Processes of Cultural Diffusion

Processes of Cultural Diffusion World has now become a global village. By global village what we mean is that everything is available to every person through the process of free information flow (Ascher, 2010). Globalization has brought everything closer and that has happened through cultural diffusion. Now to understand what cultural diffusion is, we first have to have a fair idea over what is diffusion. Secondly there is well defined process through which a culture is diffused in other cultures and makes it mark. This culture diffusion affects international business to the core because when we say that globalization have made its presence felt in the global economy, we see that it is there because of culture diffusion in different ways. This has also lead to come sort of cultural imperialism which we shall discuss in length in paragraphs to come. Culture diffusion happens when non material and material culture travels to another culture (Wise, 2008). How this happens is a million dollar question which needs to be answered correctly and to the point. To have a profound knowledge over how it happens we go to the basics of it which is culture hearth. Now culture hearth is a place where civilizations first began and then they spread to different areas. Nowadays culture hearths are considered to be in those countries which are well developed and whose culture gets diffused to other developing countries because they have to be in tandem with each other so to have a good and viable trade. If we talk by considering the present world and international trade, we see that this cultural diffusion has spread many cultural straits wherever they got a chance to get diffused. Sometimes this spread is so rapid that no one can find out its origin, timing and spread. There are two different ways in which a culture is diffused to another culture ; one is acculturation and another is Assimilation (Howes, 1996). Both are the ways in which culture is diffused in another culture. In acculturation what happens is that some cultural traits of strong cultures are being taken up by weak cultures like in ancient times we see that Spain had some cultural traits which are taken from Aztecs. Similarly if we see examples in the modern world we observe that a very common greeting hello is also a cultural trait which is being taken by many cultures as a greeting by default. Why that happened so? Because it has its roots in western world and as West dominated for the last two centuries, all the trade, rules and policies were being written and implemented by Western countries which influenced weak cultures to adopt the greeting and many other things which now we call globalization. On the other hand, another way in which a culture can be diffused is through assimilation. In assimilation what happens is that cultures are intertwined with each other in such a way that it is hard to distinguish between where its origin had been. Lets for example when Arabs came to Indian Subcontinent, the Indians had nothing than a piece of cloth worn up to their knees with an open jacket as their vests but Arabs brought a new culture of a full length suit of cloth covering whole body. Now after centuries the Mongols and the warriors from Afghanistan brought minor changes to the original dress which made people easy to carry, walk and most of all made it best attire which can be used for combat purposes also. End result was that the whole thing got assimilated with each other so quickly that there was little difference left between what people wear in Arabian countries mainly the natives of Arab Emirates and the people wear in subcontinent. It specially pertains to the dressing of men. Other thing which effects diffusion is the cultural barriers, time and distance delay and lastly physical barriers (Rauth, 2004). Cultural barriers includes things which are not acceptable to other culture at any cost for example Mc Donald came up in India with its different burgers mainly in beef but as Indians hold cow as sacred, they do not go for it so Mc Donald have to introduce veggie burgers instead of beef as local cultural barrier never allowed any assimilation or acculturization to take place. In time and distance delay, diffusion is hampered because time and distance which it would take to reach another culture would be more and then would become less futile for example Eskimos who live at poles, their cultures and