The Culture That Defines Germany

The Culture That Defines Germany Talking about the culture in Germany means we have to clarify where culture in general comes from, how it relates to certain regions and how to detect it. There is great complexity associated with culture. Culture is an ever evolving process that may change from generation to generation There are substantial cultural differences within each region. Berlin is one of the most open minded and liberal cities in Europe. Bavaria maintains a cultivation of heritage and traditions Food, Beer and soccer are what come to mind about German culture. Germans have a saying Breakfast like an emperor, lunch like a king, and dine like a beggar Beer greatly ingrained into German culture. Soccer is the most popular sport in the nation. One of the largest national soccer associations in the world. The sport brings the country together in support of the national team. National pride in Germany has been a taboo topic since military defeat in two world wars A race who historically was not second class individuals Germans felt eminence shame and guilt for the heinous crimes the Nazis had committed. In 1990 the fall of the Berlin wall The reunification proved more difficult than expected Cultural assumptions and expectations on both sides Changing mind-set among the German people Slowly the German identity was found, just merely asleep and not died German Identity, Long Dormant, Reasserts Itself. Conclusion: A nation with such a rich history, some of which are the darkest know to mankind. The people of Germany still find a way to reemerge as one of todays great economic leaders. The culture itself has had many transformations in recent history. Post World War II being the most influential with the nation brought to its knees and stare at in shame the atrocities the Nazis had committed. The War spit the nation in two, controlled by two separate super power nations with opposite mind sets. The Nation, decades later reunified. However, the different in social, economics and norm made for a painful reunion. Through all of this, the German people in recent years began to find the nations identity and find pride in their nation while they grow let go of the past. SSG Babb, Christopher D. SFC Ruelas, ADA ALC Class# 033-13 22 October 2012 The Culture that defines Germany Germany is one of Europes most successful and influential nations. A nation famed by its achievements in engineering, it has also catalyzed many of the worlds great composers, poets and philosophers. Germanys vast culture has many influences that shaped it into what it is today. German Culture varies from region to region showing diversity the way its people think. Established for centuries and continues to thrive despite many obstacles. The nation and its people have endured two world wars, a disunion that spit the country into two nation-states and the reunification of East and West Germany. Talking about culture in Germany means one must clarify where culture in general comes from, how it relates to certain regions and how to detect it. It is not only a matter of understanding the multifarious individual aspects but of comprehending how every single character intermeshes and complements with one another until it forms a culture. There is great complexity associated with culture. Hofstede defines culture as the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from another (Hofstede) One must determine culture is learned and not hereditary. With this being said, there are many aspects that form a culture, everything from the language, religion, cuisine and past historical events to name a few. Culture is an ever evolving process that may differ from generation to generation. As the world changes and new social issues arise, a society will adapt and overcome. By doing so, they will create new norms and the everyday life will then gradually change over time. Germany is a descended of the Latin word Germania. However, the German language name Deutschland derived from Germanic roots meaning people. Germany is located in Central Europe with 9 countries at its borders. It consists of sixteen Bundeslaender also referred to as federal states with Berlin the capital being in the north east region of the country. There are substantial cultural differences within each region. Germans refer to Berlin as a center for politics, media, science and culture. They describe it as a collection of youth and creative minds providing the city with its cosmopolitan atmosphere, allowing Berlin to be one of the most open minded and liberal cities in Europe. On the other side of the scale, located in the southern region of Germany, Bavaria maintains a cultivation of heritage and traditions holding a conservative mind set throughout the region. The older generation expresses the importance of their heritage to the youth by involving them in the traditional events such as the October fest where the sauerkraut eating, beer drinking and lederhosen wearing German cultural stereotypes derives from. Food, beer and soccer are what comes to mind with German culture. The Roman historian Tacitus described the Germans as a warrior nation, hard-drinking, honest and hospitable. He spoke of German cuisine as simple but hearty (Tacitus), this still holds true today. Bread alone has over 600 different types, while there are over 1500 types of sausage. Sausage making has a long tradition, having more than 100 different regional variants. Germans have a saying Breakfast like an emperor, lunch like a king, and dine like a beggar (1) meaning that they typically eat a large breakfast consisting of breads, cheese, cold cuts and jams. Lunch would be traditionally the only warm meal in the day. This normally contains of meats, potatoes, salads and soups. This may vary in different regions. Finally, dinner is mostly light with rolls, cheeses and salads served with a beer or wine. Beer is ingrained into German culture, so much so that nearly each village, town and city contains multiple breweries with dozens of different types of beer. According to the German Beer Institute, Germany has approximately 1,200 breweries generating more than 5,000 brands of beer, mostly of regional styles. Germans take beer seriously jokingly saying that it is the National beverage. Radeberger Gruppe displays the importance of beer by saying beer is the peoples mood barometer and their anchor. It is consumed with extreme passion.