Intercultural aspect of culture Essay Example for Free

Intercultural aspect of culture Essay During the first day of the workshop, I did not completely understand the real meaning of culture. I did not even have a single definition for the term culture. Many questions came into my mind such as, â€Å"What is culture? What are the factors that create culture? What is the scope of culture? Does culture improve itself or not? Although, I started the inquiry on the concept of culture without certain answers for these questions, I had figured them out step by step during that day. I started to find answers for most of the questions that I faced. I finally understood what culture was and why different people with different cultures had different behaviors. By understanding the factors that influenced culture, I started to learn its importance to the parties who got involved in particular conflicts. Throughout that day, I comprehended why people with different cultures got involved in particular conflicts and what were their objectives. I started to give answers for these queries. They might need someone whom they can air their grievances or opinions with. Moreover, they might only wish that others would respect their culture as it was. In the role play, I learned that listening skill was very helpful in making the parties who were involved in the conflict feel better. Also, they should be given the chance to continue telling their stories without any interruption. I had also learned that I could be able to interact with them simply through body language such as moving my head up and down which tells, â€Å"I understand you. Keep going. † Furthermore, these skills would give me the chance to get as much information as possible and understand the parties’ cultures. Personally, I think that having much understanding of other cultures using the skills mentioned earlier would help me adapt with their behaviors and become more flexible when dealing with them. Culture’s factors such as religion, climate and geography play very significant roles in parties’ behavior. These explain why different countries have different cultures. Finally, all ideas and skills that I had learned during the first day of the workshop let me pay a close attention on understanding other cultures, respecting their beliefs and values as I want other people do the same thing when they cross my culture. I would try to use these ideas and skills in my daily life – simply by listening to other people and respecting them. Before evolving an intercultural model of conflict resolution it is important to understand and identify aspects of culture that lead to creation of the framework of conflict. The cultural spectrum holds different shades for a person, a society and a nation, accordingly helping each of them to assimilate and adapt to a common identity that is defined and shaped by culture (Holliday, Hyde and Kullman, 2004). In the process of evolving this collective identity, culture transcends its traditional role of providing an aggregate set of beliefs, customs, norms, values, ethics, traditions, moral, social and legal codes, perceptions, and philosophy, to become the overall physical framework for the society to function. Culture attains a real form, rendering a three dimensional living space for people to experience its living force ((Holliday, Hyde and Kullman, 2004)). Culture is strongly related with geographical setting of a place, religion, ethnicity, and race, explaining why different countries have different cultures, and also why places on seashore share common elements of culture that is quite different from culture of mountainous places. The imprinting of culture on ways a person thinks, acts, perceives the environment and models his/her reaction is very strong and virtually indelible, determining every aspect of human behavior and giving rise to cultural identity in addition to individual and national identity. Although the classic rational choice framework says that people are independent in choice of their behavior and approach towards events, its seen that at subtle levels the structural model provided by culture acts as final determinant in predicting a person, a society and a nation. Although culture is dynamic, evolving and continuously upgrading itself, in essence, these changes occur within the context of culture’s own timeframe. One of the most important contribution of culture to human civilization is the orientation provided towards other cultures, making the culture in question receptive, tolerant, indifferent or outright hostile towards different cultures. Societies are seldom mono-cultural, displaying a range of cultural traits, achieved through generations of trades, contact, and cross cultural mixing (Holliday, Hyde and Kullman, 2004). However, although for people belonging to a particular culture, their culture would hardly seem complex, the cultural realities are hidden beneath the surface, difficult to observe and discern from outside. These improper understanding and imperfect perceptions of culture often give rise to conflict when different cultures are required to meet or come across.

