...Female Genital Mutilation (also incorrectly known as “female circumcision”) is an extreme cultural practice prevalent in much of North and West Africa as well as in parts of the Middle East and Asia, in which young women and girls are forced to undergo a procedure that alters or rather, mutilates their reproductive organs. Although Female Genital Mutilation, or FGM, is seen in many cultures as a way to promote purity and chastity, this paper will argue that it is in fact a reflection of the “deep-rooted inequality between sexes, and constitutes an extreme form of discrimination against women.” (WHO, 2014) Female Genital Mutilation is defined by any procedure that alters the exterior parts of a female’s reproductive organ. The literature describes four main types of FGM. The first type is called clitoridectomy. In this process surgery involves the full or partial removal of the clitoris. A second type is called excision and this occurs when the clitoris is also fully or partially removed. In addition, the labia minora is removed leaving just the labia majora intact. Infibulation is the most severe form of FGM and occurs when a seal is formed over the opening of the vagina by removing the inner or outer labia. A small hole is left for the passage of menstrual fluid and urine. The hole is...
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...The Cold War, often dated from 1947 to 1991, was a sustained state of political and military tension between powers in the Western Bloc, dominated by the United States with NATO among its allies, and powers in the Eastern Bloc, dominated by the Soviet Union along with the Warsaw Pact. This began after the success of their temporary wartime alliance against Nazi Germany, leaving the USSR and the US as two superpowers with profound economic and political differences. A neutral faction arose with the Non-Aligned Movement founded by Egypt, India, and Yugoslavia; this faction rejected association with either the US-led West or the Soviet-led East. The name "Cold War" was coined by the English writer George Orwell, after the dropping of the first atomic bombs in 1945 had ushered in a new world also foreseen by H.G. Wells. It described a world where the two major powers—each possessing nuclear weapons and thereby threatened with mutual assured destruction—never met in direct military combat. Instead, in their struggle for global influence they engaged in ongoing psychological warfare and in regular indirect confrontations through proxy wars. Cycles of relative calm would be followed by high tension, which could have led to world war. The tensest times were during the Berlin Blockade (1948–1949), the Korean War (1950–1953), the Suez Crisis (1956), the Berlin Crisis of 1961, the Cuban missile crisis (1962), the Vietnam War (1955–1975), the Yom Kippur War (1973), the Soviet war in Afghanistan...
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...Using Cultural Differences to Determine Motivational Techniques Delta State University Choosing a motivational style is such an important aspect of the culture of a company. Not fully understanding the culture of a company can limit the potential success of employees substantially. Alternatively, when a manager creates a culture of both individual and collective human excellence, employee performance increases significantly. In negative, low-performing cultures, there is confusion about goals and roles, conflict among members, disempowerment, and not much listening. Examples of positive, high-performing cultures include those that have a common known goal, an open flow of communication, a passion to deliver results, and clear roles for decision making (Anderson & Anderson, 2010, p. 189). The question is: how do managers take the business culture from the negative, low-performing culture to the positive, high-performing culture? The answer is motivation! All managers must discover what motivates their employees. Managers also must consider what pushes employees to maintain higher productivity, have increased job satisfaction, meet organizational goals, and strive to be competitive in the job market today. When a leader can understand what motivates his or her employees, then employees will invest in the improvement of the company (Adler & Gunderson, 2008, p. 184). As the business world becomes more global each and every day, managers must also begin to think more...
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...Keeping Others in Mind: The Very Social Cognition of Asian Managers Zhixing Xiao* Steven K. Su** 1 Introduction Do we need a separate model of psychology to describe how Asians process information in the managerial context? Do Asian and Western managers evaluating the same business decision take fundamentally different paths and reach different conclusions? One view might hold that just as the rules of mathematics are identical in the East and West, the rules of analysis in business will tend to be very similar, and hence no special differentiation is necessary for the Asian context. We suggest that while business organizations in each culture engage in similar behavior, there are nonetheless deep social differences that pervade how information is processed. We offer as an analogy the difference between dining in China and dining in the West. In both contexts, the major activity of the patrons is to receive a meal in exchange for payment. Aside from the fact that the food in these restaurants tastes different, many differences in venue reflect different social beliefs and assumptions. In the West, restaurants are usually equipped with rectangular tables, often suitable for two to four people, at which the diners randomly take seats. In China, it is more common to have large round tables that allow each individual to directly face a large number of compatriots. Seats around the table are not random, but instead have hierarchical status: those facing the door are usually...
