Robbers Cave Experiment free essay sample

Through the tests practiced you will see he result of various factors added to brood the examinations reason. Hypothesis Experiment The Robbers Cave explore concentrated on a gathering Of young men, how the gatherings are shaped, and the chains of importance made inside the gathering. Burglars cavern likewise centered around what happens when the gathering comes into contact with different gatherings. The test included rivalry inside in the gathering to find a degree of progressions in the gathering. Likewise the gathering passed on a degree of comradely inside the group.The test isolated the young men into 2 gatherings, to start with neither one of the groups realized the other gathering existed. The hypothesis presented the perfect of how gatherings manage mix of another gathering with shared objectives. The Len-bunch development stage was utilized for the gathering to start the holding stage. The holding between the young men help make an interrelation to each other. The gathering was likewise approached to mark their gathering. We will compose a custom exposition test on Looters Cave Experiment or then again any comparative point explicitly for you Don't WasteYour Time Recruit WRITER Just 13.90/page Marking helped the young men make a character to help recognize themselves with the gathering. The subsequent stage is portrayed as the Friction stage, now each gathering had the option to recognize each gathering existed.During this time each gathering would take part in a progression of rivalry that made a rubbing. There were prizes given to the gathering with the most elevated scores. This likewise prompted the chains of importance between the gatherings. The opposition went on for a few days to develop a level of disappointment among the two gatherings. Because of the rubbing brought about by the serious games this made the irritating environment between the two gatherings. (Green) Entering into the third period of the investigation the young men were completely taken to a typical region they would share together.The third stage Integration was intended to make collaboration among the two gatherings Green). There was a progression of situations intended for the gatherings to achieve together. The main trial was for the gathering to make sense of an approach to fix the water gracefully issue that was vandalized. The gathering together had the option to fix the issue. This likewise made reliance on one another overall. The subsequent examination was for the young men to concede to a film that they would watch during supper. The young men had the option to settle on a film and had the option to eat in a similar normal area.The hypothesis had the option to clarify the idea of what will occur between bunches when certain rabbles happen. It likewise had the option to show that when things of basic intrigue are at the front of issues that can influence all gatherings, they had the option to go to an answer. The Robbers cavern likewise uncovered the effortlessness of how gatherings connect inside a gathering and when another is presented. This is like the manner in which societies draw in with each other. Taking a gander at genuine circumstances Robbers Cave can be utilized as a stage for understanding gathering relations towards one another. Utilizing the case of a rehearsing advisor, who is driving a gathering of secondary school adolescents during a gathering treatment meeting. Burglars cavern can be utilized for the advisor to perceive how gatherings can are shaped inside a gathering. The main model would be a portion of the gatherings individuals are prodding a couple of the other gathering individuals due to their social financial back grounds. The advisor would start to recognize the variable that partitions the gathering. In spite of the fact that Robbers cavern members returned from comparable grounds, the gathering of young people likewise has comparable attributes.Therefore I trust it would be dependent upon the advisor to recognize what might make this gathering progress by presenting themes that are nonpartisan all together or the adolescents to create connections. Culture assorted variety speaks to the Robbers Cave well. When managing an outsider going to the Ignited States, I accept that you can apply the Robbers cavern hypothesis. By understanding the degree of seriousness inside American and the pecking order made from money related capital. The ongoing activity showcase uncovered a degree of bigotry among the gatherings in America. For instance White America was stating that the Hispanics are taking their jobs.This was not sent until the monetary emergency was presented. The shared objective is make an equivalent playing petitioned for each gathering to be working for a shared objective. By putting each gathering in a setting were they compelled to need to rely upon each other will ideally open up the discourse, about how to make occupations for all individuals ii gatherings. End The Robbers Cave hypothesis applies to numerous situations society faces today. The perceptions produced using the Robbers Cave gave understanding on how gatherings are framed and the order made inside the in gathering.

This I Believe Essay Example for Free

This I Believe Essay â€Å"Come on Blake only one time, nobody will know, simply take one taste and one puff.† And from that day forward I began smoking dark and mild’s, which lead to an every day schedule. In secondary school, I never figured I would smoke nor drink, until I set off for college. Being in secondary school, I generally thought drinking and smoking was unfortunate. It prompts progressively difficult issues that you can't control. I was consistently the greater individual out of my gathering of companions, who might disclose to them directly from off-base, about how undesirable it was. It was even one point in time; I went similarly as inquiring about and passing out the writing of smoking. As the outcome, I lost a couple of companions en route, due to giving out the writing. When I went to school at Western Kentucky University, it appeared as though things changed drastically. The statement â€Å"Never Say Never† truly hit me like a huge amount of blocks. While it might be valid for smoking being undesirable, regardless of this knowing how smoking and drinking was loathsome. I put it all out there realizing it was past my convictions. Nonetheless, I was more than one hundred miles away in a bizarre situation. Inside a couple of days, I began meeting individuals from various urban communities. I turned out to be near this one specific young lady and I started to hang with her and her companions. Before long a short time later things promptly transformed from my convictions of smoking and drinking. Just to fit in, I chose to take a puff and a taste. When I took that one puff and that one taste. Smoking turned into a regular custom, concerning where drinking was an occasionally procedure. However, in my heart, I realized that the choice I was making was not directly for me. I continued revealing to myself throughout each and every day. In any case, the companion weight of my companions constrained me off course. The end is to consistently adhere to what your convictions are and that others may not accept what you believe is right. What's more, all things considered permit somebody to impact you from your convictions, in the end their might be outcomes that you may need to follow.

The Joys of Obscure Fiction

The Joys of Obscure Fiction This is a guest post from Katherine Marciniak. Katherine is an over-caffeinated avid reader and writer. She was featured in the anthology Once Upon an Apocalypse, and loves to beta read and edit when she has the opportunity. Shell do more impressive things after shes finished her tea…and this next chapter. Follow her on Twitter  @MarciniakKatie. You know what I love? Secrets. And I dont mean the ones that are whispered in the dark at middle school sleepovers. I mean the forgotten ideas and ideals of history, particularly the ones in books. I mean the secrets that are held in a book that has been abandoned on a library shelf for so long that dust has accumulated at the top and the pages stick together a bit when you open it up and it has a library card stuck inside with the date 1958 stamped on it. Secrets that are only secrets because people havent thought about them recently. Secrets from authors who have been shouting their ideas for decades til the point where their voice is just a whisper now and their name faded. See, I read the classics. Im not an English major, but I read like one. Ive read Pride and Prejudice and Hamlet and A Farewell to Arms. But Ive also read Queed and Jill the Reckless and the essays in Little Rivers. Ive never seen the movie, but I have read (and cried over) Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northup. I was reading the playwright notes to my copy of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and I discovered the plays of Roman playwright Plautus, whose plays inspired Shakespeares A Comedy of Errors. (Personally, I think the source material is funnier and tighter, but who am I to say?) I read about, and then had to read for myself, the beautiful poetry of Omar Khayyams Rubaiyat. I have curled up with a copy of Louisa May Alcotts An Old Fashioned Girl and L.M. Montgomerys The Blue Castleâ€"two books that deserve more recognition than they getâ€"because I couldnt just stop at Little Women and Anne of Green Gables. So maybe these books arent complete secrets. But they feel like them. Queed, for example, the story of a little man more interested in studying sociology than he is in actually being social, was a bestseller in 1911 (and made its way into Carneys House Party of the Betsy-Tacy books, which was how I discovered it). There were people, once upon a time, who loved this book and now people give you funny looks if you say youre reading it. I find a certain thrill in reading something that was popular long agoâ€"like Im sharing in a legacy of sorts. Maybe the books I find arent philosophical or wise and maybe they didnt all add something to literature like the classics we remember did, but that doesnt make these old classics useless. They still speak to the human condition (most a little less on the nose than Queed, what with sociology being its subject), with strong characters and stories to tell nonetheless. While its nice to sit back on my heels and flip through a book way back on that bottom shelf and pretend Im the only audience this book has anymore, Id like it if I wasnt so alone. After all, the best part about secrets is sharing them with other people, right? (Okay, maybe not all secrets). So go on out, read a not-so-well-known book by a well-known author! Tell me all about it! The best thing about these forgotten books is that many of them are free downloads on websites like Feedbooks and the Gutenberg project. So go out and look! Theres something for everyone! Sometimes there are bad old books too and thats why theyre not remembered anymoreâ€"but that just makes the classics that have stayed around that much greater (its like comparing the average runner to the Olympianâ€"it puts the Olympian in context). Happy reading! Sign up to Unusual Suspects to receive news and recommendations for mystery/thriller readers.

