Cross Cultural Understanding Essays

Cross Cultural Understanding Essays Cross Cultural Understanding Essay Cross Cultural Understanding Essay The first civilization that would be considered as a client for this paper is a minority civilization of Asiatic Americans in the United States. Statistically. Asian-Americans compose the 4th largest cultural group in America. However. their cultural group is significantly far from the 3rd one which are the Latin American occupants of the state. Besides. an of import point to understand for the Asian-American civilization in the United States is that although they are American citizens and are classified under Asiatic descent. their cultural group and contents as many states belong to Asia such as Chinese. Indian. Vietnamese. Koreans. Nipponese ( Zhang. Snowden. A ; Sue. 1998 ) . However. late. although there has been a steady inflow of Asiatic subjects who have migrated to the United States in order to happen work. household. or any other intent. there is besides a class within the Asian-American community - those who have been descendants of Asians in the state. However. at least for this paper. those two subcategories of Asian-American shall be considered together. For this minority cultural group. we shall near to the treatment from the point of position of Jessica. Jessica is a Filipino who has migrated to the United States five old ages ago and whose current business is a family domestic assistant for a middle-class household in the state. Like many other Filipinos - in fact like many other Asians who have migrated to the United States. although their cultural beliefs have been associated by many people in the state to be either Buddhist. endowments. or any one of the far Eastern faiths. Jessica is really a Roman Catholic. Bing a Roman Catholic. she has the responsibilities and duties of traveling to Mass every Sunday and beliefs any many of the instructions of the Roman Catholic Church. although some of the beliefs are culturally different from Roman Catholics in the United States because of her Filipino roots. Besides. she was educated up to freshman college in our community back in the Philippines and is a female parent of three kids who have stayed back in the state and who. at least harmonizing to her. she wants to migrate to America over the following old ages if her nest eggs from her current business of every bit. Her hubby is besides endorsing her place state. Having highly powerful household values. her girl - the firstborn of her kids - his program to travel to the United States early following twelvemonth to get down analyzing here as a scholarship that has been granted to her by the local Filipino community and support group. Jessica. being a occupant of the United States and belong to any minority cultural community in the state. is of class entitled to have societal support as is recommended. documented. and legislated by that country’s authorities ( Brown A ; James. 2000 ) . However. this is non the lone ground why Jessica is having societal services. The fact that she belongs to a minority cultural community in the United States reflects that she is an person is gimping in a different cultural background than what she had been used to endorse in her place state. In fact. back in the Philippines. populating far from the urban city and in the rural countries of the state. Jessica. whenever she feels an complaint. does non instantly travel to the local infirmary non merely because of the certain disbursals that are required in order to have medical intervention. but besides because of the long-standing cultural belief that before any medical aid and assistance is taken and listed by citizens. the first individual that one approaches is the local therapists of the community ( Monzon. 1995 ) . Therefore. here. life in the United States. Jessica all of a sudden finds herself in state of affairss where he and if she has medical complaints. jobs. or even minor conditions - something which is normally felt particularly when in the industry of domestic and household work - she does non acknowledge that she is entitled to assorted medical rights as she is a taxpayer of the state. And because of the deficiency of the local therapists of the local occupants in the United States. Jessica merely seeks medical attending when the complaint that she feels ranges an intolerable province. If Jessica was back in the Philippines. although she would hold surely received societal public assistance and societal work services. she would hold had local support and be familiar with the system of medical intervention in our state. However. now. being the United States. her job is that such medical attending is dashing particularly for a migratory worker in the state who knows that her income in wage is comparatively low compared to other citizens ( Huang A ; Yeoh. 1996 ) . The handiness of societal work non merely for medical entree but besides for information sing what the snake pit services of the state can offer becomes indispensable in her instance and the many other domestic assistants that belong to Asian-American communities in the state. The 2nd individual that we take into consideration is an person named Lucas. Lucas. nevertheless. is non the existent name of the client for grounds that shall be apparent. Lucas belongs to a cultural bulk in the United States - African-Americans - who have integrated themselves from household. to environment. civilization. and even to work. in greater tube polyps and countries in the United States today. Lucas is 24 old ages old and works in an advertisement bureau in one of the many public dealingss groups in the metropolis. Besides. he is individual and populating individually from his household with an income that current income brackets would sort as under the middle-class. He has received a university instruction from one of the local province colleges and is be aftering on taking up a Masters degree in news media for public communicating in the following two old ages. Besides. Lucas is a Baptist Christian and belongs to a tightknit community of households that pattern the religion. However. non known to his household members and as he has merely revealed to a few people. Lucas is homosexual and has known this for rather some clip. He on a regular basis undergoes sexual brushs with work forces in and around his age belonging to all sorts of races and civilizations. Recently. Lucas. upon having medical medical examination and blood trial - every bit good as an advice from one of his sexual spouses - as discovered that he has the HIV virus and that his CD4 count is already below 300. The CD4 count is a index of the figure of white blood cells a individual has. A individual without HIV or does non hold any immune system jobs will normally hold 700 to 1000 CD4 count in their blood. Even persons who have contracted HIV virus do non needfully hold to take medicine every bit long as they are CD4 count remains above 300 ( Solomon et al. . 