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...the deaths of over 240 US Marines. It was the deadliest individual assault on US interests between World War II and the World Trade Center attacks of 2001. This act was attributed to what was then a relatively new organization, Hezbollah. It left an indelible mark on the psyche of young American policy makers of the 1980s, which explains why many in the US government still see Hezbollah as ‘the A-team of terrorism’ while regarding even al-Qaeda as ‘the B-team. However, this characterization ignores significant differences between the Beirut and the World Trade Center attacks. While Hezbollah killed military personnel in Beirut who were seen as direct participants in a local conflict the Lebanese civil war al- Qaeda attacked the US on its own soil and targeted civilians. Furthermore, the emphasis that the US continues to place on Hezbollah as a terrorist organization is undermined by the lack of ongoing threats; Hezbollah has not carried out an attack on US interests arguably since the early 1990s. Hezbollah’s attacks have been overwhelmingly directed against Israel, and they fall within the historical framework of the Arab–Israeli conflict. Compare and contrast the organization’s primary beliefs, motives, and allies with another terrorist organization of your choice According to Gaines, L, & Kappeler, V (2012), Hezbollah seeks to eradicate Western influence in Lebanon and the Middle East and is dedicated to the destruction of the State of Israel, resistance to...
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...Legal aspects of transgenderism Intersex human rights Social attitudes Heteronormativity LGBT stereotypes Queer Religion and homosexuality Religion and transgender Prejudice / Violence AIDS stigma Anti-intersex Biphobia Genderism Heterosexism Homophobia Lesbophobia Binarism Sexualism Suicide among LGBT youth Transphobia Violence against LGBT people LGBT trafficking Academic fields and discourse LGBT/Queer studies Lesbian feminism Queer theory Transfeminism Lavender linguistics Portal LGBT.svg LGBT portal v t e Celebrating same-sex marriage at the Lexington Pride Festival in 2015. Homosexuality (from Ancient Greek ὁμός, meaning "same", and Latin sexus, meaning "sex") is romantic attraction, sexual attraction or sexual behavior between members of the...
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...Differences in parental influence on adolescent academic achievement in American and Asian societies (Taiwan, China, & Japan) A lot of attention has been paid to the roles parents play in influencing adolescent academic achievement. The purpose of this project is to compare differences in parental influence on adolescent academic achievement between American and Asian societies. The Asian countries focus on Taiwan, China, and Japan. The project also offers some explanations for why Asian adolescent students outdistance American students in academic achievement. If we give a definition of achievement or achievement motivation, we can define it as people wanting to develop a competent self, or individuals having the motivation to succeed, to be good at something, to be independent and competitive, and to do well at whatever they may attempt. We can analyze Weinerís attribution theory of achievement into three dimensions: the locus of control, stability, and controllability. (Weiner, 1986) What students attribute their academic achievement to is a big issue. If students believe a failure is controllable - the result of low effort ñ they may be spurred on by that failure to do better next time. And a significant and important factor that affects studentsí attribution might be parental influence. In different countries, parents have totally different attitudes toward their childrenís academic performance. This article provides possible reasons for why Asian students outdistance...
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...research is some of the most widely cited in the management discipline, with leading journals dedicated to its study and well-recognized conferences supporting its development. The methods employed and the theory foundations used in entrepreneurship today are consistent with mainstream management research. However, entrepreneurship research can still be critiqued as almost exclusively focused on North American and European research sites. The exploration of domains outside of these two developed economic regions remains extremely limited. In particular, little is known of entrepreneurship in emerging economies: economies that are increasingly moving to market orientation and seeking to rapidly advance economically. To illustrate, several East Asian economies with large ethnic Chinese populations are considered emerging. These...
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...his article is about the academic discipline. For a general history of human beings, see History of the world. For other uses, see History (disambiguation). Page semi-protected Historia by Nikolaos Gysis (1892) Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.[1] —George Santayana History (from Greek ἱστορία - historia, meaning "inquiry, knowledge acquired by investigation"[2]) is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians. It is a field of research which uses a narrative to examine and analyse the sequence of events, and it sometimes attempts to investigate objectively the patterns of cause and effect that determine events.[3][4] Historians debate the nature of history and its usefulness. This includes discussing the study of the discipline as an end in itself and as a way of providing "perspective" on the problems of the present.[3][5][6][7] The stories common to a particular culture, but not supported by external sources (such as the legends surrounding King Arthur) are usually classified as cultural heritage rather than the "disinterested investigation" needed by the discipline of history.[8][9] Events of the past prior to written record are considered prehistory. Amongst scholars, the 5th-century BC Greek historian Herodotus is considered to be the "father of history", and, along...
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...Mission The General Education curriculum helps build the foundation for understanding historical traditions, contemporary issues, the interdependence of local, urban, national and global communities and the importance of psychological, artistic, religious and scientific inquiry. This program is designed to give the student the opportunity to interact with the multifaceted forces that are continually transforming and reshaping our world. The broad based, interdisciplinary scope of the area requirements is designed to help students acquire the knowledge, perspective, skill and professional acumen that is necessary to become thoughtful and responsible citizens and leaders in an increasingly complex world. The General Education curriculum is focused on fostering urban leadership by developing the cross-curricular emphases of writing effectively, thinking critically, managing information successfully, valuing diversity, practicing social justice, presenting orally and visually and learning to learn. Curricular Emphases: To accomplish these goals the general education curriculum, through its cross-disciplinary approach, provides exposure to a wide variety of disciplines while focusing on developing the essential, broad based, intellectual abilities of problem solving, decision making and leadership with a commitment to lifelong learning. The general education program emphasizes the development of oral and written communication skills; knowledge of the arts...