Piaget s Theory Of Experiential Learning - 1481 Words

In this childhood developmental study, a comparative analysis of the theories of Lee Vygotsky, Jean Piaget, and Howard Gardner will be evaluated through the lens of experiential learning. Through Vygotsky’s realization of the childhood learning through â€Å"hands-on† experience (experiential learning), the cultural and socioeconomic factors defines the progress a child makes in the individual progression towards growth in the educational system. Piaget beheld similar views on experiential learning in the context of the family unit as an extension of social and educational progress through adaptation and guidance. Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences (TMI) also expands upon Vygotsky and Piaget’s premise of experiential learning by understanding the different forms of adaptation in the differing modes of thinking (spatial, visual, verbal, etc.) that educators can utilize in teaching the child. In essence, a comparative analysis of the childhood devel opmental theories of Vygotsky, Piaget, and Gardner define similar methods of experiential learning in the context of childhood development. Vygotsky’s childhood development theory involves the process of â€Å"hands-on† learning as part of an experiential process in a cultural, ethnic, and socioeconomic perception of learning and education. During the early stages of child’s life, the learning process involves the â€Å"mentoring† of children through ethnic, cultural, socioeconomic, and community based-learning (ala. the school system)Show MoreRelatedThe Principal Goals Of Education1226 Words   |  5 Pagesgenerations have done† – Jean Piaget (From remarks at a conference on cognitive development at Cornell University, 1964), and so that is still true of learning in my workplace today. But how does the learning being offered create these men you may ask, and what place does Kolb’s experiential learning cycle take in it all? As I work in a tough railway ‘safety critical’ role the learning can be broken down into several phases each with its own goals. Two phases of learning are more formal than most andRead MoreHow Can Teachers Use Theories and Findings from Developmental Psychology to Inform Classroom Practise.2109 Words   |  9 PagesHow can teachers use theories and findings from developmental psychology to inform classroom practise. Teachers can use theories and findings from developmental psychology to improve the quality of learning that takes place within the classroom by changing the learning methods and social conditions that typify an educational classroom. This essay will attempt to show that although there are many psychological ideas that have theorised and researched different ways to educate; the most successfulRead MorePiaget Vs Vygotsky : Piaget And Vygotsky1314 Words   |  6 PagesTwo Famous Educators: Piaget vs. Vygotsky Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky are often considered the most influential cognitive development and learning psychologists of the 20th century. Their research efforts have inspired numerous interpretations and spawned new outlets of approaching developmental psychology. The following paragraphs will analyze the theories of Piaget of Vygotsky and discuss how their research can be used to advance the use of cognitive development in learning, both traditional andRead MoreEarly childhood educators Essay example781 Words   |  4 Pagesinfluential in both Europe and America in the mid to late 1700s. Rousseau emphasized out of the home schooling and viewed children as innately good. Rousseau reduced the importance of learning by reading and emphasized learning by experience. An example of his work is seen today as children learn through play. Pestalozzi   Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi published a book in 1801 that helped influence the development of seeing his theories put into action. The â€Å"Pestalozzi method† was put into practiceRead MoreReflective Reflection Of Reflective Practice1896 Words   |  8 PagesThe general trend for scholars was to either explain or expound on theories of the previous scholars but Professor of nursing Gary Rolfe (2001) designed a reflective model to simplify the learning cycle. This version of the reflective cycle was comprised of three questions that ask the reflective practitioner: What, So what, and Now what? (Rolfe 2001)The idea is that through these questions we gain a description of the situation ultimately leading to critic of the situation as well as the f knowledgeRead MoreTheories of Cognitive Development: an Insight to the Theories of Piaget, Information-Processing and Vygotsky1464 Words   |  6 PagesTheories of Cognitive Development: An insight to the theories of Piaget, Information-processing and Vygotsky How do we learn? How do we grow? Over the years, psychologists have studied to great lengths the processes that humans go through as they progress from infancy to adulthood. Several theories have emerged over time with three prominent ones. Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky produced two important and distinct theories. Another important theory, the information-processing theory, presentsRead MoreLearning Style Assiginment Essay978 Words   |  4 PagesDevelopment  for  Success  in  Business   Assignment  1   500  words  in  which  I  analyse  my  own  learning  style                                                                                 Student  ID:  14030592   Name:  Kabir  Ali   Tutor:  Katy  Roberts      2   Table  of  Contents      1.  Introduction Page  3      2.  Learning  Style  Analysis Page  3      3.  Conclusion Page  5      4.  References Page  7      5.  Appendices Page  8      3   1.  Introduction      From  an  early  age  I  found  learning  hard  and  in  my  early  educational  years  I   noticed  I  would  stop  paying  attention  in  class  when  I  lost  interestRead MoreThe Foundation Phase Curriculum Completed1318 Words   |  6 PagesThe Foundation Phase Curriculum completed its roll out during the academic year 2011-2012. Making reference to the key messages from the ‘Framework for Children’s Learning for 3 to 7 year-olds in Wales’, what experiences should all children in the Foundation Phase be receiving? The Foundation Phase completed its roll-out during the academic year 2011-2012. However, the Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) constantly observe children via documentation and therefore they adapt the curriculum to best suitRead MoreThe University Of The Atlantic Dorr Museum And The Woodlawn Gardens Museum Essay2221 Words   |  9 PagesI was originally planning on spending my time observing and participating in different museum locations, but with the two education classes I was taking, I also ended up learning a lot about different school settings as well. And what was most interesting was comparing them and seeing where the similarities were. I would have categorized them as schools and museums, but those would be false categories. I spent time at three different museums for my service hours, the Bangor Discovery Museum, theRead MoreAnalysis Of The Film The World s Classroom 1727 Words   |  7 Pagessocially problematic, in regards to some methods when learning about other cultures, Claire practices very progressive teaching methods and concepts that our class has covered. Because of using these varied teaching methods, Claire is also creating a more indepth and engaged learning environment that appears to have a positive impact on her students. Two concepts that I will be introducing and comparing to Claire’s classroom are Self-directed Learning and The Four Aspects of Engagement. Both of these

Origin and History of SRI Free Essay Example, 1750 words

The concept of socially responsible investment is not new. The roots of what has become known as socially responsible investing go back to ancient times. The Old Testament laid down many commands about how to invest ethically. Similarly, the Quran also spells clear instructions about ethical investment. There is a general agreement that current consciousness of ethical investment or socially responsible investment was developed with the Quaker and Methodist religious movements in the 19th Century. Later on, in 1928, Philip L. Carrot initiated Pioneer Fund the earliest SRI fund initiated in the United States. This fund is still operating(Social Funds, 2010). The first SRI fund in the United Kingdom was the Friends Provident Stewardship Fund which was started in 1984 (Ali and Gold, 2002)The political scenario of the 1960s helped in raising awareness around issues of social responsibility (Schueth, 2003). This decade marked a series of social and environmental movements which emphasiz ed civil rights and women s rights on one hand and on the other, these movements raised their voice against humans catastrophes in wars. Later on, the human rights movement broadened the scope of the SRI to the management and labor issues. We will write a custom essay sample on Origin and History of SRI or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/page Those investors, during the 1970s and 1980s, used both screening and shareholder advocacy (activism) to press for change in South Africa.

Answer Key Free Essays

Professor Mumford mumford@purdue. edu Econ 360 – Fall 2012 Problem Set 1 Answers True/False (30 points) 1. FALSE If (ai , bi ) : i = 1, 2, . We will write a custom essay sample on Answer Key or any similar topic only for you Order Now . . , n and (xi , yi ) : i = 1, 2,  ·  ·  · , n are sets of n pairs of numbers, then: n n n (ai xi + bi yi ) = i=1 i=1 ai x i + i=1 bi yi 2. FALSE If xi : i = 1, 2, . . . , n is a set of n numbers, then: n n n n n (xi ? x) = ? i=1 n i=1 2 x2 i ? 2? x i=1 xi + i=1 x = ? i=1 2 x2 ? n? 2 x i where x = ? 1 n i=1 xi 3. TRUE If xi : i = 1, 2, . . . , n is a set of n numbers and a is a constant, then: n n a xi = a i=1 n i=1 xi = a n x ? here x = ? 1 n i=1 xi 4. FALSE If X and Y are independent random variables then: E (Y |X) = E (Y ) 1 5. TRUE If {a1 , a2 , . . . , an } are constants and {X1 , X2 , . . . , Xn } are random variables then: n n E i=1 ai X i = i=1 ai E (Xi ) 6. FALSE For a random variable X, let  µ = E (X). The variance of X can be expressed as: V ar(X) = E X 2 ?  µ2 7. TRUE For random variables Y and X, the variance of Y conditional on X = x is given by: V ar(Y |X = x) = E Y 2 |x ? [E (Y |x)]2 8. TRUE An estimator, W , of ? is an unbiased estimator if E (W ) = ? for all possible values of ?. 9. FALSE The central limit theorem states that the average from a random sample for any population (with ? nite variance) when it is standardized, by subtracting the mean and then dividing by the standard deviation, has an asymptotic standard normal distribution. 10. TRUE The law of large numbers states that if X1 , X2 , . . . , Xn are independent, identically distributed random variables with mean  µ, then ? plim Xn =  µ 2 Multiple Choice Questions (a) ceteris paribus (b) correlation (c) causal e? ect (d) independence (20 points) 11. The idea of holding â€Å"all else equal† is known as 12. If our dataset has one observation for every state for the year 2000, then our dataset is (a) cross-sectional data (b) pooled cross-sectional data (c) time series data (d) panel data 13. If our dataset has one observation for every state for the year 2000 and another observation for each state in 2005, then our dataset is (a) cross-sectional data (b) pooled cross-sectional data (c) time series data (d) panel data 14. If our dataset has one observation for the state of Indiana each year from 1950-2005 then our dataset is (a) cross-sectional data (b) pooled cross-sectional data (c) time series data (d) panel data 15. Consider the function f (X, Y ) = (aX + bY )2 . What is (a) 2aX (b) a(aX + bY ) (c) 2a(aX + bY ) (d) a2 X ? f (X,Y ) ? X 3 Long Answer Questions (50 points) 16. The sum of squared deviations (subtracting the average value of x from each observation on x) is the sum of the squared xi minus n times the square of x. There are ? several ways to show this, here is one: n n xi (xi ? x) ? i=1 = i=1 n (xi ? x + x) (xi ? x) ? ? ? n = i=1 n (xi ? x) (xi ? x) + ? ? i=1 n x (xi ? x) ? ? = i=1 (xi ? x)2 + x ? ? i=1 n (xi ? x) ? (xi ? x) = 0, so ? and we know that i=1 n i=1 (xi ? x)2 ? 17. There are several ways to show that this expression equals the sample covariance between x and y, here is one: n n xi (yi ? y ) ? i=1 = i=1 n (xi ? x + x) (yi ? y ) ? ? ? n = i=1 n (xi ? x) (yi ? y ) + x ? ? ? i=1 (yi ? y ) ? = i=1 (xi ? x) (yi ? y ) ? ? 18. Correlation and causation are not always the same thing. (a) A negative correlation means that larger class size is associated with lower test performance. This could be because the relationship is causal meaning that having a larger class size actually hurts student performance. However, there are other reasons we might ? nd a negative relationship. For example, children from more a? uent families might be more likely to attend schools with smaller class sizes, and a? uent children generally score better on standardized tests. Another possibility is that within a school, a principal might assign the better students to smaller classes. Or, some parents might insist that their children are in the smaller classes, and these same parents tend to be more involved in their children’s education. Given the potential for confounding factors such as these, ? ding a negative correlation between class size and test scores is not strong evidence that smaller 4 class sizes actually lead to better performance. Thus, without other information, we cannot draw a meaningful economic conclusions. A correct answer should explain that we should be careful about drawing economic conclusions from simple correlations. (b) The sample correlation between N and T is de? ned as: s rN T = N T sN sT where the sample covariance, sN T , is given by: sN T = 1 999 1000 ? Ni ? N i=1 ? Ti ? T and the sample standard deviations are given by: sN = 1 999 1000 Ni ? N i=1 2 sT = 1 999 1000 ? Ti ? T i=1 2 Note that there are several alternative ways to write this and statistical programs generally use other algorithms to calculate the correlation that are less prone to loss of precision due to roundo? error or storage over? ow. 19. Wage data (a) There are 526 observations. (b) There are 274 men in the sample. This means that the sample is 52. 09 percent male. (c) The average level of education in the sample is 12. 6 years. The median level of education is 12 years. (d) The highest education level in the sample is 18 years of school. 9 people in the sample report having 18 years of education. (e) The average hourly wage in the sample is $5. 90. The median hourly wage in the sample is $4. 65. 20. Fertility data (a) There are 363 women in the sample. (b) The average number of children ever born to a woman in the sample is 2. 3. The median number is 2. (c) The largest number of children ever born to a woman in the sample 7. Six women report having seven children. (d) 25 percent of the sample lived in the eastern United States at age 16. (e) The average level of eduction in the sample is 13. 2 years. 5 How to cite Answer Key, Essay examples

