Cultural Studies
Concept of Culture and How it Assists Anthropologists in Their Study and Understanding of People and Societies

The concept of culture assists anthropologists in their understanding and study of people and societies.

The word culture is derived from the Latin word 'cultura' that is derived from the verb 'colo' that means, "to tend, to cultivate, and to till." (Sage Publishers, n.d., p.10) The expression of the word would be a reference to the "cultivation of the human character." (Sage Publishers, n.d., p.10)

Culture

Culture, to the cultural anthropologist is stated to be "neither secure, nor a residual. It is a social phenomenon that manifests itself quite clearly." (Sage Publishers, n.d., p.10) hite (2007) states that by culture, what is mean is "an extrasomatic, temporal continuum of things and events dependent upon symboling." (p. 3 cited in Sage Publishers, n.d., p.10) Kluckhohn (1951) is cited as stating as follows:

Culture consists in patterned ways of…...

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Works Cited

Howell, N. (2010) Life Histories of the Dobe !Kung: Food, Fatness, and Well-Being Over the Life Span. University of California Press. 2010. Retrieved from:  http://books.google.com/books?id=L5rRpFTzz7wC&dq=Dobe+Kung+culture+and+giving+gifts&source=gbs_navlinks_s 

Lee, RB (1978) Politics, Sexual and Non-Sexual In An Egalitarian Society. Human Societies and their Ecosystems. Retrieved from:  http://www.peacefulsocieties.org/Archtext/Lee78.pdf

The famous Calvin Klein ad featuring Marky Mark took everyone by storm as it showed that men could be sexual and have feminine qualities to them. A current day example of metrosexual icons is David eckham. eckham has both commercial and psychological appeal. He has earned millions of dollars for sponsoring fashion accessories. His style has influenced millions of males around the world and encouraged them to aspire to the same level of corporate sponsored exhibitionism. According to Turner, people are bombarded with stereotypical images of attractive people in the media every day. This factor exposes them to body types which make sensitive beings more conscious about their bodies and compare themselves to unrealistic media images of thinness and muscularity. (Turner et al., 1997). (Lorenzen, Grieve, and Thomas).
The movement for Metrosexuality began in the late nineties when a trend emerged to portray men as sexual commodified bodies. This new…...

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Bibliography

Lorenzen, Lisa a., Frederick G. Grieve, and Adrian Thomas. "Exposure to Muscular Male Models Decreases Men's Body Satisfaction." Sex Roles: A Journal of Research (2004): 743+.

Khanna, Parag. "The Metrosexual Superpower: The Stylish European Union Struts Past the Bumbling United States on the Catwalk of Global Diplomacy." Foreign Policy July-Aug. (2004): 66+

Crane, Diana. Fashion and its Social Agendas: Class, Gender, and Identity in Clothing. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000

Simpson, Mark. Meet the Metrosexual. 22 July 2002. http://archive.salon.com/ent/feature/2002/07/22/metrosexual

Cultural Studies
Comparative and historical analysis are concepts that describe analyzing events in their historical context, by comparing them with other events that have occurred in the past. Events that occur today do not occur in a vacuum, but rather they always have context. The first chapter mentions the confusion in Britain when it was revealed that a suicide bomb attack on that country was carried out by Anglo-Jamaicans. The context made little sense, as this social group was not known for anything close to terrorism. The attackers, however, had converted to radical Islam, unusual perhaps for that group, but nevertheless this conversion shifted the context of those attacks entirely. Historically, and comparatively, the attacks made a lot more sense as radical Muslims use the suicide bomb style of attack and tend to be more prone towards terrorist attacks in general.

Envy, desire and belonging are powerful emotions, and these are frequently…...

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References

Hall, S. (1998). Notes on deconstructing the popular. Pearson/Prentice Hall.

Rojek, C. (no date). Cultural studies. Policy Short Introduction Series.

Sternburgh, A. (2014) All of the pleasure. None of the guilt. New York Times Magazine Retrieved March 5, 2015 from  http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/09/magazine/all-of-the-pleasure-none-of-the-guilt.html?_r=1 

Williams, R. (no date). Culture is ordinary.

Set 2: United Kingdom Media

The Guardian

Across the ocean, Phillip French wrote a review in the United Kingdom-based newspaper, The Guardian on the 10th of October, 2004. The review did not flatter this particular movie in the least. French categorized the film as popular fare, keeping in vein with Chadha's earlier works, and still having nothing clever to offer.

