...Halloween: Harmless or Haram? An Islamic Perspective Every year, on the evening of October 31st, millions of children across North America paint their faces, dress up in costumes, and go door to door collecting treats. The adults often decorate their houses with ghostly figures, carve scary faces on pumpkins, and put candles in them to create “Jack-O-Lanterns.” Unfortunately, among the millions of North Americans indulging in this custom, many are also Muslims. This article will shed some light on the significance and origins of Hallow’een, and why Muslims should not participate in it. Origins of the Hallow’een Festival The ancient Celtic (Irish/Scottish/Welsh) festival called Samhain is considered by most historians and scholars to be the predecessor of what is now Hallow’een. Samhain was the New Year’s day of the pagan Celts. It was also the Day of the Dead, a time when it was believed that the souls of those who had died during the year were allowed access into the “land of the dead”. Many traditional beliefs and customs associated with Samhain continue to be practiced today on the 31st of October. Most notable of these customs are the practice of leaving offerings of food and drink (now candy) to masked and costumed revelers, and the lighting of bonfires. Elements of this festival were incorporated into the Christian festival of All Hallow’s Eve, or Hallow-Even, the night preceding All Saint’s (Hallows’) Day. It is the glossing of the name Hallow- Even...
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...Appreciate Irish Heritage Introduction The Irish culture is rich in customs, beliefs, and practices with substantial significance in the current times. It also constitutes traditions, literature, music, art, language, legends, sport and cuisine associated with Irish people living in the United States. These aspects of the Irish heritage are not homogeneous among natives of Ireland because of cultural divides that exist between rural Irish and urban Irish, Protestants and Catholics, settled population and travellers, native population and immigrants as well as disparities in language among Irish people. As such, Irish heritage is diverse with different elements that vary depending on the specific area of origin or consideration. The vast flow of people from Ireland to America from 1740 to 1922 is attributable to the modern Irish history in the United States. During this time, about seven million people of Irish origin immigrated to North America. In the attempts to adjust to the demands or requirement of modern industrializing world, some adjustments were made on Irish culture and identity, both personal as well as national. The native Irish culture was linked with the American culture to form the Irish-American culture, a blend of both cultures. However, considerable aspects of the Irish culture are depicted in the practices, festivals, religion, and culture of the contemporary Irish communities living in the United States. Furthermore, several elements of this culture...
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...The Influence of Cultural Adaptation on Disney Theme Parks By 駱巧瑜Chaio-Yu, Lou 陳奎因Kuei Yin, Chen 楊凱智Kai-Chih, Yang 徐仁軒Ren-Xuan, Shiu Department of Applied English Ming Chuan University Kweishan, Taoyuan, Taiwan June, 2010 The Influence of Cultural Adaptation on Disney Theme Parks By 駱巧瑜Chaio-Yu, Lou 陳奎因Kuei Yin, Chen 楊凱智Kai-Chih, Yang 徐仁軒Ren-Xuan, Shiu A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Arts in Applied English Approved by ________________ Chia-Chin Susan Sung, M.S. Chairperson of the Committee _______________ Chao-Chang Wang, Ph.D. Chairperson of the Department of Applied English Department of Applied English Ming Chuan University Kweishan, Taoyuan, Taiwan June, 2010 Abstract Disneyland is a fascinating worldwide industry, and also the most successfully run theme park in the world. When it comes to theme parks, Disney will be the first thing that comes to everyone’s mind. Because of the great success of Disney, researchers want to look into the reasons why it is so important and so attractive to the entertainment industry. For example, Disney’s Asian theme parks usually would apply local customs and festivals into their programs. And by doing so, it draws more local tourists to attend the events. Disney always pays attention to these cultural factors and uses them to its advantages. Plus,...