Influence Of Culture In The Business †Free Samples for Students

Question: Discuss About The Influence Of Culture In The Business? Answer: Introducation The influence of culture in the business of a particular country is prevalent. Business organizations or house need to follow the cultural norms of the contemporary community they are serving. Organizations or individuals, trying to expand their business in a different culture must understand the concept of cross culture management to give their management strategies a generalized as well as subjective dimension as per requirement of the concerned culture, they are willing to work (Thomas and Peterson, 2017, p.11). According to the case of the assessment project, Emily is an Australian entrepreneur working in the field of food. She owns a shop namely, 'The Aromatic Condiment Shop' and small factory in Perth. Her condiments are made of purely organic ingredients and are also free from harmful preservatives. Emily wishes to expand her business to Japan, as she thinks that her products will do good business in Japan. She is planning to planning to introduce items like, chilli sauces, pa stes, chutneys and jams to serve the needs of the Japanese community. Food is an important component of respective culture in the society, which evinces the nature of the culture and choices of the community people (Tjosvold, 2017, p.24). Emily understands that she should a person directly connected with business environment of Japan. Mr. Hamasaki is a fifty year old single man who works as a manager of a popular store in Japan. Emily is about to come to meet Mr. Hamasaki in person in order to gather information about Japanese business etiquette and Japanese market. This essay will concentrate on the relevant areas Emily needs to focus before conducting meeting with Mr. Hamasaki. Hofstede's 5 Cultural dimensions-Australia Vs Japan: According to Hofstede, cultural patterns of different nations can be accessed on the basis of five dimensions. Emily needs to study Hofstede's 5 Cultural dimensions for Japan in order to prepare herself for the meeting with Mr. Hamasaki of Japan. Power Distance: Power distance explains the way in which social inequalities are addressed in a society. Japan can be termed as a society with borderline hierarchy. It scored 54 in the power dimension of the country (Degens et al. 2017, p.37). Foreign business organizations found it most hierarchical as they had experienced slow decision making process in the business environment of Japan. Paradoxically, the slow decision making process of Japan indicates that in Japan, power of decision making is not concentrated within limited hands. Again according to the education system of Japan everyone is equal and they can achieve anything if they work hard. Figure 1: Hofstede's 5 Cultural dimensions for Japan Source: https://www.alinablaga.com/cultural-dimensions-theory-geert-hofstede-japanese-culture/ In comparison to Japan, Australia maintains lower hierarchical in their business environment (Beugelsdijk et al. 2017, p.30). The concept of hierarchy is practiced in Australia to provide transparent services to community people. Senior managers always rely on the performances of junior employee in the business environment of Australia. Business environment of Australia is far more soothing than Japan. Uncertainty Avoidance: Uncertainty avoidance index of Japan is 92. It indicates the fact that Japan always has plans for their future happenings (Serenko et al. 2017, p.41). This is so because Japanese community has to face the severe consequences caused by constant threats of natural disasters like, earthquake, tsunamis etc. So the Japanese business environment is quite predictive in nature. Business organizations there are used prepare themselves for future uncertainties in order to avoid bigger consequences of loss in the business. Whereas, in comparison to the Japanese business industry, Australian business environment is less concerned about the future of the business. Australian uncertainty avoidance index shows a moderate figure of 51. Figure 2: Hofstede's 5 Cultural dimensions- Australia Vs Japan Source: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/data-protection-hofstedes-cultural-dimensions-joe-hughes-cissp Individualism Vs Collectivism: In this dimension, the interdependency pattern of the respective society has been shown. Japan scores 46, which shows that business environment of Japan maintains the concept of interdependency (Degens et al. 2017, p.37). They act more reserved than the other Asian countries in the world. While talking about the individualism index of Australia (90), it can be said they more independent in nature. They are self sufficient and are likely to introduce independent business strategies and ideas in their business. Masculinity Vs Femininity: Higher masculine index of the Japan (95) shows that they competition, profit and success in thier business environment. Japan is considered one of the most masculine society in the world (Serenko et al. 2017, p.41). Attempting to be the best and move above the crowd are the concepts that are always get admiration in the business environment of Japan. The business organizations of Japan tries to motivate their employees in order to earn better profit than others. Success in terms of material production is significant in the business environment of Japan. On the other hand, Australia scores 61 in their Masculinity Vs Femininity dimension index. Australian business environment is more feminine in nature (Beugelsdijk et al. 2017, p.30). Australian society prefers quality of life rather than success in the materialistic production of the society. Australians chooses their professions on the basis of their liking over monetary preferences. Long Term Vs Short Term Orientation: Higher long term orientation index of Japan (88) evinces that business organizations of Japan maintains pragmatic approaches in their business strategies. They prefer to a steady growth in their business rather than periodical profit. It is seen that Japanese used to invest a big amount in their research and development projects even in the critical financial business environment (Degens et al. 2017, p.37). Their purpose is work for sustainable development of the society at large. On the other hand, Australia scores 21 in this index. Australian business organization maintains normative culture in their business environment. They focus more on present than on future. Japanese Business Etiquette: Choices and preferences of the community vary according to the culture of the community. And business organizations have their purposes to follow the choices and preferences of certain groups and community in order to reach the optimum satisfaction level of the group or community. Value of Silence: Japanese value silence in the initial stage of business (Hastings and Castle Bell, 2017, p.1). They link silence with credibility. According to them, the person or business partner who talks much, works little. Group Solidarity: Japanese business culture gives value to group solidarity over individualism. They prefer to work and move together in business and in other activities of life. Value of Business Cards: Japanese value their business cards. Japanese maintain engrained set of etiquettes while dealing with their business cards. They accept the cards by using both hands and handled it care and honour (Takeda et al. 2017, p.179). Placing their business cards in pocket or wallet is considered to be a blunder of etiquette to the Japanese. Value Seniority: Japanese CEOs are generally older than the CEOs of other countries in the world. They used to greet older person before the younger ones in the society. They respect age and seniority. Gentle approach in sell: Japanese follow the gentle approach in the marketing and delivery of their products and services. They prefer to build trust over profit in the business environment. Value of Privacy: Japanese people choose privacy in their life, business decisions and culture. They spent lesser amount of time in social networking sites. Gift Etiquette: In Japan, there is an importance of business gift in the industry. But, one must understand the gift etiquette of Japan before buying gifts for Japanese (Cook and Burdelski, 2017, p.461). As an example, white flowers are used to serve funeral purposes in Japan, so, it should be avoided. Sophisticated table manners: Japanese follow sophisticated table manners. They want others to value their table manners. Value of Small Stuff: Japanese value small and minute details in their life and business environment. One must show sensibility while dealing with the Japanese business environment. For example, one should not blow their nose in public; it is considered as poor sense of taste. Conservative and Unofficial dress code: Japanese value sophisticated dressing in their business environment as well as in their life. Men used to wear conservative suits and women are encouraged to carry minimum jewelleries. Suggestions For Emily: In this essay, several details associated with the business environment of Japan are discussed and explained. On the basis of this assessment report, recommendations for Emily can be developed. Emily should choose her dresses properly for her business meeting with Mr. Hamasaki. She should carry minimum jewellery and avoid to wear low heals in the meeting. She must greet senior and aged members of the community. She should show respect for the Japanese table manners. She should consider to follow minute details while dealing Japanese business managers, like, she should remove her shoes before entering into a Japanese house. She should select business gifts for Mr. Hamasaki cautiously. She may take a language translator with her. She must consider the contents of Hofstede's 5 Cultural dimensions for Japan while dealing with Japanese business managers. She should be to display her knowledge in the concerned field. Her business approach should be bold and polite. Her business strategies should be beneficial for the sustainable development of Japanese community. Reference Lists: Beugelsdijk, S., Kostova, T. and Roth, K., 2017. An overview of Hofstede-inspired country-level culture research in international business since 2006.Journal of International Business Studies,48(1), pp.30-47. Cook, H.M. and Burdelski, M., 2017. (Im) politeness: Language Socialization. InThe Palgrave Handbook of Linguistic (Im) politeness(pp. 461-488). Palgrave Macmillan UK. Degens, N., Endrass, B., Hofstede, G.J., Beulens, A. and Andr, E., 2017. What I see is not what you get: why culture-specific behaviours for virtual characters should be user-tested across cultures.AI society,32(1), pp.37-49. Gelfand, M.J., Aycan, Z., Erez, M. and Leung, K., 2017. Cross-cultural industrial organizational psychology and organizational behavior: A hundred-year journey.Journal of Applied Psychology,102(3), p.514. Hastings, S.O. and Castle Bell, G., 2017. Facing our Heuristic Limits: Expanding the Terminology for Types of Positive Face.Communication Quarterly, pp.1-15. https://www.alinablaga.com/cultural-dimensions-theory-geert-hofstede-japanese-culture/ https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/data-protection-hofstedes-cultural-dimensions-joe-hughes-cissp Serenko, A., Sato, O., Palvia, P.C., Turan, A.H. and Sasaki, H., 2017. The Effect of Work-Home Conflict on IT Employees in Japan: The Moderating Role of Conscientiousness. Takeda, T., Kida, N. and Hara, T., 2017, July. Appropriateness and Impression Evaluation of Japanese Seated Bow. InInternational Conference on Digital Human Modeling and Applications in Health, Safety, Ergonomics and Risk Management(pp. 179-187). Springer, Cham. Thomas, D.C. and Peterson, M.F., 2017.Cross-cultural management: Essential concepts. Sage Publications. Tjosvold, D., 2017.Cross-cultural management: foundations and future. Routledge.

