Stand Up for Africa Essay Example for Free

Stand Up for Africa Essay Culture can be known as the identity or distinction of the people belonging to a certain religion, area or country. Culture shows the way in which the group of people led their life. Culture basically shows the beliefs, values, standards, life styles, traditions and behavior of the people that are belonging to a certain class. Culture makes a difference between the people of different areas and religions. People from different cultures can share each other’s culture if some aspect of one culture attracts them. (Define culture, 1, 2009) Ethnic Culture: Ethnic culture refers to the group of people that are having same historical culture or same geographical location. It simply refers to the entire background of the people. The basic traditional approach and background of ethnic groups are same. The word is basically a Greek word and it means the tribe or a nation. Ethnic culture has not been created on the bases of racial differences rather it is quite a different concept than races. The ethnic groups are made on the bases of their original land, tribes and history. The characteristics that are shared in ethnic culture may include country, origin, language, religion, ancestors and the culture shared by the ancestors. Ethnicity depends upon many different features and these features are related to the biological and historical attribute so the ethnicity is never affected and get changed by the culture in which a person is living. He will always be linked up with his ethnic culture no matter where he is living. The preservation of culture and ethnicity is the responsibility of the people belonging to that culture or ethnic group. A person should always be proud of his history and ethnicity. (Allison, 1, n. d) Western Society: It is considered that the western countries that are forming the western society are having a much modernized way of living. Their life style is pretty high as compared to the other countries of the world. Western society is mostly identified by the high levels of educated people and the modernized way of living. Western society is purely based on the modernized world and fashion and they are apparently not following any ethnic culture. The western society is totally moving ahead towards glamour, fashion and high levels of life styles. Many of the western society related people believe that ethnicity is of no value now. They consider people old fashioned if they are ethical. The western society follows the values that are set by their own. The western values include freedom, equality and modernism. All the European countries are basically western countries. (Western society, 1, n. d) Integration of Western Society and Ethnic Culture: In today’s world the ethnicity and culture are becoming so complex due to the integration of ethnic culture with the western society and as it is a known fact that western society keeps on changing and new trends and traditions are emerging in the western society. The integration of western society and ethnic culture is really a confused one as both are having different values and believes. The western society is very much impressed by the new innovations and developments. This is the age of globalization and developments and the ethnic culture is obviously lacking the innovative approach as well as it does not present any independent system. The ethnic culture is totally dependant over the customs and traditions that were set by their ancestors. Although the western society is having their own values and are just concerned with the independence and innovation but still the presence of ethnicity in the western society can not be denied because no matter to which direction the society is moving but the basis were obviously the ethnic culture of Europe. The ethnic culture has provided the roots from where the society started to flourish so the ethnicity can not be denied. Every culture and society does posses some root culture or tradition and the western society also follow the ethnic culture of Europe. But apart from the development and innovations it is recommended that the ethnicity should also be protected. (Bazieva, 1, 1998) Ethnicity can be defined as the perception of a person about himself by being a member of an ethnic group having some history and attitude to follow. Ethnic culture continues to develop and it is not a static process. Ethnicity develops by adapting a process of observing the ethnic culture for some period of time and then exploring many new things and making their relation with the changes that are being made in society today. So in this way developments in ethnic cultures are being made. Although the western societies are hardly following any ethnic culture but whatever they are doing in the world today they always integrate their modern doings with their ethnic cultures. So with the integration of ethnic cultures in to the western society it can not be said that the ethnic cultures have lost their identities because even in today’s modernized western society still the people want to show some history of their ethnic culture in all of their changing trends some how. But the main thing is that how can the ethnic cultures and western society can merge together as they are two quite different ways of living. If both the cultures are integrating then again there will be some people who would not be able to manage. The integration of ethnic culture with western society obviously provides bicultural environment in which in most of the cases it has been observed that ethnic culture never loses its identity instead the ethnic culture comes first always. When the ethnic culture is being mingled up with the western society then according to the Sommers, â€Å"Understanding the process and components of the ethnic identification is valuable. In addition, it may also help to prevent numerous psychological dysfunctions related to identity confusion† This statement illustrates that the integration of ethnic culture and western society is possible but it is necessary that the elements of ethnic culture should be understood properly and also should be preserved as they have got a lot of value because they belong to their background and history and also have been shared by their forefathers. The elements and characteristics of ethnic identity and culture are very much valuable assets for any individual that he should keep safe through out his life no matter where is he living and how. It is not bad to adapt some thing new or to be modernized but the main thing is that one should never forget his ethnicity. If the ethnic identities are getting mixed up or lost then it also can create serious mental confusions for a person and he will be confused that what he should adapt or what he should not so the ethnic culture should never be ignored. (Huang, 1, 1996) Obviously the western culture has got a lot of differences if it is compared with the ethnic culture and every ethnic culture is different from the other then still in these situations if the adaptation or integration of ethnic and western cultures occur then a lot of struggle is required to bridge the gap between the two cultures. This amalgamation some times also creates conflicts between the groups of people because in this modernized society there are many people who do not believe in ethnicity and also do not respect their history and background so the people who are in favor of ethnicity get hurt by this thing and such a situation creates the situation of conflicts. In this diversified world it is not possible to avoid the amalgamation of different cultures in to the modern world so the bond between different cultures is getting necessary but the main thing is to highlight the ethnic values and believes so that the up coming generations do not completely forget the values of their fore fathers. If the ethnic values are not presented clearly then the upcoming generations will never be able to understand their history and culture. There should be always space for all the ethnic cultures when they are being adapted by the western society. The western society should not adapt it in such a way that the ethnic culture looses its identity. There should always be a balance between the different cultures; which means that the attitudes, identity, beliefs and values should never be ignored. If the different identities are maintained then the integration of western society and ethnic cultures will never create any issue like loss of identity and so on but if the ethnic values are being ignored then this will lead to some loss as the values that are given by the elders are always helpful in all the aspects. Basically the integration of cultures never makes any culture to loose its values and beliefs until and unless the people who are following that culture are also respecting the customs and traditions set by their ethnic culture. The adaptation of modernization is not some thing wrong but the thing is to preserve your ethnicity and develop your society by keeping in mind your ethnic culture and new customs and traditions should be introduced only by having the background in the mind. (Boulding, 1, 1998)