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...This issue revolves around the idea that costumes that come from cultures besides your own culture/ethnicity is culturally appropriation thus immoral or bigotry. Though what should be obvious about this issue is that cultures from European descent are not put under the same scrutiny, because white people oddly enough don’t care what people dress up as, and they really shouldn’t. The fact is this is a widespread phenomenon where students protest or are enraged by people wearing Halloween customs. Consider Yale, a school that ought to be prestigious and provide a sense of intellectual honor to go there, though apparently students themselves disagree when speaking about the college campus. “[Silliman College] It is not about creating an intellectual space! It is not!”(Hartocollis par. 7). This was yelled at Dr. Christakis while he was confronted walking around the university due to his wife’s email that had objected to the students demanding the school enforced what could and couldn’t be wore for Halloween. Not surprisingly from a debacle where students heckled both Dr. Christakis and Ms. Christakis, Ms. Christakis voluntarily left her position at Yale and Dr. Christakis also voluntarily stepped down from his position as Head of Silliman...
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...part of that community. The best source for information would be organizations, which provide links to the various support groups it sponsors. Some of the things that I have learned were about the GLBT (Gays, Lesbians, Bisexual, and Transgender) community and the struggle for the social acceptance, and the same kind of marital union. To see the changes that are taking place and the strides that are left to take place, it is like witnessing a present day civil rights movement and in many respects it is just that. Throughout this process I have learnt some things new about my own cultural history, traditions that I have never celebrated due to not understanding the significance before. There are many traditions I am still currently learning, but to learn more about the day of the dead was really interesting. This day what it is known as for the Americanized Mexican- Americans is a day very much like Halloween, you dress up and have a party. For those who keep to the traditions it is a day in which you honor the dead, by presenting them with gifts of food...
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...Rationalize the reasons behind customs Student’s Name: Institution: Date of Submission Joy is the state of happiness and a sense of satisfaction as an individual. We all seek to be happy at all times and in fact humans struggle, come up with inventions, at times are cruel to others in wars, we study, start revolutions and follow certain belief systems all in the quest of finding happiness. Customs are the practices and systems followed by particular people or even a religion. They are also the generally accepted ways of behaving and doing things in a particular society. The customs followed can be a good way of differentiating the affiliation to one group from the other. The customs are so much intertwined with the human quest for joy and happiness. We in fact follow customs that we feel convicted that we are going to get the sense of fulfilment from and be better individuals. We can therefore attribute human actions and believes to their quest for happiness and joy. For example in religion, most individuals practice it all because of the promise of the joy to come later in life. Among the Christians, the believers are persistent and resilient in life despite the challenges that they go through to remain faithful to the teachings of the Lord God as is prescribed in the Holy Bible that they use as a point of reference. They are able to beat the challenges on earth and even an illustration of Job in the Bible who went through very traumatic experiences as a test from Satan but...
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...drinks. Many tourists travelling abroad rarely cite food as the major reason for their travel. However, there has been growth in the popularity of certain foods such as Chinese, Indian and Mexican, which has increased the number of people travelling for culinary purposes (Croce & Perri, 2010, p.56). Gastronomic tourists are usually couples of middle age whose income is above average and are usually professionals. This is also similar for other types of tourists. However, those who travel purposely for food spend more than half of their budgets on food. Food, just like many other cultural artifacts is specific for certain countries or regions. As such, a person looking for unique food and drinks would normally demand authentic and different foods that are different from what they are used to. For tourism site to appease such tourists, it is forced to produce foods that are unique to their cultural heritage. This creates a desire in the tourists to explore the culture from where the food came from and eventually, regions are able to showcase their uniqueness while using food as their symbol. Gastronomy when used as a tourism product has a positive effect on the economies of marginalized or rural areas. Due to curiosity, foods tourists like to experience the whole...
