Physical Anthropology Essays (Examples)

Thus, in order to study a concept with which he or she is familiar with in some way, a physical anthropologist will most probably employ a typical anthropological analysis, which he or she uses every time they study a culture. Using physical anthropology as a form of studying evolutions means that you have to refrain from expressing biased opinions and treat the matter similarly to how you treat any anthropological study (Chapter 4, p. 98).

The Human Genome Project was an international scientific research attempt to discover the cycle of chemical base pairs which compose the DNA. The project was also meant to recognize and map the genes of the human genome. The Human Genome Project brought notable progress to the study of evolution, given the fact that it can assist future studies in finding differences between people (Richards & Hawley, 2005).

Linguistic anthropologists study how language influences society and…

hat was black in 1940 is different from what is black in 2000. Certainly, with the evolution of whiteness, what was white in 1920 - as a Jew I was not white then, but I'm white now, so white has changed tremendously" (Goodman 2003).

The views of biological anthropologists on race have varied widely throughout the ages, almost as much as human physical differences of dress, skin, hair, and size. Yet beneath the skin, modern science reveals, we are genetically far more alike than different. In contrast to the old, culturally-justifying racism of the past, physical anthropologists today look to science to 'set us free' as a species with the truth -- that race is a cultural construction, not a biological fact. This once conservative field now takes one of the most radical views of the human condition of all the social sciences.

orks Cited

Gravlee, Clarence, C.H. Russell Bernard,…

evolution is in terms of physical anthropology .

Physical anthropology deals with the twin questions of how we became human and what it means to be human. o understand these questions, we need to turn to evolution and so evolution describes how synthesis of adaption to environment and mutation of genes, that transpired over the cause of millions of years, shaped the human race in a virtually all ways from physical, to psychological, to social and so forth.

Seeing our relatedness to the animal race makes us realize that we are not a distinct, or rather, separate species but that we are linked in relationship to all other genera in the world and it is these roots that shape our particular humanoid characteristics

wo concepts, in other words, shape the discipline of physical anthropology and both of these come from our understanding of the impact of evolution. he first is…

evolution of man from the earliest australopithecine through to the three branches of the "family tree" to the dead end species of neanderthalensis and finally to modern homo sapiens:

The Ancestry of Man

Modern man has only been active within the archaeological time scale for a relative short time. Yet anatomically modern man did not just spring up from nowhere, he comes from a long line or hominids that extends back many millions of years. The species of Ardipithecus ramidus (sometimes known as Australopithecus ramidus) is the earliest known fossil of a hominid found, dating back to around 4.5 million years ago (mya) small hominid that stood upright, had teeth and skull closer and similar to that of apes, this gives them a closer lineage to those of chimpanzees than to humans. A.amidus only had a thin capping of enamel over his teeth, this is also a clear indication that…

One can run up against the barriers of entrenched social class, or perhaps lack certain required distinctions or certifications that readily confer status. hile few modern nations claim to possess hereditary classes, most do possess groups of individuals who control vast amounts of family wealth, and the power that goes with it. Many other individuals, by virtue of the social status of their families possess at least the resources to obtain college degrees, or open businesses of their own - all things that will improve their social status. Others lack these things and seem, despite socio-political theories to the contrary, to be condemned to a life as low status individuals. As in the past, inequality exists today, even in a supposedly equal society.

orks Cited

http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=98676781

Angle, John. "The Surplus Theory of Social Stratification and the Size Distribution of Personal ealth." Social Forces 65.2 (1986): 293-326.

A www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=109779547

Maisels, Charles…

I try not to pry into what I see as the private business of others. Privacy, I believe is something that is strongly valued in America -- in other societies, older societies, what one did was of interest to the community, even if it took place behind closed doors. However, despite or even because of the privacy and freedom given to me, I try to uphold my high moral standards, even when I do not feel that there is someone like a priest or a policeman 'watching' over my shoulder.

However, I do think that given that we live in an age where life is growing even more private, maybe too private, as so many people spend the little leisure time they have surfing the net, pretending to be anonymous individuals in the virtual and disembodied space of the Internet. It is easy to profess one set of morals at…

Neanderthal man

he debate on Neanderthal man's place in human evolution has continued unabated since the discovery of the first Neanderthal fossil in 1856. One camp believes Neanderthal man is a human ancestor and should be classified as a subspecies of modern man -- homo sapien neandertalis. he opposing view argues that Neanderthal man is a distinct species - homo neandertalis - a species entirely separate from modern humans. his paper argues that Neanderthal man is indeed related to modern humans by looking at key elements of the Neanderthal physiology, behavior and cultural life.

DNA evidence

Recent findings on the mitochondrial DNA taken from the right humerus of a Neanderthal skeleton failed to show significant similarities with the mitochondrial DNA of modern humans. According to the study, one sequence of Neanderthal DNA shows significant variances from the same sequence in moderns. From this, researchers concluded that Neanderthals diverged about 600,000…

What does racism means if race has no biological basis?

Race may have no biological basis, but anthropology does not study biology alone -- race is also a cultural construction. An African-American man might have the physical DNA of European, Caucasian individuals within his genetic code, but because he is subject to the racial classification and potential discrimination within America, because America holds race to be an extant category, this does not mean that race lacks significance as a subject of cultural study. Race may be a constructed fiction, but racism, or the hatred that the cultural fiction of race has spawned, is real.

