Misunderstandings of a Foreigner in American Culture Essay -- American

I still remember the shock I got when I first moved here. What a terribly superficial culture this country has, I thought. The way people treat each other, especially in conversations! At the beginning they ask you: "How are you?" But beware! They don't really want to know how you are, and if you make the mistake of actually giving them a detailed account of your well-being, they'll shun you for weeks. On the other hand, you're required to immediately embrace all new acquaintances with the standard "Nice to meet you." Maybe you weren't even in the mood to meet somebody at this particular moment, and if she or he turns out to be just another perfectly intolerable human being, then you lied to the entire world around you! I had some serious objections to this whole game. Unfortunately, even I am human and realized that it was either going to be adaptation or getting the heck out of this country, and my finances narrowed it down to the first choice. In addition to my little blunders with American small talk, I also had quite a few instances of misunderstandings, and it certainly was not because my English wasn't fluent! I could tell you about the time I had an enticing little talk with a seriously cute guy who threw me a "I'll call you later" at the end of the conversation. Dummy me, sat by the phone the rest of the evening waiting for him to call. Is this an instance of gendered communication, or is it just a sign of the "American" times? How often do we use these vague phrases to be non-committal with almost anybody? These sentences have lost any actual meaning; they're an easy, "polite" way out of any situation. We refuse to give a concrete answer and therefore we can't be tied down to any kind of commitment. It's a good way to... ...erstood! -- by the opposite sex I would like men to be on the lookout for these revolutionary and radical women because, after all, we women have the power to send you all back to your beloved "caves"! Works Cited Gray, John. "Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus." Writing the World: Reading and Writing about Issues of the Day. Ed. Charles R. Cooper and Susan Peck MacDonald. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2000. 16-25. Tannen, Deborah. "'Put Down That Paper and Talk to Me: Rapport-Talk and Report-Talk." Writing the World: Reading and Writing about Issues of the Day. Ed. Charles R. Cooper and Susan Peck MacDonald. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2000. 8-16. Troernel-Ploetz, Senta. "Selling the Apolitical". Writing the World: Reading and Writing about Issues of the Day. Ed. Charles R. Cooper and Susan Peck MacDonald. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2000. 67-73.

media and its influence on the public Essay -- essays research papers

The media is a huge form of communication and source of information in the United States; on one side of the dispute are the beliefs that the media is too opinionated. On the other side are the beliefs that the media is just a simple informer that just reports the facts. The main issue for both of these beliefs is: does the media affect opinions on the issues from opinionated reports, or does it just report the facts that public may already know? If one could answer this question then they would know if the media was responsible or not for writing history.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The media is a form of communication used to reach the general public to form audiences for information, artistic expression, and other kinds of messages (Marc, David, â€Å"Mass Media.† Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia. Scholastic Library Publishing, 2005 ). Media is known for being able to reach large segments of the public due to its great value in commerce, politics, and culture. Corporations like in the U.S. or national governments like in China, usually control the media. These corporations or national governments employ people who are professional and can produce, promote, and deliver these media products to meet the goal of attracting large audiences.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Media products can be produced and promoted in different ways using different objects. There are products such as books, videos, DVD’s, newspapers, and magazines. The ways media can be delivered to audiences are through t.v. channels, pay-per-view, movies, and radio broadcasting. Most media depends on profit to be produced and a lot of the profit comes from the selling of items like books, and the selling of advertisements like in newspapers or television.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Some Historians say that forms of media first occurred during the medieval period in Europe rather than it forming in the industrial- era. It supposedly began in the architecture found in European Cathedrals which functioned like a mass medium of religious communication through biblical stories, religious information, paintings, sculptures, and other forms of art to a large illiterate population. The eighteenth century is often considered to be the beginning of media due to the first commercial printing industry in London. It was then, the eighteenth century, when publishing began and hand operated printing presses ... ...s its consistent failure to inform the masses of its ongoing control. It has been in place for so long that few are aware of how it came about or that it is even still there. But many people are intelligent, moral, and idealistic; if the media would the true history of these three sacred cows, that control would quickly disappear†(J.W. Smith, The Worlds Wasted Wealth 2, (Institute for Economic Democracy, 1994), p.11). The media obtains support and conformity through many ways. After all the media is just another business trying to make a profit so should its buyers be guilty of its continuos to commit such accused wrongness.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The media and its reporting of facts being biased or not is a large topic and is continually debated among those who believe the media should not contain its opinions and others who believe that it is the media’s duty to not only report the facts but to explain and interpret them. People should consider the fact that they choose what they want to read, listen to, and believe so does that make the informer wrong even if the information is not totally accurate or correct?