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...relations Ji Young Choi Department of Politics & Government, Ohio Wesleyan University, Elliott Hall 204, Delaware, OH 43015, USA. E-mail: jychoi@owu.edu Abstract This article examines major debates between rationalism and constructivism. It presents that there are politically significant motives of social actions, including norms and identity, which cannot be completely subsumed by the concept of instrumental rationality. These ideational or social-psychological motivations are governed primarily by thymos or affect (the moral or emotional part of the human personality) and/or valueoriented rationality. We need more flexible assumptions about main actors and their motives than those of rationalism to explain appropriately the politics of anger, loyalty and a sense of justice at international levels. However, constructivism’s emphasis on ideational motivations cannot totally replace rationalism in explaining international political life. Constructivism maintains that identity or norms are causally prior to actors’ interests. Yet when there is conflict between pursuit of interests and maintenance of identity or norms, actors’ strong and well-defined self-interests can overrule their contested or unstable identity or norms. In short, causal arrows can flow in either direction between identity or norms and interests. This implies that rationalism and constructivism are complementary rather than competitive in explaining international political life. International Politics (2015)...
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...Global Human Rights Perspective Women’s and Gender Studies 422 When using a global human rights perspective to determine solutions to the worldwide issue of violence against women, information can be analyzed to help determine root causes of abuse. Once a root cause is determined, methods of correction can begin to develop. There are many issues that impact women’s status and power that them more vulnerable to violence, some of which are introduced in ‘Women Across Cultures’, in four main themes, “Gender Inequality as a Historical, Sociocultural Phenomenon, Activism and Empowerment, Multicultural, Intersectional, Contextualized Approach, and Women’s Rights as Human Rights” (Burn, 2011). When core issued are looked at from a global perspective, organizations can begin to work together and share knowledge to assist one another. It is also for women to recognize their similarities and advocate for one another, regardless of country of origin, race, social status, and so forth. “Inequality as a Historical, Sociocultural Phenomenon” (Burn, 2011) is a way of determining the root causes of oppression in women. Some believe that due to the favorability of men, but not women being able to acquire property, leaves many women in abusive and controlling situations. Since private property rights are only available to men, this leaves women with little or no resources to leave an abusive situation (Burn, 2011). Male patriarchy is described as, “The idea that gender inequality is embedded...
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... Tonal languages, such as Cantonese, demand more volume to suggest changes in word meanings, English less so. Language/Semantic Barriers. Lack of Common Language: A very basic problem, this occurs when two people do not share a common language at all. In the modern multi-state, multi-nation business world, this can become a major barrier. The only way this barrier can be resolved is to have an open mind and show respect to other languages. One should also try to get familiar to those languages, which are absolutely necessary for day-to-day function. Faulty Translations: Unfortunately, wide differences among languages make precisely equivalent translations difficult. One reason for such differences is that languages are based on the concepts, experiences, views, and such. For example, our supermarket has no equivalent in some languages. The French have no word to distinguish between house and home, mind and brain, man and gentleman. Italians have nearly 500 words...
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...Chapter One America: Taking the Twentieth Century by Storm As the nineteenth century dissolved into the twentieth, America was all puffed up and full of herself. Anguishing wounds left by the Civil War had all but healed during the 35 years from its end. Following the Battle of Wounded Knee in 1891, a conquered western frontier was reshaped by homesteading farmers and barbed wire. Native Americans lived on reservations while the mighty herds of buffalo were part of the nostalgic past of the wild, wild west. By the end of the 1800s a transcontinental railroad linked the economies of the east coast to the west and led to the standardization of time zones across the country. Growth in industry and economic power began to transform...
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...Annotated Bibliography BSHS/345 Diversity and Special Populations Annotated Bibliography Arab Culture: Learn about Arab etiquette and protocols. (2004). In Planet Egypt online. Retrieved from http://www.planetegypt.co.uk/samoora.shtml This article discusses the difference between Arab, Middle-Eastern and Muslim people. The author talks about the region in which a person is from, as well as language and religion is what determines which group one would identify with. The history and cultures of Arabic people are provided in this article. Cacho, L. M. (2001). Asian Americans. University of Hawaii Press The article discusses the relationships between Asian Americans and their families. The author explains how they have to deal with certain stereotypes in order to succeed in a place where they are Americans, but still considered to be foreigners. The article is a good resource for understanding how Asian Americans feel in a country where so many barriers are placed upon them. Caroll, S.R. (1994, December). Why poor black children succeed or fail. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved from http://www.chicagotribune.com/africanamericancultue The conceptual article begins with the broad discussion about African American culture. It projects today’s youth and the inconsistency of what Americans idolize as equality in school systems. It discusses the present’s findings of family and individual studies that factor in the high and low achieving African-American students...
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