...category of cultural identity in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s The Thing Around Your Neck Dr Elizabeth Jackson University of the West Indies St Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago Having begun my academic career, not so long ago, as a postcolonial scholar, I have become increasingly critical of postcolonial theory on the grounds that for an increasing number of literary texts by so-called postcolonial writers, postcolonial theoretical approaches may have outlived their usefulness. One example is the Nigerian-born writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s collection of short stories The Thing Around Your Neck, published in 2009. My paper will examine the ways in which these stories explore the limits of diaspora as a category of cultural identity and move toward a more flexible conceptualization of the impact of globalization on people’s sense of themselves and their place in the world. Although the main characters in these stories are of Nigerian origin, few of them fit easily into the limiting categories of ‘Nigerian’ or ‘Nigerian diaspora’. This is not only because their geographical placement is often in flux, but also because their sense of identity is not based on nationality, national origin, or even a sense of belonging to a Nigerian diaspora. On the contrary, they can arguably be described as ‘cosmopolitan’ – not in the old elitist sense of the term, but in the sense of transcending the limitations of nationality or national origin as a category of cultural identity. Indeed...
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...which indicated that the ratio of consumers using online services has raised from 8 per cent in 2010 to 30 per cent now while call volumes are in a declining trend. Application of concepts There are some concepts related to socio-cultural environment and corporate social responsibility (CSR) in this action taken by Telstra. As the company stated, jobs cut is necessary and it is an aggressive push to costs cut, which caused by changes in customer preferences (Battersby 2012). Richard (n.d) outlined that a successful business must be aware of changes in cultures in societies in order to stay competitive advantage and stay in minds of customer preferences. Further, the growth of Internet use has become as abundant evidence leads to emerging of global culture; therefore global strategy should be revised as social cultural environment changed (Morrison 2008). According to Dani Rodrik (cited in Tan n.d), professor of international political economy at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, the global integration of goods and services has not only reduced the barriers of trade, but also created conflict between nation's norms, institutions and collective preferences. CSR is demonstrated in offshore jobs may be difficult for the company because of cultural differences, as reported by Battersby (2012). Moreover, the Community and Public...
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...Romaine Smith Susan Doody ENG 111 02/14/13 Outline The positive impact music has on one’s identity In his musical lyrics, Bob Marley, a singer, songwriter and musician, motivates people across the world with his positive and encouraging music. In his biggest hi “One Love, One Heart, Let’s Get Together and Feel Alright,” created an atmosphere of love and exhilaration 2among people of different backgrounds and culture. After his death, Marley was venerated by people all over the world for his outstanding work and role model to the society. An icon had died. The positive influence of a song can reflect one’s character in different ways. One’s culture, attitude and appearance create an identity that can leave a positive impact on society. The cultural identity is those attributes, behavior patterns, lifestyles, and social structures that distinguish a person from another. Culture is learned and passed through generations and includes the believes and value system of a society. If we can examine the role of culture in a group formation, for example. If participants are told they share musical taste with an individual, they are more likely to appraise them positively and want to become their friend….. All these components of culture have an effect on one’s character. Music can have both positive and negative influences on one’s attitude. For example, a child that tends to listen more positive and...
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...Identity based views of the corporation Insights from corporate identity, organisational identity, social identity, visual identity, corporate brand identity and corporate image Abstract Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to consider advances in corporate identity scholarship on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the first special edition of corporate identity to appear in the European Journal of Marketing in 1997. Design/methodology/approach – The paper takes the form of a literature review. Findings – The notion of, what can be termed, “identity-based views of the corporation” is introduced. Each of the ten identity based perspectives that inform the above are underpinned by a critically important question which is believed to be of considerable saliency to marketing scholars and policy advisors alike. As a precursor to an exposition of these ten perspectives, the paper discusses five principal schools of thought relating to identity and identification ((the quindrivium) which can be characterised as: corporate identity (the identity of the organisation); communicated corporate identification (identification from the organisation); stakeholder corporate identification (an individual, or stakeholder group’s, identification with the organisation); stakeholder cultural identification (an individual, or stakeholder group’s, identification to a corporate culture); and envisioned identities and identifications (this is a broad category and relates to how an organisation, or group...
