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Resilience

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Resilience

To me, resilience means standing up for myself and what I believe in at all times. This is one of the many life lessons that my mother instilled in me from a tender age. For me, resilience is all about advocating for what I believe is right at all times. Resilience is all about having the capacity to recover from setbacks one may experience. Adversity is part of life, but despite all the problems we go through, the most important thing is remaining strong and growing. Essentially, resilience is the process and outcome of adapting successfully to life’s challenging experiences. Resilient people are all-rounded as they demonstrate mental, behavioral, and emotional flexibility to cope with external and internal demands. People who have resilience can stay calm in times of disaster. Instead of folding whenever a problem arises, they turn their adversities into strongholds and employ their strengths and skills to respond to life’s challenges. Life is filled with ups and downs. People face many challenges in life, ranging from divorce, the death of a loved one, illness, financial problems, natural disaster, and job loss to emergencies. In short, resilience is all about having a survivor mentality. It is all about staying strong enough to survive a difficult situation.

An example of how my mother showed me resilience was a time I could not join the girls’ scouts troops in our elementary school. I had applied to join girls scouts, but my teachers told me that I could not become a girl scout as all troops were full. My mother was not satisfied with the situation and did not want me missing out on becoming a girl scout. She was told that I would be placed on a waiting list and be notified the next time an opportunity arose. I got sad, and I remember even refusing to attend school. I told her to enroll me in a different school where I could become a girl scout. Rather than giving up, my mother volunteered to form a new trope and become the troop leader and asked her friend, whose daughter was also on the waitlist to become to help co-lead the troop. The arrangement emerged successful eventually. This shows the importance of being resilient if one wants to achieve their goals.

Cultural Event Report

Cultural Event Report

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Institution

Introduction

Taking some time off from the daily routine is always refreshing, renewing and rejuvenating. In an effort to take time off from my common way of life, I visited the Patricia and Philip frost Art Museum. This was during an event dubbed the Target Wednesday After hours, which provided a superb opportunity to socialize and meet other people who have a liking for art, as well as increasing one’s knowledge on artists, exhibitions and museums. The event also gives visitors a chance to meet modern artists, as well as enjoy live music, talks, engage with controversial art, performance art and dance.

This museum is located within the enormous Florida International University. One of the reasons as to why I chose this museum is that it offers an exceptional resource for interdisciplinary collaboration and scholarly research, which augments the institution’s mission not only as a local but also global knowledge and cultural centre (Frost art museum, 2011). This does not mean that the museum does not have fun activities. As much as this description gives the museum an academic outlook, it provides an unparalleled collection of innovative exhibitions. Since its inception in 1977, the museum has grown tremendously to gain official recognition as a principal cultural institution of Florida. This is because of its unprecedented collection of 20th century American art and Latin American art, not to mention its creative exhibitions that enhance or draw on the collection. It is, therefore, no wonder that the museum has assumed a key role in the institution’s community, as well as South Florida’s cultural life (Frost art museum, 2011).

Given the museums academic outlook, I expected a rigid collection with a few artworks here and there with some explanations and voluminous collections of scholarly works. While the museum does not disappoint as far as scholarly utility and collection is concerned, it still performs well as far as the collection is concerned. One of the pieces that were particularly notable is the Netsuke. These are small sculptures invented in the 17th century in Japan, serving a practical function (Laurie & Bardon, 2008). Netsuke is carved, buttonlike toggles that were used for fastening the Cord at the top of containers in which individuals put their personal belongings such as tobacco, medicines, seals, pipes and money (Laurie & Bardon, 2008). These containers may, essentially, have been small woven baskets or pouches. However, the most common containers were magnificently crafted boxes called inro. The Inro was fastened using Ojine, some sliding beads which were on cords. Netsuke was used in fastening all containers irrespective of their types.

Other notable pieces were the collections of the 18th century artists, especially the Unfinished Portrait. This refers to a watercolor painting of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, done by Elizabeth Shoumatoff in the 20th century (Laurie & Bardon, 2008). The remarkable thing about this painting is the rich history that it imbues in the audience, thanks to the magnificent artwork and the fact that painter never got to finish it since Franklin collapsed and died before it could be completed (Ruhrberg et al, 2000).

It is imperative that I point out that I was pleasantly surprised as to how different the museum was from my perception before. This is because as a renown academic place I never expected it to have such a vast collection of items. The event was, however, a pleasant one especially after the performance of some jazz musicians in a live band. This was a marvellous performance for cementing the whole event and loosening the event.

References

Frost art museum, (2011). History. Web retrieved 9th June 2012 from HYPERLINK “http://thefrost.fiu.edu/museum_history.htm” http://thefrost.fiu.edu/museum_history.htm

Ruhrberg, K, Klaus Honnef, K, Schneckenburger, M, & Fricke, C, (2000). Art of the 20th Century, Part 1. New York: Taschen

Laurie, M, & Bardon, D. (2008). Florida’s Museums And Cultural Attractions. New York: Pineapple Press

(Laurie & Bardon, 2008) (Ruhrberg et al, 2000) (Frost art museum, 2011)

CULTURAL GAP FACED BY MNC IN UAE CASE OF MCDONALDS

Cultural gap faced by MNC in UAE case of McDonalds

Executive Summary

With the globalization of world business, UAE has turned into an engaging business sector for outside financial specialists but with cultural gap. The issue of culturally diverse administration emerges as the participation in the middle of UAE and its socially distinctive Western accomplices keeps on increasing at an extraordinary rate. This paper displays a seeing on the general social contrasts in the middle of America and UAE by applying the social measurements of Hofstede, 2010. It likewise examines the effect of these social contrasts on their administration hone from five angles: helpful techniques, peacemaking, decision making, work-bunch qualities, and inspiration frameworks. The 21st century is a period of the globalization of world economy. Cross-national business is confronting extraordinary difficulties in social contrasts. In one review entitled what is the greatest boundary in working together on the planet market, social contrasts positioned first in each of the eight things including “law, value rivalry, data, dialect, conveyance, remote cash, time contrasts, and social contrasts. Hofstede (2010) accepts that the spread of organizations onto the worldwide stage brings the issue of national and provincial contrasts to the fore. “There is something in all nations called ‘administration’, yet its importance varies to a bigger or littler degree starting with one nation then onto the next” (Hofstede, 2010). It can likewise be watched that a large portion of the disappointments confronted by cross-national organizations are brought about by disregard of social contrasts. The globalization of the world economy, on one hand, has made huge open doors for worldwide coordinated effort among diverse nations; then again, in any case, it has likewise made an exceptional set of issues and issues identifying with the viable administration of associations with distinctive societies. This paper will try to highlight the cultural gap that organization face trying to invest into UAE.

General Cultural Differences between the West and UAE UAE, as the biggest business and conceivably the most engaging market in Asia, is going into worldwide joint effort with an extensive variety of outside accomplices. As can be seen from Figure 1, separated from the remote immediate speculations, FDI, from Asian nations, the second and the third biggest speculators are from North America and Europe. It appears important to research the social contrasts in the middle of UAE and its worldwide business accomplices in North America and Europe. To illuminate the contrasts in the middle of UAE and the West, we will allude to Hofstede’s four social measurements and Bond’s fifth measurement. Among specialists who have given a mixture of meanings of society, Hofstede is one of the first to embrace a realistic critical thinking approach in the field and relates society to administration. He characterizes society as an issue of “aggregate programming of the brain, which recognizes the parts of one classification of individuals from an alternate” (Hofstede, 2010). He clarified that socially based qualities frameworks embodied four measurements: force separation, independence/ socialism, manliness/womanliness, and instability shirking. Further research by Michael Bond (1989) recognized a fifth “Eastern” measurement called long haul/fleeting introduction. By contrasting some Western nations and UAE along these five measurements as per their social measurement scores (Data source: Hofstede, 2010), approximately speculative conclusions may be drawn. Among these Western nations, America is much of the time researched in diverse exploration, incompletely due to its monetary force, part of the way in light of its social representativeness. To a certain degree, the United States is considered as speaking to the alleged “Western society”. Thus, an examination in the middle of USA and UAE appears to help clear up the social contrasts between the West and UAE and related culturally diverse difficulties.