It is important to remember the lack of true 'races' in the world, however, when analyzing potential associations between groups. For example, even though they may be considered different 'races' by society, groups of marginalized persons subject to the culturally constructed notion of racism may wish…

The new division of these apartments that was thought to be a main feature of modern housing was not a solution to the problem of privacy. Most of the families only got a small bedroom with a small living space. Males and females often had to share the same rooms and in fact there was no room for children and guests (Bounrdieu, 1960).

This definitely shows the need for negotiating for modern space and daily life within el-Masaakin.in an analysis by an anthropologists he came to the conclusion that modern housing would not be sufficient for the production of modern articles and dispositions. However there are objective conditions which structure individual's appropriation of modern apartments. He maintained a clear distinction between the less and more privileged sections of the working class. Adopting modern housing is bound by cultural transformation where the segments of those who earn low incomes can not…

It would be easy to assume, then, that biologists are making a mistake by rejecting the race concept because that rejection would force them to also ignore such biological variation. However, this assumption would be false. Most intelligent anthropologists are not rejecting the idea of biological variation or a geographical/genetic component to that variation. On the contrary, they reject the idea of "race" specifically because it is not flexible enough to accurately model the full range of biological variation and therefore lumps all geographic/genetic variable populations together based on a small subset of their traits.

The race concept would lump together, for example, both the small and slightly darker Mediterranean body build with the robust, blond Nordic body build as both "White" while assuming that all the wide variety of genetic, facial, and morphological differences in Africa rendered a single "Black" race. The critical anthropologists would have to reject such…

Votive deposition, religion and the Anglo-Saxon furnished burial ritual." In this article, Crawford examines burial practices for what they tell us about early religious belief's systems. View the following video by the anthropologist Nick Herriman; he describes the logic underneath belief systems. He does this with a few different societies. Explain what Nick Herriman examples provides to Crawford's article which is focused on burial evidence. Overall, connect the two sources to explain the ways that anthropologists are interested in uncovering clues about a group's belief system.

Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpgAtylzMQE

According to Crawford (2004), gravesites are often seen as physical reflections of abstract spiritual belief systems. In her analysis she "questions the distinction between grave sites and other sacred places" and "whether deposits should only ever be interpreted as reflections of social structure."[footnoteRef:1] The focus of anthropologists upon burial grounds and surrounding rituals, as noted in the video narrated by anthropologist…

Sociology and Anthropology

Because sociology and anthropology are both social sciences, one might assume that the same research methods would be utilized in the different fields. However, while some of the same approaches can be used in both fields, it is important to realize that the differences in the fields make different approaches possible for each discipline. Sociology specifically examines social life, social change, and the social factors that contribute to individual behavior. Sociologists use surveys, interviews, experiments, observation, and secondary analysis (Sociology.com, 2013). Cultural anthropology examines human culture. Anthropologists employ the following research methods: participant observation, cross-cultural comparison, survey research, interviews, archival research, media analysis, and historical analysis (Donahue-Lynch, 2000). Clearly, the disciplines are related; however, they are not the same. As a result, some approaches that are appropriate for one discipline would not be appropriate for the other discipline. This paper will investigate the different research methods used…

Ethnology: Balinese vs. The Lahu

Gender and Sex in Anthropology

Anthropology 203

A Case Study in Comparative Ethnology: Balinese vs. The Lahu

Defining Sex and Gender

The definition of sex is generally treated as a category by both biologists and cultural anthropologists, a category with mainly two choices: male or female (orthman 597-598). From a biologist's perspective sex is the exchange of genetic material and the requisite biological functions required for successful procreation activities. For example, sperm and ovum are supplied by males and females, respectively, and women are the only ones capable of gestation and lactation. Primates, including humans, are generally required to make significant investments in child-rearing activities, so parental investment, in addition to mating investment, is thought to be required of both sexes (McIntyre and Edwards 84). The form that parental investment takes can in turn be heavily influenced by social norms, and accordingly sex helps to…

Urban Anthropology

Our urban metropolises are no longer the vibrant or essential centers they used to be. The mass migration of the wealthy into the suburbs has left our cities with reduced tax bases and less stability and in turn the cities have rapidly begun decaying. Our cities today are decadent and dangerous. Cites are the remnants of the industrial age and that time is gone. Breaking down or getting a flat tire in the wrong block will get an unfortunate traveler an introduction into the horrors of street crime and the illegal narcotics industry. Our cities are just not nice places any more. "Residents air their complaints in community meetings (of block dubs, police beats, the Local School Council, church groups, the Chamber of Commerce). Gangs and gang bangers top the list of their concerns." (Pattillo) This report will attempt to present an anthropological answer to the culture of…

American Anthropology

Jaguars and Were-Jaguars:

Conceptions and Misconceptions in Olmec Culture

There is not a question that jaguars were important to Mesoamerican religion and culture. The Olmecs were no exception to this rule. However, it seems that previous interpretations of Olmec art and architecture have erroneously placed more emphasis on the jaguar than is actually due. While a significant part of Mesoamerican culture, the jaguar did not play quite the all-encompassing role that many archaeologists have attributed to it. Specifically, the so-called "were-jaguar" motif might be representative of something other than a jaguar, or at least, contain elements of other animals in addition to the feline. Among others, it has been suggested that the "were-jaguar" babies were, instead, crocodilians, toads, deformed human children, snakes, or iguanas. This essay will look at the most convincing of these arguments, in particular, the possibility of the "were-jaguar" actually representing congenitally deformed babies, were-crocodilians,…

Religion and Urban Landscape

Social Assimilation and Identity in Gods of the City by Robert Orsi

Religion as a social institution is considered one of the most influential agents in the society. As an institution, religion plays a vital role in altering or changing the way people behave and think. This is especially true in the case of immigrants and other people of different nationalism and race in the United States. Contemporary American society is a 'melting pot' for people who came from all kinds of societies and cultures. As the number of immigrants increased, cultures are brought and assimilated within the American society, where 'hybridization' of societies occurs.