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...this goal. Unfortunately, the iCall did not bring the success that Taiwan Taxi hoped it would which left management questioning why the system worked so well in one country and not the other. The answer to this lies in the cultural differences and a lack of understanding of the Taiwan labor force that is currently working in the taxi industry. In order to successfully implement the iCall in Taiwan, management needs to tie value to the system in order to gain support from its employees and the public. This can be done internally through the use of incentive programs, as well as externally though marketing and advertising efforts focused on safety and efficiency. Problem Statement and Project Goals Management’s failure to understand cultural differences and their impact on the implementation of a GPS system in Taiwan has led to Taiwan Taxi’s failure in obtaining its 20,000 member goal. Analysis Management Taiwan Taxi based their implementation of the iCall after the success of a similar GPS system in Singapore. The company reasoned that since Singapore and Taiwan were similar in size and density that Taiwan would have equal success in the implementation of new technology in their taxi cabs. Management however, failed to realize that the severe cultural differences would play a significant role in the success of the iCall. Many subscribers felt that the iCall system added no value to their services. One user explained, “You know what; the GPS is actually useless. You...
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...Ondaatje’s novel as a “mystery of identity” (449). Similarly, Aritha van Herk identifies “fear, unpredictability, secrecy, [and] loss” (44) as the central features of the novel and its female protagonist. Anil’s Ghost, van Herk argues, presents its readers with a “motiveless world” of terror in which “no identity is reliable, no theory waterproof” (45). Ondaatje’s novel tells the story of Anil Tessera, a Sri Lankan expatriate and forensic anthropologist working for a UN-affiliated human rights organization. Haunted by a strong sense of personal and cultural dislocation, Anil takes up an assignment in Sri Lanka, where she teams up with a local archeologist, Sarath Diyasena, to uncover evidence of the Sri Lankan government’s violations of human rights during the country’s period of acute civil war. Yet, by the end of the novel, Anil has lost the evidence that could have indicted the government and is forced to leave the country, carrying with her a feeling of guilt for her unwitting complicity in Sarath’s death. On one hand, Anil certainly embodies an ethical (albeit rather schematic) critique of the failure of global justice. On the other, her character stages diaspora, in Vijay Mishra terms, as the “normative” and “ exemplary … condition of late modernity” (“Diasporic” 441) — a condition usually associated with the figure of the nomad rather than the diasporic subject — and thus raises questions about the novel’s regulatory politics of diasporic identity. In contrast, Anita Rau Badani’s...
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...existence. There are more or less 7 billion people living in this world and very few of them could mark their name by doing some exceptional things in their lives. Some are famous and loved by most of the people while there are some people who are notorious and people dislike them. But majority of the people in this world are simply good for nothing. They come and they die and nobody even notice their presence and their absence as well. (Olson, 2002) If we have to categorize the expression of identity we may find that basically there are two different classes of identity these are social identity and personal identity. Social identity is a collective identity. Social Identity refers to the procedure by which people use to be characterized themselves in terms as well as groups which they share in the company of other inhabitants in the society. (Deaux, 2001) Social identity theory is a prominent theory, which may highlights the way of social identification of the people. The theory of social identity is a theory, which is intended to...