Staffing for Global Operations free essay sample

In 21st century, we are seeing a big leap in the globalization of business and with this, the ability of management of an organization to work effectively across the cultural and national borders is playing a critical role in business success. Staffing management of multinational companies is a complex issue to the international human resource management (IHRM). With this stated, the statement, â€Å"Culture is a major variable for international management† is true in every sense.Keywords: expatriate, ethnocentric, polycentric, regiocentric, geocentric ? Introduction Culture generally refers to patterns of human activity and the symbolic structures that give such activity significance. Different definitions of â€Å"culture† reflect different theoretical orientations for understanding or criteria for valuing human activity. It refers to an ideal of individual human refinement, of the best that has been thought and said in the world (Wikipedia. org). In management, culture has a slightly different meaning.It can be explained as a set of policies, values, beliefs, and attitudes learnt and shared by the organizations member (Naylor, 2004). We will write a custom essay sample on Staffing for Global Operations or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page For this project, I will evaluate at how different kinds of management cultures in managing subsidiaries, which are located all over the world, can influence the development and growth of an organization in the modern era of globalization. International Business In the past, when people talked about international business, it only means that they exported their products to other countries.Nowadays, because of the development of free trade, any countries reduce their trade barriers in order to attract foreign companies in, to invest to and drive their domestic economy. Whenever people think about international business, it is no longer only trading from one place to another – they are thinking in terms of globalization. This means not only having investments, offices and businesses in their own country, but having similarly offices in different parts of the world as well (Citehr. com). In today’s global world, most big companies have their offices or business in many di fferent countries. Multinational enterprises often have their headquarters at their home countries and all their other offices, which may include offices in the same country but not at the headquarters and those located in other countries, need to report to them on a regular basis. Because culture is so different from one person to another and from one country to another, when an organization decides to open an office in a foreign country, they need to decide how they are going to manage their employees in the foreign country.Professionals sent a by their companies to work abroad and has been working and living in a foreign country is called an â€Å"expatriate† (Wikipedia. org). Company managers need to consider what kind of policies they should use within their subsidiaries. There are four main types of staffing for global operations: Ethnocentric, Polycentric, Regiocentric, and Geocentric approach. Ethnocentric Approach The definition of ethnocentric is â€Å"characterized by or based on the attitude that one’s own group is superior†(Merriam-webster. com, n. d. . Companies following the ethnocentric approach assume the home country approach is best and that employees from other parts of the world can and should follow its policies.Local companies may think that parent companies do not trust them and this may disincentive effect on local management morale and motivations. High costs, parent companies need to pay travel, residential, salaries, and other such expenses for expatriate employees and in most cases, the salaries for expatriate employees are much higher than salary for someone local. After assignments, normally a long-term oversea assignment is several years. The corporations need to have necessary arrangements on where the expatriates will go, and what they will do when they finish their assignments.Expatriate may not be able to adapt back to their original culture as they were away for too long (citehr. com). Polycentric Approach Polycentric staffing is an international staffing method in which multinational corporations treat each subsidiary as a separate national entity with some individual decision-making authority and hire host-country nationals as managers. This approach can minimize the dangers of cultural myopia, but it can create a gap between home and host-country operations (uslegal. com). Corporations use people from the countries in which their subsidiaries are located to fill management roles. General decisions and policies are made by local subsidiaries, which are suitable for their local environments and cultures to help them to achieve their parent company’s goals. Core strategic and functional capacities planning remain at headquarters (Marcbowles. com) Advantages of polycentric approach are low cost all the positions are recruited from the country where the subsidiaries are located. Organizations do not have to pay for travelling and accommodation expenses for the expatriate and his/her family. Increase acceptance. Government and people widely accept organizations that are willing to employ from their culture.They recognize this type of organization as legitimate participants in the local economy. It also demonstrates the business trust in the local population. Harmony, because all employees are also from the same country, they have similar culture which can reduce conflicts among the work force (Wikipedia. org) Disadvantages of polycentric approach are: Reduce of control of parent company, in this type of staffing, control exercise by headquarters may be reduce. This could make it difficult to balance local demands and global priorities.Different standards, each subsidiary have their own policies, which suit their cultures, but the standards will be different from one to another. This may lead to difficulties in achieving the organizations international goals. Short of communication. Communication between headquarters and subsidiaries is mainly just reporting. Headquarters may not know what is actually happening within the subsidiaries. This may lead to the postponement of difficult local decisions or problems as the local branches would try to solve it by themselves unless it is unavoidable (Wikipedia. rg) Regiocentric Approach Regiocentric approach is a philosophy of management whereby the firm tries to blend its own interests with those of its subsidiaries on a regional basis (College of Business Administration, 2007). A multinational corporation who has a regiocentric approach will divide parts of the world into regions. For example, a multinational company may divide Europe into different regions – Eastern Europe and Western Europe. Each corporation may have different definitions of the size of region, and which countries are in specific region. A company who adopts this approach selects suitable management level personnel within the region where the subsidiary is located. The regiocentric approach can be seen a development from ethnocentric or polycentric approach. It is similar to geocentric approach, but is limited to within different regions instead of the whole world. A regiocentric manager can be said to have a worldview on a regional scale, which could mean that the world outside the region in question might be viewed with an ethnocentric or polycentric orientation, or maybe a combination of two (marcbowles. om). Advantages of Regiocentric approach are effective; staff from the region where the subsidiaries operate will be more sensitive to regional needs. In general, people from the region will more in touch with the needs and concerns of the region and can make more suitable decisions based on this. These needs and concerns can also be communicated more effectively back to the company headquarters. Free movement, potentially, there are fewer difficulties in acquiring visas and work permits for staff moving from one part of the region to another.This will depend on the size of the region and the laws governing movement of people from one part of the region to another. Subsidiaries operating in Europe as a region should find it easy to relocate their expatriates from one part of the region to another without having to acquire work permits or Visas (ihrm. com). Some drawbacks of Regiocentric approach includes high cost, adaptability, social problems, and after assignments. Like in the case of ethnocentric approach, there is a high relocation, travel, and accommodation expenses incurred as staff are moved from one part of the region to another. Adaptability, managers who located within the region still encounters some difficulties adapting to the way of living in a different country within the region. For instance, people from Spain normally are more laid back, the pace of living and work is slower. They may find difficulties in working in fast-pace London. Social problems even though the expatriate employee(s) is not as far from home as those with ethnocentric or geocentric business, they still have to worry about how to bring their families with them or how to deal with being away from them.After assignments, as with the ethnocentric approach, the multinationals need to decide what they are going to do with the expatriates, whether or not they will have their original jobs back, and how well they can adapt to their home country after being away for a while (ihrm. com). Geocentric Approach A geocentric staffing policy seeks the best people for key jobs throughout the organization, regardless of their nationality. This approach is consistent with building a strong unifying culture and informal management network and is well suited to both global and transnational strategies.Immigration policies of national governments may limit a firms ability to pursue this policy (mhhe. com). Organizations that approach geocentric are focusing on commonalities across markets that allows corporations to take advantage of economies of scale in ways that polycentric corporations with decentralized operations cannot. Advantages of Geocentric approach are having the best employees, partnership relationship with parent companies and subsidiaries, and help in globalization. Best employees. Most of the employees that had been chosen are the most suitable person for the job. They have the knowledge and experience for the area in which they are recruited. Partnership relationship. The relationship between the parent companies and their subsidiaries are in partnership form. They are interdependent on each other. This kind of relationship is of more value due to each other’s presence. Help in globalization. Organizations recruit people from all over the world, which can help them to develop their business worldwide. Personnel are from every part of the world; their different cultures can help organization to achieve their goal and their local objectives (Wikipedia. rg) Just like the other approaches geocentric approach also have its own drawback, which includes, high cost and social problems. The regiocentric approach allows interaction between managers of an organization’s subsidiaries transferred to their organization’s regional headquarters. Managers have more sensitivity to local conditions as locals mostly staff the subsidiaries. It works in a similar way as the polycentric approach but towards a geocentric direction. The geocentric approach develops practices for worldwide use, which could be seen as seeing the global workforce as a whole. (ihrm. com) Which approach is the best? From the findings I got, there is no one best method.Organizations need to understand their aims and goals in order to decide which approach is the most suitable for their business. An organizations strategy on globalization strongly influences the approach it takes to management. It involves looking out and seeking competitive edge over other organizations by emphasizing and providing training for gaining insightful understanding of their global markets across different cultures and hence mobilizing the motivation triggers of their staff.

