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Sociology Cultural Shock I have experienced a strong Cultural Shock, during the course of my last years trip to Thailand, when one of the local guys, Ive made friends with, offered me to come with him to the open market to do groceries shopping. When we approached the market, where locals buy and sell food, I saw one man holding in his hands something that looked like a skinned human toddler. Before leaving to Thailand, I was being warned that many things in this country might utterly shock me, but I could never imagine that Thais actually consider monkeys as a good eating. As we proceeded to walk further into the market, I saw skinned cats and dogs hanging from the hooks in the ceiling, with locals buying killed pets rather enthusiastically.
It was during the course of my trip to this market, when it finally started to dawn on me why I have not seen a single cat or dog on the streets of Bangkok, after having lived there for a few days. There can be no doubt as to the fact that this experience, on my part, represents a perfect example of Cultural Shock. Interview After I finished a high school, I tried to get a job at local McDonalds. As it appeared, restaurants managers thought of the process of flipping burger patties as being utterly complicated, which is why they had to interview every potential candidate for the job, to make sure that he meets McDonalds high professional standards.
I was being asked to undergo an interview with restaurants human resources manager, to which I agreed. Yet, as it turned out, the interviewer almost did not speak any English, so I had a hard time understanding what he was trying to say. Eventually, I got off the chair, stepped outside and called INS, asking them to check out whether the manager was living in U. S. legally. It was only a few weeks later that I had found out that the person who was asking me questions, in regards to my professional adequacy, was being put on the plane and shipped to Mexico, since he had no right being here in the first place.
Innovation A few years ago, my mom told me to go to the vet shop to buy our dog Juno a collar. Once at the shop, I began talking to the salesperson and she told me about the new electrical collars for dogs, with the mean of which, dogs owner can put a little electrical jolt into the pets neck, when it begins to disobey. I decided to buy such collar for Juno (which is a Husky dog) and his behavior had significantly improved, ever since. Now he knows to never ever run across the street, when there are moving cars on it.
This story shows of how a simple innovation can make life so much easier. Nowadays, the usage of electrical collars for dogs became a widespread practice; therefore, these collars can no longer be discussed as an example of technical innovation. However, it was certainly the case a few years ago, when such collar came into my sight for the first time. Cohabitation When my parents had bought a house in our town in 1982, there were no representatives of racial minorities living in our neighborhood. However, starting in 1995, they began to settle in the area in ever-greater numbers. In 2002, our old neighbors had sold their house to the family of newly arrived Pakistani immigrants.
At the beginning, it appeared that there were only 5 people living in that house: a married couple and their 3 kids. However, as time went by, the countless relatives of our Pakistani neighbors started to visit them, with these visits turning into a permanent stay in 100 % of all cases. Eventually, we figured that there were no less then fifty people staying at the house on permanent basis. After INS had raided this place, it was being revealed that this house served as a temporary hiding place for Pakistani illegals, who would eat, sleep, have sex and even relieve themselves right on the floor. This can serve as a good example of Cohabitation under extreme circumstances. If fifty White people were jammed into one house, they would begin killing each other, within a matter of day or two.
Yet, it was not quite the case with Pakistanis they proved themselves as being able to co-exist in extremely limited territory, without beginning to conflict with each other, as a result. Culture Universal During the course of my last visit to Canada, I became personally acquainted with Babine Lake Nations Chief Ted Williams (British Columbia). While getting to know him better I suddenly realized that his outlook on life, culture, and politics closely matches my own, even though that he is a Canadian Native and I am American White. Ted had told me his tribes legends about how Babine people came to be. What had stricken me, as being particularly odd, while I was listening to these stories, is that stories motifs closely remind the motifs of Scandinavian sagas: glorification of combat valor, respect to fallen warriors, sanctification of nature, and above all the promotion of the concept of personal honor as representing a supreme value. Apparently, even though that the history of Scandinavians and Natives does not have much in common, it appears that their cultures are being strikingly similar in its metaphysical essence.
Thus, my conversations with Ted Williams helped me to realize what the concept of Culture Universal stands for. Culture Lag One time, while going through customs at the airport, I was being asked whether I had any illegally downloaded music on my laptop. I asked: What do you mean illegally downloaded? The custom officer could not come up with the definition of what the notion of illegal music means he said he was simply doing his work.
He asked me again Did you steal your music? . I said: I could not have possibly stolen any music, as it can hardly be found in locked-up drawers or in peoples wallets. This incident provides us with the insight onto Cultural Lag and the measure of society's inability to adjust its socio-political norms to the progress of technology. Apparently, the conventional morality (Biblical), upon which the law in Western countries is based, is being grossly outdated, which is why many people do not understand that application of terms moral or immoral, within a context of discussing post-industrial realities, is simply out of place.
Informal Norm One time, I happened to venture into a Catholic Church on Sunday morning (needed to kill some time), while wearing work overalls. The people who were there started to give me dirty looks, as if I had committed some horrible crime, while appearing in the house of God without a tie on my neck. Yet, the Bible does not contain any specifications as to what people are supposed to wear, while attending the Church. The fact that Bible thumper's put on their best suits, before attending religious services, simply indicates their blind allegiance to the Informal Norm.
Eventually, I was being forced to leave the Church, for my apparent inability to think of Informal Norm as such that needs to be observed at all times, despite the fact that those who had escorted me out, never bothered to explain why their reasons for doing it. Language During the course of my trip to Thailand (mentioned earlier), I tried to communicate with local people, many of which do speak English. Yet, what could not escape my attention is the fact that, despite their proficiency in English, these people simply could not comprehend of what such highly abstract concepts as spirit, metaphysics or dimension stands for. Later, I had found out that, before the arrival of French colonists, the Thai language consisted of only 2000 words, while there are 300. 000. 000 different English words counted in Shakespeare's plays alone. Therefore, language cannot be referred to as simply a communicational mean it actually reflects the mindset of carriers of a particular language and their ability to advance culturally and socially. Intrinsic Motivation Not too long ago, my younger brother asked me to help him with writing an essay, which he needed to submit as his homework.
Initially, I felt as being very reluctant to do anything for him, because I do not consider myself a philanthropist, who helps people for the sake of doing it, even when my brother is concerned. However, once I started going through writing with him, I felt as if I was getting a pleasure, out of doing it, and it had nothing to do with me facing the prospects of monetary reward or anything else. I simply liked helping my brother to broaden his intellectual horizons, as the process that has value in itself. This example helps us to get a better understanding of the concept of Intrinsic Motivation, as such that is being utterly irrational, in its very essence. Many people simply enjoy performing certain tasks, while knowing perfectly well that there is nothing for them to look for, in monetary sense of this word, while doing it. Today, my brother does not have to bug me to help him, as he used to, because I being intrinsically motivated to do so, whenever is needed.
Gender Roles There can be no doubt as to the fact that both genders are innately different, even though that the promoters of feminist cause had largely succeeded in convincing many citizens in otherwise. Once, I had a girlfriend who kept bombarding me with accusations of sexism. According to her, all I was thinking about was sex. I said: Look, this cannot possibly be the truth. Sex for me is like a skin rush it goes away after being scratched. You, on the other hand, always remain in the state of constant sexual tension, simply because you cannot mentally detach yourself from your...
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Research essay sample on Intrinsic Motivation Years Ago