1998 ) . However. one time this figure is breached. certain doses of medicine have to be taken every twenty-four hours at a certain clip without losing a individual dosage in order to guarantee endurance from the disease. In fact. unbeknownst to Lucas or many other persons who have contracted HIV virus and have been tested. and single with HIV could last up to the normal lifetime of human existences given that they either take their medical specialty every twenty-four hours in on a regular basis without losing a individual dosage or sing proper leading to maintain their immune system up if their white blood cell counts have non yet gone below 300 ( Veazey A ; Lackner. 2004 ) . However. because of the negative convention of HIV. many people do non notice. Furthermore. the medicine for HIV-positive persons are highly expensive ( Kalichman et Al. . 2000 ) . It is up to societal workers to inform persons such as Lucas that the medicines required to contend off the HIV virus and to keep proper immune system in order to populate a full healthy life is really free and provided by the wellness services of the local and national authorities without any charge. In fact. as of late. any person who has contracted HIV virus and started the medicine that is provided by the authorities have non experienced deceases over five old ages because of its efficiency ( Cole. Kemeny. A ; Taylor. 1997 ) . The lone job with HIV is that persons do non cognize either if it’s lifelessly effects. its jobs of transmittal. or the fact that medical specialty is distributed freely by the authorities is one time tested this positive. Lucas had merely known of this fact when he had received information and aid from societal workers and the system of wellness benefits for HIV-positive persons together with societal work scenarios are kept in complete namelessness particularly sing the fact that Lucas belongs to a spiritual religious order of Christianity that condone such actions ( Nelson. Rosenfeld. Breitbart. A ; Galietta. 2002 ) . I. on the other manus. am a 28-year-old heterosexual female and have been raised in the state. although treatments with parents and relations have revealed that I have some Italian and Native American roots. Besides. I am profoundly spiritual and believe in big households. every bit good as a house truster that sex should merely be undergone after matrimony as it stopped by the Catholic faith that I fierily pattern. As a societal worker. it is really indispensable to understand - particularly sing the two clients that have already been mentioned earlier in this paper - of the assorted contexts they are coming from. In fact. one of the most debatable attack is particularly in societal work is if we have societal workers instantly instigate judgement upon persons. These two individualities. although significantly different from each other and even significantly different from my ain. necessitate self-contemplation and interface because it is merely through understanding their local societal and cultural context would I be able to understand the manner they think and hence besides be able to explicate programs on how to assist these persons and even be able to assist other in the commissariats who belong to the same societal and cultural bulk or minority in the hereafter. For illustration. in the instance of Jessica. possibly it may non be logical for me as a American citizens understand why she doesn’t travel to healthcare installations instantly when she feels hurting and parts of her organic structure. but so realized that her cultural position is that from the Philippines and a little room small town community where elements normally go off or if they don’t. are addressed by local medical specialties and she looks. However. unbeknownst to these persons is that some diseases - like the 1s that have been experienced by Lucas - could merely be seen after comparative medical scrutinies and trials have been performed by research installations and infirmaries which look specifically for marks. symptoms. and complaints as a consequence of old ages of survey by medical professionals in their Fieldss ( Woloschuk A ; Tarrant. 2002 ) . Besides. as another illustration. from the point of position of Lucas. being raised as a Christian Baptist instantly raises a job in the issue of homosexualism - much more the issue of holding contracted HIV because of his many experiences and sexual brushs. Possibly. from my point of position. it would hold been unlogical for him non to seek intervention instantly. However. what I must retrieve once more is that from his cultural point of position and position - particularly from the position of faith and household - being a homophile is a wickedness non merely to local household members but even to his destiny as good - much more undertaking the deathly HIV virus. As a societal worker. even though I believe that sex should merely be done after matrimony and done in full fidelity to your spouse. if I truly wanted to assist Lucas. I would non present this judgement merely because of my ain cultural Mormon position but instead understand it from his point of position and realized that wellness. among others. must trump the cards from the position of my responsibility as a societal worker. Mentions: Brown. D. E. . A ; James. G. D. ( 2000 ) . Physiological emphasis responses in Filipino-American immigrant nurses: the effects of abode clip. life-style. and occupation strain ( Vol. 62. pp. 394–400 ) . Am Psychosomatic Soc. Cole. S. W. . Kemeny. M. E. . A ; Taylor. S. E. ( 1997 ) . Social individuality and physical wellness: accelerated HIV patterned advance in rejection-sensitive homosexual work forces. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 72 ( 2 ) . 320. Huang. S. . A ; Yeoh. B. S. ( 1996 ) . Neckties that bind: province policy and migratory female domestic assistants in Singapore. Geoforum. 27 ( 4 ) . 479–493. Kalichman. S. C. . Benotsch. E. . Suarez. T. . Catz. S. . Miller. J. . A ; Rompa. D. ( 2000 ) . Health literacy and health-related cognition among individuals populating with HIV/AIDS. American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 18 ( 4 ) . 325–331. Monzon. R. B. ( 1995 ) . Traditional medical specialty in the intervention of parasitic diseases in the Philippines. Southeast Asiatic diary of tropical medical specialty and public wellness. 26 ( 3 ) . 421–428. Nelson. C. J. . Rosenfeld. B. J. . Breitbart. W. . A ; Galietta. M. ( 2002 ) . Spirituality. faith. and depression in the terminally sick ( Vol. 43. pp. 213–220 ) . Acad Psychosom Med. Solomon. L. . Stein. M. . Flynn. C. . Schuman. P. . Schoenbaum. E. . Moore. J. . et Al. ( 1998 ) . Health services usage by urban adult females with or at hazard for HIV-1 infection: the HIV Epidemiology Research Study ( HERS ) . Journal of acquired immune lack syndromes and human retrovirology: official publication of the International Retrovirology Association. 17 ( 3 ) . 253. Veazey. R. S. . A ; Lackner. A. A. ( 2004 ) . Geting to the backbones of HIV pathogenesis ( Vol. 200. pp. 697–700 ) . The Rockefeller University Press. Woloschuk. W. . A ; Tarrant. M. ( 2002 ) . Does a rural educational experience influence students’ likeliness of rural pattern? Impact of pupil background and gender. Journal of Rural Health. 18 ( 4 ) . 492. Zhang. A. Y. . Snowden. L. R. . A ; Sue. S. ( 1998 ) . Differences between Asiatic and White Americans’ aid seeking and use forms in the Los Angeles country. Journal of Community Psychology. 26 ( 4 ) .