UAE and USA contrast extraordinarily concerning their monetary frameworks, political frameworks, social qualities, and laws, notwithstanding the considerable changes that have happened in UAE amid late years. A few contrasts can be found. To start with, regarding force remove, the scores of UAE are twice as those of USA, which shows that UAE is incorporated (however it has demonstrated by most accounts propensity to decentralized force) while USA is moderately decentralized. Second, USA positions first in independence (solid independence) while UAE is low in independence (solid socialism). Third, USA has higher worth than UAE in manliness, which shows that USA is medium manliness while UAE is medium gentility. Fourth, UAE has higher qualities for instability shirking than USA, which demonstrates that United Arab Emirates are generally hazard keeping away from while Americans are moderately hazard taking. Last, USA has a transient introduction while UAE has a long haul introduction. It has been broadly acknowledged that social contrasts significantly influence human deduction and conduct and hence business associations in which individuals associate on the premise of imparted qualities. Administration is installed in a more extensive societal setting, and is vigorously impacted by neighborhood verifiable and social standards (Syed & Özbilgin, 2010). The huge contrasts in the middle of USA and UAE appear to influence a few parts of their administration hone.Impact of Cultural Differences on Cooperative Strategies Since ambitious people develop inside a societal connection, their disposition to participation are prone to be affected by the basic estimations of their general public (Syed & Özbilgin, 2010). As talked about, USA is solid in independence and medium manly. They depend all alone view to figure out what they ought to do. They have a tendency to work alone and are hesitant to chip in on the grounds that their independence and manly society view participation as a rule as an issue of shortcoming and spot a high esteem on freedom and control. UAE is solid in communalism and medium woman’s rights. The United Arab Emirates depend all the more on gatherings or organizations to figure out what they ought to do and stress dedication to the gathering. They are more inclined to collaborate with others to keep away from dangers and decrease obligations. Their worth frameworks acknowledge obligation to the gathering and congruity among its parts while seeking after individual objectives is seen rather adversely in UAE.

Also, currently collaboration, Americans place more prominent essentialness on contractual shields than the United Arab Emirates. They accept that agreement can guarantee that their accomplices’ propensities to concentrate on individual objectives and desires don’t meddle with their individual objectives and yearnings. However the United Arab Emirates don’t consider contracts as genuinely as the Americans. They think there will dependably be changes and the agreement can be sensibly adjusted as per changes. Rather, they have a tendency to give careful consideration to connections than contracts.

The two phenomena appear to be steady with Weaver’s discoveries. In his investigation of a gathering of seven-country business visionaries about their mentality to agreeable procedures, he found that ambitious people from social orders that are manly and individualistic have a lower thankfulness for helpful methodologies as contrasted with business visionaries from social orders that are ladylike and collectivist in nature. He likewise found that business people from individualistic social orders put more noteworthy essentialness on contractual protections for keeping up powerful participation than did those from aggregate societies (Rauch & Trindade, 2002).Impact of Cultural Differences on Conflict Management The United Arab Emirates have a tendency to determination conflict in diverse ways. Since the United Arab Emirates originate from a solid cooperation and medium ladylike society in which amicability and individual relationship are underlined, they will attempt to utilize circuitous approaches to dodge administer and open clash. When they face clash, they like to utilize power to stifle it, or settle things in private. They want to determination clash through transaction and trade off. Individualistic and medium manly American supervisors are accustomed to going up against issues specifically and getting things out the open. To purpose contrasts, American directors will like to utilize strategies that include straightforwardly standing up to others with sound contentions, real proof, and recommended arrangements (Ting-Toomey, 1985). It is likewise predictable with the realistic fleeting introduction and tolerably low power separate in USA. United Arab Emirates directors utilize those strategies short of what American supervisors, on the grounds that utilizing the strategies will incite plain contradiction, which is considered exceedingly undesirable. Moreover, American supervisors are hesitant to contribute the time and exertion needed to enroll the assistance of other individuals (Gong, Chow & Ahlstrom, 2011), when they have conflict or issues with an alternate gathering. Interestingly, the solid aggregate introduction and instability shirking values in UAE sway United Arab Emirates administrators to utilize backhanded types of impact that include the support of an outsider

To manage a troublesome or questionable solicitation, roundabout types of impact are favored by United Arab Emirates directors to abstain from losing face and harming guanxi. At the point when their Western accomplices propose to utilize steer and open approaches to manage the clash, they may feel humiliated. Then again, Western accomplices may get completely confounded by the circuitous way the United Arab Emirates utilization to tackle apparently basic issues. The diverse ways that United Arab Emirates and American managers resolution conflict appear to discover help from Weaver’s finding that ladylike social orders want to determination clash through transaction and bargainImpact of Cultural Differences on Decision-making Risk-taking/Risk-avoiding United Arab Emirates and American supervisors contrast extraordinarily in the mentality to dangers when they settle on decisions for their diverse values in instability evasion. High vulnerability -shirking United Arab Emirates administrators generally fail to offer the dashing soul and the feeling of dangers. They set out not settle on prompt decisions on the off chance that they feel the situation is indeterminate, which may deny them of the chance to contend in the business. By and large, they might want to make similarly more secure and less hazardous decisions at the cost of the business opportunity. Conversely, low vulnerability shirking American administrators are more prone to consider hazards as regular and are volunteer to go out on a limb, particularly as far as creating new items, open another market and applying new innovation.Levels of Participation in Decision-making Managers from an individualistic or a collectivistic nation favor diverse levels of cooperation in decision making. An alternate related social measurement is force separation. Individualistic American managers lean toward settling on decisions exclusively or conceding to their bosses as opposed to counseling with others. They originate from a low power separation society, and they esteem individual correspondence and have confidence in decentralization and enabled subordinates. Yet the circumstances in UAE is a bit confounded. A few scientists recommend that decisions are regularly participatory in collectivistic-high power separation nations (Gong, Chow & Ahlstrom, 2011). Different analysts feel that representatives in those nations ought to promptly acknowledge decisions passed on by their bosses, and even oppose support in decision making on account of their unquestioning disposition to their administratorsActually, the second marvel portrayed by Graf et al (1990) prevails in United Arab Emirates society while the first presumption is additionally valid to a certain degree. That relies on upon numerous elements, the most critical of which is “the thing that sort of decisions are going to be made”. Numerous United Arab Emirates managers, particularly those in state-possessed undertakings, embrace the non-participatory methodology to decision making. Last decisions are normally made by more elevated amount bosses without counseling their subordinates. Since a few attributes like high custom, low revelation and openness and in addition centralization are regular in many organizations. United Arab Emirates workers occasional have the opportunity to truly partake in the decision making methodology. Luckily, things are showing signs of improvement following 20 years of change in UAE. Participatory decision making is starting to be received in various current United Arab Emirates organizations (Gong, Chow & Ahlstrom, 2011). Impact of Cultural Differences on Work-group Characteristics UAE is a social situated nation in which individuals place incredible imperativeness on individual relationship. United Arab Emirates supervisors might at first concentrate more exertion on building social and interpersonal relations before going into business or contractual relationship. They might want to invest time creating and keeping up amid the procedure of collaboration and consider it as an issue to work together. Interestingly, American supervisors may sway their gathering parts to gain from one another, to concentrate on errand as opposed to on social and interpersonal relations, and to fabricate the certainty needed for predominant execution (Carraher, Buchanan & Puia, 2010). They put a much higher essentialness on the errand or business arrangement and want to concentrate rapidly on particular business matters. They are accomplishment situated, that is “work first”. They don’t think building individual relationship is fundamentally included in the work.

Living in a socialism society, the United Arab Emirates perspective individuals distinctively as “in-gathering” and “out-gathering”. They have much higher certainty “in-gathering” parts than “out-gathering” parts. Be that as it may the progression of time, and the improvement of guanxi, the out-gathering parts may transform into in-gathering parts. On the off chance that American supervisors need to work with United Arab Emirates administrators, they ought to give their United Arab Emirates accomplices enough time to know themselves and create an individual association with them. Just when United Arab Emirates supervisors accept that they can believe their accomplices and consider them as a major aspect of the in gathering, will the business arrangements take after easily.Interestingly, individualists who practice fleeting intuition put more accentuation on seeking after gluttonous objectives and may be unwilling to resolve to long haul connections created through gathering cooperations (Carraher, Buchanan & Puia, 2010). Numerous American administrators are not sufficiently persistent to assemble individual associations with United Arab Emirates accomplices when they put resources into UAE. They can’t see how vital the relations are to the United Arab Emirates and their business.Impact of Cultural Differences on Motivation Systems As per Carraher, Buchanan & Puia (2010) the essential refinement in the middle of communalism and independence is focused around four general measurements. One is that the meaning of the self is free in independence and related in socialism. An alternate is that individual and public objectives are not adjusted in independence yet nearly adjusted in socialism. These two may represent the incredible contrast in inspiration frameworks for the most part favored by American organizations and United Arab Emirates organizations, pay for execution in American organizations, and pay value in United Arab Emirates organizations.

