Cultural Materialism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Cultural Materialism - Essay Example "It is based on the simple premise that human social life is a response to the practical problems of earthly existence" (Harris, 1979). The writings of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels are of great influence with this issue of cultural materialism but then it was somehow distinct from Marxist dialectical materialism or sometimes called historical materialism which talks about the notion that Marxism is a synthesis of philosophical dialectics and materialism, and also different from philosophical materialism. Works of Thomas Malthus had encouraged Harris to consider reproduction of equal importance. The research strategy was also influenced by the work of earlier anthropologists including Edward Tylor and Lewis Henry Morgan who, in the 19th century, first proposed that cultures evolved from the less complex to the more complex over time. Leslie White and Julian Steward and their theories of cultural evolution and cultural ecology were instrumental in the reemergence of evolutionist theories of culture in the 20th century and Harris took inspiration from them in formulating cultural materialism. (Harris, Marvin. 2001 [1968]). "Harris, Marvin, 1927-, An American anthropologist who was born in New York City. Graduated at Columbia with a degree of A.B on 1949; took his Ph.D. on 1953. A member of the faculty of Columbia from the years 1952 to 1981, he became the chairman of the anthropology department from 1963 to 1966. He then became a graduate research professor of anthropology at the University of Florida in Gainesville on the year 1981. Harris's major research has consisted of community studies in Latin America and ethnologies of Africa. He was very influential in the development of the theory of cultural materialism. He wrote Patterns of Race in the Americas (1964), The Rise of Anthropological Theory (1968), Cannibals and Kings (1977), America Now (1981), Cultural Materialism (1979), Good to Eat (1986), and Our Kind (1989)." (Slider Encyclopedia) Dr. Marvin Harris is considered to be a generalist with an interest in the global processes that account for human origins and the evolution of human cultures. Due to his interests in cultural anthropology, Dr. Harris assumed the role of an anthropological historian theoretician. His work with cultural materialism took him to the Islas de la Bahia, Brazil, Mozambique, Ecuador, India and East Harlem. Dr. Harris shared his knowledge of cultural anthropology with the world through the publication of 16 books. They include Cows, Pigs, Wars, and Witches and Cannibals and Kings. He also authored an introductory anthropology college textbook with multiple editions titled Culture, People, and Nature. Upon the completion of his previous publications, he composed a series of essays concerning modern human behavior based on our origins according to evolution which he has titled, Our Kind. Dr. Harris died in Gainesville, Florida on October 25, 2001 2001. (Students in an Introduction to Anthropology Class, 2001) BOOK REVIEW Cultural materialism is a systems theory of society that attempts to account for their: origin, maintenance and change. Cultural Materialism is based on two key assumptions about societies. First, the various parts of society are interrelated. When one part of society changes, other parts must also change. This means that an institution, such as the family cannot be looked at in isolation from the economic, political,

Motivation Letter Essay Example for Free

Motivation Letter Essay I am writing to submit letter to express my interest as a Catering assistant in your organisation. Being fresher, It is a good match with the job description you have provided on your website, I am confident in my ability to meet and exceed my goals with your organisation and helps me in future by getting experience in catering assistant. I am applying for this position because I have following skills: Washing dishes and utensils by hand. Having reliability and patient when working in fast pace environment. Provide outstanding customer service and friendly with all team members. Great understandings of cleaning and cleaning tools. Great at multi-tasking and time management skills. Ability to handle things in a discreet and confidential manner. Based on my qualifications, it is the perfect job for me to improve my skills to provide good quality customer service and learn new things from other employees. In addition to my customer service strengths, I have mastery  knowledge of kitchen cleaning or customer service and have good communication skills. My primary objective is to assist your business grow and function smoothly in any way I can This job is favourable for me because I am quick learner and ability to do anything. I am prepared to undertake any training offered and I am available for an interview anytime. If you have any further questions please do not hesitate to contact me (0223963129) I look forward to hearing from you.

