...WHO NEEDS CULTURAL RESEARCH? The massive lack of public understanding of what contemporary humanities scholarship entails becomes painfully clear to me when I am asked by, say, the hairdresser, what I do. As part of my ongoing fieldwork, I generally decide to tell the truth. “I am a university teacher,” I say. “Oh,” would be the answer, “what do you teach?” I take a deep breath and say: “Cultural Studies.” What follows is usually a big silence. Conversation closed. And the hairdresser is not the only one who is embarrassed. She (or he) probably feels very ignorant because she doesn’t know what I’m talking about, while I feel bad about making her feel that way and feel hopelessly cut off from what she stands for: the general public. Part of the silence is related to a general unawareness of the complex meanings of the term “culture” itself. For most people, “culture” is extraordinary, set apart from daily life. It is either synonymous to art, something elevated and lofty, or refers to “other people” such as migrants or Aborigines. In other words, culture is either aesthetics or anthropology, and has nothing to do with their own lives. In the academic world, what is now called “cultural studies” has revolutionised the study of culture in contemporary society, by doing away with the separation between aesthetics and anthropology. “Culture” in cultural studies relates to the production and negotiation of meaning and value, and this is an ongoing, plural, often conflictive process...
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...Cross Cultural Research Paper Research is essential to all disciplines in Psychology, including Cross Cultural Psychology, for theory development, theory testing and to test theories against other theories. Also, research is a way to test ideas and hypothesis about different cultures related to specific concepts and trends gender, immigration attitudes, and comparative research compares different cultures to determine how they differ and/or are similar on such concepts as gender issues, child rearing, cognition, attitudes, etc. as they relate to culture. That is cross-cultural relative study and additional kinds of study can be concerned in the methods in which culture and correlated ideas for instance ethnicity influences the behavior and thinking of human being also how human being behavior and believe explain and reveal phases of an individual culture. Research builds the knowledge base for cross cultural psychology and investigates and tests the major trends in the field. Research investigates different cultures on a number of domains in Cross-Cultural Psychology. Certain trends or domains are prevalent in the field of cross cultural psychology including evolution and biology, awareness and reasoning, morals and outlooks, social psychology, behavior in culture, therapy and mental health, gender issues, parenting and human development, cultural change and ethnic psychology, also work and structural psychology. Additional trends consist of collectivism and individualism,...
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...Amish Cultural Research Paper Amish Cultural Research Paper Imagine living in a society where the members socialize exclusively with each other and not with the outside world. The men of this society dress conservatively in dark colors sporting clean-shave until married when they switch to beards. The women, wearing only full skirts, wear their hair up in a bun and covered with a simple white cap or bonnet. The community, called an ordnung, decides how the community will be run from state to state. The culture itself keeps an arms distance from technology because they believe that it weakens the structure of the family. Planting and sowing of the fields is done by using horse drawn machinery and very rarely does the hum of anything fuel powered echo from the farms. Intermarriages are kept within the genetically isolated society to include first cousins and divorce is not tolerated. The Amish are a horticultural-based culture that consists of a society that is very conservative and strong on religion. The intent of this paper is to focus on the Amish culture, their primary mode of subsistence, and to identify three aspects of it impacted by this mode. History The Amish are a peace-loving, upright, religious group of people, settled happily in different parts of the United States and Canada. They disregard the modern way of life and are content to live their lives preparing for death and heavenly rewards by going without modern conveniences, such as electricity...