Religion, indeed, is one aspect of culture that directly influences individual and collective thinking and behavior. For individuals trying to cope with a different kind of society, religion serves as 'relief' and social companion for the lone individual. Through religious activities,…

symbolizes the sum total of qualitative and quantitative values on which the degree and extent of exploitability of the region for the purpose of tourism depends. It Is difficult to explain the 'potential' in numerical terms as it involves many factors in the context of tourism.

Tourism deals with the physical, psychological and sometimes even spiritual demands of the people from diverse geographical, socio-cultural and economic background that travel under different motives, interests, preferences and immediate needs. In other words, tourism development in any area depends on availability of recreational resources, in addition to factors like climate, seasons, accessibility, attitude of the local people, planning and 'tourist plant' facility. All this put together creates a 'tourism magnetic atmosphere', which is resource base for the tourism

Factors influencing tourism and assist in exploiting the complete potential of an area, therefore vary from socio-economic to political and evolution of demand. These factors…

Social Construction of Aging in Nursing Homes

Aging is socially constructed. Using the perspective of symbolic-interactionism, it is possible to show the precise processes whereby the social construction of aging takes place inside specific institutional contexts, like the American nursing home. The American nursing home offers insight into the culturally constrained concept of aging, for attitudes towards aging bodies and aging as a philosophical concept are informed by cultural milieu, worldview, and value construction. Biological aging is not social aging. The positive aging movement and the harmonious aging movement offer counterpoints to traditionally antagonistic and negative views of aging. Especially as the population of the United States and other industrialized nations shifts towards the older end of the age spectrum, it becomes important to reconsider the biological, psychological, and social processes and functions of aging.

The nursing home offers the opportunity to examine aging from a multidisciplinary perspective, while using…

I do not even know where most of my ancestors are buried. I do not even know where most of them lived, or what land they considered to be at the heart of their lives. I do not know how most of them conceived of the soul or of what happened when they buried their dead. And yet I would be troubled by knowing that researchers could dig up their bones. I would not necessarily forbid it (if I had the power), but I would be troubled. And I think that I would be close to infuriated if researchers claimed that they were pursuing such disinterring for my benefit. So must many native peoples feel.

How Does One Define Affiliation?

Key to the legal strength of NAGPA as well as the broader implications that is has for the practice of the different sub-disciplines of anthropology, including archaeology, is the concept…

theories presented by Elman Service and Timothy Earle on the evolution of chiefdoms.

There were many different things that Franz Boas did to help improve the field of anthropology at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. A number of the advancements he made were in the field of physical anthropology. Even more advancements pertained to improvements in this science as a whole which helped it to become much more rigorous and, on the whole, trustworthy. Many of these improvements that Boas made in this field helped to repudiate the notions of Western superiority that had previously occupied a central role in anthropology.

In terms of his contributions to physical anthropology, Boas effectively challenged and disproved the idea of scientific racism. By examining the skeletons of a number of different people of varying socio-economic backgrounds, the anthropologist was able to disprove the notion that…

It is not startling that some remarkable variation exists between the great apes as well as humans with regard to mental capabilities. Humans possess a lot higher intricate types of verbal communications compared to any other primates. Humans are the sole animal to make and apply symbols as a way to communicate with each other. Humans also have diverse as well as complex forms of social organizations compared to that of the other nonhuman primates. The most unique characteristic of humans lies in human mental capability to build novel ideas as well as intricate technologies. This has been considered to be important in the fight for endurance. (O'Neil 2007)

Further, the relatively negligible structural variations among humans and apes are generally an outcome of regular bipedalism observed in human beings. Quite a number of alterations in human bodies were linked to the growth of this type of locomotion. As opposed…

Another theorist with a different view is Chomsky (1988). Chomsky sees the acquisition of language as a process of input-output, what he calls a Cartesian view of language acquisition and language structure. He states: "We have an organism of which we know nothing. We know, or we can discover, what kind of data is available to it, and the first question we must try to answer is: what kind of mental structure does the organism develop when that evidence is presented to it?" (Chomsky, 1988, p. 102). Once we find an answer to this question, we can ask what sorts of processes have intervened leading form the data available to the knowledge that resulted. Chomsky explains:

The input-output situation is this: a child who initially does not have knowledge of a language constructs for himself knowledge of a language on the basis of a certain amount of data; the input…

Dibble also suggested "scraper types might represent stages of core reduction sequence, with intensity of utilization as a major causal factor." In 1990, Rolland and Dibble agreed "that Middle Paleolithic assemblage variability is continuous in nature" and "that raw material variability and intensity of occupation are the principal factors underlying Middle Paleolithic assemblage variability." Dibble asked whether Bordes' typology reflected arbitrary temporal slices in a continuum of variability in 1991, and also the factors underlying this variability. hat Rolland and Dibble argued about was whether "most of the significantly represented Middle Paleolithic tool types represent stages in the reduction of tools due to resharpening and rejuvenation...." (After an edge is dull, the tool may be retouched on that edge, or another edge may be sharpened, producing a different type of tool. Dibble contended that intensity of utilization is a causal factor of variation, from raw material quantity, accessibility and quality…

Each author subsisted to two (2) different kinds of perspectives, which make up the second and third critical elements of the comparative analysis component of this paper.