Islamophobia And The Media Example

Islamophobia And The Media Example Islamophobia And The Media – Coursework Example Islamophobia and the media Islamophobia and the Media Islamophobia is the intense dislike for Muslims and teachings of Islam. In this era of Islam extremist attacks linked to terrorism, Islamophobia is increasingly on the rise. A vast group of disillusioned people is airing negative views about Islam. Such activities, which portray negative concepts about Muslims, increase Islamophobia (Mediasmarts.ca, 2015). Many sections of the mainstream media air their anti-Islamic opinions. Several newspaper article writers focus on negative concepts about Islam such as the ISIS, Al Shabaab, and Al Qaeda (Jablonski, 2015). The media often dwell much on the link between Islam and its extreme members (Alexander, & Moore, 2015). The media place less emphasis on the positive contribution to society that Islam has given. Many newspapers release publications about terrorism and terrorist activities, as well as other negative aspects of Islam in the society.A number of Western news reporters often repo rt about terror activities carried by the extreme elements in Islam (Guardian, 2005). Although there is no official validation of belief in Jihad by Muslims, the media already created an image portraying Islam as a religion, which is not tolerant. Such reporting intends to make the non-Muslim audience develop a dislike for this section of the society. Many features of the television focus on extremism in Islam and the adverse effects of these activities (Global Research, 2015). Magazines and journals also release features portraying a bad image of Islam (Snyder, 2015). Such occurrences tend to mislead the public into Islamophobic tendencies because they brainwash people into fearing all Muslims in general. These sections of the media unknowingly or knowingly portray negative ideologies concerning Islam and dent its image in the eyes of the already skeptical populace. ReferencesAlexander, R., & Moore, H. (2015). Are most victims of terrorism Muslim? Retrieved May 12, 2015, from bbc.c om/news/magazine-30883058Global Research. (2015). Islamophobia and the "Negative Media Portrayal of Muslims". Retrieved 9 May 2015, from globalresearch.ca/islamophobia-and-the-negative-media-portrayal-of-muslims/5440451Guardian. (2005). Media has an anti-Muslim bias, claims report. Retrieved from theguardian.com/media/2005/nov/14/pressandpublishing.raceintheukJablonski, R. (2015). Terror attack at Dallas anti-Islam event raises concerns of future ISIS attacks against U.S. Retrieved May 12, 2015, from cleveland.com/nation/index.ssf/2015/05/terror_attack_at_dallas_anti-i.htmlMediasmarts.ca. (2015). Media Portrayals of Religion: Islam/MediaSmarts. Retrieved 9 May 2015, from http://mediasmarts.ca/diversity-media/religion/media-portrayals-religion-islamSnyder, R. (2015). Islamic graffiti in Scurry County targeted against Lubbock. Retrieved May 12, 2015, from http://kfyo.com/are-islamic-terrorists-making-their-way-through-texas-graffiti-in-scurry-county-targeted-against-lubbock/

Implementing Technology Tools and Sites in the Curriculum Assignment

Implementing Technology Tools and Sites in the Curriculum - Assignment Example This study discusses that the contemporary society is defined by development in all facets of life including the economic, social, and technological fronts. Such development ought to be integrated into the learning environment as the children are being prepared for the real life experiences. Technological advancements have created various avenues through which the learning experience can be made more easy, understandable, and enjoyable to the student as it has been made easier for the educators to disburse information and interact with the individuals at individualized levels through student-centered approaches. Various tools provided by technology can be employed both within and outside the classroom to enhance student learning and promote interactive approaches to learning. When employing such technologies, it is important for the teachers to be well aware of the National Education Technology Standards for Teachers and the need to implement the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) e lements. This paper involves the application of the Kahoot, FunBrain, and Wikispaces technology tools in the classroom to facilitate student learning.This paper highlights that  Kahoot forms one of the effective interactive tools that can be employed in the classroom environment to achieve increased understanding among the students and facilitate increased student engagement in the learning process.  

Advertisement gone too far Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Advertisement gone too far - Essay Example Many young girls are negatively affected by the increased sexualisation and objectification of women a factor that makes them try to imitate the models that appear in advertisements. Many companies have relied on highly sexualised advertisements to promote their products. For example, the American Apparel has a long history of sexualizing women in their advertisements. This paper will carry out a critical analysis of how women have been sexualized and objectified and how the American Apparel notoriously represented sexualized women as they promoted their products. The globe has witnessed an entire century of women depicted in the advertisement. The first depiction of a woman in the advertisement was in 1912 during the suffrage movement. During that era, many women activists advocated for their rights to vote. Marketers and advertisers sought to use the campaigns to their advantage. Therefore, they depicted women in the promotion of the Nebo cigarettes. The advertisements targeted men who were commonly disgusted or offended by the â€Å"sass† of a suffragette. The same advertisement was also appealing to women who wanted to indulge in smoking for the first time. Therefore, the advertisement supported the push for women to have equal rights. In 1923, Listerine launched an advertisement that featured a model named Edna. In its bid to promote the mouthwash, the advertisement emphasized that all women wanted to get married. However, factors, factors such as bad breath prevented them from becoming the bride. In 1925, women promoted the lucky cigarettes. Notably, smoking was still viewed as a habit for men and women who smoked were viewed negatively (Yan, Ogle, & Hyllegard 2010, p. 213). However, the Lucky Company focused on developing cigarettes that specifically targeted women. 1936 marked the emergence of the first nude woman in an advertisement for the Woodbury Soap. The Woodbury advert marked a new beginning that would see more and more

