematic development of a modern society which was increasingly becoming responsive to the needs of human life. The society was changing political as we have shown above and also in technology. The market was as well changing as corporation started spreading their wings to foreign countries. There was marked development in the production process. There was marked development of fordism which was mass production and the markets became more open and countries found no need to have closed markets. As a result the concept to post-fordism was later developed with was change in the production process. Post-fordism was based on a model of market production which was dictated by the demands in the market. In his regard, there was less utilization of the house

Wastes in the hospitality industry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Wastes in the hospitality industry - Essay Example Research studies of the WRAP showed that the hospitality industry alone disposed of about 1.5 million tonnes of wastes (See Annex 1) that could have been reduced if these wastes were segregated. The hospitality industry is composed of pubs, restaurants, hotels, and quick service restaurants. WRAP study further showed that 78% of this tonnage of wastes is potential recyclable materials. These are composed of food, (41% or 600,000 tonnes) glass (14% or 213,000 tonnes), paper (13% or 196,000 tonnes ), and card (9% or134,000 tonnes ). Although efforts are made by the hospitality industry to reduce these wastes, there is still a lot of wastes that goes to landfills that otherwise could be recycled. There is money in wastes because there is opportunity in waste prevention. The hospitality industry has a lot of opportunities to reduce the amount of food wasted if the food was better proportioned, properly stored, and or prepared. WRAP estimated that the hospitality industry threw away 400.0 00 tonnes of recyclable amount of food in 2009; and the costs associated to this are estimated to be ?200 million. This goes to food costs, haulage, and landfill. These costs may not only be significant to the hotel industry because of profit concerns but also to consumers who should also get the best value from the hotel’s service. ... Water supply is one of the problems in tourism as it comes across the limitation of natural resources. Related to this, the† Resource Guide In Energy, Water And Waste Management For The Hospitality Industry† points out global concerns about waste disposals, particularly, â€Å"the climate change and global warming, ozone depletion, pollution, landfill impacts, acid rains and demand for resources outstripping supply† Steps taken by hotels to solve this problem As this problem compounds, one of the solutions found by the tourism industry is establishing green hotel. A green hotel, as described by Canadian hotel website are† hotels that are environmentally friendly properties that take the initiative and implement very important practices and programs to reduce energy, water, and waste.  Green Hotels are participating in recycling programs, linen changing programs, installing energy efficient lighting, and getting their message out to their guests and how they are doing their part in protecting the planet.† In reducing energy, several hotels have turned to trimming down energy consumption. For example, as cited in WRAP, Hyatt Regency International Hotel in New Zealand developed a project that linked energy use with room occupancy. It goes this way: â€Å"when the guests leave the room, all energy appliances shut down, with exception of refrigerators and alarm clocks. This project cost $16,000,a payback period of 14 months and a large savings of $14,000 annually.† Lighting is another cost saving device implemented in Tacoma Hotel. The hotel replaced their incandescent lamp fixtures to compact fluorescent light fixtures. The cost saving for the hotel is reported at $15,000. Other energy saving ideas was implemented in hotels. One of these is the solar power