CIPD DIPLOMA 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

CIPD DIPLOMA 2 - Essay Example that encouraged two-way communication, hence giving the students an opportunity to participate in class, which contributed positively to the learning process. The learning institution had adequate classrooms, which ensured that the class had a reasonable number of students. Consequent to this, I was able to interact with all the students in the class at a personal level. This also helped me to form personal relationships with the students, thus making follow up very easy for me. More to this, I had enough instruction materials. This equipped me adequately as I was able to deliver the requirements of the sessions with much ease. Therefore, I handled the training successfully, thus accomplishing the objectives of the training. Successful learning requires the presence of a positive environment. I achieved this by setting rules and norms for the class. The rules and norms were set in collaboration with the students, which ensured that the students expressed how they wanted to be treated. I also got an opportunity to communicate amicably to the students on how I expected them to treat the learning sessions, hence gaining a common ground on how the sessions were to be conducted. This promoted a positive environment, as the sessions were orderly, and full of respect, which boosted the concentration of the students. Getting to nurture good relationships with the students also helped in creating a positive environment. I welcomed them to the class with a greeting each time we had a session, and took a few minutes to enquire on how they had been since our last session. This created a caring atmosphere, hence drawing the attention of the students to learn what I had for them. Additionally, I mastered the names of the students, and addressed them by their names, whenever I asked a question. More to these, I showed concern by asking about their personal lives from time to time, and encouraged them, whenever the need arose. This helped them develop positive feelings about

Gun control Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Gun control - Research Paper Example The basis of the gun control debate lies squarely at the feet of the 2nd amendment. Created in 1791, the 2nd amendment states: "a well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed". The purpose of the 2nd amendment was to allow individual states to form their own militias to protect themselves and their country in the event of an attack from outside sources. Such an amendment was deemed necessary by the founding fathers due to the fact that the Revolutionary War had ended several years earlier, and by necessity, civilian men (and at times boys) needed to take up arms as a matter of defense. During the civil war, African American men were also called upon to join militias in an effort to defend the South from the invading Union soldiers. After the Civil War ended, there was much debate on whether the freed slaves should still be permitted the right to bear arms as a means of protection for themselves and their assets. The 14th amendment was drafted as a means to quelling the uncertainty surrounding the rights of former slaves in regards to the possession of firearms (Wilson 163). ... The 1856 Supreme Court decision in the case of Dred Scott v. Sanford denied African Americans the right to full citizenship. Due to this denial of full rights, African Americans were prohibited from carrying weapons and firearms of any sort. It wasn't until 1866 when the Civil Rights Act was passed by Congress that carrying a firearm became legal for all citizens despite their ethnic background (Wilson 164). Since that time gun control policy has been scrutinized for various reasons, but none stemming from racial or ethnic bias. Gun Control Policy 1900-2008 Since the year 1900, there have been reviews of gun control policy in the United States. During the early 1900's, terrorist factions, such as the mafia began to take hold of major cities across the United States. Gun violence was erupting on a daily basis as crime bosses fought their battles to control the streets. Many individuals who were not involved in criminal activity were losing their lives. As a response to the increase in gun violence across the country, the Supreme Court passed the National Firearms act. The National Firearms Act of 1934 imposes an excise tax on those firearms believed to be used routinely in criminal activity (Lott 125). This excise tax was imposed on the manufacturer of the firearm as well as the individual selling the firearm. Guns such as machine guns, short barreled rifles, short barreled shotguns and hand grenades topped the list of those firearms subjected to the increased excise tax. Congress first mandated that guns less than 16 inches would be considered short barreled, and thus subjected to the tax, but in 1960 the National Firearms Act was amended, changing the mandated barrel length to 14 inches (Lott 183). The assassination of several prominent

Calvetta Essay Example for Free

Calvetta Essay 4. How, if at all, should Calveta’s organization structure and practices be changed to accommodate growth and effective communication, while maintaining the company’s culture? This is a very sticky issue. Growth, along with other factors, seems to have diminishing effects on company culture, popularly referred to as â€Å"Antonio’s way†. Two forms of growth present themselves to the company. They can either expand into the hospital segment (which falls in line with core competencies); or they could buy up GSD consequently growing their SLF customer base. Given the issues listed, I don’t believe purchasing GSD would be profitable, as debt financing would have to be undertaken thus, going against Antonio’s way. However, Frank believes they must grow in order to stay competitive within the industry so the former opportunity should be undertaken. The turnover, and promotion rate for Calveta is too rapid. It’s one of the major issues dissatisfied customers had with the SLF. Frank should consider slowing this down, and perhaps placing new staff members in proper training programs administered by current staff to ensure smooth staff changes. Whilst flexibility and ease of advancement may make the employees happier, the customers will suffer from the constant interrupted changes. Calveta should maintain a degree of normalcy in the workplace, and make it harder to advance (could have positive affects on employees motivation). Another structural issue is the current staff organization. If Frank is worried about the loss of emphasis on his father’s ideals he must communicate this effectively with the staff. Discussion groups, incentive packages, and achievable goals should be established for all staff members, especially new ones, so that company culture is maintained and reinforced. If Calveta are to grow, they will need a larger amount of regional employees. This will most likely lead to the hiring of persons outside of the company. Calveta need not hire them right out of college though. They may obtain them from similar companies with similar values and ideals. As GSD is about to be taken over, perhaps the better staff members may wish to come to Calveta  instead of staying on with a new owner. To ensure continuation of company culture pointed questions in the interview and recruitment process pertaining to it should be asked. Similarly, constant feedback for current employees would reinforce challenge 4, of Antonio’s way.