Nowadays, food has become easier to prepare. Has this change improved the way people live? Essay

Nowadays, food has become easier to prepare. Has this change improved the way people live? Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer. There are lot of many thing which is helped to improve way of living , The one of the example is preparing food is became easier. The reason why living style or way of living is improved is discussed in the below paragraphs. First , in the market there are different types of foods are available for example : fruits, fast food, mills, cooked food. Depend on the need the people buy their food. One of them fast food is easy to prepare and everywhere available in the market. Imagine your naive to preparing any kind of food and you have no other option other than preparing our-self. That time you try to cook the food which is easy to prepare , so that it will save your time, money and energy. To prepare food easily, technology is also helping which is countable in improving people way of living. For example : Microwave , refrigerator , cooker etc. Consider , thousands of student/professionals are buying easy to prepare foods then demand of food market will increase. The number of food developing company / Factory will be increased in the city / village. The number of employment will increase in the town , so that everyone will be earning good amount of money and it will help to improve their life and the way of living in the society. Second, we cannot compromise the health while preparing the any food. Normally every easily prepare food which is actually available at authentic market place for example wall mart , malls etc. So they keep the food within the expiry date. People who want to lose the fat or increase the proteins or people who are on diet. Food companies help them by writing the quantity of Fats , protean, and vitamins. So we can control the our body needs and control the health. On the other hand , when i was student. My college time , study time , assignment time , other activity don’t allow me to prepare food in less time with a good taste , even i was not the perfect cooker. That time I used fast cooking foods and bought some devices which is helpful to prepare food fast. That mean time I’ve used in my extra activities. Foods price was moderate and devices was bit expensive but it was worth to buy it. There are many companies are working on to reduce the price of the foods as well as the price of technology which is used to prepare the food easily , so that people can buy food and prepare it without consuming time and energy. Conclusion , above reason and example state directly or indirectly people changed the way of live by saving time and helping economy.