way of living is different from us and still they are yet to have culture diffusion (Howes, 1996). Time and distance delay is somewhat linked with the physical barriers also which also helps in making things bad for cultural diffusion to take place for example t he terrain which is very tough to pass would obviously make things worse for people to travel hence making it hard to diffuse a culture or similarly a sharp weather change would also create a physical barrier for culture diffusion to take place as it would be difficult to take things from one culture to another as culture traits differ from each other or not even close to each other. That culture is diffused either in expansionary diffusion or relocated diffusion (Said, 1994). We have seen that expansionary diffusion have taken place in most of the places in world where West culture is being adopted by the elite and now it is being transmitted to the lower end of the population. This sort of diffusion is known as hierarchical diffusion in where the spread of a new culture takes place from top to bottom. Example of this is the coffee shops like star bucks, which had no concept in south Asia but they are brought by Westerners who came here for business purposes. They first inculcated the trend in elite and now it is being adopted by every person as it have has transformed many old kiosks for betel leaves and cigarettes into coffee shops. Similarly blackberries; many corporate customers have this gadget in their hands which is attracting other upper middle class people to have it too so to have some satisfaction. Other types include relocation diffusion which happen s when people take their innovations with them to a new place like for example Jews. Jews in Europe were really good in scientific knowledge and due to their astuteness they were being victimized and were sent to concentration camps. When after the world war they relocated themselves in different parts of the world, they went with their knowledge and innovations which brought a lot of prosperity around the globe. Another example of it can be AIDS which spread through relocation diffusion as disease is carried by one person who migrates to another society with having a different culture. Now as diffusion is discussed at length, we now see that whether cultural imperialism can be established through cultural diffusion? Yes to some extent I would agree to it because in international business when there is trade and goods flow from one place to another, it not only takes a new product across the borders but also takes its culture to another place. In other words level of diffusion depends on the factors discussed above and also on a culture being strong as to the culture where it is being diffused as being weak (Hobson, 2010). Like for example the trend of suits around the world, from where it came? It came and assimilated in our culture because it was being followed by a strong culture or in cultural hearth which is American and Europe and from there it diffused to all parts of the world. Mens formal suitings, as we all know, have such an importance that now if a south Korean business tycoon needs to do a deal with his Indian counterpart to open up a microchip factory in Delhi, they would be following their own business rules and formalities but their attire would be formal and would follow the strong cultures dress code which is to have a formal dress suit. Moreover the casual dress in China, a decade ago was not jeans and a tee shirt but now they have taken the affect of American culture as it diffused into their society but why? Because more than 70 percent of chinas trade is bound for America so Chinese have adopted some practices of American culture which shows us that yes there is diffusion of culture but that does not proves cultural imperialism at any point; people went towards tee shirts and jeans because they were easier to handle, according to the young generation, as compare to traditional safari suits for men and traditional Chinese for women. Apart from this, cultural diffusion does not reflect cultural imperialism for example whole world is following more or less same accounting principles so the rules of debit and credit are same so to imply that it is a product of a particular nation or it is a part of any culture would be a gross mistake. Yes its true that methods of accounting were first brought up by Chinese but significant changes were made throughout.