Theodore Roosevelt Essay example -- Biography Biographies Bio

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Theodore Roosevelt was a man on a mission. Maybe he didn ¹t know it, but he was. He affected millions of people throughout his life in many different ways. He was the leader of a famous military group, he was an author, a lawyer, and he was also the 26th president of the united states, all of these things ended up bringing him fame.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  He was born in New York City on October 27, 1858 into a rich Dutch family. He was always a cowboy at heart. Even though he was born in a big city his cowboy side and his passion for adventure would come up later in his life. His father taught him to go for his goals, to follow a strict Christian moral code, and to enjoy the life of the mind. His father taught him that the mind was the strongest tool he had. He probably preached this because his son had serious asthma, and a grail un- athletic body. Ted listened to his father and that led to many accomplishments in his life.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  He did all the normal things that a young man from a wealthy family was supposed to do. He worked hard on his academics, he got good grades, went to Harvard, and graduated with a great education in 1880. In that same year he married Alice h lee, a girl he met at Harvard. He still wasn ¹t sure of what career he wanted. He ended up serving three one year terms in the new York assembly from 1882-1884. While serving there he became known as an independent republican. Then, in 1884 his mother and his wife died on the same day.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  He was completely broken-hearted, and he had no idea where he wanted to go from there. after a couple of months of mourning, he decided that he would head west, and he would finally fulfill his childhood dream of being a cowboy. He decided that he would move to the Dakotas where he became a rancher with all of the rough experienced cowboys of the west. Even though he was this scrawny awkward outcast that wore glasses; something most of the people in the Dakotas never even saw; he was still able to get the respect of the rough and tough cowboys. He did it by tracking three rustlers, and bringing them back for a trial by himself. Even though he loved being a wild cowboy out on a ranch he realized he had a real life back in New York. He would have loved to live in the west for the rest of his life , but after only two years in the Dakotas he went back to New York.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A couple of months after he return... ... Republican presidential nomination but he didn ¹t. Three years later on January 6, 1919 he died from an illness at his oyster bay home in Sagamore hill.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Theodore Roosevelt did everything that he wanted to do in life. He was one of the major influences in U.S. Society. He was an author, a cowboy, a very well respected military leader, and he was the president of the United States. He knew how to lead and gain the respect of people. Whether it be by capturing rustlers singlehandedly, or by making a promise to his political party to stick to the old ways., he could always get the respect of the people he wanted to get respect from. Bibliography   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  - tnt.turner.com/movies/tntoriginals/roughriders   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  - www.letsfindout.com/subjects/america   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  - encarta.msn.com/index/conciseindex   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  - Morris, Edmund The Rise Of Theodore Roosevelt . New York City, NY   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   First Ballantine Books Edition, April 1980,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  - Roosevelt, Theodore Theodore Roosevelt ¹s Letters to His Children New York   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Charles Scribner ¹s Sons, 1923,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  - The New Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia. Release 6 Computer   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   software CD-ROM Online Computer Systems Inc. 1993

Face It: the Impact of Gender on Social Media Images Essay

Social websites like Facebook enable users to upload self-created digital images; it is therefore of interest to see how gender is performed in this domain. A panel used a literature review of pictorial features associated with gender traits, and a sample of Facebook pictures to assess gender stereotypes present in Facebook images. Traits emerging in greater prominence in pictures of males included active, dominant, and independent. Those prominent with female users included attractive and dependent. These findings generally conform to gender stereotypes found in prior research and extend the research regarding stereotypical gender traits displayed in professional media depictions to self-selected social media displays. They also extend the research on gender differences in impression management generally, in both interpersonal communication and social media, to include gender-specific traits that are part of young mens and women’s impression management. Keywords: Facebook; Ge nder Display; Impression Management; Role Theory; Social Media Jessica Rose (B.A., Villanova University, 2011) is a marketing and communications professional in the Greater Philadelphia Area. Susan Mackey-Kallis (Ph.D., Penn State University, 1986) is an associate professor in the Department of Communication at Villanova University. Len Shyles (Ph.D., Ohio State University, 1981) is an associate professor in the Department of Communication at Villanova University. Kelly Barry (B.A., Villanova University, 2011) is a marketing and communications professional in the Greater New York area. Danielle Biagini (B.A., Villanova University, 2011) is a marketing and communications professional in the Greater San Diego area. Colleen Hart (B.A., Villanova University, 2011) is a student at the University of North Carolina School of Law. Lauren Jack (B.A., Villanova University, 2011) is a marketing and communications professional in the Greater New York area. The authors would like to thank Dr. Jesse Frey of the Mathematics Department of Villanova University f or his help in creating the tables presented in this article. Correspondence: Susan Mackey-Kallis, Department of Communication, 800 E. Lancaster Avenue, Villanova, PA 19085; E-mail: susan.mackey-kallis@villanova.edu ISSN 0146-3373 print/1746-4102 online # 