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Percussion: The History ​Despite what many may think, percussion is well known across hundreds of nations all over the world. Percussion has been around for centuries, and it has a very important meaning in the lives of many. It would be safe to assume that Percussion will be around for a long time as well, and play an important part in the lives of many people. Most people see drums as a cool thing to do, others see them as a bunch of irritating noise makers; but do they know the history behind them? So what is percussion? Percussion is a musical instrument played by striking with the hand, a handheld, or a pedal-operated stick or beater (Hudson). There are different groups of percussion instruments, and as time went by, they have immensely evolved from where they started (Zed). So what is percussion, where did it start, and what is it used for? ​How and where did percussion start? Percussion started in Asia Minor [the western peninsula that now constitutes most of modern Turkey], being the first musical apparatus that ever came into being, existing in nearly every culture since before 6000 B.C. (Samuel & Jason). It was started by the native people hitting various items with sticks and hands. Percussion instruments were used for multiple purposes such as chanting, signaling war and communicating with other tribes (Samuel & Jason). The first percussion instruments were likely human hands and feet used to clap or stomp a rhythm. Eventually cultures discovered that they could create louder, more varied sounds with crafted surfaces and implements. In the 18th and 19th centuries, more percussion instruments [like cymbals and triangles] came to being. It is impossible to say where the first percussion instrument was made, t... ...e history of percussion is a very fascinating field of study; it is also important to those in the music industry, and for those who would like to pursue it. Percussion is also important because without it our music would be boring. It is also very helpful, because without it the Native Americans would not have been able to signal or communicate with each other and call for help during war and other times of need. While doing research on this subject I learned only a few things, such as the origin, what they are used for, and its important role in everything aside from marching band. The subject of percussion seems to be a much more important idea than most give credit for. The next time you see or hear about percussion, you will easily identify any of the instruments that a band member is playing. Now, you can give credit to where credit is due and deserving.

Exercise 4 – Used Car

Used Car – Exercise 4 Our issue is that we need a new vehicle because ours was wrecked and the rental car we were given to use after the wreck by the insurance company is about to expire, leaving us no mode of transportation. We are looking into buying a used vehicle from an advertisement in the local paper. We weren’t sure if the vehicle was still available so we have called the owner and inquired. We do not know who we are buying the car from but we are interested in purchasing the Volkswagen Jetta because of the advertisement in our local newspaper. Just from reading the car ad; we deem that the car fits all our needs and we need to get in touch with the owner fast in order to make sure they don’t sell it to someone else. In order not to have all our eggs in one basket, we have another vehicle prospect that can be purchased, but it’s an older 1995 Jeep Cherokee for $3,800. 00. We are hoping to get the Jetta for less than the Cherokee, or somewhere within our budget, but if we can’t, we can always buy Cherokee for less. The issues that are most important are trying to come up with a deal that will satisfy thefinancial limitations we have while getting something that is worthwhile and will give us a return on our investment. The issues that are less important are probably taking a vacation at this point if it means losing out on a car that will be beneficial for us. The issues linked are trying to find a replacement soon as we will have to return the rental since the insurance company will no longer pay forit. Another linked issue is finding a vehicle within our price range so we don’t have to take out a car loan that will most likely yield high interest. Issues that are not linked are the two different kinds of vehicles, the Jetta and the Cherokee. Our interest on purchasing this vehicle is to acquire a means of transportation and fulfill an urgent necessity with a tight budget, because right now we are renting a car, and our lease agreement is about to expire. We do not plan to renew the lease because it is getting too expensive for us; therefore, time pressure and monetary price are two important factors in our interest. To accomplish our goal of getting the transportation we need, we intend to spend a minimum of $3,500. 0, depending on the vehicle’s conditions; however, we are considering to pay for this car up to $4,100. 00 as settlement, with at least six month warranty from the seller, and if the negotiation fails, our best alternative(BETNA) will be to purchase a 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee, listed for $3,800. 00; despite its high mileage, the Jeeps is a US made vehicle of low maintenance and easy fix, with a good reputati on in the vehicle market. Our preferred settlement would ideally be to purchase the Jetta since it seems it would fit into what we need for our job at this time. We are willing to trade off on possibly a couple of hundred dollars but we must see what the car needs, it could possiblly need new tires, brakes or other things where we could ask for some leeway to try to save ourselves some money. By calling and getting to know the seller of the Jetta we realize that the other person isn’t just trying to get rid of the car just for the sake of getting rid of it. They are selling this vehicle because they are in need of something else too. We are trying to access were they are coming from, but they aren’t giving us much to go on, other than they need to sell the car. This party is required to be involved in this process, they are the ones selling the car and if we can get it for less than they are asking, then it will require them to negotiate with us. At this point, we don’t have too much information about other party; we just know they have a vehicle they are trying to sell and we assume it is in order to purchase a newer vehicle. The issues they have will probably be trying to get the most money out of the Jetta they are trying to sell while we try to lower their asking prices and come to a mutual understanding. We feel that that priority for the seller is that they may have another vehicle in mind to purchase, or something that they need to purchase rather quickly and they will probably need to sell the Jetta as soon as possible in order to make the other purchase. Our Interest is to get the most reliable vehicle that will service our needs for the least amount of money and at this point we’ve had no past relationships, if we settle on this deal we’ll just need the title of the car signed over to us. No further relationships are really needed but would be beneficial in case we have any issues with the car and questions may arise. We pretend to use collaborative strategy, because we believe that we may need the seller in the future, whenever our financial situation gets better; however, we don’t want to lose money either, we want both parties to make something and establish from this point on a relationship. We believe that we could work together in the near future and this deal could come in to play in the future; however, we’re thinking that the other team may use a competitive strategy and try to make more money. Our research consisted of looking up the Kelly Blue Book Value on the car and getting an idea as to what the car is actually worth. We also wanted to see what the cost of the exhaust system since that component of the car means we will have to shell out more money soon, so we need to make sure that we get that out of the car cost to be able to pay for that expense in the future. We feel the other party has their interest in mind, they ultimately want what they want for their vehicle, but if we could throw in some elements to get the cost down, we will do so. Our tactics at first was to just get a feel for where they were and the urgency in which they needed to get rid of their car. We added in the element of being a single mother of 4 children and getting to work to pay for their food, having a safe vehicle for them to be in and a vehicle that would not cost so much to use. Our first negotiation took place face to face. We threw out the first offer and they countered, that is where our negotiations began. We had a few phone calls from the owner to meet up, but they failed due to other obligations. We decided communicating via email would be our best option. Since we knew we had another vehicle option we decided to start low and work them towards our goal. Getting the first offer out was critical to start the expectations. We started at $ 3,500,and gradually got higher. Since we were trying to accommodate money for a trip and a car we provided them details that weren’t true and we ended up getting the vehicle for $4,700. 00, a few hundred dollars more than we hoped to pay. We were trying to get the car and still take our trip that was planned in advance. But, by having to spend a few hundred more for the Jetta then we originally planned it cost us our trip. We had to choose what was more important; our trip, or having a reliable car and having a reliable car in order to be able to go to work, live and function in life was the route we chose.