The Vital Importance Of Mass Media

The Vital Importance Of Mass Media Mass Media is of vital importance in mankinds life. It is a medium for individuals to search for as well as exchange the latest information and knowledge; and it is also a platform for commercial as businesses can promote their products and services via media. Apart from getting academic or official materials, entertainment is another major function of the media. In everyday life, it is common for individuals to get contact with television programmes and advertisements since they exist in most family, restaurants as well as every corner of the street. Moreover, the consumption of internet also increases in the recent years. For example, in the United Kingdom, nearly half of the age group from 9 to 12 has social-networking profile (European Commission, 2011); and a research points out a phenomena that a quarter of British replace their evening major entertainment, television, by computer (UKPA, 2011). The media takes up a significant role in peoples life and society and the trend tend s to be upswing, this shows that people relies very much on the use of media as media are convenient to us. It is interesting to find out the reason of the popularity of different kinds of media and how often individuals spend time on the field of media. Also, the project can help to understand the culture which is being brought out by the television programmes in United Kingdom. Media is beneficial to us to at some point; however, media will do us harm if we misunderstood the implications brought by the media. In this case, media have a great influence on mankind and social behaviours, which includes both positive and negative impacts. As media has become the social norm, therefore, it is possible for project study to investigate the seriousness of how teenagers are being affected by the media, which can be the benefit from the media; and to what extent, their social behaviour is being affected. Aims Objectives In this project study, the main focus will be more on the point of view of the teenagers in the United Kingdom because this age group is easily being influenced and attracted by some new matters. Thus, the aim of this research study is, firstly, to give a brief introduction of the popularity of different types of media in the United Kingdom, such as, television programmes which include news, educational programmes, soup dramas, reality shows and variety shows, advertisements and internet. It is also important to analyse the purpose of the existence of these media and also the age group which they want to target. Secondly, how teenagers can benefit from these media. For example, some meaningful and encouraging programmes not only can help teenagers to gain knowledge and experience, but also establish a positive and strong moral value and raise social awareness. But at the same time, undesirable impacts are also generated from these media. The reason is that, teenagers may have differe nt interpretation or perception of the programmes; they may also develop negative attitude towards life and behaviour, like anti-social behaviour, commit crimes, being impractical or even live in fantasy and lack of motivation to do anything as media helps to beautify and shape the reality. Thirdly, there will be a little discussion on how the government imposes tighter laws and regulations to control the adverse effects brought out from the field of media. Method In this project study, both primary data and secondary data will be used to make this research a convincing and academic one. For the primary data, questionnaire will be used. This questionnaire contains four sections with 18 questions concerning the consumption of television programmes, advertisements as well as internet, and these questions help to reveal the view of teenagers on the effect of media. The survey will be carried out through the Qualtrics (https://s.qualtrics.com), a website which is designed for conducting survey. It targets teenagers who are living in the United Kingdom and the sample size will be 50 or above, so the results can be more objective and comprehensive and then a detailed analysis can be made by using these data. For secondary data, reference books, journal articles as well as video will be used. All these sources are academic and relevant to the topic; they are strong support for the arguments in the project. Firstly, for reference books and journal art icles, one of the books, Crime and Law in Media Culture, and also the journal article, Media made criminality: The representation of crime in the mass media, both discuss about the relationship between crime and media which are connected by a strong bond. The information also points out that; media sometimes maps crimes and law which makes them look playful and trivial. As a result, audiences will have wrong conception and look down upon the law and punishment. The media affect the thinking and behaviour of an individual, if the effect is positive, it can help to shape the community a better one; if not, it will deteriorate the moral value in society. Moreover, media is a two way communication, which means not only the media give out information and knowledge, but the audiences also need to give responses. After talking about the social behaviour, I will focus on how people react and accept the messages. Secondly, the video is used as it looks from the perspective of the audiences a nd analyse how they interpret the messages from the media. It is important to know the attitude hold by people towards media because it gives us the clue on how people are affected by the power of media. Section 1: Television Programmes (1) How much time do you spend on watching television? More than 5 hours a day 1-2 hours a day Sometimes (during leisure time) Never (Go to Section 2) (2) Which types of television programme would you prefer? Please rank your choices (1=highest; 6=least) News report _____ Soap dramas _____ Reality shows _____ Variety shows _____ Educational programmes _____ Films/Movies _____ (3) Suggest 2 adjectives which are most suitable to describe television programmes. ______________________________________________________________ (4) In some reality shows, films and dramas, indecent language, violence and sex scenes can be seen, do you think the government need tighter control on them? Yes, this can help to establish good moral value in society No, as these coarse language and scenes are the fundamental element of the programmes No comment (5) Which of the following statement will you support? Television programmes involve positive social value and are mostly beneficial to mankind. Television programmes pose bad impact on mankind as they are generally exaggerated and indecent materials. Section 2: Advertisements (6) Where can you see advertisements mostly? _______________________________________________________________ (7) To what extent, advertisement is attractive? Specify your reason. (1=very attractive; 5=not attractive, it can be neglected) _______________________________________________________________ (If your answer is 5, please go to Question 9) (8) Which aspects of the advertisement can catch your sight? (You can choose MORE THAN ONE option) Colourful and beautiful design Brand name Price and discounts Models or Artists The promoted products or services (9) Do you think advertising is successful in persuading people to make consumption? Yes No (Go to Section 3) (10) Have you ever convinced by the advertisements to buy any products? Yes. Please name one: _____________________________ No. Section 3: The Internet (11) How often do you use the internet? Every day, 5 hours or above Every day, less than 2 hours Sometimes, when there is research work and for leisure Never (12) Which of the following activities will you perform on the internet? (Choose FOUR options) Social-networking (Facebook, Twitter, Skype, MSN, E-mail) Download music and movies Research Settle private matters (Bank statements, Mobile phone statements) Games Watching videos Get the up-to-date information (News, Fashion, Technology, Entertainment) (13) Name ONE advantage and disadvantage of the internet. Advantage: _____________________________________________ Disadvantage: ___________________________________________ (14) Which statement will you support? The internet is convenient; it is a good assistant to make works run smoothly and efficiently. The practice of using the internet makes a person get addicted to it and isolates himself from the outside world. (15) Is it possible to live without the internet in the modern society? Yes No Section 4: Overview (16) Vigorous development of the mass media isà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (Specify your reason.) Good,______________________ Bad,_______________________ (17) Mass media is everywhere in our life, it is inevitable to ignore it. Do you agree? Yes No (18) Which of the following will influence ones mind and behaviour mostly? Television programmes Advertisements The Internet This is the end of the questionnaire. Your opinions will greatly assist the process of the analysis. Thank you for your precious time and opinions!