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...to raise well-educated children. In the healthcare setting, communication is very important. How we speak, eye contact and touch are all forms of communication, both verbal and non-verbal. Hermonela knew that there would be certain barriers, like language, she would have to face. Speaking and comprehending is difficult for her at times. Because she is aware of this barrier, she said it causes her to be anxious during conversations and makes her have a low-self esteem. Eye contact is important when speaking to one another as it shows a sign of respect. When speaking to someone the acceptable distance is similar to that of the United States. They tend to avoid touching during conversations as much as possible. We have to be aware of the cultural aspects regarding communication in order to provide culturally competent care. In the Albanian culture, the concept of family is so important and highly regarded. In every culture, the authority to make decisions for the family’s well-being is widespread. In Hermonela’s culture, the older adults are considered the head of the household. They have the authority to guide and lead the family and children through problems, situations and make decisions for the betterment of that family. The elders are always respected and approached for advice. After hearing this, I saw some similarities between many eastern cultures like mines. We regard the elders highly and seek approval from them as well as their advice and blessings. It is important for...
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...Cultural Interview: Khaetthaleeya At the beginning of the fall 2015 semester at Dixie State University (DSU), a friend of mine moved into one of the apartments just outside of campus. I was helping her move a few of her things in when Khaetthaleeya came out to help us. This is where I met Khaetthaleeya, a young college student originally from Nakhonphanom, Thailand. She is the loveliest girl ever, but can be very shy so when I asked her if I could talk to her about her culture, she was kind of hesitant, but then agreed. On November 1, 2015 I interview Khaetthaleeya at her apartments by Dixie State University. She was born in Nakhonphanom, Thailand (which is Southeast of Asia near Vietnam). She moved here to American about 10 years ago with her parents and her younger sister, Waranya. They moved to Beaver, Utah where her mother and father both work at a pig farm. She attended and graduated from Beaver High School in 2012. As she transitioned into college life, she found herself here at Dixie College where she is studying her generals and soon to get her associates degree. She hopes to become a dental hygienist and make...
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...Executive summary The research report strives to carry out an investigation to gain an understanding about cultural differences in workplace, the impact, and the preventions in the context of Singapore. The focus will be employees on Singapore work environment. Cullen & Praveen (2014) explains culture as the characteristics of a particular group of people, defined by everything from language, religion, cuisine, social habits, music and arts etc. Nick (2012) points out that in Southeast Asia, Singapore has become a newly industrialized nation, which was hailed as a great economic success during the last 2 decades and the countries traditions of its culture still play a major role in business activities. While Stanton & Nankervis (2011) argues that the national culture of Singapore is high in power distance and this has lead the superiors and subordinates treat each other as unequals in the country. Singapore has also been called is also called a “nanny state’ by Nick (2012), because it is a work culture in which people are supposed to do exactly what they are told and there is no decentralisation or any opportunity for lower level employees to make suggestions. The research used both primary and secondary data collection method to collect information about the question at hand. Research found that Clearly the problem of conflicts due to culture is prevailing both in work conditions and everyday life in Singapore. These have huge implications for the businesses, especially...
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...Sociology and Cultural Anthropology: Compare and Contrast Western Governor’s University Issues in Behavioral Science (UG, GLT1-0310) Sociology and cultural anthropology are two of the major social sciences. Sociology is the study of the progress, arrangement, relationship and performance of a group of people. It studies the group in a specific given time frame (Calhoun, 2002). Cultural anthropology is the study of human beings through their ancestors in terms of surroundings, social relationships, language, religious beliefs and the principles of their societies (O’Neil, 2011). Both of these fields are inter-related in the study of a society and social culture but they each use specific research methods that are appropriate for their own course of studies. Sociology identifies associations or correlations between variables in a small group of sample population and applies these findings to a larger population (Calhoun, 2002). Cultural anthropology looks at small groups of people in their studies. Researchers may compare their understandings of the subjects with other cultures we are familiar with, but they do not necessarily have to use these findings to explain other cultures (O’Neil, 2011). Sociologists use five main methods of research that include surveys, interviews, experiments, observations, and secondary analysis (Admin, 2013). Each research method has its positive and negative effects and the study itself determines which tool is best suited, though...