Diversity Incident Analysis :: essays research papers

Diversity Incident Analysis For this assignment, I chose to analyze the diversity incident that is related to multiculturalism. It’s the first case scenario in the exercises section of chapter 9. The case is related to a Mexican immigrant that has been using his available sick days to take his wife to the doctor, even though she is not ill; they are only going for regularly scheduled physical exams. This case involves multiculturalism, and it shows us how, by employing immigrant workers, an organization can start having all kinds of problems when the right policies and procedures regarding diversity and multicultural environments are not in place. â€Å"One of the difficulties of accommodating multiculturalism is that defining a multicultural society or institution seems to be determined by one's perspective. A commonly held view suggests that being multicultural involves tolerance towards racial and ethnic minorities, mainly in the areas of dress, language, food, religious beliefs, and other cultural manifestations.† Most organizations nowadays have to deal with multiculturalism in one way or another. The globalization phenomenon has reached most of the civilized world, and organizations that don’t understand or don’t realize multicultural workforces are the way of the future are going to be displaced and left behind. This case in particular involves a person using his sick days to take his wife to the doctor, even for just a scheduled check-up. Although company policy states that sick days may only be used for the illness of an employee or the illness of a member of his/her immediate family, this is a case where multiculturalism in the workplace plays a big role. Due to the fact that in the Mexican culture it’s the husband’s responsibility to take care of the well being of his wife and family, the employee sees his behavior as normal or allowed. On the other hand, the employee’s supervisor, a white male, sees the situation as a violation of the company policy and wants to take further action. But, what is the company’s human resources department supposed to do? In my opinion, the company should create a more detailed policy regarding sick days, one that takes into account the many different cultural factors that may affect the organization based on the diversity of the ir workforce. If a better detailed and ‘fair-to-all’ policy is put in place, little problems like this would be less frequent or inexistent. It’s the company’s responsibility to modify, add or create policies that are more inclusive and that can be interpreted in a way that seems fair to all participants, being employees, stakeholders and/orients.