"Chadha, as she has shown in her previous pictures - Bhaji on the Beach, What's Cooking? Bend It Like Beckham - is a crowd-pleaser, and the chief characteristics of her new film are populist cheek and cosmopolitan chic rather than subtle social observation." (The Guardian, 2004)

French's scathing review seems to almost call the film cheesy and overdone, it's overly geared to be popular and cosmopolitan that it completely misses the mark on being a film that can comment on social circumstances in a subtle manner and instead throws itself into the cultural mix…...

ECS
The European Security Strategy rests on a platform of multilateralism that includes roles for organizations like NATO, the United Nations, as well as other quasi-legal bodies like the World Trade Organization and International Criminal Court the implement international law. The ESS therefore seeks to foster peace through the use of consensus and international institutions. Where these different institutions have enjoyed the most success is when there is a common interest that can drive the desired consensus. In trade, there is usually a common interest in fostering economic growth, for example. In issues of security, however, there are challenges inherent in bringing about consensus because there is much less room for common ground. As Hyde-Price (2008) notes, different understandings of what is desirable arise from different cultures, and the process of reconciling the needs of different cultures are myriad. Overcoming those challenges cannot be done simply be creating ethnic and national…...

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References:

Clibbon, J. (2012). The euro crisis and the old monster of nationalism. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved November 16, 2013 from  http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/the-euro-crisis-and-the-old-monster-of-nationalism-1.1166942 

Grieco, J. (1988). Realist theory and the problem of international cooperation: Analysis with an amended prisoner's dilemma model. The Journal of Politics. Vol. 50 (3) 600-624.

Hyde-Price, A. (2008). A tragic actor? A realist perspective on ethical power in Europe. International Affairs. Vol. 84 (1) 29-44.

Porter, S. (2011). Ethnicity in Africa: A road to conflict or a path to peace? Africa Faith & Justice Network. Retrieved November 16, 2013 from  http://www.afjn.org/focus-campaigns/other/other-continental-issues/80-democracy-and-governance/982-ethnicity-in-africa-a-road-to-conflict-or-a-path-to-peace-.html

Culture is a vast field of study that often requires preparedness of the researchers. Exploration of culture is something that comes with value realization and addition to the people involved. It is a recommendation that appropriate research methods are used to assess the basic and fundamental aspects that play the critical role of knowing what entails a culture. From the text, it is negatively influential to neglect research methods that would have been essential in bringing out knowledge about a culture (Keightley, 2014).
Practicality is what entails any given form of culture. Practical methods, thus, have to be involved in the entire process of dealing with cultural studies. One of the methods worth considering is the multi-method approach. It is influential in knowing every aspect that assists one to gather enough and sufficient information concerning any form of cultural practice. With this, both qualitative and quantitative approaches have to be…...

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References

Keightley, E (2014). Research Methods in Memory Studies: Oral History, Intercalary, Trauma. In Pickering, M (Ed) Economy and Memory. University of Warwick

Keightley, E and Pickering, M (2015). Memory, Media and Methodological Footings. In Memory in a Mediated World Remembrance and Reconstruction. Palgrave Macmillan, pp.36-52

Keightley, E, Pickering, M, and Bisht, P. (2014). Intercalary and Memory Studies Methodology. In Making Sense of Memory and History. International Communication Association Pre-Conference sponsored by the ICA Communication History Division, Museum of Historyand Industry (MOHAI), Seattle

Unlike the culture of my interviewee, African-American isn't really broken into subgroups. I was born and raised in Buffalo, New York, which is very close to the Canadian Border and the "U.S. Peace Bridge." I grew up speaking English, and it is the only language I speak.

My religion is not typical of most African-Americans, who tend to be Baptist, Methodist, or Lutheran. I was raised as a Catholic and still practice that religion today. I'm not the only African-American I know who is Catholic, but it's not common in my subculture.

Like my interviewee, I think the media is generally doing a good job of representing African-Americans in the media. However, I still see instances when African-Americans seem to be portrayed as being ruthless and slovenly, which in my opinion makes all African-Americans appear to be the same way (association assimilation).

I believe that all cultures have something that makes them unique…...

