Misconception of Identifying Ethnic Groups by Cultural Elements Essay Example for Free

Misconception of Identifying Ethnic Groups by Cultural Elements Essay Misconception of Identifying Ethnic Groups by Cultural Elements The common misconception in relating ethnicity and culture is to define ethnic groups by cultural elements. Firstly, ethnic group is a category of people which is bound together by common characteristics that differentiate them from other groups. On the other hand, culture is a system of knowledge shared by a relatively large group of people. Culture consists of values, beliefs, religion, experiences, behaviours and traditions acquired by a group of people that is passed down generations by generations (Browaeys Price, 2008). In my essay, I would like to clarify that ethnic groups cannot be defined by their cultural elements with several examples. Commonly, characteristics and traits of an ethnic group is identified by its cultural elements. Elements such as language, religion and customs are used to differentiate a group and another. Specified cultural elements are categorized to represent different types of ethnic groups. However this assumption is not suitable to apply in many situations. It is troublesome to identify ethnic group by cultural elements. This is because the people within an ethnic group does not necessarily possess the identical cultural elements. For instance, the Cham people in Vietnam belong to one ethnic entity, however in different areas this group of people possess different cultural elements. The Cham people in south central of Vietnam and in Mekong Delta have distinctive differences in religion, language and customs. In the south central Vietnam, the Cham practise localized Hinduism and Islam as religion. They speak south central dialect and their writing is originated from a script in Sanskrit. In term of custom, these Cham people are considered matrilineal and practice exogamy. On the contrary, the Cham in Mekong Delta majorly practise Islam. They speak in Mekong Delta dialect and their writing derived from the Jawi script. In their custom, they are loosely matrilineal and practice endogamy(1). This shows that cultural elements are not suitable to determine an ethnic group. People of the same ethnic group may not necessarily practice the same culture. In the study of the Kachin people from Burma, Edmund Leach mentioned â€Å"the mere fact that two groups of people are of different culture does not necessarily imply – as has nearly always been assumed – that they belong to two quite different social systems (Leach 1954: 17)(2). To consider ethnic group as cultural group will fail to address many aspects of ethnic phenomena. Large population of the Kachin people lives in the Kachin Hill in northern Burma’s Kachin State and in neighbouring areas of China and India. They speak different languages and dialects; there is a wide difference in cultures between the same ethnic group in different area. To support this statement, I would like to provide an example; the Malay people who belonged to one ethnic entity in Malaysia are influenced by different customs. Malay people practice two distinct types of customs, the Adat Temenggung and Adat Pepatih. The former is originated from Minangkabau and widely practiced by most of the Malay states. Adat Temenggung emphasizes on patrilineal kinship structure in matters such as inheritance. In contrast, the Adat Pepatih is only practiced in Negeri Sembilan. It emphasizes more on matrilineal kinship structure, in which women gain benefit in matters such as inheritance and marriage (Shuid, Osman Othman, 2006). This depicts that people of the same ethnic group practise various and wide range of customs. Thus, it is difficult to define ethnic group by cultural elements. In the 19th and 20th century, large wave of immigrants from China came to Malaya. Now, Chinese people are the second largest ethnic in Malaysia. Majority of these Chinese are Han Chinese. There is wide spread of Chinese people in every state of Malaysia, espeacially in the town areas. Even though they are grouped as one ethnic entity, their cultural elements varied widely. Most of the local Chinese practise Buddhism and a small number of them have faith in Christianity and Islam. Futhermore, they speak variety of dialects such as Mandarin, Hokkien, Cantonese, Hakka, Teochew and many more. For example, most of the Chinese in Penang speak Hokkien whereas most of the Chinese in Kuala Lumpur speak Cantonese. Thus, the cultural elements of an ethnic are not fixed, the elements varied greatly to the extent that it is difficult to determine an ethnic group by its cultural elements. Besides that, the influence of political and economical circumstances has changes the cultural elements of the people while the ethnic identity remains. As time passes by, people within an ethnic group spread, share, learn and adapt cultures of other ethnic groups. There is the tendency for different cultures to overlapse in a society. For instance, the Chinese immigrants that came to Malaya in the late 15th to 16th century were known as Peranakan Chinese. This group of immigrants consists of merchants, traders, and those who came to escape economic hardships in mainland China. They embraced the Malay customs and cultures. Most of the Peranakan Chinese engaged in intermarriage with the local Malay. However, there are part of Peranakan Chinese people without Malay ancestry. They belong to Chinese ethnic but adopted the combination of Chinese and Malay cultures. The Malay language and cultures are assimilated into their daily lives, however their ethnic and religious origins still remain. These Peranakan Chinese speak Malay language, wear the baju kebaya, a Malay traditional clothing, and developed their cuisine with mainly Malay spices in their every day lives, they still belong to Chinese ethnic (Tan Chee Beng, 1993). Their ethnic identity cannot be determined by merely identifying their cultural elements. In conclusion, I would like to emphasize my point that ethnic groups cannot be defined by their cultural elements. Ethnic groups can hardly be measured by cultural traits as a matter of fact cultural boundaries do no always go accordingly with ethnic boundaries. Cultural traits of an ethnic group is not always fixed, people of the same ethnic group do not necessarily possess the same cultural elements. To determine ones ethnic identity by identifying his or her cultural elements with the typical cultural elements of an ethnic group is not right. The ethnic identity of a person will still remain unchanged even if his cultural elements have changed. As stated by Michael Moerman, â€Å"Someone is Lue by virtue of believing and calling himself Lue and of acting in ways that validate his Lueness† (Moerman, 1965:1219)(3). Ethnic identity can be claimed by one’s self but not by determining its cultural elements. Bibliography Browaeys M. J. , Price R. (2008) Understanding Cross Cultural Management. New York: Pearson Education. Mahdi Shuid, Suzani Osman, Sazlina Othman. (2006) Sejarah Malaysia. Petaling Jaya: Longman . Tan, C. B. (1993). Chinese Peranakan Heritage in Malaysia and Singapore. Kuala Lumpur: Penerbit Fajar Bakti Sdn Bhd. (1)(2)Power Point Slides: What is an ethnic group? Ethnic Troubles Theories of Ethnicity. (3)Reading 1: Ethnic identification in a complex civilization: who are the lue?