Wholistic Visual Cues When Reading

Wholistic Visual Cues When Reading To what extent do we use wholistic visual cues when reading? Researchers have proposed that individuals use the outline shape of a word, meaning wholistic visual cues, in visual word recognition in reading. Various methods have been used to investigate reading in individuals with differing reading abilities. The reading abilities of young children and individuals with dyslexia have been studied to determine how this deviates from normally reading adults. The majority of research found the use of wholistic visual cues is most beneficial to individuals with dyslexia (Perea Panadero, 2013) and those in the early stages of learning to read (Ehri, 1995). However, disparity between the research conclusions exist, proposing that wholistic visual cues are used in conjunction with other recognition processes. The holistically biased hybrid model (Allen, Wallace Weber, 1995) and the process model (Besner Johnston, 1989) both provide theories for word recognition. The holistically biased hybrid model uses either an addressed or an assembled pathway to process words, with the addressed pathway being dominant in normal reading (Allen et al., 1995). This model accounts for both word frequency and provides an explanation for reading behaviours when presented with a mixed case paradigm, supporting the use of wholistic visual cues in reading (Allen et al., 1995). Alternatively, the process model recognises words using either a familiarity assessment, letter analysis or multi-letter identification (Besner Johnston, 1989) and rejects the use of wholistic visual cues. The interactive activation model uses similar analytical methods as the process model (McClelland and Rumelhart, 1981), whereby numerous variables of the word are processed for recognition. The different uses of visual cues was dete rmined by Paap, Newsome and Noel (1984) who concluded that wholistic visual cues are used in the initial stages of word recognition and this is then followed by abstract letter identification. Evidence for both of these models have been found and provide evidence for and against the use of wholistic visual cues using a variety of research methods. A method used to research the importance of word shape in reading is that of the cloze test, whereby participants must anticipate the upcoming word. Haber, Haber and Furlin (1983) tested adult reading using cues including word length, envelope shape or providing the following word. They found that participants used the shape envelope to recognise the target word. The cue provided word length information which decreased the number of alternative applicable words. However, the wholistic visual cues did not provide semantic cues, suggesting that other methods of word recognition are required in conjunction with wholistic visual cues. Mirman and Magnuson (2008) discovered that words which are semantically similar increase reaction times in visual word recognition. These pieces of research support the interactive activation model because it requires the processing of several aspects of the word in parallel, including semantics (McClelland Rumelhart, 1983). Fisher and Murray (1987) replic ated Haber et al.’s (1983) research using children as their participants. No age difference was discovered in the use of wholistic visual cues between the ages of 10 to 13 years old. However, Johnston, Anderson and Duncan (1991) determined that at 8 years old salient external features improved reading accuracy which was not seen at the age of ten. This research therefore suggests that wholistic visual cues may be used more in reading behaviours when improving reading ability. Naming tasks have been particularly important in researching developing reading abilities. Webb, Beech, Mayall and Andrews (2006) studied the effects of concealing either the inner or outer sections of words for children. The outer sections of a word elicited more accurate reading ability, whereas inner visual information of words had no influence on the individual’s reading behaviours even when accounting for frequency effects. Increased performance when presented with the outer sections of words as opposed to the inner sections was also evidenced by Beech and Mayall (2005). This concluded that individuals process word shape envelopes in visual word recognition, suggesting that wholistic visual cues may play a role in the initial stages of the interactive activation model (Webb et al., 2006). It is also possible to explain the findings using Gestalt theory, proposing that individuals form connections between the outer sections of words in order to make up for the missing word sections (Beech Mayall, 2005). The Gestalt theory provides evidence for the use of wholistic visual cues and it is evident when researching the effects of presenting other sections of words. This was then analysed further by presenting only the upper section of words to normally reading adults. Perea, Comesana and Soares (2012) determined an improved reaction time when upper sections of words were presented. However, this did not apply to pseudo-words, implying that the word must be known in order to have the desired effect. The decreased reaction time indicates that upper sections of words have more salient cues than lower sections of words, meaning they are more representative of the target word. These pieces of research therefore emphasise the importance of wholistic visual cues in visual word recognition, however research by Pelli, Farell and Moore (2003) contrasted these conclusions. The researchers determined that individuals focus on minor cues in words and collate these for an overall representation of the word, contrasting the evidence of using wholistic visual cues when reading. Further information other than word shape envelopes must therefore be known in orde r to accurately process the given word. An alternative way in which the use of wholistic visual cues has been researched is that of using a mixed case paradigm, presenting an array of uppercase and lowercase letters to participants (Coltheart Freeman, 1974). Presenting words in a mixed case format increased reaction times as well as reducing the recognition of the word, providing evidence for the importance of wholistic visual cues and contradicting the interactive activation model (Coltheart Freeman, 1974). However, the mixed case paradigm had no influence on the identification of individual letters in this case, supporting the interactive activation model and opposing the use of wholistic visual cues. Besner and Johnston (1989) also found pseudo-words in a mixed case format to be detrimental to reading ability. This therefore demonstrates the need for the word shape envelope and rejects the interactive activation model due to the reduced reading ability. Allen et al. (1995) used a lexical decision task to compare the r eading of lower and mixed cases when given a time constraint on processing. The experiments concluded an increased reaction time for pseudo-words in a mixed case format, indicating the importance of wholistic visual cues in word recognition. Participants struggled to accept or reject pseudo-words presented for 400ms, representing the processing limitations during short exposure periods. This research is in line with Allen et al.’s (1995) holistically biased hybrid model but contrasts the analytical models, including the process model. The research carried out by Allen et al. (1995) indicates that for the successful completion of lexical decision tasks wholistic visual cues are necessary, meaning that reading methods may adapt to the task’s requirements. This provides an explanation for the great degree of variation seen in the research into the use of wholistic visual cues and shows the high level of validity of this method due to the replicability of the findings. Further research has led to the suggestion that wholistic visual cues may only be used in circumstances where normal reading behaviour is inhibited. This was recently demonstrated by Perea and Panadero (2013) using a lexical decision task to analyse reading behaviours for adults, children and children with developmental dyslexia. There was no effect on the reaction times for word recognition when pseudo-words were presented as having the same shape as real words for adults and children. However, those with developmental dyslexia were found to be affected by the word shape of pseudo-words (Perea Panadero, 2013), reflecting how wholistic visual cues are used to a different extent. This indicates the use of more analytical processing methods in normal reading. Lavidor (2011) also found word shape envelopes to be beneficial to individuals with dyslexia. These pieces of research suggest that children and those with dyslexia fixate on particularly salient cues in order to reliably process words (Ehri Wilce, 1985). This again dismisses the word shape hypothesis and provides further evidence for the importance of the interactive activation model (McClelland Rumelhart, 1981) during normal reading due to the use of feature analysis. These studies highlight the requirement for top-down processing in normal reading behaviours compared to dyslexia, as the interactive activation model (McClelland Rumelhart, 1981) requires the processing of multiple factors in word recognition. Cognitive processing, including top-down processing, is a vital part of visual word recognition. Research carried out by Yates (2013) provides further evidence with clustering effects that word shape alone has limited influence on normal reading behaviour. If a set of words only differ by a phoneme then word recognition requires a higher level of activation and is processed more slowly (Yates, 2013). This infers that the use of a word’s shape envelope is influenced by cognitive processing ability. Cognitive processing can again be seen by analysing parafoveal vision. When monitoring eye movements McConkie and Zola (1979) discovered normally reading adults do not detect any changes to manipulations of word shape in parafoveal vision. Contrasting evidence by Haber, Haber, Furlin, Paap, Newsome and Noel (1984) determined that when proofreading, participants remained unaware of changes to words unless the word shape envelope was manipulated. An alternative explanation for the lack of evidence for the word shape hypothesis may be that the use of wholistic cues becoming automated (Webb et al., 2006). Research has proven the importance of the word shape envelope for young readers and dyslexics, however it has not been consistently reported in adults. If word shape is processed in a more automated manner the individual’s cognitive load would be significantly reduced (Webb et al., 2006). This reduction would allow other, more efficient, reading behaviours to occur. These pieces of research led to the conclusion that wholistic visual cues are important in visual word recognition, however as an individual matures their reading behaviours may be modified. Previous research has found that individual’s reading methods change as their reading ability improves. Children initially use wholistic visual cues and then potentially develop more effective reading methods (Perea Panadero, 2013). Research by Seymour and Eldre (1986) determined that in order to read children have to be specifically taught to read each of these words, meaning they are unable to determine the phonological information of a word and as such rely on wholistic visual cues (Webb et al., 2006). This was also supported was Ehri (1995) who described stages in children’s visual word recognition. When children learn to read they engage in sight word reading or logographic reading, meaning that the word is read through memory retrieval. As children’s reading ability develops they learn the relationship of phonemes and graphemes and are thus able to apply this to more complex words in the consolidated alphabetic stage (Ehri, 1995). Research using children i s therefore of great advantage when focusing on adult reading. The conclusion has been reached that as children develop their reading ability they refine their use of wholistic visual cues. Thus as visual word recognition becomes more refined individuals use other recognition strategies in parallel with wholistic visual cues. Research into the use of wholistic visual cues has shown that adults do not necessarily use wholistic visual cues. However, evidence has shown that children and individuals with developmental dyslexia use these cues to a great extent. This difference may occur due to the processing of wholistic visual cues becoming more automated as reading develops. Alternatively, the varying use of wholistic cues may be explained by the demands of the task, as shown by lexical decision tasks (Allen et al., 1995). For this reason wholistic visual cues provide a more accurate account of visual word recognition when taken in conjunction with analytical models, such as the interactive activation model and the process model. References Allen, P. A., Wallace, B., Weber, T. A. (1995). Influence of case type, word frequency, and exposure duration on visual word recognition. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 21(4), 914-934. Beech, J. R., Mayall, K. A. (2005). The word shape hypothesis re-examined: Evidence for an external feature advantage in visual word recognition. Journal of Research in Reading, 28(3), 302-319. Besner Johnston (1989) Beech M Coltheart Freeman (1974) Allen Ehri, L. C. (1995). Phases of development in learning to read words by sight. Journal of Research in Reading, 18(2), 116-125. Ehri Wilce (1985) Lavidor Fisher Murray (1987) Webb Haber, L. R., Haber, R. N., Furlin, K. R. (1983). Word length and word shape as sources of information in reading. Reading Research Quarterly, 18(2), 165-189. Haber, Haber, Furlin, Paap, Newsome Noel (1984) Beech Mayall Johnston, Anderson Duncan (1991) Beech M Lavidor, M. (2011). Whole-word shape effect in dyslexia. Journal of Research in Reading, 34(4), 443-454. McClelland and Rumelhart (1981) McConkie, G. W., Zola, D. (1979). Is visual information integrated across successive fixations in reading? Perception and Psychophysics, 25(3), 221-224. Mirman Magnuson (2008) yates Seymoure Eldre (1986) Webb Paap, K. R., Newsome, S. L., Noel, R. W. (1984). Word shape’s in poor shape for the race to the lexicon. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 10(3), 413-428. Pelli, D. G., Farell, B., Moore, D. C. (2003). The remarkable inefficiency of word recognition. Nature, 423, 752-756. Perea, M., Comesana, M., Soares, A. P. (2012). Does the advantage of the upper part of words occur at the lexical level? Memory and Cognition, 40, 1257-1265. Perea, M., Panadero, V. (2013). Does viotin activate violin more than viocin? On the use of visual cues during visual-word recognition. Experimental Psychology, 61(1), 23-29. Webb, T. M., Beech, J. R., Mayall, K. M., Andrews, A. S. (2006). It’s what’s on the outside that matters: An advantage for external features in children’s word recognition. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 94, 163-181. Yates, M. (2013). How the clustering of phonological neighbours affects visual word recognition. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory and Cognition, 39(5), 1649-1656.

Chinese Eating Manner vs. Korean Eating Manner

Compare and contrast essay: Chinese eating manner vs. Korean eating manner Different places and countries have different cultures and manners. China and Korea both are historical and traditional Asian countries, which have many traditional cultures and manners, including the eating manners. Even though their geographical position is close, there are similarities and differences between Chinese and Korean eating manner. There are some distinct similarities between Chinese and Korean eating manner.The first similarity is that they both use bowl and chopstick to eat, and no sounds are allowed when chopstick touches the bowl, for example like scratching rice from the bowl with chopstick. Different from western countries, most Asian countries use bowls instead of plates to carry food. It is impolite to make noise by tableware when eating. Another similarity is that, when eating with seniors, juniors only can start eating after seniors start.There is a traditional saying in Chinese called â€Å" respect for seniority†, let seniors to start eating first is a kind of showing respect to them. Similarly, in traditional Korean culture there are plenteous manners on respecting seniors, and start eating after they eat is one of the manners. Although there are a number of similarities, there are several differences between Chinese and Korean eating manner. The first difference is that Chinese prefer to hold the bowl when eating, and use chopstick so often.It is impolite to put down the bowl on table and just use one hand to eat. In contrast, it is not allow to hold the bowl when eating in Korea, also, spoon is much more important than chopstick in its manner. For example, though it is difficult to spoon up a bean sprout from a bowl, it is not allow to use chopstick for it. Another important difference is, in China both hands should be upon the table when eating. When holding a bowl to drink soup without using a spoon, the idle hand still needs to be upon the table.How ever, in Korea it is so impolite to show one`s left hand upon the table when eating, the left hand must be hidden under the table. Both the societies of China and Korea are changing and become much more open than they used to be. Many of their traditional cultures and manners have combined with other cultures or even disappeared, however, there are still differences. No matter which manners we prefer, they are all a kind of cultures, we should be respected to cultural differences.