In American esteem frameworks, extraordinary stress is put on individual accomplishment, and they are required to accomplish achievement just by their individual endeavors. They esteem rivalry, accomplishment and individual objectives, and hence, yearning to have arranges that perceive singular commitments. They by and large see accomplishment as dependent upon their exertions, so they favor “pay for execution” frameworks which intimate that an individual is exclusively in charge of what he has fulfilled despite the fact that he may have had assistance from others. They consider these frameworks as viable intends to inspire workers. The abilities and occupation execution of workers will be viewed as first by their bosses for pay increments and promotions Collectivistic societies stress collaboration, association, and gathering objectives, and hence lean toward plans that care group amicability (Carraher, Buchanan & Puia, 2010). The United Arab Emirates accept that the feeling of fitting in with the gathering and dedication to the gathering are vital. They hold the view that one’s prosperity is essentially focused around gathering work, so one can’t assert the prize only for oneself. All things considered, the equity standard is reflected in the inspiration framework. At the point when setting compensations, United Arab Emirates directors will give careful consideration to the working knowledge and scholarly capabilities of workers. As far as advancement, one’s political quality, history, and interpersonal relationship are given essential thought.Conclusion By applying Hofstede’s and Bond’s social measurements, a social examination in the middle of America and UAE is made. The two nations contrast incredibly in almost all the perspectives. In view of the social contrasts, inductions are hypothesized on the effect of Sino-American social contrasts on a few parts of administration is made as far as agreeable methodologies, peacemaking, decision making, work-bunch attributes, and inspiration frameworks. There are a few discoveries from this social examination. To start with, United Arab Emirates managers are more inclined to support helpful techniques than American supervisors and American administrators place more prominent vitality on contractual protections than United Arab Emirates directors. Second, when confronted with conflict, United Arab Emirates directors have a tendency to utilize circuitous types of impact that include the aid of an outsider while Americans want to utilize regulate and open structures. Third, United Arab Emirates supervisors have a tendency to settle on less hazardous decisions than American administrators. They have a tendency to embrace the non-participatory methodology to decision making. Fourth, the United Arab Emirates give careful consideration to fabricate social and interpersonal relations than Americans. Last, the value rule is basic in American organizations while the equity standard is generally utilized as a part of United Arab Emirates organizations.

References

Carraher, S. M., Buchanan, J. K., & Puia, G. (2010). Entrepreneurial need for achievement in UAE, Latvia, and the USA. Baltic Journal of Management,5(3), 378-396.

Gong, Y., Chow, I. H. S., & Ahlstrom, D. (2011). Cultural diversity in UAE: Dialect, job embeddedness, and turnover. Asia Pacific Journal of Management,28(2), 221-238.

Hofstede, G. (2010). Geert hofstede. National cultural dimensions.

Rauch, J. E., & Trindade, V. (2002). Ethnic United Arab Emirates networks in international trade. Review of Economics and Statistics, 84(1), 116-130.

Syed, J., & Özbilgin, M. F. (Eds.). (2010). Managing cultural diversity in Asia: A research companion. Edward Elgar Publishing.

Cultural History Of Bra

Cultural History Of Bra

Introduction

Since long time ago, Bra has defined fashion and beauty among women. The history of Bra is linked to social history of the status of women which entails both the evolution of fashion and the changing views of the body of a woman. Since time immemorial, women have used various garments and devices to cover, elevate and restrain the breasts. Over a period of time the emphasis of bras has changed from the functionality point to fashionable point. This fact means that in current period bras are part of fashion of a woman.

Origin of the Bra

The origin of bra is believed to be in 2500 worn by the Minoan women who resided in the island of Crete in the ancient Greece. These women used to wear garments that looked like Bra whose aim was to lift up their breast and boost them. Since then, there has been tremendous change in the shape of the breast with different social meanings.

Evolution of Bras

Corsetry

The evolution of bra starts with the Corsetry which was worn by the Cretan Women. The Cretan woman stood with bare breasts and the waist and hip corset shown above the decorative part of her underwear. The aim of the corset among the Cretan women was as a symbol of beauty and was aimed at showing off the breast. It is believed that bare breast had a cultural and religious significance.

Panniers and laced stays

Many of the 18th century paintings illustrate ladies wearing free falling, pleated loose dress backs. This sack dress probably developed from the over gown that was worn in the 17th century. Under the pannier dress was perfectly crafted laced stays that were made of many pieces of whale bones. These stays were backstitched by hand and were very beautiful and decorative. The stays supported and raised the breast to a sharp point in the front as well as defining a slim outline. The stays always matched the dress as the bones in these stays were placed laterally across both the back and front shoulder blades to ensure that the front remained straight and an upright back.

Edwardian corsetry

During Edwardian era, Fashion favored mature women as it exploited the curves of a highly corseted shape. The young and the old women laced themselves so tightly that they distorted their figures to get am s shape associated with that period.

Health corsets were greatly favored in 1890s and 1900 and were designed with an aim of assisting the women in breathing. Aches Sarraute of Paris designed health corset with an aim of aiding health instead of endangering it. She introduced the straight fronted busk that left thorax free. It was also designed to support and raise the abdomen instead of forcing it downwards. She rightly aimed at reducing pressure on vital female organs dispensed with constricting curves at the waist which was a common feature among all corsets. Corsets after 1907 were straight as women’s obsession on small waist had reduced. The corsets of 1907 achieved a long slim figure. These corsets had had elastic gussets inserts which were supposed to increase the level of comfort. The new longer styles of 1912, corsets increased in length reaching the knees making it difficult for women sitting down. These corsets were designed for beauty purposes as fashion played a major role in their development. (Workman, 1996)

Bras in 1907

The word Bra was developed and first reported in America copy of Vogue in 1907.The original French name of brassier meant a soldiers arm. The First World War contributed to evolution of bras where women abandoned corsets and started wearing bras. During this period, the term brassier started to appear in high profile women magazines and eventually appeared in Oxford English dictionary in 1912. (Elizabeth, 1976)

Mary Phelps-Jacob’s patented Bra 1914 & the Symington Side Lacer

It is believed that Mary Phelps Jacob, a New York socialite, made a backless brassier from two silk handkerchiefs and some ribbon after discovering that the corsets were too restrictive when a woman was dancing in night clubs. Mary sold her patent to Warner Brother’s corset company for 1500 us dollars. After the year 1918, bras were made of lace bands with straps. The best bras at that time were the Symington side lacer which was a reinforced bodice. The side lacing was aimed at flattening the bust when it was tightened. It was at this time that the term bra changed from brassier. (Elizabeth, 1976)

Bras in 1930s

In 1930s the bra became more sophisticated and the home sewn version of bras started to diminish during this period. In 1928, entrepreneur William and Ida Rosenthal developed bra by introducing the cup sizes and bras for all the stages of a woman.

Warmers developed the alphabet bra which was made in a set of sizes that were corresponding to alphabetical letters. This is as a result of women gaining interest in the size of their breast and other women breast. The women interest in these types of bra was as a result of aggressive marketing and the changing role of women in the society. During this period, bras became a major industry and there was great improvement in fiber technology, patterns, colors and varieties of the bras. There was increase in innovation such as sized cup, adjustable strap, increased elasticity and padded breast for small sized breast. The marketing of bras during this period targeted the younger women as beauty was an important aspect in them. The desired feature in 1930s was a pointy bust and this further increased demand for a forming garment and bras fitted well for this function.

Bras in 1940s

Clothing was determined by the Second World War. During this period, advertisements of clothes were based on patriotism. The highly structured conical pointed bullet bras were used as protection clothes whereby in the military fraternity, the female soldiers were advised to wear them for anatomical support, good taste and for morale. During this period, bra enhanced the concept of the sweater girl. Sweater girls often wore bullets bras which contributed to the development of later brassieres. The war had an impact on the flow of materials as there was shortage of material which resulted into women producing their own bras from parachute silk and old wedding dresses. Commercially manufactured bras were made from minimum amount of material and hence bore the utility mark. This led to the emergence of utility bras.

Bras in 1950s

In this period, the bras were typical long line stitch and fashion was a major contributing factor towards the development of bras. The long line conical bra gave support silhouette for girls who wanted to be like film stars sweater girls like Jane Russell. The bras got better as use of nylon materials made them prettier, lighter and easier to wash.