Rhetorical Analysis of a The New York Times Article Essay example -- A

The article titled "The man with the snow job" appears in the Opinion Pages, The New York Times. Author, Gail Collins, opens her article with the question: â€Å"Who is to blame for this weather?† which hooks readers’ attention and makes them curious about what they are going to read. In her writing, Collins talks about the current snowstorm in the United States and how it is used for everyone’s advantage. She also points out how government officials such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Al Gore, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama use the occasion of snowfall for their own purposes. The author borrows images of global warming effects to discuss some controversial problems in the society these days. She applies the following elements to establish the sarcastic tone throughout her article: hyperbole, metaphor, and simile. First, Collins uses hyperbole by repeating the word â€Å"snow† five times in one sentence: â€Å"Chicago’s snowfall was so huge that the news media ran out of things to attach to â€Å"snow† - thundersnow! snowpocalypse! snowmageddon!† (Collins). She consecutively uses three portmanteaus of the word "snow" with increasing stress level to create strong feelings. She wants to emphasize that Chicago is experiencing the most massive snowstorm in the United States, one of the consequences of global warming. This is a circumstance that causes people panic. She then reminds the readers about the blizzard of 1979 which made Mayor Michael Bilandic get â€Å"kicked out of office six weeks later in the Democratic primary.† It seems that she wants to make a connection between the congressman and a snow job. Besides hyperbole, Collins does an excellent job of using metaphors. She uses metaphor from very beginning. The phrase â€Å"snow job† in the title is a coll... ...d we have been suffering for what we have done. Human beings have to be responsible for that. Collins successfully uses the method of satire throughout her article. According to Oxford Dictionary, satire is defined as â€Å"the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues.† Humor does play a big role in this article. Government officials take the occasion of snowstorms to build their image in public, attack their opponents. And even author Collins; she uses snow to make her article interesting and attractive. Works Cited Collins, Gail. http://www.nytimes.com/pages/opinion/index.html. 2 February 2011. 8 February 2011 .