2012 Eastern Communication Association DOI: 10.1080/01463373.2012.725005 The centrality of gender embodiment has animated recent debates in media studies about the relationship among gender representations in media, gendered bodies in virtual space, and gender as performance. With the emergence of social media websites, such as Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace, users have an online platform that allows them to communicate widely, to virtually manage others’ impressions of them, and to even express gendered identities in cyberspace. With over 500 million active users as of 2011 (http://www.facebook.com/press/info.php?statistics), Facebook dominates the social media market. Offering a highly interactive platform, Facebook users can leave comments on their friends’ walls, provide status updates and photos, and can even access one another wirelessly through Facebook Mobile. As of 2010, users spent over 700 billion minutes per month on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/ press/info.php?statistics), often updating their Facebook profiles to add relat ionships to their friends lists. One well-known feature of Facebook is the user’s profile picture, displayed in the upper left-hand corner of each user’s homepage. Intended to be the first thing seen, it is arguably one of the most important features of the user’s Facebook page. The profile picture offers friends, acquaintances and even potential employers a firstimpression of the user’s appearance and, perhaps, their character. Therefore, the content of users’ Facebook profile pictures is an important object of study for researchers interested in how people practice impression management. According to role theory, people follow unwritten social and cultural rules and norms as they behave ‘‘in ways that are different and predictable depending on their respective social identities and the situations they find themselves in’’ (Biddle, 1986, p. 68). Gender identity and gender roles are a significant part of everyday life and, according to Goffman, are actually constituted through social interaction (1976). Gender shapes how people make sense of themselves and their social relationships. However, as Wood notes, ‘‘What gender means depends heavily on cultural values and practices; a culture’s definitions of masculinity and femininity shape expectations about how individual men and women should communicate; and how individuals communicate establishes gender that, in turn, influences cultural views’’ (Wood, 2009, p. 20). Gender display, as a continuous communication loop, is defined by society and expressed by individuals as they interact while shaping evolving societal expectations regarding gender. In contemporary media and culture, women’s and men’s social desirability and gender have often been defined in terms of their bodies. For women, this has often involved comparing themselves to and even replicating the ‘‘thin ideal’’ (presented in modern mass media despite the looming specter of anorexia and bulimia), altering their bodies to heighten perceived sexuality or youthfulness (through cosmetic surgery, exercise or eating), or conforming to traditional definitions of femininity including qualities such as submissiveness or sentimentality (through dress, cosmetics, style, etc.). For men, gender-based definitions of success frequently revolve around presenting or developing their bodies as strong, youthful, active, and physically dominant. The evolution of social media (such as Facebook) and online digital gaming environments (such as massive, multiple online games [MMOs]) now offer venues where individuals can consciously self-select an d present virtual versions of themselves that can either conform with, challenge, or defy societal expectations and media presentations. Digital formats, on the one hand, represent exciting possibilities for individuals who can explore the freedom of presenting a physical self that might differ from the one they present or perform in everyday life or from socially-defined expectations. As Rettberg argues, ‘‘our fascination with creating digital self-portraits is indicative of our collective coming of age where we as a culture are discovering that we have voices online and can express ourselves rather than simply accepting the mass media’s views of the world’’ (2009, p. 453). On the other hand, digital formats may simply offer a chance to replicate cultural and mass media normative versions of the individual, specifically as they relate to gender. Since how people present and perform their bodies in virtual spaces offer specific impressions, many of which relate to gender, one objective of the current study is to examine how gender portrayals manifest themselves in self-selected social media displays. Specifically, can social media website content help us understand more about gender roles and the way people present themselves in the virtual social world? Do the ways they manage their images reinforce existing gendered stereotypes? Because social networks such as Facebook are relatively recent phenomena, the content of self-presentation profile pictures has not been analyzed in great depth. Extant literature supports the idea of expected gender roles unique to males and females (Goffman, 1976; Lauzen, Dozier, & Horan, 2008; Wanta & Legett, 1989; Williams & Best, 1990) and the idea that society advocates these roles through various media (Bell & Milic, 2002; Hancock & Toma, 2009), with both males and females engaging in impression management in order to control their public image (Dominick, 1999; Jones, 1997; Leary, 1996). Witmer and Katzman (1997) argued that females may display more emotional graphics than males while communicating on the Internet. Extant literature, however, only reveals one study that has examined gender differences in self-selected portraits in self-posed photographs (Mills, 1984) and one study that has examined gender differences in Facebook profile pictures (Strano, 2008). Strano’s study, focusing exclusively on gender difference in impression management, found that women engage in management more than men (Strano, 2008). In a related area of literature, self-presentation in computer-mediated communication (CMC), some studies suggest a great deal of ‘‘gender-swapping’’ on the Internet (Bruckman, 1993; Roberts & Parks, 1999; Witmer & Katzman, 1997) with some estimates as high as 60% (Roberts & Parks, 1999), and with males ‘‘gender-swapping’’ more than females (Bruckman, 1993; Suler, 1999). The fantastical and fantasy-based nature of many gaming environments, however, and the anonymous nature of most CMC in general might suggest that the freedom to reinvent oneself not only in terms of gender but also