The Characterization of Janie in Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora N

In the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston which is set in the 1930’s explores the life of an African American women from the south, that trying to find herself. The protagonist of this novel is Janie Crawford. In the novel, Janie is going on a journey to find who she really is and to find spiritual enlightenment. To help shape Janie character in this novel Hurston is influence by the philosophical view from the Romanticism, and Realism movement in addition she is influence by the social events that were happing in the Modernism period. Even though when Zora Neale Hurston wrote the inspiring novel in 1937 right at the end of the modernism era, Hurston was influence by the philosophy from the modernism movement. During this time, which took place between 1880-1860 people, determined things by using their feeling over reason and nature over civilization? â€Å"That brought her wide awake. She bolted upright and peered out of the window and saw Johnny Taylor lacerating her Janie with a Kiss. â€Å"Janie!† the old woman’s voice was so†¦in command and reproof†¦that Janie half...

Conducting Buinsess Overseas

The Legal and Ethical Environment of Business 11/12/12 Phase 5 Individual Project Professor Ivy When conducting business overseas it is important to know the legal regulations (N/A, N/A) which should be considered as the first part of the business plan. One should do their research about how business is handled to avoid illegal activities that one may not be aware of. Some of the regulations are permits, licenses, requirements, documentation, and laws that apply in that country.There are laws for importing merchandise into another country so therefore one must check with someone who specialize in that area of laws. As an importer one must give customs a complete report on the delivery of goods. On December 8, 1993 the Customs Modernization Act was put into place in order to â€Å"shift legal responsibility (N/A, N/A) from Customs to the importer for declaring, among other things, the value, classification, and rate of duty applicable to entered merchandise†. Importers should u se reasonable care when complying with Customs requirements in order to fulfill their duties as importers.As part of Customs they strongly enforce requirements from other agencies which include Environmental Protection Agency, the Drug Enforcement Agency, and the Food and Drug Administration. All of these agencies are included to make sure goods passes safety requirements before any goods are imported into another country. If it is determined that an importer fail to use reasonable care they could face monetary penalties for not following laws. Any company that has large import activity should have satisfactory procedures in place in order to make sure they’re in compliance with Custom laws.Many importers use Customs Broker (N/A, N/A) to handle their files for them. These agencies are licensed by Customs to deal with files for importers. As an importer there is specific documentation requirements needed before any goods can be imported into another country. So therefore, impo rters use Custom Brokers to gather and file all of the necessary documents for importing the goods. Importers are still responsible for following all rules under the Mod Act. If these laws are broken they can be held liable for criminal or civil penalties under the Mod Act.Criminal Penalties can be defined as anyone who gives false information to Customs officers. Anyone who is in violation of this statue could face two years imprisonment, fines, or possible both for all violation that were related to importation. Civil penalties can be defined as anyone who provide fraud through the use of gross negligence or transmit false data which relates to any fraudulent activities. As part of Customs authority they can seize merchandise to get payment for the violation. As part of doing business oversees one will deal with exporters.Exporter duties (N/A, N/A) include making sure that it is legal to export merchandise from United States to another country. They are also responsible to make su re that all required documentation are in order and filed to proper agency. Before exporting any product one should be sure to check for licenses and other documentation needed to export products. There are certain laws that apply to exporters which include laws such as anti-boycott laws, the Export Administration Regulations, and Economic sanctions.When determining whether or not a license is needed for export the appropriate authority checks for the product’s classification, end-user, and end-use. It is also important that one should know about Free Trade Agreements. Free Trade Agreements (N/A, 2010) is known to be one of the best opportunities to expand the foreign market to the United States. Part of the Free Trade Agreement is to reduce barriers to United States exports which protect the United States interests. This law makes it easier and less expensive for U. S. ompanies to export their goods to trading market