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Introduction As the number of Americans covered by managed care plans grows, it becomes more important to understand how managed care organizations (MCOs) control costs and how these controls affect access, quality, and health outcomes. This paper will examine patterns in referrals from primary care physicians (PCPs) to specialists in order to evaluate physicians’ satisfaction with this inter-physician communication and to identify problems in the referral process. Prior authorizations will also be studied in order to learn the criteria considered when deciding if a treatment or medication is medically necessary and appropriate. The reasons prior authorization systems are utilized and their effectiveness in controlling costs and constraining access will also be examined. Case management as a function of utilization management and methods for measuring quality and patient satisfaction will be discussed. Historical patterns of case management will be studied in order to evaluate the effecti veness of case management in managing costs. The implications of referral and prior authorizations systems for all stakeholders, MCOs, purchasers, providers, and consumers will be considered. Background/Understanding In MCOs, there are a variety of processes that are used to influence the practice style of a PCP. The method that causes one of the most controversial and frustrating aspects of managed care for the members and their PCP is the use of referral systems (Grumbach et al, 1998). A referral system is the process in which PCPs determine whether services that are performed outside of their office are medically necessary and appropriate. These referrals are used to send members to other physicians in order to gain the excess amount of care t... ...spects of care including, rehabilitation, home care, and health education. MCOs can also utilize disease management, which is a specialized form of case management to monitor and control certain individuals with specialized needs. Like case management, disease management is targeted at specific high risk and high cost medical cases but with a focus on diseases. Disease management is unique because it offers patients access to not only physicians but also other types of health care professionals including pharmacists and dieticians. The idea behind this is to provide each patient with all available resources to help control or eliminate their disease. Pharmacists can provide specialized knowledge on medication techniques and types while dietitians can provide information on healthy eating habits that can help ease symptoms of particular diseases (Kongstvedt, 2009).

Motifs of Invisible Man Essay

Throughout Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison the narrator battles many battles continuously. These motifs that all compile into the very many themes of the literary work. The motifs range from blindness to invisibility even to the racism keeping our narrator from discovering his true identity. Blindness is the most used motif in Invisible Man. The narrator and his peers are always battling blindness throughout the novel. Throughout the novel blindness is a problem because willfully avoid seeing and confronting the true problem. †Within the American conscience with such an intensity towards his predicament† (Forward Page 2). During the time period the moral blindness of whites was a major problem, but so was the blindness of blacks. Many of the brothers remained blind to the true problem they were confronting. Also blindness takes a few literal turns. One during the â€Å"Battle Royal†, when the boys fight blindfolded, and the second the statue of the founder is described as â€Å"not having eyes†. Blindness also literally suffers from blindness. The motif, blindness, tells us about the actions and feeling of the society. The second major motif is invisibility. Not only is it in the title, but this topic plays major role throughout the novel. The book starts out with the narrator saying â€Å"I am an Invisible Man† (page 3). This motif continues to appear all the time until the epilogue. The motif of invisibility goes hand in hand with moral blindness. While blindness has a bad connotation, Invisibility can bring freedom and mobility. †I’ve overstayed my hibernation, since there’s a possibility that even an invisible man has a socially responsible role to play† (Page 571). The narrator realizes that being invisible may be a safe position, but he would never be able to make a major impact in the world. Although he is comfortable as an invisible man he emerges to go make a visible impact on the world. The last major motif, Racism, is an obstacle to finding individual identity. Throughout the novel he struggles to find his true identity. As he passes from minor society to minor society he tries to adapt their identity on to him. Each time he takes away from his individuality. The narrator finally realizes that racism just causes him to see what others want him to see. He comes to this realization when he says â€Å"and I knew it was better to live out f one’s own absurdity than to die for that of others, whether for Ras’s or Jack’s† (page 559). In the end he chooses to be productive by making his own contributions to society; force others to acknowledge, and to clarify the reality of thoughts outside of their prejudiced notions. The narrator battles blindness of others, the comfort of invisibility, and the obstacle blocking his own personal identity. Throughout this coming of age novel the narrator losses many battles, but in the end he finally wins. He ends as a visible advocate staying true to himself.

Explain what you believe is Orwells opinion of communism. essays

Explain what you believe is Orwells opinion of communism. essays The novel Animal Farm, written by George Orwell, is a satire of the Russian revolution and is written as a fable. Orwell uses real characters and events of the revolution to base the story and its characters on. The novel portrays Orwells opinion of communism through the actions and events that take place on a farm and their consequences. He also illustrates how easily capitalism can fall apart. He shows that neither capitalism nor communism can ever work for everyone and some people will always suffer. Orwell illustrates how, because communism can never work, Stalin came to power. He shows that people will always be naturally greedy and take advantage of positions of power. Animal farm is written with symbols to represent to various groups and individuals who played a part in the Russian revolution. This makes it easy to understand for all ages, though is still sophisticated enough to keep all ages interested. The first chapters of Animal Farm are intended to show Orwells opinion on capitalism. It is hinted that Manor Farm was once very well run and all animals had been treated decently by Mr Jones. In recent years the farm has fallen upon harder times and many of the crops are failing. The first to suffer the consequences are the animals. This is a direct representation of the great depression of the 1930s. Orwell makes his feelings on the Czar, represented in the book by man, very clear through Old Majors speech; Man is the only creature that consumes without producing. He does not give milk, he does not lay eggs, he is too weak to pull the plough, he cannot run fast enough to catch rabbits. Yet he is lord of all the animals. He sets them to work, he gives back to them the bare minimum that will prevent them from starving and the rest he keeps for himself. In Animal Farm Jones has taken up quite heavy drinking and no longer seems to really care for the farm. This shows Orwel...