race, ethnicity, and other variables is much broader than in Facebook profile pictures. Facebook friends, who may know the person in real life, recognize a photograph as a self-selected presentation but, researchers argue, most likely do not assume that the profile picture reflects extensive alteration or photo retouching. The current study, therefore, makes a unique contribution by investigating whether self-selected Facebook profile pictures exhibit stereotypical gender roles consistent with traits emerging from existing research. Literature Review Gender Roles Some researchers suggest that gender differences result from a variety of factors including socialization and biology; as such, gender roles are often manifested through communication and culture (Goffman, 1976; Lauzen et al., 2008; Wanta & Legett, 1989; Williams & Best, 1990; Wood, 2009). West and Zimmerman (1987) claim gendering is a routine interaction of everyday life. ‘‘Both gender role and gender display focus on behavioral aspects of being a man and a woman’’ (p. 127). They use Goffman’s (1976) account of ‘‘gender display’’ to suggest gender is also constituted through interaction. Says Goffman, ‘‘If gender [can] be defined as the culturally established correlates of sex (whether in consequence of biology or learning), then gender display refers to conventionalized portrayals of these correlates’’ (1976, p. 69). Goffman cites sports as a framework to explain masc uline tendencies, asserting that the male gender is categorically viewed as aggressive, strong, and competitive. In agreement, West and Zimmerman (1987) assert that ‘‘Doing gender is unavoidable . . . because of the social consequences of sex-category membership: [this includes] the allocation of power and resources not only in the domestic, economic, and political domains but also in the broad arena of interpersonal relations’’ (p. 145). As men and women tend to assume ‘‘proper’’ societal gender roles, associated behaviors are viewed as cultural markers that indicate norms of social interaction. Williams and Best (1990) searched for gender stereotypes among respondents from 25 nations worldwide. Participants were presented with a list of 300 character traits and instructed to indicate whether the trait was ‘‘more frequently associated with men than with women,’’ ‘‘more frequently associated with women than with men,’’ or ‘‘not differentially associated with the two sexes.’’ Table 1 presents results for the traits most commonly associated with men and women and indicates the traits isolated for this analysis. Gender Roles in the Media Society often promotes gender role markers as social norms through photographs and other visual displays used in advertising. Wanta and Legett (1989) studied the media images of male a nd female athletes of the 1987 Wimbledon Tennis Tournament, concluding that men and women were depicted differently in terms of emotion, dominance, and power. Goffman (1976) accounts for these traits in his research of magazine and newspaper photography, finding women to be pictured in more submissive positions while men are depicted in more elevated positions. Based on Goffman’s inquiries, Wanta and Legett (1989) hypothesized that female tennis players would be shown more often in positions implying helplessness than male tennis players. Goffman’s (1976) studies of power within photographs asserted that the more dominant a person’s face was (i.e., the more full-front, direct-to-camera orientation of the face, and the greater the percentage of photo space taken up by the face), the more power was held and=or portrayed by the person pictured. Wanta and Legett used these ideas to predict that the photographs of female tennis players would focus more on the players’ bodies, while male tennis players would have more concentrated images of their faces. However, the majority of Wanta and Legett’s (1989) hypothe ses remained unsubstantiated; their gender stereotypes were not confirmed. In fact, opposite portrayals often emerged. They concluded that the photographer was trying to break gender stereotypes. In contrast to the work of Wanta and Legett, the research conducted in the current study does not rely on images shot by professional photographers. Rather, the present analysis is based on self-selected and, almost exclusively, self-created Facebook profile pictures. Gender roles, present in everyday interaction, are also enacted on television. Lauzen and colleagues (2008) examined gender roles enacted by men and women on television. Using a stratified random sample of 124 prime-time television series airing on six broadcast networks during the 2005–06 seasons, they looked at the rates at which men and women fell into categorically different social roles. Taking a category scheme developed by earlier research, Lauzen and colleagues defined social roles as the things ‘‘people do in daily life’’ (see Eagly & Steffan, 1984, p. 735). These roles vary from childcare and household chores to workplace activities. Through a content analysis, they found male characters on prime-time television were more likely to inhabit work roles, including blue collar, white collar, and extracurricular activities, while women were portrayed in more interpersonal roles involving romance, friendship, and family. Similarly, in their content analysis of 827 Australian magazine advertisements from 1997–98 to determine the presence of stereotypical gender roles, Bell and Milic (2002) concluded that ‘‘Males were more frequently shown in ‘narrative’ ways (as actors) than females, and this is true of both groups and individuals. Women were more likely than men to ‘behave’ (or to express emotion)’’ (p. 215). Their findings suggest stereotypical gender traits of men and women consistent with those of Williams and Best (1990) and consistent with Goffman’s (1976) analysis of advertising which found that women were ‘‘more likely to be portrayed performing submissive or appeasing gestures such as head or body canting, bending one knee inward (‘bashful knee-bend’), smiling, clowning, and acting less seriously’’ and were ‘‘often portrayed as being under the physical care and protection of a man’’ (as cited in Bell and Milic, 2002, p. 205). Ragan (1982) analyzed gender differences in 1,296 portrait photos from high school and university yearbooks, concluding there are gender differences; females smiled more than males, smiled more expansively than males, tilted their heads at greater angles than males, faced the camera less directly than males, and wore glasses less frequently than males. While this research identifies gender differences, it was limited by an influential factor: Photographers posed the subjects (Ragan, 1982). In hopes