The PodcastThe Problem With The Solution?

If the change in behavior of one individual is a natural act results from internal transformation and external influences, then cultural change is an inscrutable mystery. Which factor is influential enough to cause a change in a society composed of individuals with different thoughts? There is no definite answer to this question, because there never exists one solid element that changes an entire society. There is always a combination of reasons behind such changes. However, there is always one solid factor which is present that makes culture change. In “The Power of Context”, Malcolm Gladwell describes how the crime rate suddenly “went into a precipitous decline” (151) due to changes of “the smallest details of the immediate environment” (155). On the contrary, in her text “An Army of One: Me”, Jean Twenge discusses how society systematically built Generation Me, a cultural change that happens gradually over decades. Although Gladwell and Twenge’s arguments concerning cultural change seems contradictory, they both consolidate one essential factor that makes culture change- an active assertion of change made by an individual or a group of individuals. Therefore, active attempt of change is an important cause of cultural change. Such assertiveness helps to introduce the change in the first place and makes it noticeable in the perspective of society, While it influences people’s mentality when behaving and making decisions.

Beyond Culture examines on the importance of context and how man copes in the world as a culture being. Looking at the book from the first chapter to the eighth chapter one would realize that it explains culture from different perspectives ranging from man’s ethnical culture, to his organizational culture and his personal culture. In this book, Edward Hall uses his experiences to explain what frames the thinking and understanding of cultures outside the Western culture after having travelled the world and experienced culture shock, he boils it all down to context. Edward Hall explained contexting as the way man handles the complexity of human transactions so that the system doesn’t bog down in information overload (p. 90). He explained context into two dimensions; the low context and high context. Although context cannot be given a specific meaning, the meaning of communication is dependent on it. However one would notice these contextualized differences in cultures only when two cultures meet and experience what can only be explained as culture shock; as in the example of the Japanese hotel operations (p. 62). Man as a culture being is contextualized from the day he is born to the day he dies as he is born into a culture and dies with a culture but there are situations at which man needs to let go of his cultural thinking and accept a new understanding (p. 88). When this new situation arises, it is required of man to read into the context of the situation in other to be

The world is filled with many different types of societies and cultures. This is due to the fact that many people share dissimilar beliefs and ideas, as well as diverse ways of life. People lived under different circumstances and stipulations, therefore forming cultures and societies with ideas they formulated, themselves. These two factors, society and culture, are what motivate people to execute the things that they do. Many times, however, society and culture can cause downgrading effects to an assemblage if ever it is corrupt or prejudiced. Society and culture not only influences the emotions individuals have toward things like age differences, religion, power, and equality but also the actions they perform as a result.

Society has little choice but to adapt. Therefore, the issues need to be dissected for clarity and understanding which brings into focus alternative solutions for coping with complex issues. Thus,

Critics of cultural theory claim, since it has a microscopic view, that it is too narrow. A few questions that are proposed, but cannot be answered utilizing cultural theory alone: “So what is some people experience everyday life in certain ways?

Culture is defined by a community, it shapes the aspirations, how success is defined, the resources available to the people within. This further effects the beliefs and behaviors of the individuals. Societies where isolation is normalized cause the people within them to be more solitary and unable to maintain relationships (Cacioppo 74). When people are no longer able to maintain relationships, they turn to other forms of interaction. Cacioppo writes about the substitution of human interaction.

Just like the test subjects, my “cultural” society was stripped away from me. I felt naked. I was surrounded by people I barely knew, and felt as if I were alone in the world. If some situation had come up that required the help of others, it would have been much more awkward and difficult to deal with without having the support of people that shared strong relationships with me. However, I believe if I continued to occupy the new seat, relationships would be formed with the people around me, and a new sense of “cultural” society would be formed. Eventually, we would again find comfort in our seats and the people around us. This experiment shed light on the power of small culture in our society and how the people around us affect the way we can work in society and express ourselves to the world. Knowing this, we can now better understand the effect of new relationships and the ability of humans to work together in groups. If we are learn how to break these social walls, we as humans will be able to cooperate and deal with new and different types of people throughout our

As members of a sophisticated and modern society, to participate in the day to day social life there are a few things we must act in accordance with. We must follow the natural laws that the societies have placed in order, and must establish guidelines by understanding their moral and ethical obligations. They are the foundations of our day to day life. Whether we choose to obey or disobey the norms and regulations of our social environment is determined by the way we appeal to their distinct morals and ethics.

The culture of a people is basically their way of life. Therefore, there is much logic in the deduction that culture shapes the mind of the society. Ethan Watters’ presents this idea in a rather great manner in his piece ‘Being Weird. Through the text, Watters largely blames the culture of the society for most of the major issues that have to be faced. In essence, what is greatly concurred with in the author’s postulation is that Westernization, as a result of the Western culture has blinded individuals in the society to knowledge that already exists. So often, explains the author, the society finds much comfort in its own way of doing things rather than in the right way of doing things. Societal culture has

We can find two different points of view concerning the utility of a cross-cultural approach. Let’s tackle the everlasting debate between universal human nature and cultural specificity.

The podcast title was “WW2: War and Words” by BBC UK. The specific episode I watched was named “From Hiroshima to Cold War” and it was 18 minutes long.

Today's society faces a lot of challenges in addressing, adhering to and adapting to changes in cultural and social norms. What people refer to as normal human behavior in one society can normally be seen as wrong in another. One of the most social

Within a given society, there is a certain set of cultural norms which are used in daily interactions with people. The collective majority in society establishes these unspoken rules of conduct. How a person should behave is regulated by these social norms, and, when they are violated, a person or group is labelled deviant or abnormal. Some forms of aberrant behavior have remained universal throughout space and time and continue to be rejected by society. Culture heavily influences human behavior and thought processes.

Humans do not engage the world in a neutral way. Instead, we see world through the reality that our culture creates. Without culture, humanity would have to continuously reinvent the wheel, perhaps even literally. It casts a web of reality over us that is inescapable. We are constantly in the grip of our culture. Therefore, it isn’t surprising to find societies with cultures which differ greatly from ours who come to very different conclusions about what reality is. When we are confronted with these differences in world views, we are often quick and confident to assert that our way of life is superior to others.

In a society, there is an underlining tension when it comes to people truly understanding each other’s issues. The mindset is to center the focus around human interactions, however, to overlook a person’s cultural world is similar to a person completing a math problem without the instructions. Every person lives in a world, that involves different social paradigms. The paradigms, approach the individual behavior and their cultural context to address various perspectives of the world. In order to understand an individual’s behavior, you must grasp the understanding of the larger social structures and cultural contexts that influence the world.