Belonging Essay

The poems by Steven Herrick ‘Caitlin and Mopping’ and ‘The Picnic’ written in 2000 and the novel by Amy Tan ‘The Joy Luck Club’ written in 1989. Through figurative language and poetic techniques the composers represent the sense and connection of belonging in narrative and poetic form. ‘Caitlin and mopping’ is a poem written by Steven Herrick in 2000. It is based on the compelling story of 16 year old boy named Billy, who trades the soulless tyranny of his father’s home and the tediousness of high school for a life of no fixed address. The purpose of the poem is to tell the reader the first time Billy meets Caitlin who is an employee, mopping the floors. They have daily chats, become great friends, which eventually turns into a relationship. Billy and Caitlin have this amazing connection, even though they come from two different worlds. They become very faithful with each other. The persona chooses to tell his story through direct speech and structural techniques. Steven Herrick uses poetic techniques, direct speech and relationships to help convey the understanding of integration in this poem. To prove so, when Billy steals leftover food in McDonalds, he opens up the oppurtunity to belong to Caitlin. When Caitlin observes Billy ‘stealing scraps’ she is drawn to the way Billy looks ‘self contained’. His demeanour is what encourages her not to call the Manager. Instead Caitlin ‘smiled at him. I smiled at him and said, â€Å"I hate mopping. †/ he sat in his chair/ and smiled back/ and i felt good/ that i hadn’t called the Manager. ’ Herrick uses the direct speech in this extract to demonstrate the potential for belonging etween Caitlin and Billy. She does the unexpected and puts him at ease and the motif of their smiles further emphasizes a connection between the two. This poem shows the significant moment of when Billy and Caitlin first met and the connection between the two will be stronger in time and shape our understanding of the two characters belonging to each other. ‘The picnic’ is a poem written by Ste ven Herrick in 2000. The poem is about Caitlin and Billy having a picnic together and showing their affection and devotion towards each other. The purpose of this poem is to show the growing sense of union and connection that builds between the two characters through stages of events. Herrick uses poetic techniques and relationships between characters to help convey the understanding of acceptance between the two characters. To prove so, Caitlin and Billy have a picnic together by the Bendarat River. The rhythm and pace of ‘The picnic’ is slow and calm. Herrick uses repitition – ‘We ate everything/ We took our time†¦ / It was warm,/ it was delicious†¦ – and a steady beat throughout this verse to illustrate that the way in which Caitlin and Billy come to feel a sense of belonging to each other is unhurried and easy. The use of personification ‘and the beer worked its magic’ attributes the human characteristics to inanimate the object, which in this case helped convey that the significant moment was working through ‘magic’. The enjambment in the final part o f the verse – ‘and we slept together/ only/ we really did just/ sleep together/ content/ to waste the hours/ close. – also places emphasis on the feelings of comfort and closeness that each provides for the other. This poem relates to ‘Caitlin and mopping’ with similar uses of techniques such as poetic techniques. This poem links to the significance of moments because this it is in actual fact about a significant moment where the two characters have a moment together which help shape their sense of belonging together through time. Both poems use the technique language modes. Herrick combines the modes of narrative and poetry to represent the concept of belonging. By combining these two modes of representation, Herrick is able to explore the many dimensions of belonging. The narrative mode helps him represent the process or stages of belonging quite clearly as his verse novel follows the conventions of plot. Each chapter moves the events of the story as a whole forward and we are able to see the ways in which his key characters begin to feel they belong together By using the mode of poetry as well in his text, Herrick is able to represent the emotions of his characters very economically and powerfully. This The novel ‘The joy luck club’ by Amy Tan is written in 1989. The story is about death of Suyuan Woo, an elderly Chinese woman and the founding member of the Joy Luck Club. Suyuan has died without fulfilling her â€Å"long-cherished wish†: to be reunited with her twin daughters who were lost in China. Suyuan’s American-born daughter, Jing-mei (June) Woo, is asked to replace her mother at the Joy Luck Club’s meetings. She soon realises the distance between herself and her daughters and makes an effort to get closer and create an affiliation bond. Amy Tan uses many techniques such as figurative language and flash backs to help convey the idea of belonging. Shown through each chapter, concepts of belonging are shown within events. In the chapter ‘Feathers from a Thousand Li Away’ In ‘scar’, An-mei’s mother ‘cut a piece of meat from her arm’ showing the daughter’s devotion to her mother, and sense of belonging to her. ‘This is how a daughter honors her mother’, comments An-mei. In ‘The Red Candle’ Lindo’s moving to her future mother-in-law’s house ends her sense of real belonging with her own family. ‘I missed my family and my stomach felt bad, knowing i had finally arrived where my life said i belonged’. This use of ‘belonged’ is ironic, however, since it is Chinese tradition which says Lindo belonged there, not her own feelings. Figures of speech such as similies and metaphors are used throughout to enrich the imagery of belonging. Similes are frequently used: ‘my mother loved to show me off, like one of my many trophies she polished’. The simile shows that Waverly felt her mother had made her into an object from which to gain status, a perception which impaired for many years her sense of belonging with her mother. Metaphors often help enhance a character’s erception about belonging, as Waverly’s later epiphany about her mother: ‘I could finally see†¦ an old woman, a wok for her armor, a knitting needle for her sword’. The metaphors of the wok and the knitting needle show Waverly’s realisation that Lindo is not threatning, and help her to regain a sense of belonging with her mother. Flashback is used in every story an d helps the reader to understand the sense of belonging or not belonging of the characters. The flash backs help us understand the characters by revealing aspects of their past. The Joy Luck Club’ relates to the two poems from ‘The Simple Gift’ because they are all similar with techniques (such as figurative language) and understanding of belonging and acceptance within the texts. The quotes, techniques and examples above emphasize that siginificant moments in life shape our identity and individuality of integration in time. It has been proven that the poet and author of the two texts have used developed structures, poetic techniques and structural techniques. The examples have proven that both, novels and poems, use significant moments in time to shape our understanding of belonging.