Berger analyzed humor based on social and political perspectives. Usage of these perspectives was most useful in discussing the two typologies of humor he thoroughly discussed in the book: satire and folly. Satire as a type of humor drew upon important concept that makes up its core: "militant irony" (158-9). Folly, meanwhile, was best characterized through the concepts "absurd" and "reality in a looking glass" (176).

Satire gives humor a political aspect to it, as illustrated in the term "military irony," which Berger defined as "a term derived from war, it is an attitude of attack that is part of a campaign against someone or something." Interestingly, the author qualified that satire need not have the 'brutality' that comes with military irony; however,…

The most arrangement of these hominids is as shown in the table above (antala, 2007, p.17).

Conclusion

Humans have undergone a series of evolution from the most primitive hominids to the modern man. The development in the structure of the hominids was gradual; with almost half being upright and the rest being bent creatures. Evolution is expected to continue and man is expected to evolve into a different creature depending on the use and disuse of his limbs.

Macroevolution gives finer details about the origin of humans and tries to bring out substantive information from carbon dating that indicate that for real man is a product of a continuous evolution and thus is thus not the final product of evolution. However, the theory of evolution has faced a lot of criticism especially from the Theologians whose views about the origin of humans are contrary to those of macroevolution. The theory…

In males, the canine teeth tend to be longer, and sharper. Additionally, there appears to be greater variation in size and shape of male canines, in comparison to the relatively stable size and shape of the female canine. Often, the size differences between male and female teeth are seen more in the height of the crown of the tooth than in the length or width of the lower portions of the tooth (Plavcan, 29).

Further dimorphism can be seen in the anterior surface of the canine teeth. Researchers note that, in males, there is a groove that runs the length of the tooth, whereas in females, this groove in generally absent. Additionally, even in cases where the female tooth does have this groove, it is much less pronounced than that of the male primate (Plavcan, 29).

The mandibular premolar also appears to show signs of dimorphism. In males, this tooth…

Undoubtedly, this association is partially explained by his postwar notoriety, but the ubiquitous image of Mengele at the ramp in so many survivors' accounts has also to do with the fact that Mengele often appeared "off-duty" in the selection area whenever trainloads of new prisoners arrived at Auschwitz, searching for twins."

Mengele's fascination with twins, and especially with experimentation on twins in order to find a way in which he could potentially double the size of the German race, led him to experiment on everything from eyesight, to pain tolerance, to tuberculosis. From witness accounts, Mengele would even inject the children with diseases, which often provoked vomiting and diarrhea, or would subject them to cuts while strapped to a table.

Because of his firsthand experimentation and selection of many prisoners, Mengele is responsible for countless numbers of deaths. Furthermore, due to his orders, others were either tortured, maimed, or killed…

Anthropology

Marvin Harris on the Cultural Materialist explanation for warfare ("Primitive War" in Cows, Pigs, Wars, & Witches)

American anthropologist Marvin Harris discusses the cultural materialist perspective of anthropology in explaining the occurrence of warfare among primitive societies in "Cows, Pigs, Wars, and Witches." In his exploration and study of different cultures in the world such as India, Brazil, Venezuela, among others, he emphasizes the role the structure and mode of production plays in the prevalence of warfare and the dominance of males within these societies (that is, the development of a patriarchal society).

Cultural materialism stems from Karl Marx's study of the political economies of industrial societies. Marvin Harris, following this Marxian tradition, intends to explain cultures in the world as dependent on their respective histories and economies. Cultural materialism posits that social activity is largely derived from structures within society (of which the terms "infrastructure," "structure," and "superstructure"…

Chimpanzees Have Culture?

The Culture of Chimpanzees

The term "culture" has many different definitions, but for purposes of this discussion it should be defined loosely as the values, goals, beliefs, and attitudes that are shared by and characterize a group, organization, or institution. For some time, anthropologists have been studying chimpanzees in order to determine whether they have culture as it relates to that definition. Field-studies on diet, hunting, and chimp tool-use have contributed to this issue and to the attempted resolution of it (McGrew, 1998). Noted anthropologist Jane Goodall has long stated that chimpanzees have behaviors which they have learned from others, and which have been passed down to them, therefore they have a culture (Goodall, 1986). Despite Goodall's opinions, not all anthropologists agree with what she believes and how she defines and understands culture. Anthropological primatologists are divided in their opinions of whether non-human primates like chimpanzees have…

It was originally established in the early 19th century by Auguste Comte who tried to unify history, psychology and economics through an understanding of society as a broad paradigm. Emile Durkheim took this a bit further and focused on the way societies could maintain a sort of integrity within the modern work where past cultural trends (religion, ethnicity, etc.) were no longer the singular part of society. His view, which has become the modern view of sociology, surrounded questions of what binds individuals together as a formal group (society) and what happens to this group both collectively and for the individual. This is a broad discipline as well, and clearly an academic response to the modern age (industrialization, urbanization, secularization, etc.). The field looks at social rules, the way those rules were formed, and the way that individuals coalesce into groups, communities, institutions, and even powerful social organizations that transcend…

On the other hand, this return to a people made largely more recognized by Turnbull's first ethnography does suggest something about the ethnography itself where anthropological purpose is concerned. Namely, the degree to which the people of the Mbuti tribes may have been exposed to the larger intersection with the modern world as a result of Turnbull's first work is illustrative of the way that research can actually interfere with and alter the course of its subject's experience.