Bras in 1960

This period was characterized with increased interest of quality and fashion of bras. There was increased demand for maternity and mastectomy bras and increase in the use of washing machines led to increase in preference for durable bras. There was increased marketing promotion such as wearing bras 24 hours a day. This period was marked with cultural changes which represented a great threat to bra market. These counter culture to bra production included civil right movement and feminism which greatly opposed women wearing bras. During this period, there was development in the form of bras which were seamless, flattering and sexy and were more appealing to teenage girls. The invention was referred to as wonderbra invention. These Bras tugged the breast together and pulled them forward and hence they were a means of attraction. They were marketed as a form of luxury. The material used became durable, light weight and elastic.

Bra burning

In late 1960s, bra and other feminity emblems became targets of feminist activism. The feminists viewed bras as objects which reduced women as sex objects. Some women started questioning the role of bra and this led to protest against 1968 miss American beauty pageant. For example, Germaine Greer stated that bras were absurd invention aimed at reducing the status of women. In 1968, they were a protest against Miss America beauty pageant by 400 women coming from New York Radical women in Atlantic City convention hall. The demonstration took place after Democratic national convention and the protestors placed bras, high heeled shoes, hairsprays and other beauty apparatus seen as symbols of oppression of women in a freedom trash can placed on the ground. This was a clear sign of protest against bra although no real burning of the bras took place. There was also another protest in 1970 which received wide coverage and was perceived as sexual liberation. This protest although seen by people as breaking of the law was somehow fruitful as many women stopped .This led to some stores such as Berkeley Roos closing Bra department due to poor sales. The protest led to development of ‘no bra’ by Rudi Gernreich in 1964. This bra was light, transparent stretch netting and had a simple shape. The bras had very fine layer of foam latex rubber bonded to the top lace fabric which made the cups to stand up on the end. (Pederson, 2004)

The original Wonder bra (1968-1990)

Gossard launched its wonderbra crusade in 1968.At first 36C was the top size of this innovatory under wired bra that was a necessity for V neck dresses of late sixties caftans which had ling necks were transformed by the cleavage from a wonderbra. In case where one was in need of larger bra, a bra replacement fastener was used as an extender. Inserts of extra wadding or foam rubber could be inserted into little pockets in the wonderbra to increases the fullness where there was no bust. In 1990s, silicon implant scare caused the women to turn to bras as the best option of improving their breast size. The wonderbra became best seller in 1990s.

In 1916s there was the presence of bra slips which were common for short skimpy dresses. This mixed setup was made up of an under wired cleavage bra with a short small nylon slip all in one.

Return of the Cleavage (1990s)

In a blonde ambition tour, Madonna was sported wearing sported ice cream coned circular stitched cup on her Gaultier corset.Gaultier first made designs of breast that were based on the conical breasts of 1980s but received full approval after Madonna used it in various of her functions and hence sexy lace Bras came back into business. In 1990s there was the introduction of very plain tactel underwear slips which gave a good line beneath dresses making it possible to wear unlined dresses successful without static build up. Bra industry was further promoted during this period by the quest for women who had shed their breast in 1960s to have more figure control especially when wearing the straight sheath dress that were back in fashion. During this period, there was pursuit for cleavage by utilizing water, air and silicone pads and improvement in this development enhanced the sales of fashion companies in 21st century as they put more emphasis on breast management and improvement.

Today’s types of bra

Cleavage enhancer: These types of bras have a plunging neckline which is important for maximum cleavage. The pads add an additional lift and the bra fully characterize bust hence ideal for low necklines.

Minimizer: These types of bra reduce the bust projection from one inch to two and half inch. The bras shape and support the breast and hence reduce their bouncing.

Full coverage bras: These bras shape and offer complete support to the breast. The under wire is for enhanced support of the breast.

Convertible/strapless: These bras are multiple way wear. They go up to five ways on a strapless bra often having molded padded cups that offer support and shape to the breast. They have seam free cups that are not visible under clothes.

Sports bra: They are perfectly constructed to provide a maximum support, compresses the breast and hence minimizing bouncing by the breasts. The material fabric is important in drawing moisture away from the body hence keeping the body comfortable.

Wire free Bra: These are soft cup bras which the beast complete natural shape. They are soft and have a comfortable fit.

T-shirt bra: These bras have seamless contoured cups which is not visible under clothes. It is comfortable and ideal under fitted T-shirts and sweaters. They are perfect for everyday wear.

Silicone bra: This type of bra comes in different sizes from cup size A, B C; D. It does not have any strap. It is flexible and sticks tightly in conformity with the woman’s bust as it has self adhesive coating. It is made from high quality silicon gel. It is easy to wash, it has no strap and occurs in a range of colors and so the user has a wide choice of the colors she desires. This bra can be reused many times after laundering.

Push ups and inflatable brassieres: Was introduced in mid 1990s and added major sex appeal to the USA market. It was pioneered in 1960s by Fredricks of Hollywood .The look was classic pieces of soft cup inflated into a cone-shaped point. During this period, Singer and Dancer Madonna played a big role in making this bra to be famous. This bra has undergone much innovation such as volume adjustment systems, pairing of the sleek looking bra with air extricable padding. The bra has a molded cup and wireless lifts. It has a weightless padding which gives the cleavage a slight projection. It has barely three Bralettes. It is found in soft cup, Camisole like sheers as well as lacy under wire creations which exhibit double cleavage of their full cup counterparts. (Steele, 2001)

Sex openness among the correct time women

In 1950s to 1980s feminists played great role in trying to liberate women from oppression by men. They tried as much as they could in transforming the working and business environment to suit women and this resulted in many of them getting jobs and becoming more liberal especially in their sexual lives. In the past, feminists opposed beauty apparatus which they considered as being tools which reduced women as sex objects. This did not get support from all the women as beauty was still valued b women and so they continued using beauty apparatus and fashion determined what they wore. Currently the society has changed greatly and as a result of empowerment, women have become more liberal and hence more open to sixths is depicted by the clothing they put on which more is revealing than in the past years. Also increase in innovation by fashion industries has played a major role as these companies strive hard to market products which are said to make women look sexy. Improved technology especially in the entertainment sector has contributed a lot to women becoming more sexual open as they mostly emulate the lifestyles of the entertainment stars. (Kunzle, 2004)

Conclusion

Innovation has played a major role in shaping the fashion in different time span. Bra comes out clearly as a major fashion tool and from its evolution, it can be concluded that it has played a central role in women fashion and enhancing beauty among the women.

Reference List:

Ewing, Elizabeth. (1976). Underwear: A History. New York, NY: Theatre Arts Books

Kunzle, David. (2004). Fashion and Fetishism: Corsets, Tight-Lacing and Other Forms of Body –Sculpture. Thrupp, UK: Sutton Publishing Limited

Pedersen, Stephanie. (2004) Bra: a thousand years of style, support and seduction. Newton Abbot: David & Charles

Steele, Valerie. (2001). The Corset: A Cultural History. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

Workman, Nancy. (1996). “From Victorian to Victoria’s Secret: The Foundations of Modern Erotic Wear. Journal of Popular Culture. 30.2, 61-73

Cultural influences on development

Cultural influences on development(Name)(Course Name)(Instructor’s Name)(Date Of Submission)

IntroductionHuman being development is shaped by various influences among them culture. Development takes different forms e.g. biological and physiological. Culture refers to the way of life in a social setup. Different cultures exist around the world ranging throughout the different eras of history. Upheld cultures have been passed on to different generations. In passing on these cultures, distortions, dissipation, alterations and inventions have been witnessed.(Ayandele, E.A. 1998)Cultures have been distorted by the generations in a manner that befits the interest of the generations. Some cultures have left out as civilization took shape of people’s lives all across the world. The rise of new cultures has also been noted with innovations and discoveries especially in the new worldIn the new world, cultures rank mainly physiologically as civilized and primitive ones. The medieval and dark ancient cultures thought to be primitive whilst the agrarian, and the 20th century thought to be civilized and perhaps the best for mankind (Hockenbury, D., & Hockenbury, S. E. 2007)However in making this judgmental ranking we must look at cultures in light of times and conditions prevailing. Before we call the medieval culture primitive, we must perhaps take a keen look at the issues prevalent at those times.Human development ideas note the biological development incorporation of common rights and freedom of a human being. This includes right to life, education, food, shelter est. in the development process. This expounds the idea that development is a process and not a single stage. Different process takes place in the development process as shaped by the culture (Berk, L. E. 2009).