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...Explore how "Stalker-Lewis Farinella"(2008), "Lovefield-Matthieu Ratthe"(2008) and "Vanished-NewDawnFilm"(2010) conform and deviate from horror genre conventions. The aim of this research investigation into genre is to gain an understanding in the way that horror films are constructed and created to effectively represent the genre to its audience. This will expand my understanding of how technical, audio codes, setting and characterization are frequently used in constructing a piece of media text to either reinforce or deviate from stereotypes and audience's expectations. Bateman states that "Audiences are said to like the concept of genre (although we may not identify it by that name) because of its reassuring and familiar promise of repetition and variation" (A. Bateman, 2010, pg46.) During my independent research into horror and genre, conflicting arguments have become apparent in regards to genre and its definition. Bennett identifies genre as, "Encompassing groups of texts and categorizing them according to the characteristics they have in common" (Bennett, 2006, pg26) where as writer Barry Keith's arguments are contradictory stating that; "Genre movies are always about the time and place in which they are set." (Grant, 2006, pg6) Theses quotes have enabled me to identify the three pieces of horror genre media texts that I am going to analyze for my research investigation and how their construction is used to appeal to its audience with reference to; "Stalker-Lewis...
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...In general literature review means to explain and analyse investigation that has been conducted and studied that have been published on the research topic. Not only should relevant literature be summarized, but it should be reviewed critically in order to detect areas for further research. Since this project is aimed at the investigation on event management in emerging market, the discussion of different research topics is necessary. The topic that will be covered are: the concept of Integrated Marketing Communication, Marketing Communication vehicals and objectives, event marketing as part of Marketing Communication, the organization of and critical factors in event Management institutional voids in emerging markets, and strategies for companies operating in emerging markets. Event management involves studying the intricacies of the brand, identifying the target audience, devising the event concept, planning the logistics and coordinating the technical aspects before actually executing the modalities of the proposed event. Post-event analysis and ensuring a return on investment have become significant drivers for the event industry. Event management has emerged over the past decade as a dynamic sector of the tourism and leisure industries. The number, diversity and popularity of events has also grown throughout this period. As the number of events increase, there is a growing realization about the continuing need to develop event management professionals who are able...
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...creates linkages among the limited writings in the literature regarding folk medical practices of Appalachians and also draws examples of folk medicine usage from qualitative research and professional intervention with this client group. The author focuses on how mainstream health care professionals may assess the role of folk medicine in the lives of their clients by approaching folk medicine as a focal and culturally-imbedded component of their clients' overall health care. Moreover, the author addresses the need for health care professionals to become not only aware of folk medical practices, but to act as advocates for culturally competent health care within the larger health care delivery system which largely overlooks or downplays the significance of folk medicine. In an age of expensive and constricted mainstream health care services and the implementation of managed care, the author examines how folk medical practices factor into primary health care. PMID: 9418440 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] This article presents an approach to the evaluation of patient-held beliefs and behaviors that may not be concordant with those of biomedicine. Physicians and patients often hold discrepant models of health and illness that may affect the effectiveness of communication during the clinical visit. An extreme example of such a discrepancy exists when the patient feels that he or she has an illness that is not defined within the biomedical paradigm. These are commonly referred to as...
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...aspirations of the text and its author. Although none of the approaches to the thematic concerns of Fight Club are unjustified, in the argument that follows I will suggest that conclusions drawn and critical judgments passed have been hasty, and not only failed to take into account the formal aspects of story-telling, but that the narrative features of Palahniuk’s text have largely went unexplored, and constitute a blind spot of the reception. Critics condemning or acclaiming the novel, and, indeed, many a cultic reader of Palahniuk ignored Fight Club as a literary narrative, and have inadvertently been repeating the catchphrases of the text, either reinforcing or trying to undermine what they have understood as their meaning. I see the significance of Palahniuk’s fiction and the literary event of Fight Club’s publication in somewhat different terms. Palahniuk’s emphasis and continued insistence on minimalism suggest that his fiction is properly understood as belonging to a literary tradition whose evaluation remains troubled and, for a large part, unsettled. Nevertheless,...