To an extent, the ethnography may be a double-edged sword, with its apparent benefits through immersion taking on troubling implications where the researcher's immersion itself becomes a factor in shaping data and outcomes. In addition to distorting intended findings, this also calls into question various ethical concerns where scientific examination is concerned. It is conceivable to argue that an ethnography such as that crafted by Turnbull may have eschewed proper ethical considerations…

Magolda, Pete. (Nov/Dec 2003) "Saying Good-Bye, an Anthopological Examination of a Commencement Ritual." Jounal of College Student Development. Pp.1-6. Retived fom Find Aticles database of jounal aticles on 26 Oct 2005 at http://www.findaticles.com/p/aticles/mi_qa3752/is_200311/ai_n9313968/pg

Conveying Citizenship though Commencement Ritual via a Desciptive Anthopology

Anthopologists can use desciptive, longitudinal, compaative, and multiscale eseach when studying human societies aound the wold -- and also deploy these same methods quite close to home, even in the scholastic envionment that suounds them -- and suounds thei students. The 2003 aticle by Pete Magolda, entitled "Saying Good-Bye, an Anthopological Examination of a Commencement Ritual," attempts to conduct a desciptive anthopology of a specific gaduation commencement that will become pat the autho's lage study of exit ituals in highe education. The gaduation event descibed in the aticle is a singula one, howeve. It occued in "May 2001 at a medium-size public, 4-yea esidential campus in the Midwest,…

person is born, the family, neighbor and the culture is the prime aspect through which they interact before they can enter into the outside world. The development of the personality of an individual is the synthesis of traditions, values, thoughts, feelings, and various other factors that is based on the cultural aspects. In this regard, the dissertation is about the ways in which personality and culture have a relationship to each other. The thesis paper has also discussed how culture leaves a profound impact on the development of the personality.

How are Culture and Personality Related?

hat is Culture?

hat is Personality?

Is there a relationship between Culture and Personality?

How is Culture and Personality Related?

Conclusion

orks Cited

Introduction

Since the world has come to existence, people have divided themselves into smaller groups that have been named as civilizations and societies. These diverse civilizations with different norms, customs, traditions…

Constructive attitudes towards work, leisure, time and change, set apart organizational models of attainment and enthusiasm, individualism as well as realization of self, and being humanistic as well as helpful that result in constructive culture that urges communications with individuals and strategies to assignments which will allow the employees to fulfill satisfaction needs of a higher plane and would bring about changes. (Aarons; Sawitzky, 2006)

As opposed to this, defensive attitudes to work, leisure and time are typified by looking for support and unanimity, being traditional and compliant, and being reliable and submissive that result in defensive culture. Defensive cultures support or completely need communication with individuals in manners that will not endanger individual safety and will not lead to changes. (Aarons; Sawitzky, 2006) Further, family, social mobility and religion are especially more vibrant that show conventional model of ancestry following and notions of family structure, as also modifications ushered…

Airs, Waters, Places

A close reading of "Airs, Waters, Places" by Hippocrates will show that it was the first instance of climatic (environmental determinism. Climatic Determinism is based on the idea that the climate, the natural resources, and the land itself determine the nature of the habitants (which includes the physical nature, the cognitive ability, the moral compass, ethnical-being, intellectual being, etc.). Climate determines the physical nature and then the intellectual being of individuals living on the land, which in turn forms the culture of the group. It has greatly contributed to the development of the "Greek vs. Barbarian Antithesis" and the development of racism. However, how would culture affect the argument? Would the culture itself also influence the characteristics of the people on the land? We will examine these questions as well as how absolute the cultural determinism is in Hippocrates and whether or not is permeable, that is…

Cultural Observation of Dress

Why do all humans engage in the act of dressing the body? Consider how dress relates to both the physical and the social needs of the wearer.

Everyone dresses according to social factors and to make themselves more physically appealing to other. This helps them to be seen as hip and enhance their appearance. These variables ensure that the social and individual needs of the person are met. This is when they will have greater amounts of self-confidence. (Eicher, 2008)

f all humans dress themselves for the same basic reasons, why do we look so different from each other? Consider the influences of culture, age, gender, and other factors that distinguish people from one another.

People look different based upon their cultural background, age and gender. These elements are combined together to provide the person with a unique sense of style. This is used to make…

Often, bones have different shapes and/or sizes depending on whether they belonged to a male or female individual, and age also plays an important factor in the way bones look (Maples, 142). hereas doctors usually specialize in a certain branch of medicine, as in pediatrics or gerontology, forensic anthropologists must retain a broad range of knowledge because they might be called in to identify bones or other remains from any individual of any age or pathology. If they only knew a small portion of the type of details that could aid them in such identification, that particular forensic anthropologist's usefulness would be severely limited. Throughout his book, Dr. Maples demonstrates quite clearly how vital it is that observation, research, and learning continue throughout one's career as a forensic anthropologist, especially in the area of biology. As medical and biological knowledge grows, the forensic anthropologist must stay up-to-date or run the…

Particularism vs. Cultural Ecology

Franz oaz defined the concept in anthropology, which is known by the name of "Historical Particularism." oas was a champion of this theory, which, although it did not by any means totally ignore the greater theoretical framework that surrounded an event, focused directly on the event itself and attempted account for this event by tying it in some way to a theory that could explain the creation of the cultural variables in the event by tying it in with environmental and historical factors. oas gives his own account of this development:

The new historical view also comes into conflict with the generalizing method of science. It imposed upon the older view of nature in which the discovery of general laws was considered the ultimate aim of investigation. According to this view, laws may be exemplified by individual events, which, however, lose their specific interest once the…

Culture

The term "culture" originally described aspects of cultivation in agriculture but in the current sense has been used in anthropology to explain the aspects of human behavior that cannot be attributed to genetic influences (Gertz, 1973). Gertz (1973) defines culture as having two aspects: the capacity to act creatively and represent experience through civilization and the distinct differences as to how different groups of people represent their experience.

