...can say that if something is happening it has some valid or rational reason behind that happening. If it is so then the first question, which will jump into the mind, will surely be about the reason of my own 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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...“Community. Stability. Identity.” These three words are the foundation of the dystopian world created by author Aldous Huxley in his novel Brave New World. In this novel, Huxley creates a society known as the World State in which individuals are created and designed to play a specific role in society. Much of the way the society is built reflects the philosophy of Karl Marx. Huxley creates this new world to ironically mirror the ideas of Marxism in how it can ensure social stability. Or can it? Brave New World was written in 1932 during a time with no economic stability or security and after the Industrial Revolution where most of the workforce consisted of cheap labor within factories. It was a time where wealth was distributed only to those...
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...tradition, social identity can be developed with the help of this tradition. Throughout life, people develop their social identity through the environment they come from. As people get older, different people from other environments surround them. Even though we are born into a society that creates our identity when we are younger, we will begin to get of sense to develop our own identity. With the help of the phenomenological tradition, communication scholars will be able to understand that people can develop into their true identity. It is important for people to have their own identity and to be their true self. Combing the phenomenological tradition and social identity, will allow people to express themselves. In the process of expressing themselves, people will be able take a look at themselves and others to help develop into their true identity. Introduction In life, we come across different people and build relationships with them. In the process of building relationships with people, we can find ourselves being like the people we become friends with. Often times we really don’t want to be like our friends, we want to be different from them. Sometimes it is hard to develop our true identity with people if we don’t understand ourselves and other people. To be surrounded by people everyday, you would think it would be easy to maintain relationships. I feel that it is important to know the only way we can have a good relationship is to understand who we are as individuals,...
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...Gender Identity PSY 265 Kelly Bidstrup 11/18/12 Gender identity is a highly charged issue around the world. It is so here in the U.S. as well. A person has historically been termed male or female based solely on their physical sexuality. Their assigned sex is determined by the biological characteristics they possess at birth which define if a person is a “boy or girl”. Gender identity is largely termed a psychological rather than a biological issue, although biological factors do play a role in gender identity. As a general rule, gender identity is consistent with an individual’s chromosomal sex (Nevid, Rathus & Fichner-Rathus, 2005). However, gender identity does not lie in the body, but in the mind. This psychological realm makes it possible for a person’s physical sex to be inconsistent with their gender identity. An individual who is assigned the sex of male may not be psychologically able to relate to being a male. They may feel that their proper gender is more feminine instead of masculine. Their assigned sex is male, but their identity is female. A person’s biological gender can differ greatly from their gender identity. Gender roles are determined at the social, stereotypical level. Each culture establishes and maintains their version of what is normal and acceptable within that society. Gender identity can be affected by the way a person is nurtured during their early life. Parents and other caregivers generally pattern their own behavior...
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...of the world in the last decades. Primordialism and constructivism have been used to explain this phenomenon. Outline the key arguments of both theories, and then proceed to answer the following question: which theory better explains the rise of nationalism? Illustrate your answer in the context of Macau, China or any one country that you are familiar with. Brief Introduction The word nationalism was created in the late 18 centuries, but it only got popular from the 1830s. It used to convey the idea of identification with a nation in which a group of people shares common ancestry in the early time, but later it began to link with patriotism and with aspirations to statehood. This concept became widely accepted by more and more people during twentieth century. Nationalism now is defined as a subjective feeling of a membership in a nation; a belief that a nation should form the state, or a belief that the identification with the nation should be above all other forms of identity. Nowadays Nationalism has set off a wave around the world. Primordialism and constructivism can be used to explain this phenomenon. We will see the key arguments of both theories. The first one is primordialism. Key arguments of two theories The emergence of the theory of primordialism was in the second half of the eighteenth centuries, in general, primordialism assumes political identity are innate and largely unchanged. It comes with when you are born or in nature way. Since the identity is with...
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...Cultural Influences on Personality and Bicultural Identity by Veronica Benet-Martínez Name Institution Date Abstract There has been increasing numbers of bicultural individuals in many nations, among them the United States showing that bicultural identity is extremely an important aspect for research. This paper recognizes and summarizes the literature on bicultural identity of different individuals. Second, the paper analyses how the Cultural influences on personality and bicultural identity theory addresses real-world problems and the solutions it suggests for such problems. The essential characteristics of the theory as well as the continued relevance are also evaluated for the purpose of analyzing the validity of the theory as well as its accuracy. Bicultural identity integration is determined by such factors like personality, social environment, political, economic and historical context. The current status of an individual’s cultural group may influence the range of that individual’s bicultural identity integration. Keywords: Bicultural identity, biculturalism, culture, personality, psychology. Cultural Influences on Personality and Bicultural Identity by Veronica Benet-Martínez Personality psychology is generally a branch of psychology which is involved with the student of personality and how it varies among different individuals. Personality is a set of characteristics that a person possesses and that have the ability to uniquely influence the person’senvironment...