(Radeberger) Germans drink beer more as a social event rather than to get intoxicated. Groups throughout the community may come together a few times a week to enjoy each others company with a couple of beers. Many time just to talk about normal casual day to day events. Along with the evening beers, Germans converse about sports. They follow most common sports but there is no other cherished more than soccer. Soccer is the most popular sport in the nation. The Deutscher Fussball Bund is one of the largest national soccer associations in the world with more 25,000 registered soccer clubs and approximately 6.8 million members. The league has more than 2,500 divisions in a pyramid system. The high number of participates demonstrates the significant influence the sport has on the culture. Not only are Germans loyal to their regional teams, the sport brings the country together in support of the national team. Events such as the Euro Cup and the World Cup bind the people as one with their flag. They organize and follow the team to such events no matter the distance, wearing their national colors with pride. Germans raise their flags and sing the national anthem in the one occasion they feel allowed to show pride in their country, as the people of Germany remain hunted by past historical event. National pride in Germany has been a taboo topic since military defeat in two world wars and the unraveling of their society, with the vast majority of Germans accepting that they cannot express any form of patriotism. Post World War II saw the use of national symbols being subdued to the point where it would be difficult to find a store that one could buy a German Flag. It was a damaging defeat with catastrophic effects on the German psyche. A race who historically was not second class individuals, Ebey Soman states in a web article, German men have had profound impact on the world. From religious reformers such as Martin Luther to notables such as Beethoven, Nietzsche, Max Born and Werner Von Braun, German men made immense contributions to every field.(Soman) However, their defeat in World War II emasculated them. They emerged feeble and worn from the war. Germans felt eminence shame and guilt for the heinous crimes the Nazis had committed. That guilt, and fear of what would happen if patriotism is taken too far, molded the modern German understanding of National Pride. In 1990 the fall of the Berlin wall had finally, reunited USSR controlled East Germany with the Republic of West Germany. The unification was rejoiced by thousands of Germans from the east hopeful to enjoy the same freedoms of the western world. However, the reunification proved more difficult than expected. A complex process with social, political and economic issues was not foreseen. This was due to cultural assumptions and expectations on both sides. Many East Germans felt their norms, values and traditions were devalued, as West Germans expected the east to conform to the norms of the west. Laura Heuvinck states in 20 Years of German reunification Ostalgie. Many East Germans felt themselves to be under-represented in the reunified Germany and felt like second-class citizens dismissed by West Germany. (Heuvinck) This still is a significant social issue today 20 years later. Although the physical was brought down, many of the psychological walls still exists between East and West Germans today. The unified nation found its self in economic depression after the fall of the Berlin Wall, with a growth rate of -1.6 from 1992 to 1993 and unemployment at 20% in some regions of the country. Despite these problems, the process of unification slowly moved ahead. In an article by Rod Hall Many see a changing mind-set among the German people. A growing self-confidence and assertiveness is emerging 65 years after World War II and two decades after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the reunification of Germany.(Hall) The newer generation, with no recollection of the horrific atrocities of the Second World War feel as if there have gotten past it. This is evident with a shift in patriotic German flags flown from houses and German music played on the airwaves. Slowly the German identity was found, just merely asleep and not died. The country has now awakened, ready to celebrate its economic ingenuity, its cultural treasures and the unsullied stretches of its history. (Kulish) Stated by Nicholas Kulish in German Identity, Long Dormant, Reasserts Itself. A nation with such a rich history, some of which are the darkest know to mankind. The people of Germany still find a way to reemerge as one of todays great economic leaders. The culture itself has had many transformations in recent history. Post World War II being the most influential with the nation brought to its knees and stare at in shame the atrocities the Nazis had committed. The War spit the nation in two, controlled by two separate super power nations with opposite mind sets. The Nation, decades later reunified. However, the different in social, economic and norm made for a painful reunion. Through all of this, the German people in recent years began to find the nations identity and find pride in their nation while they grow let go of the past.