Culture is a potent force in the survival of people but is also a fragile entity. Culture can constantly change and can be easily lost because culture exists in the minds and thoughts of people. For this reason many anthropologists and sociologists further distinguish culture into material culture, the distinct physical artifacts a society creates and non-material culture which basically consist of all other aspects of culture (Newman, 2011).

The focus in material culture studies is to understand a particular culture…

The Kula provides a different perspective on the purpose and function of economics. One could imagine our ancient ancestors beginning trade as a social event. When we lived in small bands, every band was self-sufficient and had to supply their own basic needs. I had never thought of economics as a purely social function until reading this article. It changed my perspective on the purpose of economics.

Article Summary #14

Radcliffe-rown, a. (1940. On Joking Relationships. In Anthropological Theory: An Introductory Theory. Fourth Edition. R. McGee and Richard Warms. McGraw Hill.

Joking and teasing is a cultural construct that has different rules among different cultures. The purpose of this article is to examine the purpose and function of joking relationships among African Tribes. The author discovered that joking relationships among in-laws helps to relieve tension and diffuse what could be volatile social relations. Joking is not random and has a…

Nursing Theories

Transcultural Care

For the past several decades, nursing theory has evolved with considerable considerations towards transcultural care. The concept of culture was derived from anthropology and the concept of care was derived from nursing. When one understands the derivative of nursing knowledge and the basis for cultural sensitivity, one may tailor and provide the best nursing care for diverse groups. Each group may have specific needs that may help or hinder healthcare delivery. Hence, if one fully understands the meanings, patterns, and processes, one can explain and predict health and well-being. Although many nursing theories exist, a closer evaluation will be given to Cultural Care Diversity & Universality and Purnell Model for Cultural Competence.

Cultural Competence & Influence

Cultural competence is deemed as essential component in providing healthcare today. Healthcare professionals in healthcare organizations are addressing multicultural diversity and ethnic disparities in health (Wilson, 2004). To better serve…

Gradually, these diverse languages, culture, and customs began to become eradicated. Although she does not use the term, the anthropologist paints a picture of White usurpation of Indian territory a kind of cultural genocide, whether intentional or not. Clearly, Theodora Kroeber's aim in recording her dealings with Ishi is an attempt upon her part to undo this legacy of 'her' people.

Kroeber charts the course of the Ishi eradication through the eradication of the Ishi language. She notes that of the six main language groups of North American Indians, five of these were represented in the vast and expansive Western territory of what is now the state of California. According to her estimates, these five language groups divided themselves into over one hundred distinct spoken languages, an extraordinary diversity of languages on one continent, languages and cultures that are now lost to us.

One extraordinary testimony to Kroeber's achievement as…

g., Hofstede, five different cultural dimensions), and the other one is the Cultural Standards Model (e.g., lexander Thomas):

1. In a general sense, cultures and differences among cultures can be described and measured along cultural dimensions (Hall, 1990, 2000; Hofstede, 1980, 1993, 2001; House et al., 2004; Kluckhohn & Strodtbeck, 1961; Rokeach, 1973; Schwartz, 1992 and Trompenaars & Hampden-Turner, 1997).

2. In a more detailed and more descriptive sense, the cultural standard method deals with differences in the kinds of perceiving, norms of sensing, thinking, judging, and acting that can cause critical incidents in cross-cultural encounters (Thomas, 1996; Fink & Meierewert,

2001).

Due to significant developments in this field and the available range of value dimension studies, it is better to understand the possible impact of similarities and differences among cultures. Dimensions, which are quantitatively measured, can be used in statistical models (regression analysis) as well as to help explain…

Immigration policy, distance and financial constraints reduce the flow of people. Religions are notoriously difficult to pass from culture to the next because of the deep level of personal involvement. Languages are passed to outsiders only when pragmatic, as in the case of lingua francas. As long as the barriers to passing important cultural artifacts between cultures remain, globalisation will remain in evidence mostly with what can be transferred easily -- money, goods, and sometimes information and entertainment, but only when the receiving side is willing, which is no guarantee.