2009). Othe studies had peviously concluded that English infants developed a pefeence fo tochaic wods, the dominant stess constuct of English wods, ove iambic stess pattens within the fist yea of life (Hohle et al. 2009). A compaison of Geman and Fecnh infants in fou distinct expeiments confims and even naows down the timefame in which this diffeentiation of pefeence occus, and also shows (though the Fench language expeiments) that the ability to distinguish the two opposing stess pattens does not necessaily esult in the development of pefeence, if the taget language itself lacks a dominant stess stuctue (Hohle et al. 2009). Even at six months, a specific language begins to mediate peception.
An ealie study suggests that the timing of stess and intonation pefeence development is even soone than six months. While citing evidence suggesting that language-independent phonetic contasts and melodic vaiations ae ecognized within the fist fou months…...

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references during the first half year of life: Evidence from German and French infants." Infant behavior and development 32(3), pp. 262-74.

Laroche, M.; Pons, F. & Richard, M. (2009). "The role of language in ethnic identity measurement: A multitrait-multimethod approach to construct validation." Journal of social psychology 149(4), pp. 513-40.

Nguyen, T.; Ingrahm, C. & Pensalfini, J. (2008). "Prosodic transfer in Vietnamese acquisition of English contrastive stress patterns." Journal of phonetics 36(1), pp. 158.

Turk, a. & Shattuck-Hufnagel, S. (2007). "Multiple targets of phrase-final lengthening in American English words." Journal of phonetics 35(4), pp. 445-72.

Wyatt, J. (2007). "Skinner 1, Chomsky 0." Behavior analysis digest 19(4), pp. 13-4.

Stranger Things is a television show on Netflix that recounts the story of a missing boy, a frantic mother, and three friends looking for an answer. The show is a pastiche of popular 80's movies and television shows that featured monsters like E.T. and telekinetic children like Charlie in Firestarter. While the show does not hit on anything original, it does manage to hit a nerve among fans and has swept the nation with its sweet whispers of nostalgia. The show perhaps invites people to reach for their own ideologies in life vicariously through the main characters. Althusser discusses ideologies in his piece, "Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses" and Bell Hooks examines desire and resistance in "Eating the Other: Desire and Resistance" that can point towards a better understanding of such a fast-growing cultural phenomenon.
Althusser defines ideologies from a traditional standpoint as 'world outlooks. However, Althusser admits they do not…...

Cross Cultural Psychology
Cultural Theories

Comparing cross-cultural approaches to psychology:

An ecocultural vs. An integrated approach

The need to take into account different cultural perspectives when treating patients has become increasingly recognized within the profession of psychology. Cross-cultural psychology, in contrast to other branches of psychology, allows that the definition of what is psychologically 'normal' is often highly dependent upon one's cultural context. Two similar, but slightly different approaches to cross-cultural psychology include the ecocultural model and the integrative model.

The ecocultural model, posits "that the individual cannot be separated from his or her environmental context. People constantly exchange messages with the environment, thus transforming it and themselves" (Chapter 1 summary, n.d). Someone acculturated in a nation other than the U.S. will show different developmental features than someone acculturated in America. The United States' culture supports a particularly long adolescence, and leaving home and beginning a family is no longer the normative break between childhood…...

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References

Chapter 1 summary. (n.d). Retrieved:

http://www.ericshiraev.com/resources/Chapter+1+Summary.pdf

Trommsdorff, G. (2002). An eco-cultural and interpersonal relations approach to development over the life span. Online Readings in Psychology and Culture, 6 (2).1-15 Retrieved from  http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1057&context=orpc

Global Leadership Global LeadershipIntroductionAny organizational success in the present globalized economy excessively relies on leadership. Leaders must deal with global economic realities (Mendenhall et al., 2013). Nonetheless, most leaders have not been educated, prepared, or trained to handle the current complex environment. Due to the increasingly global environment, leaders encounter several complicated challenges (Javidan et al., 2016). Any organization that plans to flourish within the global market has to enact global leadership development as part of its strategic plan.Some studies have referred to global leadership as an interdisciplinary study of critical aspects that future leaders in various categories of personal experience should obtain to properly familiarize themselves with globalizations geographical, physiological, anthropological, psychological, sociological, and geopolitical impacts (Mendenhall et al. 2013). Global leadership can also be referred to as the ability to effectively operate within the global environment while upholding respect for cultural diversity (Javidan et al., 2016). Usually, global…...