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...Ever since middle school, I had an interest in social studies, especially in the cultural topics. I loved to learn about the different cultural and customs that are in the world. Cultural anthropology is a field that I am very intrigued in. According to the Occupational Outlook Handbook anthropologists and archeologists “study the origin, development, and behavior of humans”. The Cultural Anthropology program of the national park service said that cultural anthropology “specialize in the study of culture and peoples’ beliefs, practices, and the cognitive and social organization of human groups”. In the occupational outlook handbook explain the job descriptions for anthropology. They plan cultural research, and collect information from observations,...
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...failures has been linked mainly to the fact that “M&As are still designed with business organization and financial fit as primary conditions, leaving psychological and cultural issues as secondary concerns”. While as new countries start out into the free-market economic system, paying attention to cultural factors in IM&As is becoming essential. The wider cultural gap and the current trend of IM&Asbetween developed and developing countries increases the urgency of understanding the effects of civilization on the dynamics of IM&As and on issues such as corporate organization and local adaptation strategy. The present research is designed in response to this shortcoming. It examines the effects of culture on the outcome of IM&As and the variability of these effects during the different phases of an IM&A. The research focuses on the international aspect of cultural conflicts—the differentiating factor between domestic mergers and acquisitions (M&As) and IM&As. It measures success from an organization’s internal perspective, comparing what the IM&A, at inception, was expected to achieve and what it achieved several years later. This approach is different from the standard one of evaluating success based on market reaction to the IM&A—an external measure. I.B: Justification The main contention of this research is that there is no single means of managing across broders. People’s perceptions...
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...and Cultural Diversity Student’s Name University Policy Issues and Cultural Diversity A research gap is an aspect of research or a research question that has not been answered sufficiently in a study (Alvesson & Sandberg, 2013). A research gap arises when the researcher in his study has not adequately solved the research problem, as per the research methodology (Alvesson & Sandberg, 2013). In this paper, therefore, I further evaluate the research on intercultural maturity.To gain insights on how the researcher addressed the research problem, and ultimately discover areas I will suggest for further study on cultural diversity. Cultural diversity is influenced by a myriad of factors (Tierney, 2007).The factors affecting cultural diversity forms the first research gap; a study may be conducted with an aim of analyzing how these individual factors affect cultural diversity. These factors are both external and internal. Again from, the research on intercultural maturity, I feel that the study did not sufficiently indicate how the educational practices; models promote intercultural competence and effectiveness. This knowledge gap second suggests gap for further research on culture diversity. Also, the research on intercultural maturity has no sufficiently indicated how achievement of intercultural maturity promotes human development and positive interactions. This gap is an area that suggests further research on intercultural...
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...Making Excellence Inclusive In Education Student’s Name Institution Abstract This research paper is on cultural diversity and particularly intercultural maturity (Tierney, 2007). The point of discussion zeros into education practices that are being adopted to enhance intercultural maturity and intercultural competence in the current education systems (King & Baxter, 2005). This study also gives an overview of how to make the current education system excellent inclusive. Making education unique, inclusive addresses the adverse impacts on cultural diversity in the education sector (Kuh, 2008). In this research, I have also suggested areas for further research that need critical studies for the fulfillment of those research gaps. This paper is significant as it has identified key areas related to intercultural maturity that require rethink and further analysis. At the very end of my research, I have devised an action plan on how best to tackle and address those problems that are interconnected with intercultural maturity. This paper is of value as it dissects intercultural maturity; it enhances and builds a clear understanding of intercultural competence, excellence inclusive education and cross-cultural maturity. Furthermore, it will lead to the advancement of knowledge or perhaps the discovery of new knowledge as the research gaps are fulfilled (Alvesson & Sandberg, 2013). Making Excellence Inclusive In Education In the modern society...