Part B. Junction Hotel is going to have to deal with an international set of guests and is likely to have an international staff as well. It will be imperative for the managers of the hotel, therefore, to be able to deal with both of these. (French, et al., p.25) note that the global manager must be culturally sensitive. This…

From the onset, it would be prudent to point out that Asians, as Croucher, Nguyen, and Rahmani point out, happen to be America’s fastest growing population. However, the said population also happens to be one of the populations most susceptible to discrimination. This is a fact that has clearly revealed itself during the COVID-19 pandemic where there have been reports of increased discrimination against Asian Americans. This text will largely concern itself with anti-Asian American sentiment during the present pandemic. In so doing, it will not only track the nature of the said discrimination, but also chart its consequences. It will also highlight some of the solutions that have been suggested in an attempt to reign in the said discrimination. The present discussion also demonstrates that the pandemic appears to be just but an excuse to continue a well-established trend of discrimination against Asian Americans.
As Strochlic points out, from…

Like many traditional societies in Hofstede's typology, PNG is also called a 'feminine' society, in the emphasis it places upon relationships. The nation would be characterized very much as a 'high context' culture, one in which relational status is very important when conveying meaning. How information is conveyed is more important than the actual wording of the message. Nonverbal language is very important in high context cultures, and it can be very difficult for cultural outsiders to translate the dominant cultural script into their own terms. The culture is very change resistant in PNG, and this is exacerbated by logistical difficulties, such as the lack of highly qualified IT and business professionals to teach current undergraduates to pass on information about new ways of doing business.

Behaviors, ethnocentrism, self-reference criteria

However, while it has been called 'feminine' in terms of its valuation of relationships, an observer should know that for…

To uncover these commonalities, my thesis will focus on three of the most influential forms of alternative theatre: Grotowski's Poor Theatre, Joseph Chaikin's Open Theatre, and Richard Schechner's New Theatre. These three alternative approaches represent a dramatic departure from conventional theater, using techniques that have as their central goal the development of intimate interaction between the audience and the actors. The central technique for this is to remove barriers and social conventions / traditions that typify traditional productions.

To adequately establish the social role that alternative theatre uses in constructing a performance, I will use a comparative study of these three alternative forms of theatre.

Since Grotowski had the most significant influence on the development of nonconventional theatre, I will begin by examining the actor-audience relationship in three contexts: psycho-physical, psycho-analytic language and the physical arrangement methods used to stage performances with the Polish Lab Theatre.

These three elements will…

These two elements of culture that I have found to be apt in discussion with Irish dance is 1. culture -- people's belief system and; 2. culture- including the artifact which people produces such as art.

Dance and Beliefs

One component of culture is the belief system -- people's ideas and values and its effect on the way people lead their lives (Henslin 5). Let's look into religious values of the Irish society. As an example, we have seen that the Druids were already praising their gods through the form of dance. The way people express their religious values have evolved into a physical expression of reverence to the gods (i.e. By dancing). In this sense, dancing allows for new ways/methods by which a society is able to expresses their faith, i.e. praising and/or revering their gods through dancing.

We can also analyze Irish dance and society's values by what…

Health, Culture & Globalization

Health, Culture and Globalization

Culture plays an integral role in the lives of societies and individuals all over the world. Across countries and societies, different kinds of culture exist and govern the daily lives of people. Defined technically, culture is the system of beliefs, norms, values, and traditions that a specific group of people perceives and considers as their worldview. Countries have different cultures, and within each culture exists sub-cultures, created because of the diversity/differences existing from even the same group of people with the same nationality, race, or ethnic membership.

Culture inadvertently affects every aspect of an individual's life. Its influence could be as mundane as deciding what to wear and eat for the day, or as critical and important not only to the individual but also to the society, such as deciding who to vote for depending on the candidate's similarities in beliefs and…

Values and Ethics and Asylum Seekers

Ethical awareness is a necessary part of the professional practice of social workers and their ability to act ethically is an essential aspect of the quality of service offered to clients (Ethics pp). According to the International Federation of Social orkers, professional social workers are dedicated to service for the welfare of human beings, and to the use of scientific knowledge concerning human behavior (International pp). orkers are also expected to use resources for the enhancement of the quality of life and to achieve social justice (International pp).

According to the Code of Ethics of the National Association of Social orkers:

The social worker should act to prevent practices that are inhumane or discriminatory against any person or group of persons.

F.3. The social worker should not practice, condone, facilitate or collaborate with any form of discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex,…

His analysis is therefore a direct investigation of the contact between the two cultural identities and their specific characteristics.

As opposed to this, Cronon uses an indirect argumentation to demonstrate the differences between the two cultures. He starts his discussion from a critique of Thoreau's view on the origins of the American civilization. Thoreau first advocated that the American land was a virgin territory when it was in the hands of the Indian-Americans. He thus contrasts at the same time the ecosystems and the economic policies of the Natives and the Colonists, focusing his argumentation of the external aspects of the two cultures rather than on the inner, spiritual cores of these cultures, like Axtell. His main thesis is that the Western colonizers brought with them the concept of "property" which is the main culprit for the subsequent radical changes in the ecosystems of the country: "English property systems encouraged…

Regional Identity

Over the years, regional identity has played a major part in helping specific regions to embrace their culture and traditions. In many cases, these views are often expressed in different forms of literature and songs. However, as globalization has become more dominant, these beliefs have come into conflict with other regional influences. This is because many of these traditions are being replaced by new ideas that are attempting to impose their values and ideas upon everyone inside a specific area. To fully understand what is taking place, there will be a focus on the songs Allentown and here I Come From in conjunction with insights from Fetterley. This will be accomplished by determining if these songs are resisting the mainstream, examining if they cite local identity in order to advance cultural imperialism (according to Fetterley) and the differences between them. Together, these elements will provide insights that will…

Adaptation, Culture Scale, and the Environmental Crisis.

The article deals with the important issue of how the scale of a cultures dictates how that culture will adapt to its environment, and the role that this adaptation plays in damaging the environment and depleting resources.