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...American Holidays The following are holidays that we celebrate in the United States: New Years Eve and New Years Day New Years Day is the first day of the year, January 1st. it is a celebration of the old year and the new one to come. People make New Years Resolutions each New Years and promise themselves that they will keep this resolution until next year. New Years Eve is a major social event. Clubs everywhere are packed with party-goers who stay out all night and go nuts at midnight. At midnight it is a tradition to make lots of noise. The traditional New Years Ball is dropped every year in Times Square in New York City at 12 o’clock. This event can be seen all over the world on television. Valentine’s Day Saint Valentine’s Day is a day that is set aside to promote the idea of “love”. It is celebrated on February 14th. People send greeting cards or gifts to loved one and friends to shoe them that they care. Easter Easter is a major Christian holiday that commemorates the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is celebrated on Sunday between March 22 and April 25. The 40 days leading up to Easter are observed as Lent. Besides the religious aspects of Easter, people also celebrate spring or the sign of the new life. Flowers are seen everywhere. There are often Easter Parades such as the one in New York City where people dress up in their new spring clothes. Children receive Easter baskets filled with candy Easter eggs, chocolate bunnies and jelly beans! The dying...
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...Running Head: Analysis of 1960s gendered media norms from the perspective of the 1960s and 2000s Analysis of 1960s gendered media norms from the perspective of the 1960s and 2000s Univers Communications 30 Gendered film norms from the 1960s and 2000s: An Introduction From its most primitive years, popular films have discussed the part of gendered norms both on screen and as viewers. Actually, emphasizing its significance to different account and standard patterns, violence against women has been conceptualized as immanent in typical Hollywood and all over more recent popular cinema. Various feminist film theorists have judged conventional filmmaking as comprised of creation and display practices imbricate in a certain set of social and political power relationships. In the procedure, these writers have proposed complicated expression of the relationships between filmic representations and cinema's place in society. The mainstream feminist film theory that grew in the 1970s depended on the idea of cinematic equipment by the help of which film technologies interrelated with the ideological determinants of the cinematic associations. In her work, most remarkably the essay, "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema," (1975) Laura Mulvey stressed the problem of the female aspects in classical Hollywood and, particularly, in films of Josef von Sternberg and Alfred Hitchcock. Female spectators are presented with a choice to make out with either a male character or secondary...
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...THE KOREAN MANAGEMENT SYSTEM Cultural, Political, Economic Foundations Chan Sup Chang and Nahn Joo Chang Q Quorum Books Westport, Connecticut London Preface We approached the Korean management system from a cultural context. Although they share a common Oriental culture with other neighboring nations, Koreans maintain a unique culture. This culture, combined with the impact of the geopolitical environment of the Korean peninsula, results in a unique behavioral pattern. Thus, managers and workers in the Korean management system behave differently from their counterparts in other countries. The Koreans have accomplished remarkable economic success since the 1960s, and their management system has played a major role in contributing to this phenomenal economic achievement. Entrepreneurs, top executives, managers, and workers in the management system are all integral parts of the system, and they have performed their assigned jobs effectively. Therefore, to comprehend the unique nature of this Korean management system, we performed an in-depth analysis on its performance. The external environment of the Korean management system is a crucial factor in understanding it. In this kind of environment, the role of government is prominent because without active support from the government, no enterprise can survive and prosper. The government, in return, demands some favors from these enterprises, making this a quid pro quo, a unique feature of the Korean management system. We will...
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...All About Japan "A land of incredible diversity: modern yet steeped in custom; home of the friendliest of welcomes. A country of blazing neon lights and rugged mountains, coasts and valleys." Japan has a fascinating and multifaceted culture; on the one hand it is steeped in the deepest of traditions dating back thousands of years; on the other it is a society in a continual state of rapid flux, with continually shifting fads and fashions and technological development that constantly pushes back the boudaries of the possible. It could therefore be said that Japan is a country of stark contradictions and is in part this that makes it such a fascinating country to visit and unique tourist destination. If you are looking for something different you are sure to find it here! People One people, one race? Japanese people appear at first glance to be one of the most socially and ethnically homogenous groups in the world. It is reasonable to equate Japan’s rapid post-war economic development to the 1990s with social solidarity and conformism. Despite labour shortages since the 1960s, authorities resisted officially sanctioning foreign workers until the 1980s, relying on increased mechanization and an expanded female workforce instead (1). Until recently, Japanese workers have associated themselves primarily with the company they work for – a businessman will introduce himself as ‘Nissan no Takahashi-san’ (I am Nissan’s Mr Takahashi). By extension, we might get the idea that a Japanese...
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