of accounting for this limitation, Mills (1984) conducted a study in which 34 men and 34 women were asked to present themselves as typical college students in pictures. Mills’ findings reinforced the suggestion that females smile more, and smile more expansively, than males. Gender stereotypes also abound in video games. Female characters are represented as highly sexualized while male characters possess exaggerated strength, are hypermasculine, aggressive, and, with the exception of showing hostility, lack emotion. They are also less likely to display helping or nurturing qualities (Robinson, Callister, Clark, & Phillips, 2008). One study found that the central role for male characters was ‘‘competitor’’ while females’ central roles were ‘‘victim,’’ ‘‘damsel in distress,’’ or ‘‘evil obstacle’’ for the hero to overcome (Heintz-Knowles et al., 2001). The findings of these video game content analyses have remained fairly consistent over time and have also been shown to be perceived by audiences (Robinson et al., 2008). Based on the work from several decades of research on gender roles from the fields of advertising, television, photography, digital gaming studies, and cultural studies, it is apparent that masculinity often implies strength, ambition, and independence, whereas femininity implies physical attractiveness, reverence, and sentimentality (Wood, 2009). The rapid growth of digital media invites researchers interested in the cultural impact of gender to investigate this alternative outlet for self-presentation. This study provides a natural extension of such work in investigation of gender differences in self-selected Facebook profile pictures. Self-Presentation Goffman (1959) argued that individuals were concerned with self-presentation during all social encounters. This is because, among other reasons, impressions impact the opinions of others regardless of an individual’s intentions. Burr (2002) claims J. Rose et al. The other people making up our audience can, by their own conduct, either legitimate or reject our claim to be a certain kind of person, and Goffman (1959) argues that this is done by carefully monitoring the match or mismatch between what we ‘give’ (the things we say or do to create an impression) and what we ‘give off’ (the body language, our general demeanor—the communicative aspects of our conduct that are harder for us to control and manipulate). The creation and maintenance of impressions is therefore a two-way street (2002, p. 73). Hence, for Goffman (1959), the ‘‘presentation of self in everyday life’’ and the roles maintained are pertinent to everyday interaction. People constantly play characters to avoid embarrassment and to ‘‘fit-in’’ with social norms. Gender role, then, focuses on the collectivity of logical, behavioral, cognitive, and emotional responses to social situations (Burr, 2002). Most self-presentation studies have examined the concept only in face-to-face communication (Goffman, 1959; Leary 1996). Recent studies (Oh, 2004; Cho, 2006) about self-presentation in personal websites analyze only the styles and not gender display specifically. Similar to face-to-face contexts, individuals do make choices about gender-related impressions over the Internet. A number of studies, for example, have demonstrated extensive ‘‘gender-swapping’’ in ‘‘avatar’’ creation for online gaming and in text-based CMC (Bruckman, 1993; Roberts & Parks, 1999; Suler, 1999). In these virtual environments, physical identity markers are not apparent and, as a result, the self is more fluid and changeable (Gergen, 1991) and offers increased opportunities for strategic self-presentation (Walther, 1993; Walther, Anderson, & Park, 1994). Gender is often one of the variables that communicators can consciously shape in these mediated environments (Roberts & Parks, 1999; Bruckman, 1993; Wilbur, 1996). Some researchers have gone so far as to argue that the computer-mediated environment is a gender-bending world (Witmer & Katzman, 1997). Modern gaming environments, in particular, allow gamers to design or choose ‘‘avatars,’’ their virtual self in the gaming world, that possess a variety of differing characteristics such as height, weight, age, gender, dress, and profession. In these environments, the avatar becomes ‘‘inextricably linked to their performance of self and engagement in [a virtual] community’’ (Taylor , 1999, p. 438). Despite the above cited studies of ‘‘gender-swapping’’ and self-presentation in CMC, no researchers have examined the extent to which social media users ascribe to gender stereotypes in their presentation of self on the Internet. Samp, Wittenberg, and Gillett (2003) examined the extent to which ‘‘gender schematic’’ individuals (individuals with either strong masculine or feminine gender orientations versus androgynous orientations) and individuals who were high (versus low) self-monitoring engaged in gender-swapping on the Internet. The researchers in this study used self-report data from Internet users about their online gender-swapping behavior generally. The researchers in the current study, by contrast, provide a content analysis of actual Facebook profile pictures in terms of the presence or absence of gender stereotypes and do not focus on gender swapping. Hancock and Toma’s 2009 study of profile pictures on online dating websites created and posted with the intention of creating relationships comes closest to the focus of the current study. In line with Goffman’s (1959) suggestion that self-presentation is the process of packaging and editing the self in order to create a certain impression for an audience, Hancock and Toma (2009) examined the impact of gender on self-presentation and social desirability. They found that both women and men ‘‘edit’’ their profiles to create a better self-presentation through self-enhancement (Hancock & Toma, 2009). Some participate in ‘‘selective self-presentation,’’ an even more controlled act of impression management in which imag es are changed or distorted, often leading to further inaccuracy portrayed by the profile (Hancock & Toma, 2009). Having the ability to ‘‘select’’ or specifically change or display particular points of interest, the users can greatly affect the impression made of them (Hancock & Toma, 2009). Both men and women on the online dating social network use ‘‘selective self-presentation’’ to their advantage to give the impression of being more desirable to their audiences. Hancock and Toma (2009) suggest men and women can control their self-presentation through social networks (i.e., online dating sites). Such sites comprise one segment of social networks; Facebook is another. Realizing stereotypical gender roles are present in