This interesting article begins with the following telling quote. "Nor are those cultures that we might consider higher in general evolutionary standing necessarily more perfectly adapted to their environments than lower. Many great civilizations have fallen in the last 2,000 years, even in the midst of material plenty, while the Eskimos tenaciously maintained themselves in an incomparably more difficult habitat. The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong."

This quote raises some of the most salient points that are brought out further in the article. First, it notes that the scale of the culture and the concentration of social power have…

Globalization

In the age of globalization, cultural precincts are anticipated as having turned out as absorbent, imprecise, and undefined. The home culture comes in contact with the foreign culture as a result of globalization while it impacts culture of the home country leaving it to be not the native but the unstable, displaced, amalgamated, diverse, and adulterated (OCAA). Globalization is the instant of collective relocation, "multiculturalism, and cosmopolitanism" (Szeman, 2003) Once the culture of a nation was perceived by means of newspapers and work of fictions, but the present day has given the ever-present of novel structures of mass culture that has transfigured in to novel intercontinental systems of the thoughts. egarding culture, discussions about globalization are in consequence over and over again centered on border regions, and on the multifaceted dialogues that occur as these borders are investigated, anticipated again, and reemphasized in a world of rising, if not…

Q2. From an American perspective, it is tempting to look out at the world and to assume that American culture now dominates and reigns over all, given the seeming ubiquity of American movies, television, and music. However, a cultural analysis of many regions of the world yields the finding that culture is far more regional and pluralistic in nature.

For example, in Mexico, soap operas known as telenovelas captivate almost the entire population. They often give voice to Mexican fantasies about transgressing economic borders. One such soap opera, Ugly Betty, has actually been appropriated by U.S. culture. Mexican culture has changed the U.S., as well as vice versa, despite the U.S.'s greater economic power in the region. And within India, Bollywood films are far more popular than Hollywood films because of the way they speak to unique Indian culture needs. Within this densely-populated and fantastically diverse nation, the fascination with…

McDonaldization

Directly linked with cultural globalization and actually deriving from the basic concepts at the forefront of globalized culture - glocalization and grobalization - is McDonaldization. The term is generically used to present the strategies implemented by the American fast food chain in 'conquering' the world, strategies which are now more broadly applied by other companies in various industries. And their strategies are worth analyzing. In ussia for instance, the company's success is given by their early penetration of the market (only a few months after the fall of the Soviet egime) and by their choice to personally run their operations (unlike Subway, KFC or other American emblems which used franchising and failed in ussia). Penetration of the ussian market was a difficult task for the company at least from a legislative stand point, which demands foreign companies to go through 20 or 30 agencies and get between 50 and…

Falk labels this beneficial side of globalization as "globalization from below":

It is this latter aggregate of phenomena that is described here under the rubric of "globalization from below."[...]

The idea of normative potential is to conceptualize widely shared world order values: minimizing violence, maximizing economic well being, realizing social and political justice, and upholding environmental quality."

Falk,130)

Globalization from above owes most of its negative aspects to the neo-liberal tendencies it often promotes counter to the more democratic tactic used with globalization from below.

Neo-liberalism supports a set of policies meant to reject the concept of progress of any sort on a social level and to defend the interests of the prosperous people in the state. The public seldom reacts to the harm it undergoes from neo-liberalism due to the fact that the process is being endorsed by state leaders for the profits it brings them.

Falk states that…

Nevertheless, other psychic distance stimuli do still play a significant role.

Finally, Dow and Karunaratna (2006) also stressed Shenkar's (2001) 'the assumption of equivalence,' where it is inappropriate and unjustified to assume that all factors contribute equally to the overall psychic distance construct. Examples of this were Kogut and Singh's (1988) methodology for combining Hofstede's cultural dimensions and Barkema and Vermeulen's (1997) results. They showed that, for their sample population, the apparent relationship between a composite measure of Hofstede's cultural dimensions and international joint venture survival is driven entirely by only three of the five dimensions. The importance of various factors cannot be determined in isolation from appropriate dependent variables. The weighting of the various factors needs to be determined empirically, in concert with the dependent variable(s).

Conway and Swift (2000, p. 1391) looked at psychic distance from a different parameter based on this need for variables, specifically with relationship…

Some of the most well-known symbols that are now familiar to billions worldwide are Coca Cola, MTV, Madonna and McDonald's, to name just a few. Although it is very difficult to explain the causes behind it, the strongest form of globalization is the cultural one. The easiest explanation one can come up with regarding this truth is the fact that culture directly affects and influences each of us irrespective of political affiliation, economic status or say, education. Culture is part of our lives and determines who we are in terms of our cultural identity. Globalization alters our perception of culture because culture was, for a long period of time, directly related to the idea of a fixed community or geographical region. This perception has changed drastically due to the complex connections that have been established thanks to the development of the means of communication whose king is, without a doubt,…

This is indicative of the mutual effect of globalization and the business place in the world of work. Globalization necessitates the foreign expansion of business, while such expansion necessitates the adaptation of the work paradigm towards a more independent style. Furthermore, the rate of change in terms of technology and business necessitates the rapid adaptation of the workforce to keep up with new technologies. This, concomitantly with the need to self-manage, may need to an escalation of stress levels among the workforce, which is another fruitful area of study for he psychology profession.

Another area where greater human control has become possible is human health. The Internet provides a wealth of information on any topic, including the health sciences. With globalization, the Western views of health have begun to see a significant change of paradigm from disease driven to health driven. Many Eastern philosophies have become integrated in these models…