Auditing case study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Auditing case study - Essay Example ’s best performing market with a 4% rise in sales even though its export sales recorded a 1% contraction when compared to the previous financial year. Overall group data reported that sales into the U.S.A market rose by 24% whilst the European market indicated a 12% decline. The company’s overall profitability was assisted by the strengthening of the US dollar when compared with the sterling pound during this period. 2. The company’s profit before tax stood at  £2,052,000 in 2012/13 when compared with 2011/12 whereby it stood at  £843,000 before the IAS 19 pension adjustment. The main expenditure stood at  £555,000. The other expenses were  £228,000 which was mostly related to executive transition costs. Looking at their major products, Technical Fiber Products had an operating profit standing at  £1,450,000 compared to 2011/12 when it stood at  £629,000. Their turnover figures grew by about 6% on the preceding year’s turnover figure of  £12,599,000. Sales in the Defense and Aerospace sectors represented an 18% and 20% of the overall sales respectively. The sales of TFP into the U.S.A increased by 16% and 17% in US dollar and Sterling terms respectively. The U.S.A represented the TFPs most important market with which accounted for about 55% of its turnover while it stood at 50% over the preceding year. It was however not so rosy in when looking at the same sales out o f the U.S.A which shrunk by about 6%. The company took several steps aimed at consolidating the US operations. It closed the Cincinnati facility in mid-2012 while it will take until the third quarter of 2013 for the new facility at Schenectady to achieve to several consumer programs. The Schenectady facility needed an investment about US$3million initially. In conclusion, there is heightened audit risk in revenue area. 1. According to the annual report, the company is undergoing major re alignments in its principle market in the U.S .The closures of the Cincinnati plant and future closure of

Organizational Innovation and Change - Critical Thinking Mod 6 - Role Essay

Organizational Innovation and Change - Critical Thinking Mod 6 - Role of Vision at Mentor Graphics - Essay Example an organization and is able to achieve intrepid changes; it encourages assurance and trust and has emotional appeal to the elementary human requirements and desire. That is why it is important for an organization and the vision fail may cause organization failure thus must be formulated vigilantly and should be changed very cautiously as per requirement. At Mentor graphics vision was used as per requirement, the very first vision â€Å"Built something that people will buy† was not well thought and the others did not cover the actual need but were formulated as needed even forcefully somehow. According to Lussier and Achua (2009) a vision should be motivating; it should not only be economic but must express organization’s philosophy so that the customers may develop a personal connection with the organization. It actually weakened the company because right from the start the company was not clear about its future. Vision generation is similar to picture generation of excellence in business. Therefore, it cannot be successful unless future consideration is there. Whereas all the visions formulated by the company were based on the present situation of the organization. Vision is supposed to be dealt as a way of irrefutable situations (Scott, 1993). There is not only one but many visions formed by the company each falling in the failure category of different kind. In the broader terms the visions made were mostly inadequate. That means there walk was different from the talk, they were irrelevant, disconnected and little participating. Vision should deal with the better future and a different situation instead of following the present problem. The vision should have the relevant content, what is included in the vision should be given importance. The way it is used is the other issue. The context of the vision content should relate to each other. The way vision was introduced and changed at the company was not focusing on the upcoming growth but what was analyzed

Role Of Women In Arabic Society Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Role Of Women In Arabic Society - Assignment Example Women in the Arab society are discriminated against especially in institutions such as marriage and areas such as inheritance and divorce. Women are not allowed to own property in some classes. Divorce will always almost favor the men and women end up suffering from the outcome of the divorce. Women in this society are considered a source of evil, social disorder and anarchy, and deception. This consideration is adopted by the prevailing religious ideology. Therefore, the society has created a certain standard of morality that stresses values and norm associated with traditional ideas of motherhood, wifehood, and femininity for the woman (Barakat, 1993). The woman in the society has been relieved of all financial responsibilities that the family might require. These responsibilities are the duties of the father who is seen as the provider of the family. A lot of changes have been witnessed throughout the world in regards changes in the family set up and socio-economic trends. The Arab community has also witnessed major changes especially towards how the woman is viewed in the society. Many women are being educated in the Arab community. This has allowed women to be involved in jobs in the public sectors in contrast to the traditional household women. Education Has made a lot of women to be providers of some of the families and has gained economical independence from the men. The changes in Arab society have begun to undermine traditional roles, relationships, and values within the Arab family.