Was Stalin a Great Man? :: essays research papers

According to Thoman Carlyle, a â€Å"great man† is one who shapes history and affects the course of the future. In the case of Joseph Stalin, dictator of the Soviet Union from 1929-1953, one can perceive that through torment and brutal force, he was able to modernize a nation and oppress his own people. One can argue that Stalin was a great leader of the 20th century. After all, he took an undeveloped country and molded it into one of the world’s greatest industrial and military forces. But, this transformation did not come at a small cost. Stalin was so paranoid that his Communist regime would be ‘crushed’ by one of the dominating Capitalist countries of the West that he became obsessed with the mass production of industrial and agricultural machinery, neglecting the production of basic goods needed to sustain human survival. In his mind, getting Russia’s industrial sector up to par was more important than producing adequate clothing and household goods. Setting completely absurd targets for increased production in agriculture, and of coal, pig iron, oil, and steel products in his three five-year plans did work well for Stalin, and other countries began to take notice. But, in history, very few leaders have forced their own people to make the kinds of sac rifices Stalin imposed on them. To increase agricultural production, and bring in a surplus of food products, Stalin enforced and regulated his idea of â€Å"collective agriculture† – government control of farm land. In turn, the kulaks felt completely oppressed and were unwilling to give up the small amount of land they owned. Stalin would not tolerate opposition from anyone, and as a result, millions of kulaks and peasants were sent off to labor concentration camps, known as â€Å"gulags,† or were simply eliminated. It wasn’t just the lower-class peoples that he wouldn’t tolerate opposition from. Stalin was known for having other political figures that could possibly pose a threat to his regime eliminated. In 1935, he began his â€Å"purges.† He would send out his secret police to arrest and either jail or execute those in political opposition of him.