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...RUNNING HEADING: CULTURAL DIFFERENCES University of Phoneix September 23, 2013 Dr. Victoria Anyikwa Culture refers to a set of shared values, beliefs, and norms held by individuals of a group. Culture includes customs, material artifacts, and language that is transmitted from generation to generation. In the United States alone, there are several cultural differences. People do not dress the same, have the same religion, people have different perceptions of the world around them, have different languages, and also have different ways of expressing their personality. Differences between individuals within a culture are much greater than differences within groups. A person's belief, personality, sexual preferences, social standing, education, among other factors affect human behavior and culture. Recognizing and understanding differences in cultural patterns provides a framework for interpreting goals and behaviors of others. The purpose of this paper is to analyze religion and sexual identify/ orientation and point out their significance in understanding cultural differences. Religion Religions throughout the world are distinct in differences and relationship, with some having faith in saints, some in sacrifices and some in multiple gods. Religion is observed throughout the world in unlike traditions in few factors or other and can affect an individual’s behavior in his or her own tradition. According to Santrock (2010), people in numerous traditions will carry...
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...Question 1 Economic factors include economic growth, interest rates, exchange rates and the inflation rate. These factors have major impacts on how businesses operate and make decisions.. There are economic differences that influence the relationship between the partners at Shui Fabrics. Chiu Wai operated Shanghai Fabrics LTC located in China, before it became a joint venture with Rocky River Industries in the United States. When the companies became a venture, Chiu Wai became the Deputy General Manager for Shui Fabrics in China and venturing company Rocky River Industries located in US. Ray Betzell who is the General Manager for Shui Fabrics came to China from Rocky River Industries. Many companies who do business in others countries and cultures fail miserably. Managers must do their homework and learn the business ethic and culture lifestyles before even considering venturing into markets in different counties. To me it seems like neither of the managers did their homework and are having problems maintaining the economic factors that influence their company Political officials are going to be a big part of the team because they have strong influence on economic life in China. Ray must reach out to them and understand their goals. Success will depend on the personal involvement of top executives. The partners differ dramatically in terms of what constitutes an acceptable financial return. Chiu Wai is happy with achieving a 5% to 6% profit and believes he is viewed as a local...
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...1. Stereotypes, narratives, ideologies and discourses are devices that, in different ways according to different theorists, fortify media power. Critically analyse how these devices work, according to various theorists, and reflect upon which best explains communicative power. The social construction of reality is mediated through the communicative powers of stereotypes, narratives, ideologies and discourses and the media is extremely powerful in communicating messages with these devices. It will be argued that discourses are the most powerful communicating device used by the media in the postindustrial era today. Furthermore as per Croteau & Hoynes (2014, p. 9), the analysis will focus on recognised mass media that is readily available in print, film, radio, television, sound recordings and the Internet. Poststructuralists within sociology examine the structures of society and human agency. Human agency or action is influenced by sociocultural factors such as ideology that shape human identity and act subconsciously over an individual. Ideology is the system of meaning that helps explain, define and make value judgments about the world (Croteau & Hoynes 2014, p. 152). As we live in an interconnected world there are many ideologies as there are social structures in any given society. Related to this is that dominant ideas are hegemonic. Marx created the superstructure, which is the domain of ideas for example religion, legal structures, family, institutions...
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...What are some characteristics and examples of "adaptation" and why it is of interest or concern to anthropologists? Give examples of behavior adaptation today or in the past. Adaptation chapter 18 Adaptation refers to beneficial adjustments of organisms to their environment, a process that not only leads to changes in the organisms but also impacts their environment. Food foraging is the oldest and most universal type of human adaptation and typically involves geographic mobility, Horticulture more permanent settlements , while pastoralism required mobility to seek out pasture and water cultural adaptation A complex of ideas, activities, and technologies that enable people to survive and even thrive. convergent evolution In cultural evolution, the development of similar cultural adaptations to similar environmental conditions by different peoples with different ancestral cultures. What does race mean and how does this impact racism? Biological race concept race In biology, the taxonomic category of subspecies that is not applicable to humans because the division of humans into discrete types does not represent the true nature of human biological variation. In some societies race is an important social category. In biology, a race is defined as a subspecies, or a population of a species differing geographically, morphologically, or genetically from other populations of the same species Racism, a doctrine of superiority by which one group justifies...