Misuse of Social Media - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 1 Words: 379 Downloads: 1 Date added: 2019/04/10 Category Society Essay Level High school Tags: Social Media Essay Did you like this example? Do you use social media? There are many reasons we use social media. Some people use social media to stay connect with others, learn new things online and build business while some just join for fun. We all know that using social media brings a lot of advantages but it is a threat to teenagers too. Do you know how youth use social media? The time they spend online is really terrifying as they are spending nearly all their waking hours staring at screens. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Misuse of Social Media" essay for you Create order As one of the user, I know that social media can take up a lot of youths time and it is very addicting. Spending too much time on social media harms teenagers as it leads to concentration problems and it is making youth unproductive. Besides of homework, students like me should be doing other activities like reading and doing exercise. Instead, I sit and spend my time scrolling on phones or computers. According to research, my brain will become lazier and I am slowly becoming less efficient. In the end, I can no longer focus on studies. Also, people can access to the Internet easily these days. Therefore, they will be posting loads of engaging content. This allows people to share opinions and exchange information. However, the risk is that some teenagers will start to insult other social media users as they can leave their comments anonymously. Youth may send hatred messages or threaten people around them since they do not think much before publishing those comments. Hence, it has contributed to a new form of bullying-cyberbullying. Problems I face when I spend too much time online: Experience health problems such as lack of valuable sleep, and I often suffer eye strain as well as cervical spondylosis which is a common neck pain. Mental health being affected as I start getting irritable when I am not able to access to social media. These are just some of the ways youth misuse social media and the impact of it. I really think that there is no right or wrong on using social media, it totally depends on how we use it. If you feel like you are misusing it, try to change your behaviour while being online. It is not too late to make a difference.