Airplane Safety Essay -- essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The main purpose of the article, Airspace Blunders, is to identify the leading causes for airspace incursions, more commonly known as near-midair collisions, and to provide alternative courses of action to prevent them.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Prior to 9/11, the Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) reported 10 clearly defined categories of causes; Unfamiliarity, Complex airspace, Overlying airspace, High workloads, Trusting technology too much, Confusion over landmarks, Problems getting clearances, Cutting it too Close, and finally, â€Å"I didn’t realize†¦Ã¢â‚¬    Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Of the causes identified, one was pilots being unfamiliar with the airspace boundaries, not being able to pick out local landmarks based on a section chart, understanding urban settings, strict noise abatement procedures and identifying different airspace classes. When you add in rapid-fire communications, high traffic flows and the complexity of a new patch of airspace, the challenges become much greater. The article suggests pilots being better prepared may mitigate these obstacles. This entails making sure the charts have proper scaling to signify key landmarks. These charts must then be studied. Prior to the flight, pilots were recommended to contact local pilots and flight instructors to obtain a sound understanding on normal clearances and potential problems.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When flying in complex airspace, the potential for flying into restricted airspace increases. Filing IFR for flight operations is an easier and safer option.   Ã‚  ...

Blood Alcohol Content Essay

The thought of alcohol being involved in fatal crashes brings about an emotional response. Recently, there has been a movement based on emotion rather than logic to change a certain drinking and driving law. This involves lowering the Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) from 0. 10% to 0. 08% nationwide. However, this attention is misdirected. By looking at my personal experiences, statistics, and current laws, it is clear that there is no need for lowering the BAC. First off, I do not drink. Yet, I’ve had many experiences relating to drinking and driving through my friends. One thing I’ve noticed is that it is extremely hard for people to tell if they are legally drunk or not. Furthermore, I have never heard any of my friends say that they feel that they should drive home because they have only a . 09% BAC. The law has very little effect on how many drinks a person decides to consume. Therefore, lowering the legal drunk limit will not result in people acting more responsible. Supporters of lowering the BAC like Judith Lee Stone in her essay â€Å"YES! † think they are targeting the problem of drunken driving, but the real problem lies within the higher BACs. Ninety three percent of fatal accidents are 0. 10% BAC and above, and half of those ninety three percent have a BAC of 0. 20% and above. The average BAC for fatal accidents is at actually at 0. 17%. This seems like a more logical target for new laws then 0. 08%. Furthermore, Stone asks â€Å"Who would want their children in a car driven by someone who has consumed three, four, or even more beers in an hour† (Stone 46)? I couldn’t agree more. However, this common argument from the pro-0. 08% side is more like a parent responsibility question. They use this to manipulate our emotion by putting an innocent child in an improbable and unrelated situation. She also goes on to state, â€Å"A study at Boston University found that 500 to 600 fewer highway deaths would occur annually if all states adopted 0. 08%† (Stone 47). On the other hand, a similar study at University of North Carolina shows no significant change after their adoption of 0. 08%. Which study is correct? Most likely, both have some truthfulness. It could be either way depending on the state. The lowering of the Blood Alcohol Content percentage law is unnecessary and useless. Nevertheless, some states have already moved to the 0. 08%, and we hear the argument: â€Å"It makes no sense for a driver to be legally drunk in one state but not in another† (Stone 46). To that, I ask a couple questions of my own. Why can I carry a concealed gun in one state and not another? Why is it that I can drive a certain speed in one state, but a different speed in another? The response to those questions and Stone’s statement is all of the above are state laws. At this point, the federal government seems to get confused. In October 2000, congress passed a law that uses the states’ money against them. It asserts that if a state doesn’t lower its BAC percentage to 0. 08% by 2003, it will lose two percent of its highway money. States that don’t like the law will be forced to vote for it because they are desperate for highway construction money. Strings shouldn’t be attached to this money. What are lost in all of this are the current laws for drunk driving. Driving while impaired is already illegal whether the person tests 0. 04% or 0. 10%. Courts can use alcohol test of 0. 04% and higher as evidence of impairment. It’s at 0. 10% where a person is legally drunk and cannot legally operate a vehicle. Therefore, it’s not as if people who test 0. 08% are going unpunished like the other side would have you believe. In conclusion, anybody who picks out one particular aspect and says that it is not working hasn’t looked that the whole problem. The president for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, Brian O’ Neill, says that he’d rather see resources directed toward enforcing existing drunken driving laws. Hopefully, with more education, more awareness, and more enforcement we can successfully reduce drinking and driving fatalities. Bibliography Stone, Judith Lee. Yes!. Reading and Writing Short Arguments. Ed. William Vesterman. Mountain View, California: Mayfield Publishing Company, 2000. 46-47. Word Count: 702.