Africa&Egypt Essay

Africa is one of the richest continents when it comes to spectacular experiences with nature. Nowhere in the world can one encounter the abundance and variety of wildlife. Africa also delivers a plethora of ecosystems, geographical features and amazing wilderness experiences. Whether it is deserts, rivers, lakes, mountains, jungles, waterfalls, etc. Africa Geography The continent of Africa borders the southern half of the Mediterranean Sea. The Atlantic Ocean is to the west and the Indian Ocean is to the Southeast. Africa stretches well south of the equator to cover more than 12 million square miles making Africa the world’s second largest continent. Africa is also the world’s second most populous continent. Africa is one of the most diverse places on the planet with a wide variety of terrain, wildlife, and climates. It is the second largest and second most populous continent. Major Cities The highest point in Africa is Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania at 5895 meters high. The lowest point is Lake Asal in Djibouti at 153 meters below sea level. The largest country in Africa is Sudan, the smallest is The Seychelles. The most populated country is Nigeria and the largest city is Cairo in Egypt. The largest lake in Africa is Lake Victoria and the  longest river is The Nile River, which is also the longest river in the world. Africa is rich with varied wildlife including elephants, penguins, lions, cheetahs, seals, giraffes, gorillas, crocodiles, and hippos. African languages are varied with more than 1000 languages spoken across the continent. The Suez Canal divides Africa from Europe. The Sahara Desert The Sahara is larger than the US. Temperatures can reach as high as 130 and some areas go 10 years without rain. A few areas have grasses that can support animals. For thousands of years people have carried goods and ideas across the Sahara. The Kalahari Desert The Kalahari is not as dry as the Sahara. Grasses and wild melon grow and animals are able to graze. The Namib Desert The Namib Desert is one of the driest places on Earth. Trees and get water from mists that drift from the Ocean. Still animals and people find ways to survive in this area. Desertification: Turning semi desert land into desert Desertification can happen by natural actions: drought or by human actions such as cutting down forest for cooking fuel or to make farmland, overgrazing of shrubs and grasses by cattle and goats. With no grass or tree roots, the topsoil blows away and the desert advances. Natural Resources The most abundant natural resources in Africa are gold, diamonds, copper, cobalt, and oil. However, the distribution of resources is uneven causing wealth in some counties and poverty in others.