The African culture and influences on developmentFor many years, African culture described as primitive or backward culture. However, care must be taken before we place this tag on the culture. The African culture upholds best practices on social and human development. In an African culture, pregnant woman gets proper attention and taken care.  This form of care includes giving her the best foods, reducing her chores and assigning her a midwife. All this care paves way for the mature development of a born baby. The new born and mother received care even after delivery to ensure sustained well being. Relatives, friends, and neighbors come to assist the family once there is a new born (Kail, R. E. 2006). The culture encouraged breastfeeding and deviation was rebuked by the society. In some African society, a new born baby is blessed by the elders in order to receive him/her to the society. Child bearing is considered a blessing in the culture hence the high birth rates witnessed in the African continent.The culture considered a child’s development a societies’ task. The societies at large meant to shape and mould the personality and destiny of the child. The child’s discipline was instilled as he/she grew. Emphasis was put on elders respect. The old African culture did not allow children to speak while the elders addressed them and were supposed to follow orders issued by them without questioning. Any elderly member of the society had the right to discipline a child without first informing the parents on the matter. This is a culture that is quickly fading away (Jeremy Gould 1976).Initiation in the African culture is also renowned. It takes different forms which includes circumcision. Initiation signifies the passing stage from childhood to adulthood. In societies that practice circumcision they mostly used a standard single blade for all initiates. This explains the high HIV/AIDS prevalence in the 1980s. The art is unhealthy and has been phased out by use of surgical blades and approved health standards due to the emergence of transmitted diseases especially STIs and HIV/AIDS.In marriage and family, the culture is also largely rich in best practices. None is allowed to engage in sex before marriage. A relationship with the opposite sex is dangerous as it paves the way for marriage. This explains the reason why few teenage pregnancies in African cultures as compared to others. Marriage engagement in the society was sacred and protected by the society at large. Dowry was paid as a show of appreciation to the bride’s family. It binds the newlyweds as was considered informative to return the accepted dowry once the marriage fails.  Divorce was allowed only one particular instances in the culture e.g. in breakage of marriage vows. In the African culture, it is almost impractical to practice a divorce. This helped the families to remain intact and ensure the children were brought up by both parents. Single parenting was scarce in the African culture during the pre and colonial eras and occurred if one of the parents died. The society would take up the role of parenting in such situations.Wife inheritance was also a practice in some of the African societies. The brother of the deceased person would assume the wife, a culture that was rebuked by many scholars citing impracticality of love transfer. The widow would be forced to marry her brother in law. This was also blamed for the spread of STIs and HIV/AIDS especially in western parts of Kenya and in Uganda.

Western culturesWestern culture, sometimes equated with Western civilization, Western lifestyle or European civilization, is a term used majorly to refer to a culture of social norms, ethical values, traditional customs, belief systems, political systems, and artifacts and technologies that have some basis or association with Europe. Western culture is characterized by an abundance of creative, philosophic, literary, and legal themes and traditions; the heritage of Celtic, Germanic, Hellenic, and Latin cultural and linguistic groups, as well as Christianity, which played a pivotal part in the shaping of Western civilization since at least the 4th century.  Also contributing to Western thought, in ancient times and then in the middle Ages and the Renaissance onwards, a tradition of rationalism in various spheres of life, developed by Hellenistic philosophy, Scholasticism, humanism, the Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment. Values of Western culture have, throughout history, been derived from administrative thought, widespread employment of rational argument favoring free thought, assimilation of human rights, the need for equality, and democracy. Western ideologies, political beliefs, western science, western laws and social institutions, western moral concepts, sexual symbols and ideals of beauty, western working methods and leisure activities, western foods, western pop idols and the western concept of human existence have become objectives, examples and norms everywhere in the world.But there are too many dispossessed people who have amassed a few western material possessions but no longer have any birthplace, home or final resting-place.

The ideological profile of cultural imperialism of the westerners.

The ideology of the technological imperialists. To a western person, traditions could be the antithesis regarding dynamics; the idea indicates the actual subjugation regarding dynamics to be able to create a design, man-made globe, to be able to determine the world, the actual acme of which could be the city limits. The particular ideology of the subjugation regarding dynamics has reached its climax from the conquest regarding outer space, nevertheless it has also offered the actual meaningful justification for your white-colored person’s expeditions regarding development, with regard to colonialism, the actual servant deal, the actual deceitful exploitation regarding healthy assets as well as the offshore support ideas regarding today: the purpose of most of these staying to yoke most international locations on the globe of the industrialized countries.The maximization of culture; the ideology of total efficiency: The ideal of the competitive, mass-producing society is usually to achieve entire efficiency. It aims to increase creation, organizational efficiency, art work as well as sports activity.The cult of modernism; the ideology of novelty. Western culture significantly store by the predetermined and regular: it accords their top accolade to the unconventional plus the revolutionary. Western civilization has established the cult of genius for those who are instruments of change. This worship involving modernization plus the faith inside scientific development culminated inside radicalism on the sixties, the actual heyday on the college student, considered a whole new contemporary society may be created with research. On this technological utopia, the actual non-democracy determined solely by traditions like the relationship involving marriage and sex norms would certainly no more exist. Instead continuous development, flexibility, ideal ethical or ideological democracy. But has this development merely led to the dictatorship of the men of change, of the planners?The ideology of productivity. Both equally about the collection along with the actual number of educational selections decide options firstly by materialist financial planning, connected with cost of human resources, of a ‘scientific’ analysis on the relationships in between insight along with productivity. Professional culture is usually currently being converted directly into a plan designed exclusively for the planning connected with production, a new statistical profile, index along with tendency mechanism, from where people, fantastic along with traditional aspects should be removed since uncontrollable factors.International standards; the ideology of the supranational: In manufacturing, scientific disciplines, artwork and any individual activity, European culture realizes no better target than internationalism: the actual specifications with the city maintain swing. The actual modify inside construction regarding European organizations has taken the shape regarding adaptation to showcase economic system, to be able to intercontinental business; the actual result with the environment to be able to intercontinental specifications. The actual techno-structures will be the majority of rigidly consistent off, section of a hygienic and clean, experienced muscle size culture utilizing regular ideals, to achieve steady ‘scientific’ and ‘artistic’ judgments, a society in which personal and immediate answers will be more illusionary than real. Interpersonal planning and organization possess developed consistent modern-day circumstances, the actual fruits of the particular most current research directly into town pattern, in which situation can be played out and about with all the similar cultural props,  similar basic providers.The mechanistic system of knowledge and causal relations; the ideology of technical solutions. The functional basis of western society is a classification of the natural world into a cognitive system that only recognizes mechanical, factorial and technical causal connections and solutions. The most important logical model for scientific thought throughout the sixties was factor analysis. The material and human waste problems resulting from the production process are eliminated by means of special mechanisms; a technological waste process grows up side by side with the production process – sewage plants, asylums, approved schools, community homes and police stations. New sicknesses are cured by new medicines; the debilitating effects of mass production and the conveyor belt are solved by the invention of ergonomics. The establishment of counter-technologies, counter-organizations and counter-cultures corrects technological blunders – thus development becomes synonymous with the fragmentation of society into ever smaller and weirder compartments.The opinion industry, the ideology of the control of knowledge: Scientific and technological progresses have also maximized awareness. On the other hand it has made communications, the mass media, manipulation, information shocks, industrial opinion-molding, propaganda and advertising its most important instruments of power and influence. Western society permits any form of manipulation, even if it is systematically biased, as long as its aims are economically beneficial, commercially successful or otherwise increasing. Western man has long accepted the necessity of organizational lies. Berk, L. E. (2009).

