Masculinity vs. Femininity, Chapter 7

Explanation:

The section from Chapter 7 on pages 175 to 177 states the dimension that indicates the extent to which dominant values in a society tend to be assertive and look more interested in things than in concerning for people and the quality of life.  Masculinity is the opposite of femininity; together, they form one of the dimensions of national cultures.  Masculinity stands for a society which social gender roles are dearly distinct: men are supposed to be more modest, tender, and concerned with the quality of life.  Femininity stands for a society where gender roles overlap: both men and women are supposed to be modest, tender and concerned with the quality of life.

Application:

Masculinity vs. Femininity

-Masculine cultures

◦ Highest difference between what women and men are expected to do

◦ Stress assertiveness, competition, and material success

-Feminine cultures

◦Permit more overlapping social roles for both genders

◦Stress quality of life, interpersonal relationships, and concern for the weak

The Masculinity and Femininity dimension describes how cultures differentiate on not between gender roles. Masculine cultures tend to be ambitious and need to excel.  Members of these cultures have a tendency to polarize and consider big and fast to be beautiful. In workplaces employees emphasize their work to a great extent.

Reflection:

After reading, I kind of agree what this section was saying.  I agree based on what is being portrayed from the media on how society is.  At the same time, I think about who said this is how men and women suppose to be defined?  Better who said that masculinity and femininity have to be define the way it is.  Is it the media?  Because there are some women that excel at thing men do.  

Paralanguage, Chapter 5

Explanation:

The section of Paralanguage from chapter 5 is basically about how someone speaks.  According to page 118, the tone, the pitch and the way the words are delivered from their mouths.  The individual’s cultural tells how they speak they way they do also.  The only time they raise their voice is to show that the emotion of anger, frustration, excitement, etc. Page 118 also states that people from the United States tend to talk loud. Well to some other countries Americans talk loud. They may think Americans are loud and rude because of the volume they decide to use when talking.  Accents are considered a part of paralanguage, too. Different countries has is on accent that others can detect.  

In the United States, there are many types of accents or dialects.  People that live on the West Coast talk different from people that live on the East Coast, Midwest and the Gulf Coast.  So to one of those regions in the United States, they sound different from one another. 

Application:

Paralanguage refers to the non-verbal elements of communication used to modify meaning and convey emotion. Paralanguage may be expressed consciously or unconsciously, and it includes the pitch, volume, and, in some cases, intonation of speech. Sometimes the definition is restricted to vocally produced sounds.

Reflection:

I definitely agree with this section.  I must say, I am from America and I do talk loud, but I am not rude.  It’s just the environment I was raised in, where I grew up in and also where I’ve been.  People on the East Coast of the United States talk different from those on thee West Coast.  I mean having an accent, because there is certain letters in words people on the East, do not pronounce that people on the West pronounces.  I know when I stayed in Brooklyn, I had an accent and still have it.  It usually comes out when I go back to New York during my breaks from school.  I know how to turn it on and off depending on where I am located.

Perceiving: Perception Process, Chapter 3

Explanation:

Chapter 3, the section on Perceiving was quite interesting.  It’s basically about Human perception sensation. On page 30, it states that human perception is usually a process that involves 3 steps: selection, organization and interpretation.  Selection is limiting the attention only to part of the available. Organization is the process of arranging data in a more meaningful way.  Lastly interpretation is attaching meaning to the data after being selected & organized. 

Many cultures perceive things in a different way from another culture by using this principle.  It is understood that in the vast majority of cases, logical solutions are reached through simple human sensation.  All of which holds true to the linear concept of experience.  On page 67 the example about a dog being a pet or as a hunter.  In America, dogs are pets but in another country, they are hunters.  So in America does will be treated with care like a child and will stay inside the house.  In other countries the dog is seen as a hunter and/or a guard and will remain outside to guard the household.

Reflection:

After reading that section, I clearly understood why certain things are the way they are in certain countries.  For example, the “dog” reading, because I never understood why dogs are not pets in other cultures.  I strongly agree with it now, since in Arab world dogs are seen as watched dogs and as guards.  Arabians see dogs as unclean and as low form of life.  Which is why they remain outside the house.  But in America, dogs are seen as cute and cuddly and are almost treated like a child in some household.  Some countries also see dogs as food, Asia for an example, according to page 68.

Application:

That human perception is culturally influenced has been a proposition entertained by many social scientists. The plausibility of this proposition is high, based as it is upon certain contemporary philosophical and social scientific concepts, such as that of cultural relativism.  Moreover, many facts gathered in psychological laboratories by students of perception, facts that delineate the important role of an individual’s experiences in his subsequent perceptions enhance the plausibility of this proposition. In the case of visual perception, some people can actually see the percept shift in their mind's eye.  Others, who are not picturing thinkers, may not necessarily perceive the 'shape-shifting' as their world changes. The unsophisticated nature has been shown by experiment: a confusing image has multiple interpretations on the perceptual level. The question, "Is the glass half empty or half full?" serves to demonstrate the way an object can be perceived in different ways.  Which brings me back to the “dog” example.  Different cultures can see one and can interpret that thing as something else from another culture.  