Does America Need Labor Unions Today - 2811 Words

Alyssa Barker Sharon Kelly English 102 Section 401 November 24, 2012 Does America Need Labor Unions Today? President John F. Kennedy once said, â€Å"The American Labor Movement has consistently demonstrated its devotion to the public interest. It is, and has been, good for all Americans.† Organized labor has a goal of helping workers get what they deserve in all aspects of their jobs such as salary, benefits, hours, working conditions, and so on. There are†¦show more content†¦They had to remain neutral. But unfortunately, this is only in an ideal world. According to Pamela Prah, another reason workers are not seeking involvement in unions is that they are afraid of losing their jobs. In her article about the future of labor unions, Prah quotes Carol Pier, a labor rights and trade researcher for the Human Rights Watch, as saying, â€Å"U.S. labor laws contain weak penalties, are riddled with loopholes and are not effectively enforced.† This means that employers who fire workers for joining unions could either get away with it or only have to face a weak penalty. There has been a recent controversy over wrongful termination involving the retail giant, Walmart. Walmart is known for openly avoiding union organization and they have been accused of strategically firing union members throughout the country (Vrba). Walmart denies firing workers because of union involvement but the case will eventually go to court (Vrba). In cases such as this, workers could unjustly lose their jobs and so this prevents workers from acting and joining a union. It is easy to see why companies do not want their workers to join unions. If workers join a labor union, the company will be split in half: the union vs the employer. Companies may be forced to change the way they run the things such as how much they pay their employees, how many benefits they have to provide, the safety requirements for theShow MoreRelatedEssay on Unions, Bad for America685 Words   |  3 PagesUnionism, Bad for America Unionism is the concept that traditionally business, especially big businesses are inherently going to exploit their employees. Therefore, in order to protect themselves, the workers form organizations called unions, in which all laborers who work at a certain craft, or in a certain industry band together. By this process of â€Å"joining forces†, the unions gain power in numbers. Unions traditionally try to protect employee interests by negotiating with employers for wagesRead More Labor Unions Essays1096 Words   |  5 Pages In this essay I’ll write about union membership, membership trends, the two types and levels, and the importance of unions. I’ll also discuss some of the negative sides of unionization in corporate America today. Labor unions are groups or clubs of workers and employees who bond together to get good conditions, fair pay, and fair hours for their labor. These unions are usually joined together, and most unions in America are some branch of the largest labor union organization in the United StatesRead MorePublic policy help shaped the world we live in today. It is formed at the federal level to resolve600 Words   |  3 PagesPublic policy help shaped the world we live in today. It is formed at the federal level to resolve problems created throughout the United States to standardize the way business can be conducted and to protect the working people, with their jobs, with their wages, and the conditions they work in. It provides the solution to the problems we faced in America and keeps our government involved with all the citizens of the United States of America. Public policy is created by the American system ofRead MoreLabor Unions And The Industrial Revolution1582 Words   |  7 Pages The topic of Labor Unions has been the focus of many political debates in recent years, with these discussions having people advocate for and against the unions. Labor Unions are an organization that represent a collective group of employees to protect and further theirs rights and interests. Labor Unions were first introduced in the eighteenth century with increasing numbers around the United States and the world, but unfortunately during the past decade these numbers have drastically decreasedRead MoreThe Topic Of Labor Unions Has Been The Focus Of Many Political1580 Words   |  7 PagesThe topic of labor unions has been the focus of many political debates in recent years, with these discussions having people advocate for and against the unions. Labor unions are organizations that represent a collective group of employees to protect and further their rights and interests. Labor unions were first introduced in the eighteenth century with increasing numbers around the United Stat es and the world, but unfortunately during the past decade, these numbers have drastically decreased. ResultingRead MoreThe Rise Of The Big Business Transformed Rural America981 Words   |  4 Pages The rise of the Big Business transformed rural America to an industrialized urban nation that became to be known as the Gilded Age. During this time most Americans worked 10 to 16 hour shifts, 6 days out of the week with a wage that was below the poverty line. Even though they worked extremely inhumane hour shifts, it was barely enough for them and their families to survive. During this era men, women, and children performed harsh labor in factories and mills until their bodies could bear no moreRead MoreCurrent Hr Trends805 Words   |  4 Pagesimpact on labor unions as a result of outsourcing. The trends in union membership, the growth in union membership, the process for organizing a labor union to enter a nonunion company, the impact the current legal environment has on labor uni ons and companies, the labor movement and the affect of outsourcing, the services HR is outsourcing will be evaluated and the effect HR outsourcing has on organized labor in companies will also be evaluated. Current HR Trends Organized labor has lost manyRead MoreMiddle Class Dillusionment Essay1472 Words   |  6 Pagesprogressivism movement. The progressivism movement ties in a lot with our society today and shows how history does indeed repeat itself. Mowry describes the good, and bad of progressivism, but emphasizes the bad. Mowry is really trying to exhibit the differences between capitalism and socialism in his essay and explain why progressivism is not good for the well being and future of America, which can be proven today but our economic instability and division as a nation. More importantly however MowryRead MoreThe History of the Labor Movement up to the Present1565 Words   |  7 Pageshistory of the Labor Movement up to the present. Labor Unions were made to help the worker. The first know labor union was in New York in 1768 when New York Journeymen protested wage agreements (History.com Staff). Then later in 1794 a bunch of journeymen otherwise known as shoemakers formed together to form what was the first known Union (History.com Staff). Labor Unions actually started with skilled workers. Not many factory workers were part of a union. One of the most famous Labor Unions is knownRead MoreThe Strike Of Foodservice Workers At Unc Chapel Hill1587 Words   |  7 PagesThe 1969 strike of foodservice workers at UNC Chapel Hill was a labor dispute involving lunch ladies, less than 20 women of color, working in a college cafeteria serving the large student population. This unlikely group of women and their labor dispute had a much more important effect on the larger perspective of not only work conditions and wages for women and African Americans, but the macro level of civil rights on college campuses in the south d uring the civil rights movement. The efforts of