Impact of Culture on the Spread of Hiv/Aids in Kenya

bdalla A. Bafagih Professor Trent Newmeyer Sociology of AIDS Soc 309Y1F June 21, 2004 Impact of Culture on the Spread of HIV/AIDS in Kenya a national culture is not a folklore, nor an abstract populism that believes it can discover the people’s true nature†¦. a national culture is the whole body of the efforts made by a people in the sphere of thought to describe, justify and praise the action through which that people has created itself and keeps itself in existence (Fanon, Frantz). Introduction Culture, even in the twenty first century, has numerous denotations.In various parts of the world, it has been and is still considered to be important for the development of civilization and of people’s minds; a particular society or civilization is considered in relation to its beliefs, ways of life and values. In short, culture plays a crucial role in a groups’ quest for identity and is therefore at the centre of the socio-cultural development of a people, region or even county in terms of identity and politics-it serves as a code of life that must be followed under any circumstances even with an HIV/AIDS epidemic.These observations help illuminate responses to our central thesis: that cultural barriers and the ensuing gender bias have not only perpetuated the spread of HIV/AIDS among women, but are also hindering an effective HIV/AIDS prevention campaign in Kenya. Our position is that HIV/AIDS prevalence is a gendered issue because women in most parts of the developing world, due to the repressive cultural practices women have no power. Furthermore women continue to be betrayed by outdated traditional norms such as widow inheritance, widow cleansing, polygamy and gender inequality, as is the case in parts of Kenya.When these issues may seem to differ, in reality they are intertwined and date back to generations. To make matters worse those infected with HIV, both women and men blame witchcraft as the source of death (McGeary, J. Time Magazi ne, p, 30). Moreover as Madhu Bala Nath states â€Å"myths are also rooted in the nature of denial that is associated with HIV/AIDS. Because HV/AIDS is so frightening, there is a temptation to deny the existence of the disease (2001, p, 32). Such denial plays a large part in sustaining such outdated practices.We should point out from the outset that the current risky practices were at one time seen as strength (pre HIV/AIDS era) since they were really helpful and appropriate for their communities. Among the merits of such traditional practices were, among others, the widow’s security within the household was guaranteed and the orphaned children were guaranteed the extended family support and therefore survival within the community. It was meant to ensure the widow and children never became homeless.According to the Washington Post, In Western Kenya, the custom known as wife inheritance once held an honorable promise: A community would take care of a widow and her children. S he did not remarry. Her husband's family simply took responsibility for her. If a brother-in-law could not care for her, then a cousin or a respected outsider would. The inheritor made sure that the widow and her children were fed, clothed, sheltered, educated, protected, kept (Buckley, Stephen.Washington Post, November 8, 1997). For the purpose of this paper, we take a position that the spread of HIV/AIDS has rendered what were once cultural assets into deadly liabilities particularly towards women and children. That is why there is a need to be creative and embrace alternative rituals that do not involve risky sexual behavior. Our position is that inheritance per se is not bad, but widow inheritance and cleansing that endanger the lives of the widow and the inheritor/cleanser should be discarded.Wife inheritance or wife cleansing involves an inheritor who has his own family. As reported by the Washington Post â€Å"he infects his first wife and the widow he has inherited. Then he dies, and two other men inherit the women he leaves behind. Those men die. And then their widows are inherited† (ibid. ). It is this vicious circle that explains the rising HIV rates in Kenya. Kenya has vibrant and diverse cultural groups but some groups elevate ethnicity above nationalism.This makes it sometimes problematic to deal with intra and inter cultural norms or to undertake reforms of certain entrenched traditions. On one hand you have believers in Christianity who are more willing to abandon certain outdated traditions such as those discussed in this paper. For instance, a Kenyan bishop, called on widows to take a stand against wife inheritance (Gonza, Sam. 2000, p, 1). On the other hand you have the rigid traditionalists who are not open to any reforms or changes within traditions.There is usually no middle ground and unfortunately it cuts across class lines. We agree with the position put forward by Human Rights Watch in their report entitled Double Standards: Wo men’s Property Rights Violations in Kenya that â€Å"as important as cultural diversity and respecting customs may be, if customs are a source of discrimination against women, they like any other norm-must evolve† (2003, p, 2). Kenya has approximately forty tribes, which are co-related to the four greater ethnic groups (Buckley, Stephen.Washington Post, November 8, 1997): Bantu, Nilo-Hamitic, Nilotic and Hamitic (see figure i). Because of it’s neighboring, cultures are related to each other within Kenya and in the border countries such as Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia and Sudan. [pic] Figure: i Source: http://www. lib. utexas. edu/maps/kenya. html It will be imperative for this paper to provide short historical events in Kenya so as to provide a proper understanding of both the internal and external dynamics of this country.Kenya attained its independence from Britain in 1963 and has a population of thirty two million (32 million). [1] Kenya like other Sub-Saharan countries is a creation of European scramble for Africa. [2] As a result same ethnic groups are presently dispersed across different countries. The boundaries are like artificial divisions in a way that the people cannot be checked at all border-crossing zones. [pic] Figure: ii Source: http://www. lib. utexas. edu/maps/kenya. html The point, which we want to discuss, is that it is difficult to try to onvince these communities to abandon some of their practices, because they feel that at the end, abandoning their customs, would completely wipe out their culture and eventually loose their identity. In some African countries, various ethnic groups are the minorities and would want to keep intact their culture for the purpose of their own identity, so as to enable them to negotiate any political power in the government (Kanyiga, Karuti. 1998, p, 7)). On the other hand the ethnic groups, which are the majority, would want to maintain their hegemony and are not ready to change their tradi tions (ibid).Thus why dealing with health issues such as HIV/AIDS creates profound consequences. Current HIV/AIDS Situation in Kenya The synopsis about Kenya is not good at all. United Nations AIDS (UNAIDS) reports that over 2 million out of a total population of 29. 5 million (2000) were infected with HIV and a cumulative number of 1. 5 million people had died due to AIDS. The high prevalence rates of HIV/AIDS have negatively impacted life expectancy to the extent that it has dropped by approximately 13 years to 51 years (1998); while GDP reduced by -0. in 2000 and is expected to worsen in coming years. The average literacy rate is estimated at 78% (1995) and total fertility rate in Kenya is about 4. 4 (1998). Approximately 30% of the population lives in urban areas and more than half of the population live under the poverty line, women constituting the majority. UNAIDS estimates that about 500 persons died of AIDS each day in the country in 1999. (www. unaids. org/Unaids/EN/geogra phical+area/by+country/kenya. asp).According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the estimated number of adults and children living with HIV/AIDS, in Kenya end of 2001 stands as follows: Adults and children 2,500,000, Adults (15-49) 2,300,000, Women (15-49) 1,400,000 and Children 220,000, current living orphans, 890, 000, estimated number of death due to AIDS (2001), 190, 000 and the current adult rate of 15. 0 percent (www. who. int/hiv/pub/epidemiology/pubfacts/en/). Furthermore, the Human Rights Watch Report (2001) indicates that an estimated 2. million adults and children live with HIV/AIDS, representing about 14 percent of the sexually active population. The scary statistic is that Kenya has the ninth highest HIV prevalence rate in the world to the extent that the U. S. Census Bureau projections indicate that by 2005, there will be about 820 deaths per day from AIDS in Kenya. (http://www. hrw. org/reports/2001/kenya/kenya0701-03. htm#P144_18884). Factors behind the Gendered HIV/AIDS rates in Kenya. Through culture and society, we are able to transmit skills and other systems of social relations to modify our environment.But that has not been possible with women in Kenyan in both rural and urban areas even in the event of a HIV/AIDS epidemic with no cure in sight. Since our beliefs and ways of life are inseparable from our particular cultures, it is common for people to reject a behavior if it is not signified in their culture’s social code. It is however much harder for the marginalized groups like women and girls to reject what is supposedly part of their culture as is the case among the Luo and Luhya[3] of Kenya where they practice their culture to a fault.In such cases, individual behavior patterns alone are not responsible for the observed high-risk activities that cause HIV/AIDS. Needless to say, HIV/AIDS transmission in parts in Kenya is mostly through heterosexual relations. Because of [blind] loyalty to their culture, many within the gr oup (most educated women with the economic means to support themselves are now increasingly defiant against certain regressive policies like widow inheritance) in a society which has its own subculture, often face social risks, such as wife (widow) inheritance, to the extent that failure can result in exclusion from participating in communal events.For example, women who refuse to be inherited among the Luo and Luhya automatically lose their right to remain within their households, because their behavior is considered odd. Consequently women are frequently subject to violence, abuse, scorn and ridicule and other expressions of hate (HRW, 2003, pp, 16-21). Similarly, when it comes to apportioning blame as to who is the responsible party for bringing HIV/AIDS among married couples; it is usually women who are blamed even though in most cases, it is the men who have multiple partners.That goes to show that in the name of culture, women in Kenya find themselves in subordinate positions to men and are socially, culturally, and economically dependent on them. Because of the cultural biases, women are largely excluded from decision making, have limited access to and control over resources, are restricted in their mobility, and are often under threat of violence from male relatives (that is why many women have no choice when it comes to certain oppressive rituals, because they have no where else to return to should they be evicted from their late husband’s property) (ibid).In many cases, women in many parts of Kenya are perpetual minors subject to the guardianship of their male relatives and husbands. As a result, not only are their statuses lower than that of men, but also their condition is also dependent on that of their men folk. This subordination of women is connected to the distribution of power in society. In Kenya, economic, social and political power accrued to men partially as a result of their control of women, even though the thinking was and still is that a prosperous homestead depended on female reproduction and production.This keeps such oppressive rituals like widow inheritance in practice. Additionally, the gendered HIV/AIDS prevalence rates illuminate how gender as a constitutive element of social relationships. The Human Rights Watch of 2003, stated that of the 1. 4 million were women and girls with HIV positive, between the ages of fifteen and forty nine, this clearly shows how differences between sexes-power relationship within and between different women, urban versus rural and single versus married is very much embedded within society.Furthermore, the violation of fundamental human rights, and especially reproductive rights of women, plays an important part in perpetuating gender inequity and the observed HIV/AIDS prevalence rates in Kenya. As discussed in some parts of Kenya certain groups have taken Fanon’s dictum above about culture to new levels (p, 42), which have resulted in the discrimination, violati on of women’s rights and have placed women at great risk of contacting HIV. The impact has been traumatic on women as members of a community that continues to marginalize them in alls aspects of life.Yet women continue to provide care as wives, mothers, daughters, nurses, teachers, and grandmothers towards the sick, the dying and the orphaned children, many of whom are traumatized by the loss of their loved ones from AIDS. Unfortunately, in most parts of Kenya as evident elsewhere in Sub-Saharan Africa, as Fanon further argued, societies have not acknowledged the totality of culture and its vital role within the context of culture and history (p, 43).What we know and will be shown in this essay is that an examination of cultural practices allow us to know the nature and extent of the imbalance and conflicts (economic, social and cultural) which characterize the evolution of a society: culture allows us to know the dynamic synthesis which have been developed and established by social conscie nce to resolve these conflicts at each stage of its evolution in search for survival and progress (ibid).In the case of Kenya, and elsewhere as it was made clearer in this course, the quest for in Kenya such attitudes pervade all aspects of social life to the detriment of girls in particular and women in general. Evidently, the recurring theme in Kenya is the conflict between modernity and tradition that is often treated in terms of its relevance to women and men, rural versus urban or what it means to belong to a particular ethnic group. This goes to the heart of gender equity, property rights, agrarian reform and its problematic impact on women.In parts of Kenya, those who believe that culture is stagnant rather than vibrant to the extent that oppressions against women are presented in terms of cultural harmony and the survival of entire ethnicities have hindered the process of social liberation by women. Some of the cultural traditions discussed include wife (wido w) inheritance, widow cleansing and polygamy all of which contributed to the lack of secure property rights that result into the violation of human rights for women, and the observed disparity in HIV/AIDS rates between men and women in Kenya. 