Ernest Hemingway

If Ernest Hemingway sole legacy were his theory of omission and nothing more or nothing else, he still arguably would be the singe most influential writer of his generation and all the great writers who followed. It is a rarity to find any writer worth his salt who has not been influenced the theory that the writer could and may be should take the liberty of omitting some things in his narrative as long as he was confident of them and the reader would feel them as strongly as though the reader had narrated them.Though Hemingway often countered the existence of and the significance of The Lost generation( a term he even had ridiculed as â€Å"splendid bombast† on the part of Gertrude Stein, to whom goes the credit of coining the term), yet he has been inseparably linked with it and considered by many as the leader of the movement. The Lost Generation, so vividly brought to the fore of the reader’s knowledge in â€Å"The Sun also Rises† describes the generation whi ch faced the World War I and discovered that the right deeds did not always beget good results.No longer able to rely on their traditional beliefs that gave a completeness and meaning to life, a whole generation became morally, and psychologically lost. Their whole life is a meaning less wandering almost like an aimless journey they stagger through, hiding their un-understood anguish in alcohol and false boisterous ness of Jazz( as depicted by Scott Fitzerald). Zelda and Scott Fitzerald seem to be the characters on which the caricatures of Cohn and his domineering girlfriend are depicted in TheSAR, throught the eyes of Jake.The themes, which are dealt with in the unique Hemingway style in â€Å"The Sun also Rises† are The aimless ness of the lost Generation, Male Insecurity, The Destructive ness of sex. Though the underlying sympathy towards his times is evident the themes that are dealt with in A Farewell to Arms are The Grim reality of War, The seemingly cause and effect re lationship between Love and Pain, and Illusions and Fantasies. To make the comparison and the contrast clearer it is better to look at the two works one at a time.In A farewell to Arms, as the title is indicative the novel deals with the process by which the Protagonist Frederic Henry removes himself from it and leaves it behind. The novel contains unparalleled descriptions of the brutality and meaningless ness of war without the romanticism associated with the regular genre of War novels. The scenes dealing with the retreat of the Italian Army, where along with the loss of columns of soldiers, there is a general loss of moral judgment and nerves.The moral ambiguity of Henry shooting the engineer for refusing to help free the car is a symbol of the inexplicable escalation of violence (more in the mind, where it originates) and the disorder of the war. The game of Love that Henry and Catherine begin as a distraction from their respective pains and troubles, Henry to detach himself fr om the troubling reality of a meaningless war and Catherine to put the loss of her Fiance behind her are symbolic of the emotional bankruptcy that is the results of turbulent times. Soon their Love turns from a distraction to the very core of their being.Henry’s understanding of the strength of his love for Catherine helps him over reach the empty ideals of honor in a war that never belonged to him. This enables him to flee the war and seek her out and they plan an idyllic life that is meant to be a salve for both their troubled life. However, the tragedy of the novel rests in the fact that in a world plagued by problems that are mostly unexplained and incomprehensible, even true love can only be temporary. The most convincing expression of tragedy comes when Henry says â€Å"If people bring so much courage to this world the world has to kill them to break them, so of course it kills them.The world breaks every one and afterward many are strong at the broken places† In the Sun also Rises, the entire overwhelming aimless ness of a whole generation who never seem to take their lives, emotions, love or goals, as anything important is the all-pervading theme. Though Hemingway never explicitly mentions the aimless ness, it is for all to sense in the way each of the character tries to fill hi/her days with drinking, dancing and debauchery as though they were the very essence on which their existence hinged.The novel also deals in symbols and through technique, the confusion over the entire idea of Masculinity. The ambiguity brought about by the World War where against the common perceptions of men, soldiers were required to huddle in trenches and pray more for luck than anything else was totally against the masculinity the world had understood till then. In making clear through subtle conversations that Jake is rendered impotent by the war, Hemingway also goes ahead and picturizes the other characters be it the womanizing Cohen, Drunkard Mike or Bill i n ways that do not convey the masculinity associated with them.â€Å"I can’t stand it to think my life is going so fast and I’m not really living it. † Says Cohen in a sudden moment of clarity, which pretty much seems to sum up his entire generation. The motifs in The Farewell to arms are Masculinity, Games and divertissement in relations and loyalty versus abandonment. Where as in The Sun also Rises, he deals primarily with lack of communication (no primary character, unless either drunk or in an extremely painful situation ever conducts a communicating conversation, preferring to brood and languish in the non-comprehension.), Excessive drinking and False Friendships. Rain is a powerful symbol for pain and loneliness and helplessness in The Farewell to arms where as in The Sun also Rises it is the Bullfighting that is a poignant symbol of masculinity, the romanticism inextricably attached to cruelty. It is pertinent to note that the Personal life of Ernest Hemi ngway seeps through most of his novels, his beliefs, his confusions in life, his pain and suffering and his compromises or the lack of them.One can see and speculate on the Hunter, the fond Fisherman, soldier and reporter and the writers who populate his novels as depictions of the various stages of Hemingway’s life. There is rarely another write in American Literature who can justifiably lay claim to have seen, touched and felt about most circumstances that he is writing about (or in Hemingway’s case indicating but omitting). Hemingway lived the life of several of his protagonists and many who read his biography rarely come up with a question as to why he had to commit suicide.A person who lived life mostly on his won terms and felt so deeply for human suffering in times of turbulence, and clung on to a value system he wanted to survive in spite of the vagaries of the war, could not have possibly let fate decide his end. From Three stories & ten poems to The Old man a nd the sea through the path breaking For whom the bell tolls or the two other works discussed in these pages, Hemingway has enriched this period of American literature with his writings. Books referred to but not quoted Ernest Hemingway A reconsideration by Philip Young Penn state Press 1966