Eastern cultural influenceThe eastern culture denotes the cultures practiced by countries east of Europe these include mainly in Asia. The predominant culture is the Chinese Japanese Indian and Arab cultures.  Their cultures differ greatly from the western cultures and for a long time there were collisions between the two.  These collisions contributed to the break of world wars as nations spread their cultures .the eastern culture is widely described as a conservative one compared to the western.   Strict traditions are observed in these societies.  The people of these cultures mainly practice Islamism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Confucianism Taoism among others.  Cultural influences on a human and child developmentThe diverse have an effect how a child develops and the personality they show. The culture which a child is living in contributes to the present situation. As an example, though Western cultures emphasis on individuality, Asian cultures are notable for having a higher combined focusing, and therefore this culture strains the want in the local community as a whole over the needs of each specific. This kind of lifestyle variances may result in outstanding different versions of raising young children. Parents from Western cultures may emphasize the importance of their child having a powerful feeling of self-esteem in addition to self-sufficiency; through parents from Asian cultures may concentration additional on how their child may contribute to the household unit and culture as a whole. No matter what the child’s surrounding culture might be the parental strategies designed to produce children who can meet the goals and expectations of the culture in which they live.Socio-emotional troubled development is by ethnical framework. Lifestyle may encourage regarding restriction this showing regarding distinct issues with socio-emotional development by way of facilitation regarding reductions operations. Social norms as well as values offer information regarding this model as well as evaluate regarding cultural behavior as well as just like providing explanations on the behaviors. Socio-emotional Characteristics in the early years can have implications for the development of social behaviors. ‘Edvard found that children in relatively open communities (e.g. Taira in Ilinawa, one of Japan’s southern) where peer interaction was encouraged had significantly higher scores on overall social engagement than children in more “Close” and agriculture communities (e.g. Nyansongo in Kenyan Khlapur in India)’.During Social interactions, peer evaluate and response to individual characteristics in a way that are relevant with cultural belief systems in their society and express equivalent reaction (e.g. acceptance, rejection) toward children who show the characteristics. Culturally-directed social evaluations and responses, in turn, guide children’s behaviors and essentially their developmental patterns.The child from the rural area might be expected to learn how to help on the family farm and ultimately contribute to the management of the family’s source of food and income. During the early years, this child’s parents might focus on key safety and survival needs such as providing warmth and food. As the child grows older, teaching practical skills and helping the child benefit hands-on experience might become more prominent. Because of the cultural emphasis on ensuring the child’s survival, the goal of youth in this situation is to survive to adulthood in order to become a provider for the family.For the child raised in the urban environment in the affluent country, early life might be significantly different. Because this child’s parents worry less about basic needs, their issue will be more on lifestyle. During the early years, ensuring that the child has the best toys and participates in the first play set might be of the utmost concern. As the child grows older, the parents might change their focus to making sure their child’s enrollment in the most respected schools and attains the best possible grades. In this case, the child’s lifestyle suggests that the ultimate goal of childhood is to go to school, and one day get a prestigious job.Western cultures (Individualism) emphasize on assertiveness, expressiveness, and competitiveness and Eastern and Southern cultures (collectivism) emphasize on group harmony and cooperation.Comparison between the individual characteristics and interaction of western and eastern cultures:1. Personality: European cultures that beliefs assertiveness and also self-reliance views these particular actions as shyness, fearfulness, and also cultural incompetence, in contrast to; Asian traditions sight these actions as submission, obedience and also getting extremely well mannered.Pro-social behavior: (helping, sharing, and caring): Research determined by means of observing amongst peers along with mother or father child conversation which pro-social habits is more frequent amongst kids from eastern culture in comparison with western culture.3. Cooperation/ competition: Normally children coming from collectivism international locations are more cooperative and much less aggressive when compared with westernized international locations, however; co-operation and competition usually vary from an individual to a different and also the new generation seems to be a lot more aggressive within possibly within Collectivism international locations.4. Hostility: Most cultures view physical and oral rage inappropriate and it leads to peer denial in most countries.5. Social withdrawal: Research has found the prevalence of reticent habits will be higher among eastern culture compared to western ethnicities.6: Peer relationships: Acquaintanceship can vary from one culture to another. In most cultures little ones hardly ever take part in non- cultures. Far eastern cultures spend nearly all of time because of their immediate as well as extended family members.7. Play: Asian families tend to recognize child’s play as a subject inside of it rather than a strategy for promoting educational experiences.8. Peer sociability: Expert sociability throughout collectivist societies, which often strain group harmony, differs throughout American ethnicities. (Roopnarince et al., 1994)’.ConclusionWhilst society can participate in major functions with a child up-bringing, it can be even now vital that one does not forget that it is your relationship of influences of which dictates how a child develops. Genetics, environmentally friendly influences, parenting variations, good friends, lecturers, educational institutions and the values most importantly are just some of your key variables of which incorporate with different strategies to figure out some children progress.

ReferencesAyandele, E.A. (1998).  African Renaissance: The Cultural Dimension. A paper presented at the symposium on the African Renaissance to celebrate the 80th birthday of President Nelson Mandela.

Berk, L. E. (2009). Child Development. 8th ed. United States of America: Pearson Education, Inc.Hockenbury, D., & Hockenbury, S. E. (2007). Discovering Psychology. New York, NY: Worth Publishers.Kail, R. E. (2006), Children and Their Development (4 ed.), Prentice Hall.Jeremy Gould (1976), ‘Development strategies and ethnic cultures’

Cultural Intersection

Cultural Intersection:

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Cultural Intersection

In Italo Calvino’s book “If on a Winter’s night a traveller”, the cultural intersections of class, race, sexuality or gender are well explored through a language that is simple and clear to the reader. It is through this book that these variables which are attached to individuals are inserted into current theoretical models of the family. The text and language of this novel is developed to explain to the reader how a culture of reading can be developed through encouraging the readers the essence of creating self interests in reading of books, texts, novels and others (Italo Calvino, 1981, p. 297). The texts awareness of itself as text greatly affects the cultural critiques, insights or revelations which are at work in that it instructs the reader on how to read it and what is to be read in a very unusual manner. The focus on the writerly experience and writing comments on the cultural production of the book in that this post-modern novel combines a detective story with love through a sardonic dissection of the industry of publishing in the reading allegory. It displays the frustration through which two readers become comically disappointed in their attempts to finish the same novel repeatedly.

Cultural representations are well developed in “If on a Winter’s Night a Traveller” through the use of dialect, slang, language and experiments coupled with dialogue, like for instance, there is a case of a reader who goes through a lot of difficulties in the endeavour to find a copy of Italo Calvino’s novel. This novel is therefore a mystery story filled with a treasure hunt, a satire and a romance. It wins the readers attention in that it begins with explaining to them how the book is supposed to be read. This gently chiding and joking by the author is what makes the tone of the book to be a funny metafictional novel which does not only insert its author but the readers as well.

The use of language presents cultural authenticity and insight in the novel in that the author successfully includes the reader to be the major character in the book and assumes the second person thus making the book to be not only a novel but a novel within a novel which contains other novels. Few authors have been brave enough to include the reader thus this inclusion makes the novel to be a subtle undermining of reality. The author has also included cultures which were just made up thus making the inclusion of isolated chapters in the novel to become intriguing just like the literary hunt since each one of them cuts off at a very suspenseful moment leaving the reader guessing what will happen next. The author successfully invites the reader in sharing in the cultural experience through bringing them on board in the novel as second person.

The author’s refection regarding culture in this novel is affected in the endeavour to write about the homeland from distanced location, emigration or exile since it has been observed that many writers, in their displaced existence have generally tended to excel in their works as if the change in the atmosphere or environment acts as a big stimulant to them (Italo Calvino, 2010, p. 374). In most dislocated circumstances, such literature has been referred to as “Exile Literature” (Italo Calvino, & William Weaver, 1979, p. 479). For instance, Calvino’s “If on a Winter’s night a traveller” is an example of an Exile literature in which the author has addressed well the contrast of cultural expectations, languages and cultural interactions in the experience as a traveller, emigrant or exile.

Dislocation or distance has a greater impact on the arrangement of various narratives and Italo Calvino’s book is no exception. Distance or dislocation has an impact that indeed, the exiled writer could not even have prospered if there was no exile and thus this work plus other greater works have prospered because their authors were in exile. It is through the book that it can be portrayed that culture is recognized through projections of otherness in which the transmission of national culture and traditions became the major theme in world literature (M. Keith Booker, 1993, p. 863).

In this novel and others, the theme of lost, unknown and/or dislocated relatives comes up in that it portrays how various authors have written great works while they are in exile to address various social, culturally and national issues which affect the human race. The theme of dislocation is used to indicate how exiled authors have used their time in exile to write about various issues affecting humanity, something that could not have been achieved if there was no exile (International Association for Semiotic Studies. Congress, Irmengard Rauch, & Gerald F, Carr, 1999, p. 472). The theme of dislocated, unknown or lost relatives has therefore been utilized by Italo Calvin in the book “If on a Winter’s Night a traveller” and other exiled authors’ works to create their cultural narratives through the comparison of life in exile and life at the homeland. The exiled authors’ sense of cultural identity is greatly affected through the distanced relations since they forced to make a comparison of homeland life situations and the environment in exile. This makes conclusions regarding the two environments to be a difficult task for the authors in exile.

The theme of dislocated, lost or unknown relatives is strengthened through various commentaries made in the novels regarding cultural ties, ruptures, connections and affiliations (Italo Calvino, 1981). This is because at first, the effect that exile has on the writers and on their works seems to be apparently paradoxical since the exile at first seems to be both a liberating and shocking experience. There is an apparent paradox because it manifests the prevailing tension which keeps the strings attached between the author’s place of exile and the place of origin. In order for exiled authors to free themselves from the imminent enmeshing strings which tend to pull the strings attached in opposite ways, then such authors have to write or engage themselves in other artistic expressions (Italo Calvino, 2010, p. 379). There is a longing in exile literature in that there is an urge to satisfy the various cultural intersections that are exhibited in both the homeland and the country of exile which authors attempt in all ways to satisfy and justify the end.