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...Conceptualizing Self-Governance in Post-Modernity: In the modern world, power is increasingly exercised by individuals upon themselves, that is, through forms of self-governance. The authority of major institutions such as the government, church, and economy, is critical to understanding the relation of personal lives and societal development. These associations shape the development of individual identities. Self-governance is demonstrated by one’s identity dovetailed with the role one might take in society. Irrespective of major institutions or other outside influence, individuals will govern their lives autonomously to some degree. In post-modernity no outside force can completely control every thought an individual has, due to the desire for independence and convenience of social networking. According to Severyn Bruyn, an individual’s sense of ‘duty, obligation, privilege, conscience, and beliefs’ is formed in society’s associations (p. 34, 2011). Therefore the history of such major associations as the family, government, the corporation, and the church, show much about one’s identity. This essay will critically examine the idea that power is increasingly being exercised by individuals upon themselves, through forms of self-governance in the modern world. The roles of self-governance in relation to political and religious orders will be explored to demonstrate sociological theory and modern world societal development with focus on Western culture. Regardless of outside...
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...24Jan2016 Identity: The Constituents of Selfhood What is identity? This is a question that organizations, religions and couch doctors have attempted to answer on people’s behalf since the formation of society. Identity is everything, a unique combination of over 10 billion sets of characteristics. No two sets are alike, all are unique. It is one’s framework. It’s these genetic characteristics that an individual identifies as belonging uniquely to them. Identity is a complex notion influenced by internal and external forces. It’s reified by both variable and invariable traits; further influenced by the combined efforts of those around. In short, individuality manifests itself from the convergence of important factors: genetics, adolescent development and cultural influences. All these elements and circumstances combine to form one singularity: identity. Genes, the basic unit of heredity are a combination of nucleic acid and evolutionary black magic. They’re the mechanism behind one’s genesis; the framework on which their identity is fastened. These characteristics are immutable (current technology withstanding). Passed on from one’s biological parents; an homage to their legacy. Subjectively speaking, genetics are profoundly constitutive of self. A person identifies and is identified to a large degree by their phenotypes, or the outward expression of their genes. From eye color to skin color, genes have a profound impact on social development and ultimately, identity. For example...
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...Table of Contents Social Identity………………………………………………………………………….3 Introduction……………………….....................................................................………3 Backgrounds………………………………………………………………….………..4 Social Identity Theory……………………………………………………...………4 - 5 Personal Identity……………………………………………………………………….5 Types of Social Identity………………………………………………….…………6 - 7 Ethnic and National Identities…………………………………………............……6 - 7 Sexual Orientation………………………………………………………..………...…..7 Social Rejection……………………………………………………………………8 - 10 Consequences of Social Identities………………………………………………..10 - 11 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………......……11 References……………………………………………………………………12 - 13 Social Identity Introduction Social identity is similar to how a person identifies themselves in relation to others to what the person has in common.( Social character is like how an individual recognizes themselves in connection to others to what the individual has in as a relatable point.) For example, in similarity of name, religion or ethnicity, gender, age, socio-economic class, professions, relationships and more. Social identity is “a mind-range theory of group membership, self-conception, and group behavior that attributes a causal role to collective self-conception.” (Hogg & Tindale, 2005). Each of us experience communication every day in order to get social identity. Social identities are measured based on the groups people socialize with. Such...
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...a multitude of various human communicative processes in which individuals deduce meaning from. Contrary to previous belief, communication is now seen as a means of self-development and establishment of individual and group identity in the seemingly ephemeral nature of communication trends. Semiotics and visual representation mediates our social worlds as we accord them high authority in the transmission of information and creation of meaningful experience. Similarly, intercultural communication provides shared understandings of the world and is a significant influence on individual and cultural identity formation. Through cross-cultural communication analysis, one can learn of how cultural and social interaction can shape a person’s micro and macro worlds through communicative processes. The study of semiotics has shed light on the nature in which individuals deduce meanings from mass media texts or visual signs. ‘Social and cultural life is invested with meaning and value by regular symbolic representations’ (Coupland & Gwyn 2003, p. 1). In a world increasingly dominated by visual signs, we find ourselves looking to these to construct meanings (Hall 1997). Through the study of semiotics and the notion of sign systems, I gained an understanding of the authority that people accord to visual representations that enables them to shape the mediated world and influence patterns of socialisation. Looking at the world from my own experience as a communicator, I realised the potential...