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...Communication 389 CSULA Summer 2014 ICC Artifact Two 7/27/14 ICC Artifact assignment: The Cochlear Implant Controversy According to our text in Chapter 7 Nonverbal code and cultural space there are certain aspects of the culture and its relationship to nonverbal activity. Personal–contextual and the static–dynamic dia- lectics. Although nonverbal communication can be highly dynamic, personal space, gestures, and facial expressions are fairly static patterns of specific non- verbal communication codes. Their interpretation will vary depending upon its context and culture that it is being communicated to. The chapter talks about how different the dynamics of intercultural nonverbal communication are across different cultural groups. In this ICC artifact assignment we will examine and look at the topic of The Cochlear implant controversy. The controversy involves the scientific hearing assistance breakthrough device for the deaf community, and whether or not its use and development will be the ultimate removal of and extinction of the deaf community as a culture. The following essay will examine the relevance and truth to this argument and examine the negative and positive manifestations to the Deaf culture from the development and use of the Cochlear Implant itself. The Chapter talks about several research findings about nonverbal communication. Research investigating the universality of nonverbal communication has focused on four areas: (1) the relationship...
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... |College of Humanities | | |COM/360 Version 3 | | |Intercultural Communication | Copyright © 2010, 2009, 2004 by University of Phoenix. All rights reserved. Course Description The purpose of this course is to assist students in understanding and applying the principles of effective intercultural communication in a diverse society and in global commerce. Students will develop an understanding of why and how cultural issues influence effective communication. This course introduces techniques for improving written, oral, and interpersonal communication skills in response to intercultural settings. Policies Faculty and students/learners will be held responsible for understanding and adhering to all policies contained within the following two documents: • University policies: You must be logged into the student website to view this document. • Instructor policies: This document is posted in the Course Materials forum. University policies are subject to change. Be sure to read the policies at the beginning of each class. Policies may be slightly different depending on the modality in which you attend class. If you have recently changed...
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...Alexander Francis ENG 200 November 4, 2013 Prof. Hamann, Erika Thesis: WWII was critical to the degree at which swing influenced the development of American identity; not only through recognition of social inequalities, but furthering the development of a musical identity that still influences the modern sounds of our ever-changing culture. Why Swing Swung What separates you from others can appropriately be deemed as a series of conflict’s, conflict is critical to the development of identity; without conflict the unconscious perception of us, them, we or they would not exist. Humans being naturally prone to argument create a cultural identity designed around the conflicts in which a number of people are affected, in turn allowing people to identify with each other through common grounds; unintentionally creating a communication barrier between them and us. This model although small demonstrates how groups are formed, and can be projected upon the development of a musical identity within America during the Second World War. Possibly seen as the largest conflict in recorded history, World War II set the boundaries for numerous identities; creating a conscious affiliation of differences, people now identified themselves through stereotypes that otherwise would not have developed. Most of these conflicts or stereotypes would happen to be woven inside the United States due to propaganda: a necessary war tool developed to instill a feeling of pride and ensure a feeling of...
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...Intercultural Communication August 21, 2013 The example of poor intercultural communication between the United States of America and Mexico is how the communication significantly affected foreign policy and international commerce between the two countries. Mexico is a country of intercultural significance and neighbors the United States of America. The United States of America is traditional and within the country, many cultures exist. The work ethic and language, within intercultural communication in Mexico and the United States of America, are similar. The population of the United States exceeds 313 million people and this statistic results in America as the third largest country in the world. The diverse population of the United States is 64 percent Caucasian, 16 percent Hispanic, 13 percent Black, five percent Asian and Pacific Islander, and one percent Native American. One could state that the United States of America consists of a plethora of cultures. The population of Mexico is 113.7 million people and increasing 1.10 percent annually (Huntington, 2005). Mexico’s population is an estimated 60 percent mixture of with indigenous heritage and Spanish. The multiple indigenous groups are approximately 30 percent, and the European ancestry is approximately nine percent. The largest city in Mexico is Mexico City and New York is the largest city in the United States of America. The two cities are over 17 million, another similarity between the two countries (Rosenberg, 2013)...
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