In conclusion, cultural intersections are very vital components in the lives of not only exiled authors but also students, travellers and any other individual going in a foreign country for studies, tourism or other reasons. The theme of dislocation is therefore rampantly used in addressing the various cultural strains, ruptures, connections or affiliations which are encountered by individuals living away from their homelands. It is a fact that works done in a different cultural setting have been bound to be more great and attractive as compared to works belonging to authors residing in their home countries.

Works Cited

Italo Calvino. If On A Winter’s Night A Traveller, New York, Random House, 2010, p. 379

Italo Calvino. If on a winter’s night a traveller, A Helen and Kurt Wolff Bk, Harvest book, California, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1981, p. 297

Italo Calvino, & William Weaver. If on a winter’s night a traveller, California, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1979, p.689

M. Keith Booker. Literature and domination: sex, knowledge, and power in modern fiction, Washington DC, University Press of Florida, 1993, p.435

Welch D. Everman. Who says this?: the authority of the author, the discourse, and the reader, Crosscurrents/modern critiques, A Chicago Classic, Modern critiques third series: Crosscurrents, California, New York, SIU Press, 1988, p. 831

International Association for Semiotic Studies. Congress, Irmengard Rauch, & Gerald F. Carr. Semiotics around the world: synthesis in diversity : proceedings of the Fifth Congress of the International Association for Semiotic Studies, Berkeley, 1994, Volume 1, Approaches to semiotics, Semiotics Around the World: Synthesis in Diversity: Proceedings of the Fifth Congress of the International Association for Semiotic Studies, Berkeley, 1994, Irmengard Rauch, Volume 126 of Beihefte Zur Zeitschrift Fur die Alttestamentliche Wissensch, Volume 1; Volume 5 of Proceedings of the … congress of the International Association for Semiotic Studies, International Association for Semiotic Studies, Walter de Gruyter, 1999, p. 472

Cultural Materialism

Cultural Materialism stems from anthropology which is the study of human beings. Culture, a broad concept that encompasses cultural materialism refers to socially conditioned activities and thoughts associated with social groups and populations. Materialism on the other hand refers to technological and economic factors that play a significant role in the molding of society. It exists as dialectical, historical and cultural (Rogers 10).

Cultural materialism is a school of thought which emphasizes on understanding human culture by examining visible material conditions such as food supply, climatic and geographic variation. It is fundamental in expounding a clear understanding of the causes of differences and similarities among cultures and societies (Milner 8). The main premise of this theory is that human social life is a response to practical problems of earthly existence. It opposes strategies that deny the legitimacy of the feasibility of scientific accounts of human behavior. This approach backs Marx’s original strategy by breaking away from the Hegelian notion of all systems evolving through a dialect of contradictory negations and adding reproductive pressure and ecological variables.

Culture Materialism can also be classified into three levels that is, infrastructure, structure and the superstructure. The infrastructure is composed of the production modes that is, technology and practices initiated to expand, maintain and limit population, the structure entails domestic and political environments while the superstructure is the recreational and aesthetic products and services (Milner 14).

Cultural materialism tends to be at odds with idealism which as idealists believe in the transcend ability of ideas while materialists believe that culture does not and should not transcend its material trappings. It therefore plays a vital role in bridging the gap between Marxism and Post- Modernism.

This approach despite providing sufficient limelight on the integration of culture and materialism faces criticism due to various reasons. First of all, Marxists argue that this concept fails to address the influence of structure on infrastructure, for example, the influence of organizational patterns such as governments on resources which is currently not the case as structure to some extent influences the infrastructure (Gelinas 45).

Secondly from Gelinas’ view, post modernists believe that relying on ‘etic’ which is mostly behavioral is inappropriate in the study of culture (45). Idealists on the other hand criticize cultural materialists for ignoring belief and genetics and base their foundation on the level of significance of the ‘emic’ which should be more than the cultural materialists allow. It is essential to note therefore that both Marxists and Post modernists allow for extreme use of either one of the two, that is, thought and behavior while they fail to balance the appropriate application of both components for better conceptualization.

Thirdly, Cultural materialism is seen as too simplistic and fails to consider spiritual and intellectual influences on society which are intangible in nature thus cannot be adequately accounted for only materially (Milner 28).

Two writers known to have significantly contributed to the documentation and elaboration of cultural Materialism from different perspectives are;

Raymond Williams.

Marvin Harris.

Raymond Williams backed this theory by integrating structures of feeling which are values that change and are formed as humans live and interact with the material world. These values challenge dominant ideological forms and create an implication that values are organic and dynamic. Thus cultural materialism embraces change while giving variations in perspective based on our choice to suppress or reveal readings of past actions (Rogers 42).

Williams further extrapolated the understanding of the relationship between culture and society through his essay ‘Culture is Ordinary’. In order to clarify this, he borrowed Marxist’s tenet of culture being interpreted in relation to its underlying production system and glossed it with culture being a way of life and that arts, are a part of a social structure which economic change radically affects. Culture is political as the social process addressed through political analysis is embedded in culture (Rogers 56).

William’s explains that political analysis acts as a specialized framework used to understand culture as a whole way of life. The aspects of radical criticism, politics being cultural, political struggle that takes the shape of cultural forms are expressed largely by Williams in his work. The solutions to these lie in the recognition of limited but available space for viable alternatives, the need for national identity as well as incorporation of new technology such as the internet as useful media for communication necessary to drive the change.

Cultural materialism has also been discussed at length by Marvin Harris who defines culture as composing of religion, politics, art, science, superstition, language, the social structure among others, and materialism encompassing materiality which is fundamental to reality (Gelinas 68). His concept of cultural materialism is basically borrowed from anthropological teachings especially Marxist’s materialism. According to him, cultural materialism aims to explain the cultural organization, symbolism and ideology within the materialistic framework of infrastructure, structure and superstructure as earlier defined.

In addition, the infrastructure which consists of fundamental human survival elements is further divided into two subcomponents; the production and reproduction modes. The structure consists of the domestic and political economy while the superstructure consists of shared cognitive and ideological patterns and societal behaviors. The development of a synergy amongst these components is strengthened by the Principle of Infrastructural Determinism. It takes into consideration the role of the infrastructure as the basis of the socio-cultural life as well as the foundation for the structure. The structure then asserts a strong influence on the superstructure. The knock on effects of these relationships could operate backwards but with less frequency and significance (Milner 50).

The basis of Harris’ Cultural materialism is on the belief that anthropology exists as a science which is governed by law hence infrastructures should subsequently be governed by rules and regulations ( Milner 54).

Several sociological terms can be related to Cultural Materialism. These include;

Anthropology, a social science which covers the study of traditional cultures as well as the evolution of species.

Infrastructural determinism, a major principle introduced by Harris who explains the relationship between the infrastructure, structure and super structure and their respective order in the overall structure (Gelinas 73).

Marxism, a modern social theory that derives its main components from Marx’s ideologists. This theory greatly as envisioned by Rodgers 63, emphasizes class struggle and material causation.

Society which is a group of people living in a distinct territory is subjected to a common system of political governance, and share a common culture.

Class, refers to socioeconomic differentiations between groups of individuals which create variations in their life opportunities and power.

The theoretical framework refers to a collection of interrelated concepts. A theoretical framework incorporates concepts and explains the relation of one concept to another. A sociological theoretical framework takes into consideration social aspects or concepts in theories and interrelates them (Gramberge 22). These concepts or variables are then subjects to hypothesis testing to determine their dependability.

Culture and materialism are basic concepts considered in the social sphere. Cultural Materialism takes into consideration the external environment composed of the physical/ biological environment, the political and technological environment which influences cultural changes (Gramberge 43). Culture is molded by factors such as customs, beliefs, taboos, geographical locations among others. These make up the subset of the cultural concept that forms the dependent variable. Materialism on the other hand focuses on the conditions that humans are exposed to such as economic and technological changes which are independent and hence act as driving forces for cultural dynamicity.

The sociological theoretical framework also incorporates the infrastructure, structure and superstructure as basic social variables. These are then hypothetically tested to prove the relationship amongst them to come up with a well founded theory.

Culture, materialism, infrastructure, structure and superstructure are concepts that relate to cultural materialism.