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...Do the monsters and the victims in horror films have any connection to contemporary social issues? Answer with reference to one or two horror films of your choice. Name: Leopold Riess Course: IR 140 Global Communications, Citizens and Cultural Politics Word Length: 1902 Story telling is an art that has been part of the human civilizations since time immemorial. In the different parts of the world, be it in Africa, the Caribbean or the European nations, the early human societies would use narrations for a variety of purposes such as entertainment, passing time or more importantly to communicate the values, traditions and principles that governed the specific society (Tudor, 1997). With the emergence of different religious schools of thought, narrations and later film work developed an inclination towards the depiction of evil versus good. The descriptions of the horrific nature of hell and the terrible demons there in was meant to scare shaky religious affiliates from deserting their faith. Since then the development of the horror film genre has advanced. According to Hogan (n.d) the first ever horror film to be produced in America was Frankenstein by Thomas Edison. In the contemporary day, the production of horror movies has been exaggerated with hard headed teenagers being the most preferred characters. As a matter of fact, some horror movies such as Friday the 13th and Freddy Vs Jackson were so popular that they made 234.6 and 224.8 million US dollars respectively...
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...Homework Assignment #1 Dissecting a Research Article Name: Jonathan Sykes Homework 1: The components of sociological research and the empirical research report. Article: Zhao, Shanyang, Sherri Grasmuck and Jason Martin. 2008. “Identity Construction on Facebook: Digital Empowerment in Anchored Relationships.” Computers in Human Behavior 24: 1816-1836. The main objective of this assignment is to familiarize you with the format of scholarly, empirical research papers. The format that the authors’ followed in this article is a guide for the research paper that you will write for this seminar. The questions included in this assignment ask you to identify and discuss the key components of the paper and to assess the quality of the authors’ arguments, data, methods, analysis and conclusions. In your responses, use your own language as much as possible. If you quote directly, you must use proper citation format. I will deduct points if you do not use correct citation format. Type your answers below each numbered item. Be sure that you save your work often so you do not lose anything. I recommend that you save an unaltered version of the assignment and refer to this on occasion to make sure that if you accidentally delete questions as you type your answers, you can re-include the question along with your answer on your final document. Make sure that you answer all of the questions. Some numbered items include more than one question. Remember to look up...
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...Does social media shape our identities? Some people believe that social media brings many positive to our lives. While others believe it is full of negativity. Social media impacts our identities by influencing internal and external forces within ourselves and the environment, self-esteem, and causes many psychological concerns. Our self-identities are how we view ourselves as individuals. According to Jim Taylor a professor at the University of San Francisco, self-identity is gained in two ways. One-way identity is gained is by evaluating our own thoughts, feelings, and behaviors based on experiences, current needs, and future goals (Taylor 2011). Second, self-identity can be gained by observing the environment that surrounds...
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...protection of human rights? 2 2. Homogenization of social and cultural identities? 5 C. CONCLUSION 6 BIBLIOGRAPHY 7 A. INTRODUCTION Over the last decades, the rapid acceleration of a process so called “globalization” has shifted our society to an era where interconnectedness, integration and interactions centered in the development of a new world, where everyone and everything are linked together one way or another. In a few recent decades, with the development in communication and technology that the world has witnessed the rapid increase in international trade, investment, immigration and the culture assimilation at an unprecedented quantity and quality never recorded before in human history. As such, globalization can be interpreted in some main characteristics: disembedding, acceleration, interconnectedness, movement, mixing, and vulnerability and re embedding. Characterized by these features, effects of globalization on different aspects are various but one cannot deny its long-term impacts on the enjoyment of human rights as well as social and cultural identities. On the one hand, people argue that this globalizing trend means homogenization of culture and social identities which diminishes the attainment of human rights, while the others believed that the concept itself not only enhance and liberate the full enjoyment of such basic rights of each individual but also mix and produce diversity of identities. Therefore, the following arguments of the essay will...
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...Explain and briefly evaluate how social class identities are created and reinforced in the contemporary UK Social class relates to the ways of life of similar social groups. The way of life involves both the culture and economic position of a group of people. Culturally it means the shared norms and values and economically it means the financial positions of the rich/poor. Both these aspects influence the way of life. Agents such as the family, media and peers create and reinforce class identities but postmodernists believe that the class system no longer exists as it has become fragmented within the contemporary UK. The family is one way of showing how social class identities are created and reinforce because the the family creates norms and values according to their social class status. During mealtimes the working class and middle class have different routines which can tell us what class they are from. For example the middle class usually eat dinner together with the family in the evening whereas the working class mealtimes are portrayed earlier to coincide with the end of the working day for manual workers. The family also represents class through how much parents take time out and devote time to a child’s school work. Reay (1998) shows that working class mothers have less time to devote to their children because they are more focused on balancing housework, childcare and paid employment but lacked understanding of the schooling system whereas mothers of the middle...
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