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...http://hum.sagepub.com/ 'Cultural diversity' at work: 'National culture' as a discourse organizing an international project group Ester Barinaga Human Relations 2007 60: 315 DOI: 10.1177/0018726707075883 The online version of this article can be found at: http://hum.sagepub.com/content/60/2/315 Published by: http://www.sagepublications.com On behalf of: The Tavistock Institute Additional services and information for Human Relations can be found at: Email Alerts: http://hum.sagepub.com/cgi/alerts Subscriptions: http://hum.sagepub.com/subscriptions Reprints: http://www.sagepub.com/journalsReprints.nav Permissions: http://www.sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav Citations: http://hum.sagepub.com/content/60/2/315.refs.html >> Version of Record - Mar 6, 2007 What is This? Downloaded from hum.sagepub.com at Univ of Newcastle upon Tyne on October 26, 2011 Human Relations DOI: 10.1177/0018726707075883 Volume 60(2): 315–340 Copyright © 2007 The Tavistock Institute ® SAGE Publications Los Angeles, London, New Delhi, Singapore www.sagepublications.com ‘Cultural diversity’ at work: ‘National culture’ as a discourse organizing an international project group Ester Barinaga A B S T R AC T Research to date concurs in maintaining that performance of nationally homogeneous workgroups differs if compared to heterogeneous ones. Yet, results are mixed on the relationship between cultural diversity and workgroup outcomes. The article argues that cultural differences are given...
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...The differences in travelling preferences between postgraduate students in Poland and United Kingdom Module name: Research Methods Word count: 4978 January 2014 1. Abstract The purpose of this report is to determine the differences between travelling preferences among British and Polish postgraduate students. Moreover, the report aims to establish the patterns in which a cultural background influence travelling and to detect similarities between British and Polish attitudes. Therefore, the research is a comparative, cross-cultural study. In order to achieve the purpose, 5 structured interviews were carried out that helped to construct a questionnaire. The analysis of qualitative and quantitative data shows that the cultural background has an effect on postgraduate students' travelling preferences and that there are certain differences between British and Polish travelling tendencies. The particular aspects that affect those preferences are: language, socioeconomic status, geographic area and customs. However, owing to the global phenomena, the cultural backgrounds are disappearing and students' travelling preferences become more and more convergent. The author believes this research will form a valuable asset for tourism industry and it will be a base for future research. 2 2. Table of contents 1. Abstract ......................................................................................................................................................
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...study of behavior and mental processes. Psychology values empirical evidence - information acquired by direct observation and measurement using systematic scientific methods and critical thinking – the process of objectively evaluating, comparing, analyzing, and synthesizing information. Studying psychology offers practical solutions to everyday problems and develops an appreciation for scientific methods of research, as opposed to pseudo psychologies (“false psychologies”) that pretend to discover psychological information through nonscientific methods. B. Psychology’s Goals -The four goals of psychology are: (1) Description - to describe particular behaviors by careful scientific observation, (2) Explanation – to explain behaviors by conducting experiments to determine their causes, (3) Prediction – to predict when a behavior being studied will occur in the future, and (4) Change – to change inappropriate behavior or circumstances. psychologists investigate behavior with basic research or...
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...Chapter One Introduction The growing concept of globalization and the opening up of the world among countries have created an inter- country business (tourism), social (education), and cultural situations where people from different countries must learn the attitude and behavior of each other in order to engage in business and co-exist in this global world (Waldman & Rubalcava, 2005). Furthermore, Globalization has brought about intercultural marriage. In today’s world intercultural marriage is inevitable, therefore potential and existing couples are more likely than not to encounter intercultural differences and intercultural shocks such as divorce (Tallman & Hsiao, 2004) Globalization wise intercultural marriages are vital. They create a new wave of culture called the third culture (Casmir, 1993). Intimacy between persons of diverse cultures is becoming a common phenomenon lately, and has led to an upsurge in intercultural marriages, (Waldman & Rubalcava, 2005; Frame, 2004). There are degrees of differences in marriage including intercultural relationships or marriages. When you meet someone for the first time, you see them; you talk to them, so the first important question is, ‘Do we look alike or the same? Furthermore, you talk to them, so the subsequent question you ask yourself is ‘Do we speak the same language or different language? Do we speak with the same accent or different accents? Do we use the same vocabulary or...
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