Cultural Materialism is a theory that has been developed recently and still faces challenges from idealists and post- modernists. However, cultural materialism sheds light on the perception of the need to incorporate rules and regulations in scientific explorations. In addition, the interrelationship between the infrastructure, structure and superstructure gives an appreciation of the importance of interactions and mutual dependence of life’s spheres both emic and etic (Gelinas 88).

From Raymond William’s perspective, the need to embrace change is essential to pave way for personal growth. This however is left to humans to choose. Making the right choices offers future opportunities for development. Criticism should also be embraced wholesomely for specific changes to take place.

Works Cited

Gelinas, Grace. The Encyclopedia of Socio-cultural Anthropology. London; New York: Routledge.1997.

Rogers, Danny. Cultural Materialism: the science of culture. Iowa: University of Iowa.

1999.

Milner, Andrew. The Essence of Cultural Materialism.UK: Sage.2000.

Gramberge, Krisberg. Theoretical Framework: sociology in perspective. Melbourne: Harcourt Brace.2001.

Section 1 Identification Questions

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Section 1: Identification Questions

“Bread, Land, and Liberty” was a slogan for Puerto Rico’s Newly formed party, the Popular Democratic Party (PPD). Led by Marin, the slogan symbolized three symbols that galvanized the military-political struggle.

Luis Muñoz Marin was a journalist, statesman and politician. In 1948, he became the first Governor of Puerto Rico to be elected democratically.

Rio Piedras Massacre was a peaceful massacre in Ponce, Puerto Rico, that led to the killing of over 19 Puerto Ricans and wounding of more than 200 others.

Jose Campeche y Jordan was a Puerto Rican painter that is known for his painting and religious imagery.

Julia de Burgos was a renowned celebrated literary icon whose themes of feminism, love, migration, blackness, nationalism, and nature helped birth the Nuyorican movement of 1960.

Nuyorican is a term used to refer to an individual of Puerto Rican descent that is a former or current resident of New York City.

A gag law prevents the public disclosure of information on a specific issue.

Downes v. Bidwell was a 1901 case in which the Supreme Court made the decision as to whether the territories of the United States were subject to the protections and provisions of the U.S constitution.

Pedro Albizu Campos was the leading figure in the independence movement of Puerto Rico.

Operation Bootstrap is the name that was given to numerous projects that transformed the Puerto Rican economy into a more developed and industrial one.

Section 2: Short Answer Questions

What attracted Puerto Ricans to Hartford after World War II was that they had an opportunity to apply their skills and intellect to their economy. Back home, the Puerto Rican economy was shifting from a mono-cultural economy to a platform of export factory production.

The United States became involved with Puerto Rico in a bid to liberate the inhabitants from the Spanish colonial rule that had recently imposed limited autonomy on its government.

The PPD party advocates that the United States should continue as a commonwealth but with self-governance. The Nationalist Party, on the other hand, had the primary goals to liberate Puerto Rico and attain independence.

The Foraker Act made it possible for Puerto Rico to have a civil government leading to free travel between the United States and Puerto Rico.

Operation Bootstrap was a policy for development that was enacted after World War II in Puerto Rico to attain rapid industrialization of the economic structure of the island.

Essay Question 3:

How Puerto Rico Attained Self Government

Puerto Rico has been under the colonial rule of the Spanish empire for more than 400 years. The island became a sovereign nation in 1897 after signing the Charter of Autonomy by the-then Spanish Prime Minister, Praxades Mateo Sagasta. However, it was not until 1948 that Puerto Rico attained self-government. This was after Congress instructed the people of Puerto Rico to choose their governor in the general election of 1948. Around the same time, Congress came up with a line of succession in the event of the governor’s temporary absence or disability. This essay details the United States’ takeover of Puerto Rico, including the conditions and events that led to the takeover.

Illiteracy, poverty, disease, and malnutrition pervaded the Puerto Rican population at the time. These social stresses ignited a wave of low-income workers to move to the United States in the 1930s. At the time, the rate of unemployment was about 65%. Towards the end of the nineteenth century, Puerto Rico’s strategic value for the United States centered around military and economic interests. The island was valuable to the United States policymakers as it served as an outlet for extra manufactured goods. It also served as a key naval station for the Caribbean.

In July 1898, towards the end of the American-Spanish war, the United States invaded Puerto Rico. The island was Spain’s possession. Without much resistance, the U.S. troops managed to secure the land. After signing an armistice with Spain, the island was handed over to the U.S forces on October 18, 1898 (Duany, 47). General John R. Brooke was appointed military governor. In December, the war between America and Spain came to an end following the signing of the Treaty of Paris. This officially marked the cession of the island to the United States.

During the first 30 years of its rule, the United States government had made efforts to Americanize the island. This included granting Puerto Ricans full United States citizenship in 1917. They had also taken steps to make English the island’s national language. But in the 1930s, the Popular Democratic Party started a nationalist movement across the island, further opposing the United States’ assimilation. Starting in 1948, Puerto Ricans started electing a governor. In 1952 the United States Congress approved the island’s Constitution. The constitution qualified Puerto Rico to be an independent United States commonwealth, and its inhabitants retained American citizenship. Puerto Rico’s constitution was formally adopted on July 25, 1952. After gaining support across the island, movements for Puerto Rican statehood and other movements have gained popularity. In a recent referendum held in 2020 to decide Puerto Rico’s status, the majority of the people voted for its statehood.

In closing, before Puerto Rico became a self-governing state, it used to be a possession of the United States. However, Spanish colonizers had claimed the land for over three decades before the U.S troops invaded the island and seized power. Puerto Rico did not elect its first governor until 1948, although its constitution became formally adopted after a few years.

Works Cited

Duany, Jorge. Puerto Rico: What everyone needs to know. Oxford University Press, 2017.

Selected League Product Review-New York City FC

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Selected League Product Review-New York City FC

New York City FC is an American-based professional soccer club situated in New York City. It was the first and only team to compete in the highest level of American soccer, known as Major League Soccer (MLS). Currently, New York City FC is the reigning champion for the MLS cup. Since its inauguration into the MLS club in 2015, New York City FC has cemented its position as a keystone in one of the most proud and competitive sporting cities in the world. New York City FC won the MLS Cup in 2021 bringing a major trophy for the first time in more than a decade, New York City FC came into existence as a major soccer league on 21st May 2013 and debuted on March 8th 2015 against Orlando City SC on March 8th 2015. After six seasons, it was crowned the 2021 Champion in the Club’s history.

A majority of New York City Football Club is co-owned by City Football Group and the Yankee Global Enterprises. City Football Group also owns Manchester City, the English soccer club and Yankee Global Enterprises are also the owners of the New York Yankees. The first coach that was appointed, Jason Kreis, remained in office for one year before being replaced by Patrick Veira. Veira gave direction to the team until their first Cup playoff appearance that took place the following season and the runner-up berth at Supporters’ Shied in 2017 (Ginesta and Jordi, 1). The team run by Coach Viera also set a major record in the League for the biggest improvement win in a consecutive season.

In addition to football, New York City Football Club runs other programs including a Football Sports Academy, Youth Programs and Community Works. The New York City FC Academy started in 2015 with the aim of identifying and honing and producing the best youth soccer players locally within the city’s Metropolitan area. The youth system provides a professional and competitive pathway for the highest game levels for local girls and boys. Worth noting, New York City Boys Academy has registered unprecedented success in domestic competition after winning the U-19 USSDA National Championships in 2018 and 2018 back to back making the first club to attain such a milestone at such an age group (Lee, 367). The football club also runs youth programs that aim at supporting youth organizations and soccer players by complementing and assisting them by offering supplementary soccer programs in the form of Camps, Club Training Services, Clinics, Talent Centers and Special Events and Administration. Additionally, the club has a charity Foundation known as City in Community (CITC) which has served more than 30,000 Youths since its establishment.

The mission of the New York City Football Club is to give players the opportunity to advance in a highly rewarding and competitive soccer environment. The target audience of the New York City Football Club includes individuals of all ages from all corners of the world. The Football club targets football fanatics from across the world but with its base of operation being located in New York City, majority of the club’s target audience are mainly located from the United States.

Works Cited

Ginesta, Xavier, and Jordi de San Eugenio. “Football fans as place ambassadors: analysing the interactions between Girona FC and its fan clubs after its purchase by city football group (CFG).” Soccer & Society (2022): 1-15.

Lee, Mitchell. “Self and The City: Social Identity and Ritual at New York City Football Club.” Journal of Contemporary Ethnography 47.3 (2018): 367-395.