4] Unfortunately westerners including many of our classmates sometimes do not seem to understand that countries like Kenya have very poor laws that govern human freedoms and rights like the Canadian Charter of Freedoms and Rights. Women in Kenya are routinely discriminated against in most cases with the connivance of the state. [5] While personal freedom and choice have certainly played a role in the rapid spread of HIV/AIDS elsewhere, where laws are enforced, in the case of Kenya, the interplay of culture and gender roles is to a great extent responsible for the statistics cited above in this essay.Although awareness of HIV/AIDS is reasonably high in Kenya this is not reflected in sexual behavioral changes, given the high prevalence and incide nce of HIV/AIDS (Rosenvard, C and T. Campbell, 1996, p, 11). This finding reflects our thesis; the entrenched cultural biases against women and girls can explain such behavior to the extent where awareness is high yet infections rates are also rising. It is not that Kenyans in general or women in particular are not rational, they are but they have become victims of outdated cultural traditions and gender biases.What this rather contradictory finding shows is the need to view the HIV/AIDS pandemic through, multiple lenses but most importantly through the lens of power inequality in society that are rooted in gender. Gender norms pervade all aspects of Kenyan culture and society to the extent that culture dominates anything else among the Luo and Luhya of Western Kenya. The marginalized status of women plays a key role in the spread of HIV/AIDS in Kenya as reflected in the UNAIDS and WHO figures.It is thus important to recognize the complex underlying factors influencing the role of w omen and how such roles affect African societies and behavior. In the traditional Kenyan society, women are expected to be submissive and to provide for their household at all times (Caldwell, 1989, p, 185). In Kenya especially in the rural setting, the woman’s marital status does not end when the person who married her dies; she is by all accounts married to the clan in the sense that under certain ‘invented’ customary traditions, the clan has the right to inherit her.Traditionally, Luo or Luhya women have little or no say in such matters of inheritance including the retention or sharing of resources such as land and property. According to Human Rights Watch: Widows are often evicted from their homes as in-laws rob them of their possessions and invade their homes and lands. These unlawful appropriations happen even more readily when the husband died of AIDS†¦ In some places, widows are forced to undergo customary, sexual practices such as â€Å"wife inheri tance† or ritual â€Å"cleansing† in order to keep their property. Wife inheritance† is where a male relative of the dead husband takes over the widow as a wife, often in a polygamous family. â€Å"Cleansing† usually involves sex with a social outcast who is paid by the dead husband's family, supposedly to cleanse the woman of her dead husband's evil spirits. In both of these rituals, safer sex is seldom practiced and sex is often coerced.Women who fight back are routinely beaten, raped, or ostracized (Double Standards: Women's Property Rights Violations in Kenya) (http://www. hrw. rg/reports/2001/kenya/TopOfPage). While the quotation above tells us sufficient story about the problems facing Kenyan women, Human Rights Watch report entitled, Double Standards: Women's Property Rights Violations in Kenya captures the agony of Kenyan women in their own voices. It is thus important to reproduce just three of their experiences below to capture what Human Right Wa tch calls â€Å"the heinous nature of women's property rights violations: through personal interview. Human Rights Watch of 2001, reports, â€Å"AIDS exacerbates those hardships†. †¢ Jiwa, a fifty-five-year-old widow from western Kenya, said that after her husband died, her brother-in-law brought a â€Å"cleanser† to her home to have sex with her. She objected, saying: â€Å"I don't know this man's HIV status, and if I die my children will suffer. † Her brother-in-law and four cousins pushed the cleanser into Jiwa's hut and he raped her. She screamed but the cleanser covered her mouth and the in-laws stood guard outside. The brother-in-law paid the cleanser with a cow, chickens, and clothing. Jiwa was then forced out of her home and into a shoddy, makeshift hut. Her brother-in-law took over her land and furniture.She reported this to the village elder, who did nothing. Jiwa now has a persistent cough and has lost much weight. She fears she contracted HIV f rom the cleanser but has not been tested and cannot afford medical treatment. †¢ Adhiambo, a thirty-year-old widow from Nairobi, said that when her husband died of AIDS in 1998 he left her HIV-positive with five children. She quickly went from being relatively affluent to destitute after her husband's family took her property. Her in-laws grabbed household items from her Nairobi home and took over a rural home, land, and livestock even though Adhiambo helped pay to construct the house.Her father-in-law called a family meeting, told her to choose an in-law as an inheritor, and ordered her to be cleansed by having sex with a fisherman. Adhiambo refused, and fled when her in-laws threatened her. She now struggles to meet her children's basic needs, and her slum landlord has threatened to evict her. †¢ Imelda, a twenty-five-year-old widow with AIDS, lost her home, land, and other property in Kenya when her husband died in 2002. She told her in-laws that she had AIDS and wanted to stay in the house. They snatched her property anyway and wanted her to be â€Å"inherited. She recalled: â€Å"I told my in-laws I'm sick . . . but they took everything. I had to start over . . .. They took sofa sets, household materials, cows, a goat, and land. I said, ‘Why are you taking these things when you know my condition? ‘ They said, ‘You'll go look for another husband. ‘ My in-laws do not believe in AIDS. They said that witchcraft killed my husband. (http://www. hrw. org/reports/2001/kenya/TopOfPage). The above tribulations capture the victims in their own words and show how widow’s inheritance and cleansing devalues the dignity of women.While case law establishes that family property may be evenly divided upon separation or divorce in practice, the captured words of the three widows above, seems to differ. But above all, as has been our point of argument throughout this paper, under the very oppressive and discriminatory customary laws that are extremely influential in Kenya, it is the men who are accorded greater property rights than women. Other discriminatory practices are usually sexist customary tradition that obstruct women's equal rights to property and also prevent women from seeking redress for violations of these rights.Additionally, the problem is made worse by unresponsive authorities that ignore women’s woes regarding property violations, and ineffective courts that are biased against women. However the greatest setback is the fact that many Kenyan women and men too have land problems where squatters are routinely evicted even though they have lived on such land for generations. The other is low level of awareness of their rights, the time and expense of pursuing claims, violence, and the social stigma of being considered greedy or cultural traitors if they assert their rights. www. hrw. org/campaigns/women/property/factsheet. htm). Evidently, what the discussion above illustrates is that in K enya, women’s rights violations must be understood and combated in the context of Africa's AIDS epidemic.In Kenya, 15 percent of the population between the ages of fifteen and forty-nine is infected with HIV, more than half of whom are women, and one out of eight adults in rural Kenya and one out of five adults in urban areas is infected, though most do not know it. AIDS has reduced life expectancy from sixty-five to forty-six years ((http://www. rw. org/reports/2001/kenya/TopOfPage). These figures are quite telling in that in Kenya, HIV/AIDS is worse among urban dwellers than is the case among rural dwellers. According to Dyson, the higher urban incidence rates are due to â€Å"relatively high rates of social interaction and crowded urban living conditions and squalid living conditions† (p, 427). Similar results for Sub-Saharan African in general, has been documented by Caldwell who found that â€Å"urban levels of HIV infection rates are typically four to ten times those of rural areas† (p, 44).In countries with a substantial level of urbanization, and home to some of the largest slum areas in Africa, the numbers are certainly depressing. Moreover as noted by Bollinger et al, Sometimes traditional practices that occur in Kenya, particularly in the rural areas, can contribute to the spread of HIV. For example, a director of the Kenyan governments AIDS efforts attributed the high prevalence rate in some parts of western Kenya to the practice of wife inheritance that exist there (5-6). These findings do illuminate our thesis.Furthermore given the feminization of poverty due to Structural Adjustment Program (SAP) policies (Cooper, 2002, 87), women in urban areas and also in rural areas find themselves on the economic margins where they are forced to engage in risky behaviors like prostitution. Moreover, because of SAP polices and the introduction of user fee in hospitals; women are disadvantaged with regard to health and health care (ibid), a clear indication that gender inequalities have led to a systematic neglect of women’s health and the gendered incidence of HV/AIDS in Kenya. It is not our intention to call such traditions as ‘uncivilized’ or extreme.It would be naive to make this assumption and one has also to try to understand the dynamics of Africa and its communities at earlier times. Caldwell captures the reality that â€Å"it is clear that lifestyle plays a dominant role in determining individuals’ chances of infection, and it seems probable that level of the disease over the coming decades is more likely to be decided by changing lifestyles than by medical breakthroughs. Those changes will be more successful, and least damaging to the society, if behavioral factors in the spread of the disease are well understood† (p, 186).Conclusion This essay has outlined and argued that the disparity in HIV/AIDS prevalence rates between men and women are rooted in the cultural biases aga inst women and girls such as widow inheritance in parts of Kenya. Our position in this essay has been that the cultural barriers and the ensuing gender bias have not only perpetuated the spread of HIV/AIDS among women, but are also hindering an effective HIV/AIDS prevention campaign in Kenya. We have shown the linkages between cultural biases against women and girls and the spread of HIV/AIDS.The challenge has been to decouple the notion that addressing women rights in Kenya is a western value or that concerns of equity must take a back seat in the struggle against HIV/AIDS epidemic. We recognize that eliminating all forms of discrimination against women in Kenya will take time, but the government must start to enforce existing laws to protect women against repressive cultural practices like widow inheritance. The people must be told that culture is not static but rather dynamic, and should be encouraged to discard risky cultural traditions and activities that expose women to HIV/AI DS and thus endanger their lives.From this course (Sociology 309), we know the relationship between safe and improved reproductive rights such as increased condom use and the health status of women are crucial in fighting the spread of HIV/AIDS. As shown in this paper there is a positive correlation between women’s precarious health status and their susceptibility to HIV/AIDS particularly in urban areas, inequitable gender relations and women’s poverty and powerlessness in society especially in rural areas.Finally, the Kenyan stakeholders – politicians, church leaders, civil society, NGOs, women leaders, youth groups, cultural and traditional leaders, must deal urgently with the existing power inequality among the sexes, that accounts for the excessive burden of HIV/AIDS transmission and the consequences on women in general who have so far been hit most by the spread of HIV/AIDS. That trend needs to be reversed if Kenya is to stem the devastating impact of HIV/A IDS epidemic and its distressing impact on the Kenyan society at large.