Ethical Communication Across Cultures, Chapter 2

Explanation:

According to Chapter 2, the Ethical Communication Across Cultures is interaction among people from different backgrounds and cultures with different ethical or moral views.  Having different moral views at life, all people from different countries just want to live at peace and be respected by others (according to page 46).  D.W. Kale developed four ethical principles to the guide of intercultural communication:

1.    Intercultural communicators should not be put down or belittle the cultural identity of others with verbal or non-verbal communications.  People of other cultures would like to be respected the same way one from another culture would.

2.    Ethical communicators seek the world to have truth; which may vary from culture to culture.  Kale stated that “truth” is socially constructed and that ethical communicators do not try to give the wrong impression about something or deceive others.

3.    Kale also stated that the ethical communicator encourages people from different backgrounds and cultures to express themselves regardless if their ideas are accepted of declined by society.

4.    Lastly Kale states that ethical communicators should strive for identification with other people from other cultures.  They should emphasize the similarities that one another have as belief and values rather than their differences.

Reflection:

After reading this section from Chapter 2, I agree with four ethical principles that Kale came up with.  I think that peace is a universal thing that everyone seeks, no matter when two difference cultures come together.  They may not understand one another, but they understand respect.  I also agree with Kale that other cultures should be able to express themselves regardless how popular or unpopular the idea may be.  I think people should be able to feel however they want to feel, think however they want to think and be who they want to be.  I really agree with Kale when he stated that people of other cultures should look into the similarities that other cultures share.  At the end of the day, everyone in has a common goal in life.

Application:

I apply Ethical Communication Across Cultures to my way of life by not belittling the cultural identity of others.  I accept the cultural beliefs that others live by.  I just allow others to be individuals and express themselves however they like to.  Knowing what may be perceived to be the truth may vary from one culture to another. 

As a child I learned to see more of the similarities that different cultures share, as suppose to the difference that they have.  As I grew up, I knew how different my Puerto Rican Culture and my Black American Culture are from one another.  From the foods to the different dialects.  Although I know they similar they are, for example; both encourage me to be family oriented and also to be proud of where I came from and thankful for where I am going to go in life.

Individualism, Chapter 8

Explaination:

According to Chapter 5, individualism is said to be the moral attitude to exercise one's goals, desires, independence and self-reliance while opposing most external interference upon one's own interests.  Either the individual is opposing the thoughts of society, family or any other group or institution.  Page 202 states that the word individualism did not enter the English vocabulary until 1835 by Alexis Tocqueville.  The word was heavily use when people gain their freedom after slavery in the United States. 

Children in the United States are taught to be independent when they were infants.  Parents having the child sleep in their own bed.  Out of the States, other cultures will frown on that.  They sleep in the same bed with their children. Other culture also chooses their child mate; not for love, but for an alliance with the other family. 

Reflection:

  After reading this section from the chapter, I agreed that individualism is a form of freedom.  Being an individual, one is able to choose what he or she likes to do as a hobby.  One is also able to exercise his or her freedom of speech.  Voice their opinion about any situation or topic out in the world.   Also feel and think about a certain topic.  I personally like the idea that paernts are teaching their children to be independent at a young age. As the parent or guardian grow old and pass away, the child will know how to take care of oneself from what he or she learned has a child.  I also feel that a child should find someone of their own to call their mate and to marry.  Being an individual, one has his or her own preference of happiness.

Application:

I apply individualism to my life, but doing what I want to do.  I make my own decisions and if I make a mistake I learn from it.  I also apply it to my life, by choosing what I like to wear.  I wear certain clothes that define me and my cultural as individuality.  I am also an outspoken individual; I utilize my freedom of speech.

 As a child, my mother did not baby me.  She taught me how to be independent.  I learned how to take care of myself when I was thirteen years old. I learned how to be a young adult at a young age.  And became a man when I had to take of the household when I was fourteen.

I am an individual.

Brooklyn Adolescent Detained for Snowball Attack against Postal Employee

A 16 year old Brooklynite, Water Ward, was arrested for a snowball assault against a postal worker. The teenager was charged with criminal possession of a weapon and assault.  Is a snowball really considered a weapon? Apparently the 33-year-old victim's injuries were serious enough to needs medical attention following the brutal assault.

How do you feel about the situation??
Voice your opinon NOW!!


More insight on the story click the link below:
http://news.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474979022629