The Effect one’s Gender and Personality has on their Ability to Identif

Introduction Facial expressions are one of the most recognizable things about a person's face, one can often tell whether another is happy or sad simply by observing, but do we notice better whether the face is male or female? Furthermore, do other factors such as one’s own gender or personality effect how they process another’s face? The human face consists of many interesting features, one of which is the emotion being expressed. For human beings, the importance of interpreting emotions is unchallenged. The ability to understand the feelings expressed by others is thought to be a natural part of growing up. From the early age of 6 months, infants have been reported to show facial expression recognition and discrimination (Ahrens, 1954; Charlesworth & Kreutzer, 1973). Ekman, a psychologist interested in the relationship of emotions and facial expression, carried out cross-cultural research and found that the expressions associated with some emotions, such as happiness and sadness, were basic or biologically universal to all humans (Ekman et al, 1969). Further evidence indicates neural mechanisms are involved where the comprehension of emotions are largely facilitated by the right hemisphere (Bryden et al, 1979). Another interesting aspect and one of the initial things identified in a face is the gender. Face gender identification is a cognitive process that occurs rapidly and efficiently. Previous research has found that when adults were presented with facial images that had been cropped to remove all cultural cues to gender (i.e. hairstyles and makeup); in almost 100% of the cases participants accurately identified the gender of the face (Bruce et al, 1998). Further evidence has found that 80% of the time, children as ... ...o the prolonged inspection of one alternative that causes the perception of the other to occur. Consequently as the figure is viewed, fatigue (satiation) develops in response to both alternatives, resulting in increased rates of reversal (O’Leary, 1993). Introverts must then experience higher rates of Koehler type of satiation as they see the cube reverse more. The purpose of the current study is to explore further gender differences and personality type differences in the ability to identify the gender and emotion of a face. Based on the findings by Hoffman (2010) and Cellerino (2004) it is expected that females will respond faster in identifying facial emotion and gender. Additionally, using the Necker cube as a measure to determine personality type, differences between extroverts and introverts in facial emotion and gender identification will be investigated.

Hiv And Aids Problem In Nigeria Health And Social Care Essay

Nigeria ‘s communities are at hazard. The state ‘s population of more than 140 million people, stand foring extraordinary cultural and cultural diverseness, faces an HIV epidemic that could easy whirl out of control. Although the national HIV prevalence rate was cited at 4.4 % in NARHS 2005, this translated into more than 2.9 million people populating with the virus and in demand of services, and support, the 3rd highest load for HIV in the universe. Nationally, the sero prevalence rates of 4.4 % in 2005 translated to over 2.9 million people populating with the virus. This located Nigeria as holding the 3rd greatest load of people infected with HIV in the universe. Over the last two decennaries, the HIV epidemic in Nigeria has gone from impacting merely a few populations with higher-risk behaviours within a ‘concentrated ‘ epidemic in a few provinces, to a ‘generalized ‘ epidemic in many provinces.Size of job, how many people infected, cardinal population affected, chief path of transmittalLike many other states in Africa, HIV is most prevailing among the most productive members of society ( age 25-29 ) , with immature adult females, in peculiar, affected. This besides includes the sexually active age of which unprotected sex is the chief path of transmittal. The epidemic besides had a disproportional impact on adult females and misss in their generative old ages, with 4.9 % of pregnant adult females age 2 5-29 infected followed by adult females age 20-24 with 4.7 % . More alarming, 3.6 % of adult females age 15-19 were infected every bit good suggestion early sexual introduction. High and early birthrate among immature adult females across Nigeria ‘s vast and diverse state, suggests that many more kids will besides be infected as a consequence due to rear to child transmittal. Already, more than 1.2 million kids were reported to be infected in 2005. It was estimated that 75,780 new infections would happen among kids less than15 in 2006, with the figure of child-headed families increasing due to the decease of their parents. This indicates a greater demand to associate HIV within generative wellness services to make both adult females and work forces within the general population with more antiphonal household planning, HIV proving and comprehensive PPTCT services. It besides the demand to beef up holistic intercessions to protect vulnerable immature populations.Cultural/Social norms in your state and how they impact on the developing state of affairsThey include low hazard perceptual experience, multiple concurrent sexual spouses, informal transactional and intergeneration sex, gender inequalities, stigma and favoritism.Low hazard perceptual experienceThe NARHS 2005 showed that 67 % of Nigerians felt no hazard for HIV and merely 29 % perceived themselves to be at hazard for HIV. Even the IBBS S 2007 showed that MARPs did non perceive themselves as being personally at hazard for HIV, despite high HIV prevalence rates among FSWs, MSM and IDUs. Low hazard for HIV among Nigerians means that they are improbable to take calls for action to forestall HIV earnestly irrespective of high cognition about the virus.Multiple coincident spouses among work forces and adult femalesUnderliing multiple coincident partnerships are cultural norms that encourage polygamous r elationships, peculiarly among work forces. Common patterns of holding â€Å" indoors and outside married womans † and social norms that assume â€Å" all work forces are polygamous, promote work forces to hold multiple spouse to show their maleness. Even among formal polygamous relationships, where there is presumed greater protection, work forces and adult females were reportedly non ever remaining within the relationship. Women within polygamous relationship in rural countries were more likely to hold extra-marital personal businesss than among monogamously married adult females as a agency to economic security.Informal transactional and intergeneration sexThere is a great trade of grounds that many adult females, peculiarly immature adult females, are interchanging sex for gifts, favors, and money outside of a whorehouse scene. Womans who engage in informal transactional relationships are less likely to utilize rubbers than adult females in formal commercial sex counters .Gender inequalities that influence hazard behavior and bound entree to identify HIV and SRH servicesCultural norm in Nigeria, relegate adult females to a low-level function within matrimony and do it hard for adult females to negociate their right to safe sex or refusal of sex. This is compounded by a important age difference between hubby and married woman, peculiarly in polygamous relationships, which farther makes it hard for immature adult females to entree power in the relationship. Other cultural patterns including married woman heritage, traditional married woman sharing, early and forced matrimony, female Circumcision and sexual cleaning non merely increase adult females ‘s hazard for infection but besides farther undermine adult females ‘s right to autonomy and self finding.Stigma and favoritismStigma related to HIV keeps many people from reacting tp bar, attention and intervention intercessions for HIV. It prevents Nigerians from accessing HIV proving for frig ht of positive consequences, unwraping their Hiv position to their spouses, and consumption of bar of parent to child transmittal services, including safe eating of new born kids.How the cognition above might be used to undertake this job and cut down the spread of HIV/AIDSSee urban vs. rural differences in footings of entree to information, key services and literacy. Reduce reported multiple coincident spouses among all group Increase consistent and right rubber usage among all work forces and adult females who are sexually active, peculiarly among paid and insouciant spouses. Increase early STI sensing, intervention and patner presentment. Critically analyse cultural and gender values and beliefs that put work forces and adult females at hazard in their communities, and beef up male duty in generative wellness. Reduce reported stigma and favoritism among PLWHA Reduce reported high hazard cultural patterns. Reinforce rights of PLWH to hold positive but safe sexual relationships.DecisionBecause of the enormous diverseness within Nigeria ‘s population, it is clear that as contrivers, we need to look carefully at informations within our provinces in doing strategic programs every bit good as acknowledge the diverse needs for be aftering our response. In such a dynamic environment, it is besides of import to see the drivers of Nigeria ‘s epidemic to guarantee that programme contrivers stay in melody with future alterations in the epidemic ‘s growing. What is clear that there needs to be a co-ordinated, consonant response for bar attempts at all degrees to protect Nigeria ‘s communities? There is much that can be done. The fact that 95 % of Nigerians still remain HIV free is a enormous chance for bar attempts in our communities. Not merely is our combined strength and committedness key to contending the spread of the epidemic, most of us can make a great trade to forestall ourselves from going infected and fro distributing it to others. It is already apparent that Nigerians communities, at all degrees, have made of import paces to turn to the epidemic. The freshly launched National Prevention Plan besides strategically [ topographic points bar attempts, and within that, behaviour alteration communications as a precedence country for all spouses and has done much work to construct national consensus on the manner frontward.