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ReferencesAndersen, P. H., & Kragh, H. (2015). Exploring boundary-spanning practices among creativity managers. Management Decision.Bivona, D. H. (2018). Exploring global leadership competencies: a study of leadership in US-based MNCs (Doctoral dissertation, Northcentral University).Bracht, E., Monzani, L., Boer, D., Haslam, S. A., Kerschreiter, R., Lemoine, J. E., ... & van Dick, R. (2022). Innovation across cultures: connecting leadership, identification, and innovative behavior. Applied Psychology: an international review.Javidan, M., Dorfman, P. W., De Luque, M. S., & House, R. J. (2016). In the eye of the beholder: Cross-cultural lessons in leadership from Project GLOBE. In Readings and Cases in International Human Resource Management (pp. 119-154). Routledge.Karjalainen, H. (2020). Cultural identity and its impact on today’s multicultural organizations. International Journal of Cross-Cultural Management, 20(2), 249-262.Mendenhall, M. E., Osland, J. S., Bird, A., Oddou, G. R., Maznevski, M. L., Stevens, M. J., & Stahl, G. K. (2013). Global leadership. New York: Routledge.Osland, J. S., & Lester, G. V. (2020). Developing socially responsible global leaders and making a difference: Global leadership lab social innovation projects. In Research Handbook of Global Leadership (pp. 350-363). Edward Elgar Publishing.Pacquiao, D. (2018). Attributes of Cross-Cultural Leadership. In Global Applications of Culturally Competent Health Care: Guidelines for Practice (pp. 307-314). Springer, Cham.Posner, S. M., & Cvitanovic, C. (2019). Evaluating the impacts of boundary-spanning activities at the interface of environmental science and policy: A review of progress and future research needs. Environmental science & policy, 92, 141-151.Szkudlarek, B., Romani, L., Caprar, D. V., & Osland, J. S. (Eds.). (2020). The Sage handbook of contemporary cross-cultural management. Sage.Zajda, J. I., & Majhanovich, S. (Eds.). (2021). Globalization, cultural identity and nation-building: The changing paradigms (Vol. 5). Dordrecht: Springer.

Option 1 Assumptions about truth can be dangerous in any research because they can lead to bias shaping the research: a researcher may suffer from confirmation bias, seeking only the type of answers that align with his assumptions (Nickerson, 1998). Objectivity and subjectivity, therefore, are important to consider when conducting research, just as deriving the correct interpretation of the meaning of collected data is important. Objectivity, subjectivity and meaning are interconnected, as both objectivity and subjectivity will feed in to how meaning is understood. Every person is capable of being both objective and of having a subjective experience at the same time. Being mindful of how one’s subjective experience can shape one’s perspective is critical to being as objective as possible.
Potential concerns for this study consist of the risk of researcher bias and confirmation bias intruding up on the methodology. Removing researcher bias and preventing confirmation bias are critical for maintaining…...

Cultural Observation
In any culture, the way someone dresses will have an impact in identifying who they are and the traditions which are embraced. The Indian civilization has their own form of dress that is holding onto various social customs in the form of the sari. To fully understand how this is impacting society requires carefully examining the cultural context of the dress ensemble, providing a description of it and discussing various influences (such as: somatotypes). Together, these elements will highlight the impact of these styles on different segments of society. (Katiyar, 2009)

Briefly describe the cultural context of the dress practice or ensemble.

The Indian sari is a strip of indistinct cloth which is worn by women. It is from four to nine yards in length and is draped over the body in various styles. The outfit is worn based upon historical traditions which are dating back to the ancient civilization of…...

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References

The Classification System of Dress. (2013).

The Three Somatotypes. (2013). University of Houston. Retrieved from:  http://www.uh.edu/fitness/comm_educators/3_somatotypesNEW.htm 

Eicher, J. (2008). The Visible Self: Global Perspectives on Dress, Culture, and Society. New York, NY: Fairchild Books.

Katiyar, V. (2009). Indian Saris. New Delhi: Wisdom Tree.

Cultural Schemata Theory:
Together with formal schemata and linguistic schemata, cultural schemata are some of the main types of schema theory, which is a hypothesis on how knowledge is gained and processed. Actually, schema is a technical word used by cognitive supporters to explain how people arrange, process, and store information in their brain. Notably, schemata focus on how people arrange information to long-term memory in relation to experiences, attitudes, values, strategies, skills, and conceptual understanding. The schema theory is founded on the belief that every act of an individual's understanding includes his/her knowledge of the world. The received knowledge is in turn organized into units that contain stores information.

Understanding Cultural Schemata Theory:

Cultural schemata is also known as abstract, story, or linguistic schema and is developed on the basis of people's basic experiences ("Schemata Theory in Learning," n.d.). Cultural schemata theory is described as the pre-existing knowledge about cultural elements of…...