Rudy essays

Rudy essays At the beginning of the movie, Rudy's family holds him to a very meager image, a negative Pygmalion, laughing at his childhood determination to play football for Notre Dame. From being laughed at and told he was "too small" to his father telling him at the bus stop not to chase a "stupid dream", Rudy's family was not supportive of his ambitions to play football, nor did they believe that he could achieve such a feat. However, Rudy's friend Pete imposed a positive "Pygmalion" effect upon Rudy by giving him a Notre Dame Varsity jacket for his birthday, and telling him that he was "born to wear that jacket". Pete's words and unfortunate death we! re major factors in motivating Rudy to attain self-fulfillment. 2. Although Rudy did not have a lot of support from others, he did posses a "Galatea" self-fulfilling drives that enabled him to reach his goal of becoming a Notre Dame Football player. His behaviors and actions contributed to his success in several ways. Although a teacher once told him that "not everyone is meant to go to college", Rudy realized that he was better than just a laborer and decided to go for his goal of becoming a college football player. A lot of his inner drive was based on his desire to make his family proud of him, but he was also interested in his own sense of fulfillment. Rudy took a leap of faith by showing up on Notre Dame's campus, and his persistence and hard work after his several rejections, eventually lead to the transformation of his own expectations into reality. 3. After viewing the LAM movie and attending the Self Fulfilling Prophecy class, I have learned some valuable lessons that I will incorporate into my leadership style. I will make it a point to ensure that my subordinates work in a supportive and healthy work environment. I will speak to them in a friendly way and give them words of encouragement. I will be sure to provide adequate information pertaining to their tasks, and ...

Good Grades Do Not Mean Everything Essays

Good Grades Do Not Mean Everything Essays Good Grades Do Not Mean Everything Paper Good Grades Do Not Mean Everything Paper ENTER Grades Do Not Mean Everything l, myself, used to think that grades are the basis for a successful and better future. I was honestly among the grade conscious students who always strive to excel In class; who get depressed when getting failed marks; and who Invest much time studying. That is because I have always thought that the idea of studying hard and excelling in school is the key for a good career in the future. Hence, the fact that the ones with bad grades are often the ones who are most successful seems unfair to me cause it was set in my mind that those with good grades are guaranteed to be more successful than those who have bad grades. But not for long. Because I realized that getting good grades does mean something but it does NOT mean EVERYTHING. It is not the sole basis for one to have greener pasture and lifetime successful career. Why is it that most of the students still think that grades will determine what will their future hold? : Why Is It that most people believe getting good grades guarantee success In life? Why Is that a student with bad grades create an unpleasant Image to other people? Simple, It Is all because of our collects established norms In terms of education. Society makes a big deal out of grades. It made students who have bad grades to often get looked down at. It established schools that implant to students the idea of getting good grades in parallel with being a better and more likely to be a successful person. Schools made students believe that a better future is ahead of them if they maintain good grades, excel in class, do well in school, and avoid failing arks. Students aspire for profession and great future opportunities, hence, with this idea set in their minds, they are motivated to do study and strive hard at school to get really good grades as much as possible as much as they can. They set high standards on themselves with the belief that the grades they receive are a measure of their success or failure In meeting these standards. But no, they shouldnt consider aqualung good grades as the sole factor to success. They should not let grades define themselves. Life experiences and learning from mistakes matters more because life is not all about the knowledge we obtain from school. Life is about how we personally deal with everyday circumstances, how we interact with other people, how we solve problems, and how we handle situations. These are things that are more to life which arent taught in school. Therefore I agree to almost everything what Lauren Martin stated in her article titled Why The Ones Who Have Bad Grades Are Often The Ones Who Are Most Successful. I agree to what Martin pointed out in re article that the ability to learn from failures and life experiences are more important than good grades when it comes to being successful and prosperous In life. Great skills + Learning from failures = Best chance for success. Grades dont really play that big a part. For us to get along In the reality of this world, we need to gain skills through life experiences and not through aqualung grades w hich are Just mere records of how great we did at school. I dont agree though on how biased her point of view is and how she addressed the tight-ass intellectual students who