The Four Theories of Government

Akira Simmons 3/5/09 Government There were fourdifferent theories of governments, the force theory, the evolutionary rule, the divine right theory, and social contract theory. The Force theory was when one person or group of people gained control of the area and forced others to submit to their rule. The evolutionary Rule basically said that the states would develop naturally out of family clans, tribes, ect. The divine right theory said that the state was created by God and God gave people of royal birth the â€Å"divine right to rule†. The social contract theory was created by Thomas Hobbes and he believed that before the state people were British. People lived poorly and to improve their lives people could enter into a social contract where a superior person would rule over the rest. None of these four different theories of governments would be a best fit for the United States today. The force theory should not be a government for the United States. A dictator or a group of dictators would make all decisions and there would be no rights for U. S. citizens. The people would have no say and would not be able to vote on anything. The dictator would have all control. In the United States today, we do not use the force theory, but rather a democracy. The Force theory would not be best fit for the United States because with one person having all control, the people of the United States would not have a government that would not be able to exercise their amendments. The evolutionary Rule would also not be a best fit for the United States because in the evolutionary rule, there is no one with control. There would be no form of government and the states would be separate depending on what family you were born into. The area the family clan or tribe originated from would become part of that state. The states would develop naturally rather than families moving throughout each state. This theory would not be a best fit for the United States because there would be no form of government and the families would be born into a state. The divine right theory is mostly based on religion and would not be a good way to govern in the United States because people practice different religions. God gave people of the royal birth the â€Å"divine right to rule†, but not all people believe in the same religion or God. Not only would religion be an issue but also the royal family factor. In the United States, there are no royal families, but there are wealthy, middle class, and the low class. The â€Å"divine right to rule† is not used in the United States because of the different religions. This theory would not be best fit for the United States because the United States does not rule based on religion and there are no royal families. The Social contract theory was created by Thomas Hobbes and he basically stated that the state people were British. People were poor and to improve their lives people would enter into a social contract where one superior person ruled over the rest. This would not be a best fit form of government for the United States today because not everybody lives poor in every state. Each state has a different group of lower class, middle class, and upper class. This also would not be good government for the U. S. because with one superior person ruling there would be no democracy. The United States does not use the social contract today because of these reasons. The four theories of forms of government were all different from one another. These theories are should not be used in the United States today because it’s a different time from when these theories were created. They also should not be used in the U. S. today because there are different reasons the theories would not work in the U. S.

Dental Hygiene and the safety of Fluoride Essay

Dental Hygiene and the safety of Fluoride - Essay Example The most interesting finding was that, with all variables taken into account, nurses with a bachelor’s degree corresponded to a 5% decrease in the likelihood of patient death and failure to rescue on the part of these nurses. Using this as a basis, it is evident that having bachelor prepared nurses is important in maintaining the health of patients. Sasichay-Akkadechanunt, Scalzi, & Jawad (2003) found similar results. This study examined data from 2531 patients in various surgical and ward units in one large hospital in Thailand. The patients were split into four major categories (disease of the heart, disease of the lung, all types of cancer and cerebrovascular diseases) and data was observationally taken from their charts, as well as information from the nursing staff. The results showed again that there was a decrease in in-hospital mortality with bachelor prepared nurses. It should be noted that using this technique means that many diseases are ignored by the study which m ay not benefit from nurse education at this level, but it seems suggestible from the research that it is. Primm (1987) compared the competency of AND prepared nurses to BSN prepared nurses. BSN qualifications take roughly twice the amount of time as an AND qualification. Although both lead to RN status, Primm found evidence to suggest that BSN prepared nurses had a higher competence rating in the majority of the five areas surveyed in the study. This gives further evidence that bachelor preparation may lead to better prepared nurses, although the evidence from one study should be carefully used when generalising as many programs can be different between areas. White, Coyne & Patel (2001) investigated all members of the Oncology Nursing Society to ascertain whether nurses felt adequately prepared for end-of-life care. All the respondents said that end-of-life care was an important aspect of their work life, and each of them had covered this area in their bachelor preparation. One asp ect that came up is that nurses felt that continuing education was very important, although only two respondents had covered end-of-life care in the previous two years. This suggests that, whilst bachelor prepared nurses are important and feel qualified, there could be more education provided for nurses during their career. It must be noted that the nurses here were only questioned on their participation in end-of-life care so we must be careful not to generalize these views without careful consideration. Further evidence that bachelor prepared nurses are useful in specialized situations is provided by Kardong-Edgren & Campinha-Bacote (2008). This paper examined four groups of nurses, each from different geographical areas, and surveyed the cultural sensitivity of those with an American BSN qualification. The study found that, because cultural sensitivity and awareness of beliefs is an important aspect of gaining the BSN qualification, nurses with the qualification were more highly prepared to deal with various groups of patients. This is important as it shows that nurses with bachelor preparation may be more able to create a comfortable environment for the patient which will lead to lower in-hospital death rates and a more pleasant experience for the patient. It is important to note that this is an important aspect of nursing that can be overlooked by the literature. Thornton (1997)