Ames s Long Battle Against Lynch Law - 1257 Words

The contents of this book is a fascinating study over Jessie Daniel Ames, who was a southern woman who played major roles in several local social movements between the two world wars- as the very first President of the Texas league of woman voters, leader in the Texas Equal Suffrage Association, Director of Woman’s Work for the Commission on Interracial Cooperation in the 1920’s, and following that decade as the head of the association of southern Woman for the prevention of Lynching (ASWPL). The book deals both with Ames’s work in the woman’s movement and her efforts as a white liberal in the racist south. Ames’s long battle against lynch law gave her an opportunity to merge two basic interests-feminist concerns and racial reform. She†¦show more content†¦Hall s importance on the anti-racist character of the Southern women s anti-lynching campaign is seriously misleading. Although Hall reports the racism of white women leaders of various anti-lynching initiatives toward black women collaborators, â€Å"But the notion of â€Å"racial integrity which white woman asserted as a fundamental goal, functioned for blacks as a code word for segregation.† (100). she does not deliver a continuous examination of the contradictory, often mutually aggressive impulses these leaders displayed. However, in all fairness, Hall does report that within the white women s movement; spontaneity gave way to a reassertion of traditional hierarchies and assump tions†¦ (95). Ironically, during this influential period of women s consciousness, the plight of black men provided a central opportunity for white women to participate in the forbidden arena of public talk about race and sex. These same white women leaders summarily rejected black women s call for suffrage and equal treatment with white women. â€Å"When we yield to public opinion and make ourselves say only what we think the public can stand, is there not a danger that we may find ourselves with our larger view conceding what those with the narrow view in demand?† (96). The enormous potential of anti-lynching complaints for establishing a bridge of equality between black and white women was thereby immoral. These early feminine supporters used the very stereotypes that fueled mob hatred