society, Dominick (1999) studied how men and women presented themselves on personal homepages. Dominick (1999) coded 500 randomly sampled personal homepages based on demographic and personal information, creative expressions, and photographs. He used Jones’ (1997) five strategies of image construction: ingratiation (state ments of modesty, familiarity, and humor); competence (statements of abilities and achievements); intimidation (statements of anger and unpleasantness); exemplification (acts of moral superiority); and supplication (images of helplessness, while acting self-deprecating; Dominick, 1999). He concluded that females released more information than males while both males and females were equally likely to have photographs on their pages. Women’s photographs tended to be more sentimental in nature, while men’s more often were ‘‘joke images’’ and images that made them seem more competent and capable. He concluded that ‘‘A personal web page can be viewed as a carefully constructed selfpresentation’’ (Dominick, 1999, p. 647). Dominick asserted that the concept of impression construction exposes the different strategies men and women use to present themselves through images and information to gain a higher level of likeability, respect, and power in society (1999). Jones (1997) noted that individuals strive to be liked and accepted, resulting in social rewards such as friendship, social support, companionship, romance, and social status. Because smiling is associated with being liked and competent, Jones (1997) correlates gestures with the ingratiation and competence strategies of image construction. As Facebook was not founded until 2004, Dominick’s (1999) study is expanded upon in this study (http://www.facebook.com/press/info.php?factsheet). Buffardi and Campbell (2008) studied whether photographs from a variety of social networks are self-promoting. They state, ‘‘Self-promoting connoted persuading others about one’s own positive traits’’ (p. 1307) and define physical attractiveness as the degree to which an individual appears self-promoting and vain in a photograph. While not examining gender differences in self-promotion per se, the researchers did examine ‘‘how sexy and modest . . . the individual in the main photo appeared to be’’ (Buffardi & Campbell, 2008, p. 1307).

The Decline of Japans Birth Rate - 872 Words

Japan needs to have more babies. The population of Japan is declining, and the birth rate is a base problem. People just aren’t having enough babies anymore. This will be problematic, as Tomm says â€Å"The consequences have had negative effects as fertility rate continues to decline and life expectancy continues to increase†. After the birth rate has been declining for the past four decades, the old far outnumber the young at a ratio of nearly 2:1(â€Å"Japan Age structure†). There aren’t enough workers to pay into social security. Social problems like traditional gender roles and stereotypes negatively impact the growth of the population. Because of their work-centric lifestyles, social problems, and child related expenses, Japan’s birth rate is†¦show more content†¦Work life is also related to another of Japan’s problems, low marriage rates. The amount of unmarried women in Japan has risen from 20.9% to 54% in 2000 (Huen 5). Th is lack of marriage is one of the contributors long-term issues with the Japanese workforce. This could lead to Japan not gaining any new, young workers. Once the aging workforce is too old to perform the demanding tasks that are required in the world of business, they will have no one to replace them without taking drastic measures. Soon they will have to rely on immigration, something the Japanese people have historically been against, to fill this gap. These motivations to keep working over having a family is one of the problems leading to the decline of Japan’s birthrate. These lifestyles led by the people of Japan help give way to another problem that is affecting Japan’s birthrate in a negative way. These are the social problems that the country is currently facing. One of the biggest problems is the definition of gender roles and peoples expectations of those of either sex. In an average Japanese household, the husband works most of the time, often returning home late at night or right before a family meal such as dinner. Meanwhile, the wife of the family is usually expected to stay at home and raise the kids. This means that many women ages 20-30 stop working for a period of time then rejoin the workforce. However, as the prominent seniorityShow MoreRelatedHow Japans Decline in Birth Rate Will Effect the Country Essay593 Words   |  3 Pages With the country’s current birth rate, Japan’s population of 127.5 million is expected to decrease by 25% within 35 years. The slowly shrinking country is also met with the problem that its population is also the oldest in the world, with over 25% of residents over the age of 65. These two facts combine to make a very unique and awkward situation in Japan in which no other country has ever been in before. 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Furthermore, the growth rate is not increasing but is decreasing instead of a rate of -0.16 percent (TheRead MoreWhy Is Japan’S Population Starting To Plunge?. My Research1902 Words   |  8 PagesWhy Is Japan’s Population Starting To Plunge? My research topic was about Japan’s population but more importantly, it was about Japan’s fertility rate and why it was dropping so dramatically. The questions that needed to be answer for this topic was, â€Å"what’s happening with Japan’s fertility rate?†, â€Å"why is Japan’s population declining?†, and â€Å"is the fertility rate dropping low due to work?†. The answer to these questions in general is that Japan’s fertility rate has been dropping for the past fewRead MoreJapans Economic History in the Last Forty Years Essay1306 Words   |  6 Pagesproduct and eventually reached number one by the late 1980s However, everything changed in the early 1990s, and Japan entered what has been described as its first lost decade (Kuepper, n.d.). 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As of today, the Japan hasRead MoreSwot Analysis Of Japan1631 Words   |à ‚  7 Pagesimporter and exporter. According to the Foreign Commonwealth Office, three-quarters of Japan’s total economic output relies on the service sector. When considering major industries such as retailing, banking, transportation and telecommunications, Japan is seen as a top provider. The major company influencers are companies like Mitsubishi UFJ, NTT, TEPCO, Japan Airlines, etc.  Japan has a low unemployment rate of about 4% and a 65.9 million labor force with only 17% below the poverty line. In 2014