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References:

Fuhong, T. (2004, April 10). Cultural Schema and Reading Comprehension. Retrieved December 5, 2011, from  http://www.celea.org.cn/pastversion/lw/pdf/TanFuhong.pdf 

Gilakjani, A.P. & Ahmadi, S.M. (2011. June). The Relationship between L2 Reading

Comprehension and Schema Theory: A Matter of Text Familiarity. Journal of Information and Education Technology, 1(2), pp. 142-149, Retrieved from  http://www.ijiet.org/papers/24-K002.pdf 

Gudykunst, W.B. (2005). Theorizing about intercultural communication. Thousand Oaks:

Indeed the Germans, the French, and the rest looked back to an antiquity in which their ancestors had been subjugated by the legions. Nothing is more remarkable therefore than the rapid and irrevocable penetration of Italian ideas and practices among the "barbarians," as the Italian writers referred to them, some of whom were currently invading the peninsula." (Wiener, 124) it's also important to note that influence of antique classicism typical for Italian architecture of the 14-16th centuries is not observed in the north. Classical style of Italian cathedrals and churches, typical for Ancient Greek and oman pagan temples is usually not observed in buildings of enaissance epoch in Germany, Britain or France, where architecture was influenced by Gothic style, which got earlier spread in Europe.
eformation and Counter eformation

The spread of Protestantism over Europe, which is considered to be one of the most historically significant achievements of enaissance and Humanism…...

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References

Hileman, Tony Living on the Creative Edge of Our Culture available at www.americanhumanist.org/about/messageED1.php

Wiener, Philip P. The Dictionary of the History of Ideas: Studies of Selected Pivotal Ideas available at  http://etext.virginia.edu/DicHist/dict.html 

Kohl, Benjamin G., and Witt, Ronald G., eds., the Earthly Republic: Italian Humanists on Government and Society (1978)

Thesis Statement Brainstorming for Paranormal Phenomena

1. Investigate the Interplay between Cultural Beliefs and Paranormal Experiences

Cultural norms and values shape how individuals perceive, interpret, and report paranormal phenomena.
Cross-cultural studies can reveal how different cultural contexts influence the nature and frequency of paranormal experiences.

2. Explore the Role of Psychology in Paranormal Beliefs and Encounters

Cognitive biases, such as confirmation bias and wishful thinking, can contribute to the subjective nature of paranormal experiences.
Psychological factors, such as stress, sleep deprivation, and alterations in consciousness, may trigger or enhance paranormal experiences.

3. Examine the Evidence for Physical Manifestations of Paranormal Phenomena

Scientific methods,....

Researchers can differentiate between phenomenological, grounded theory, and ethnographic approaches in qualitative research based on several key factors:

1. Philosophical orientation: Phenomenology focuses on exploring individuals' lived experiences and perceptions, grounded theory aims to develop a theory grounded in the data collected, and ethnography seeks to understand the cultural context in which participants' behaviors and beliefs occur.

2. Research design: Phenomenological research typically involves in-depth interviews or observations to uncover the essence of participants' experiences, grounded theory emphasizes data collection and analysis to develop a theory, and ethnography involves prolonged immersion in the field to observe and document cultural practices.

3. Data analysis:....

1. In Mitch Albom's "For One More Day," memory and nostalgia play a crucial role in fostering resistance against postcolonial subjugation, empowering individuals to reclaim their cultural heritage and shape their own identities.

2. Through the intricate exploration of personal and collective memories, Albom illuminates the transformative potential of nostalgia, allowing characters to confront past traumas, heal wounds, and find strength in shared experiences.

3. Memory and nostalgia become tools of empowerment in "For One More Day," enabling characters to challenge dominant narratives imposed by colonial powers and assert their own agency in defining their identities and shaping their futures.

4. The longing....

Reality Television: The Good, Bad, and the Ugly Introduction

Reality television has become a ubiquitous presence in popular culture, captivating audiences with its voyeuristic appeal and seemingly unfiltered glimpses into the lives of ordinary people. However, the proliferation of reality TV has also sparked considerable debate regarding its societal impact. This essay explores the complex relationship between reality TV and society, examining its potential benefits and drawbacks while drawing lessons on the challenges and opportunities it presents.

Empathy and Social Awareness: Reality TV can foster empathy and social awareness by introducing viewers to diverse individuals and perspectives.....