partners. So therefore, we could use this to our advantage as a company to export goods to from and to other countries. The ethical code of conduct (N/A, Sigue Corp. , 2012) for employees and vendors is to ensure strong ethical principles govern prevent conflicts that might occur between the employees and vendors. All employees and vendors must abide by the company’s ethical code of conduct. In order for the code of conduct to be enforced each employee or vendor must report any conflicts that relates to the company’s welfare.As part of the company’s policy we are responsible for keeping customers, employees, and vendors satisfied with the services provided from this company. So therefore, we required our employees to maintain a high level professional standard while conducting business in our company. Employees should keep all information confidential about Company, customers, employees, agents, and vendors. If any employee has an issue we encourage them to consult with someone such supervisor, management, or anyone el se in a higher position about any problems they may encounter.If employees or vendor are found to be in violation of Code of conduct will be investigated and immediately terminated. As part of the Company’s policies we report any unlawful behavior to the appropriate agency. This company doesn’t tolerate fraudulent behavior, dishonest, theft, embezzlement, threats, or any other inappropriate behavior. Legal and ethical guidelines (Phillips, 2012) are important in all businesses because they are part of laws that shall be followed. All businesses should have ethical guidelines that they should abide by in order to maintain laws which are enforceable by the state and government.If a business fails to follow guidelines and laws they could be punish or penalized by local laws that weren’t followed. Ethical guidelines is used to protect employees from being unpaid by enforcing laws for wages and hours worked. These laws are put in place to avoid businesses from not tr eating employees fairly such as not paying them for the hours worked or overtime. When distinguishing between right and wrong in business dealings (Merchant, 2006-2012) one must consider is the action true and how it will affect the business.They should also take into consideration whether or not the decision is fair to all parties involved. Another question one should ask is will the decision benefit the outcome of people that have invested in this dealing. After thinking about the outcome of all decision it is important that you chose the action that is legal in order to avoid illegal behavior that will lead to punishment of some type. The punishment could result in termination, fines, or imprisonment depending on what type of wrong doings one has committed.So therefore, when hiring employees one should make sure they are capable of making the right decision that will have a positive outcome for the company. As part of ethical conduct one must be capable of deciding what is right and what is wrong in order to have a good foundation in ethics. Making the right choices in a company could result in the company being successful and kept out of the public eye for unethical behavior. This type of behavior has prompted such an increase in these types of legal and ethical violations (Richard Mauer & Anna M. Tinsley, 2010) because they aren’t being handled appropriate.Many companies aren’t punished to the full extent because they have power and money to get them out of that situation. When other companies see that another company has gotten away breaking the law they think that they can away with it too. Ethical violations are increasing because many companies forget about them and want to get the job done in a short time with a low cost. Many companies in today’s society don’t have morals and good values so this makes it difficult to practice ethical guidelines for companies. If all companies enforced good ethical behavioral some of the u nethical violation could be reduced.This could lead to a more successful reliable business that more people will feel comfortable with. My opinion regarding the impact of the ethical implications (N/A, 2005-2012) and violations on the business itself from the perspective of the consumer is that this company follows rules and regulation to avoid illegal behavior. Some companies seem to think that they can get away with doing things that are not legal and that they won’t be caught. If the court keeps ordering them to pay fines and put them on probation they may not recognize what the consequences are.So I think they should lose money in order to realize that this type of behavior is unacceptable. So therefore, the company should be shut down until everything is corrected. I feel by them paying isn’t enough because they have billions of dollars and money isn’t a problem. Investors may feel that this company is reliable for their actions and may not want to do busin ess with them. The reason why investors may not want to do business with them is because they have a history of illegal and unethical behavior that may cause investors to lose money.

Free Essays on Rainforest

The battle for the Amazon rainforest is a daunting task. It’s a long battle between miners, loggers, and developers against those who see the need to protect and save this crutial enviornment. The destruction affects lives, families, the economy, politics, and the environment amongst other things. The effects of the Amazon affects the entire world. Possible vaccines, medicine, animals and beautiful wildlife are all at risk. The environmental problems of today started a long time ago, before automobiles, electricity, and the Industrial Revolution. As population increased along with technology advances, more significant and widespread problems arose. The Amazon rainforest was not spared from this growth. The Amazon region has long been seen as a land of great riches. â€Å"Early Europeans and others have long been fascinated by the Amazon, with early visions of a land of gold, the legend of ‘El Dorado’† (Faminow 32). The European invasion bought with it the increased population and new technologies that had a drastic effect to the Amazonian region, which was once considered safe from exploitation. This problem has continued to the present, with higher consequences. Ehrlich explains, â€Å"today, unprecedented demands on the environment from a rapidly expanding human population and from advancing technology are causing a continuing and accelerated decline in the quality of the en vironment and it’s ability to sustain life† (98). As a result, the Amazon rainforest is being destroyed at an alarming rate, affecting all those that live in the region, and around the world. To help in the understanding of the vast changes in the rainforest, Howard Facklam has come up with some staggering statistics. He states, â€Å"it was estimated at one point in the 1980’s that the Amazon basin was being cleared at the rate of 50 acres a minute; another estimate put the rate at 78,000 square miles per year† (53). These are astronomical ... Free Essays on Rainforest Free Essays on Rainforest The battle for the Amazon rainforest is a daunting task. It’s a long battle between miners, loggers, and developers against those who see the need to protect and save this crutial enviornment. The destruction affects lives, families, the economy, politics, and the environment amongst other things. The effects of the Amazon affects the entire world. Possible vaccines, medicine, animals and beautiful wildlife are all at risk. The environmental problems of today started a long time ago, before automobiles, electricity, and the Industrial Revolution. As population increased along with technology advances, more significant and widespread problems arose. The Amazon rainforest was not spared from this growth. The Amazon region has long been seen as a land of great riches. â€Å"Early Europeans and others have long been fascinated by the Amazon, with early visions of a land of gold, the legend of ‘El Dorado’† (Faminow 32). The European invasion bought with it the increased population and new technologies that had a drastic effect to the Amazonian region, which was once considered safe from exploitation. This problem has continued to the present, with higher consequences. Ehrlich explains, â€Å"today, unprecedented demands on the environment from a rapidly expanding human population and from advancing technology are causing a continuing and accelerated decline in the quality of the en vironment and it’s ability to sustain life† (98). As a result, the Amazon rainforest is being destroyed at an alarming rate, affecting all those that live in the region, and around the world. To help in the understanding of the vast changes in the rainforest, Howard Facklam has come up with some staggering statistics. He states, â€Å"it was estimated at one point in the 1980’s that the Amazon basin was being cleared at the rate of 50 acres a minute; another estimate put the rate at 78,000 square miles per year† (53). These are astronomical ...