The Ethnography of Anthropology Essay Example for Free

The Ethnography of Anthropology Essay As with the study of any anthropological culture, with ethnography there are no set methods for documenting that culture or human societies, but much can be said about the methods of attempting to understand a culture by investigating how, exactly, that culture is unique. This tact can take the form of looking into a society’s housing conditions, how they raise their children, how they are educated, what types of religions they may follow, and even how they might bury their dead. In this, ethnographic studies have virtually taken the form of historical case studies—placing a culture down on paper as if the writer were there and intimately understood the culture. With that said, a look will now be taken into a few of the major ethnographies and the methods of the anthropologists that conduct the research within them. It has been said that a degree in anthropology would not be complete without an understanding of ethnographic research and the art of defining a culture down to its smallest and most fundamental aspects. From that ideal, the study of ethnography branched into an understanding of cultural mores (more than studying how and why people bury their dead), and a look was taken into how a society might communicate (both verbally and nonverbally). For example, if an ethnographer were to study high school students of the twenty-first century, they might notice that the cell phone forms the lifeline of communication among the young in society, and from it, an entirely new language of the â€Å"instant message† was formed—a language that most modern day â€Å"elders† do not comprehend or understand. In this, an ethnographer might note the disconnect between the young and the old in America today. And that, in its most basic form, is the basis for ethnographic research and just one method for employing ethnography to study a culture. Now, a look will now be taken into a few of the anthropologists that were essential for the major ethnographies along with a comparison of their research methods, successes, and failures. To begin with, Annette B. Weiner wrote â€Å"The Trobrianders of Papua New Guinea† as an ethnographic study of the relationships between man and woman and their differing perspectives (and courting rituals) including a somewhat feminist approach on the value of a woman and her work within their society. In 1990, Weiner’s ethnographic work was made into a documentary which focused â€Å"on [unexpected] Trobriand social practices – female exchange, mourning practices, cricket, magic, competition between male chiefs, marriage, Christianity on the island – to provide a picture of modern Trobriand society† (Alexy, 2002, par. 1). When Weiner began her research of the Trobriand culture, she â€Å"had planned to research tourism and local crafts† (par. 2), while instead she found herself drawn into â€Å"explicit and overwhelming female exchange†¦ a ritual mourning ceremony directed by women† (par. 2). In Weiner’s studies, her research also reveals â€Å"other dimensions of Trobriand society beyond these ritual exchanges† (par. 4 ). In this, Weiner’s ethnography goes beyond the traditional mode of one aspect of the culture and instead encompasses a vast amount of the societal mores of the Trobriand. Her failings, if there are any, can be defined by the purely feminine approach to her studies, as even the documentary is filmed from the female perspective, which, ultimately, excludes a great deal of the male perspective and culture from her ethnography. Sharon Graham Davies wrote â€Å"Challenging Gender Norms: Five Genders among the Bugis in Indonesia† as a case study in cultural anthropology to demonstrate the larger value of multiple genders within the society of Sulawesi, on the Indonesian Island versus the two genders that most societies recognize. Essentially, there is the traditional male and female, and then the Bugis also encompass and recognize the androgynous Shaman, and the male and female transgendered (including gay and lesbian) within their society. For their part, the Bugis can be seen as a liberal New York City melting pot of genders, without judgment, and without shame for their chosen paths in life. Davies, in her ethnology, represents a new theory on the ideal of gender and the social mores founded within each, enlightening the subject of challenging traditional gender mores. Further, Davies refers to their gender choices as just that, â€Å"gender negotiations† (Davies, 2001, par. 3) in which both male and female â€Å"to conform to [the] ideals† (par. 3). of most modern societies. More, Davies explained of her work that she refers to â€Å"hir and s/he to challenge readers to [imagine] a subjectivity beyond the dichotomous her/his, she/he. The use of hir further signifies the possibility of a third gender not contingent on crossing from one normative gender to the other. Moreover, neither the Indonesian nor Bugis languages discriminate between gender† (Davies, 2001, endnotes). In this effort, Davies is attempting to define, categorically, the gender difference and non-discrimination that the Indonesian people show. As a gender/sexuality ethnologist, Davies’ research methods seem to comprise the study of the hierarchy within the society and the impact and effect of a chosen gender. Her fundamental stance included the major roles and duties of women, especially, and she defines how â€Å"the hierarchical order of a woman’s duties shows that only after a woman has married and produced children is it her duty to be a member of society. Indeed women may not be considered adults until they have married heterosexually† (Davies, 2001, par. 13). In this, perhaps, the failings of Davies, like Annette Weiner, can be blamed upon her feminist approach to her ethnology of the Bugis and their gender relationships. While her research does encompass the duties and roles of men as well, her main focus is upon the objectification of women and the shocking hierarchal implications (indeed there is some judgment, even in within the Bugis) of their chosen gender identities. Colin M. Turnbull wrote â€Å"The Mbuti Pygmies: Change and Adaptation† as a case study in cultural anthropology of the Mbuti pygmy hunter/gatherers of Zaire. His ethnology focuses on the social organization and environmental tasks and objectives of the pygmies in correlation to their relationship with their non-hunter/gatherer neighboring villages. Turnbull’s work is purely a historical outline of the location and social structure of the Mbuti pygmies in which he notes their settlement location, languages, hunting party structures, and hunting party jobs, like archer, spearman, etc (Martin, n. d. , par. 2). Turnbull discovered that â€Å"only political identity they have is in opposition to the village cultivators† (Martin, n. d. , par. 4) and the â€Å"relationship between the Mbuti and the villagers is maintained on several different levels, centering around trade† (par. 9). In this, Turnbull’s ethnography is highly focused upon one essential aspect of the Mbuti tribes. He does not go any deeper into their culture than trade and hunting, and little is mentioned about social relationships of women within the tribe itself. Indeed, like other ethnographers, Turnbull’s focused approach could be seen as a failing in that there is obviously much more to the Mbuti tribe than their hunting techniques and trade relationships. However, while there must be much more required to understand the Mbuti culture and people, Turnbull’s anthropological research shows, as a case study, and important and driving aspect of the culture. Evon Z. Vogt wrote â€Å"The Zinacantecos of Mexico: A Modern Maya Way of Life† as an ethnographic case study on the life, rituals, economics, and reproduction in Zinacantan. The main focus of his ethnography, however, is the Zinacanteco belief system and how their beliefs serve as the philosophy for their lives and rituals. Of the ethnographers, Vogt is one of the few to spend time in his documentary to relate his various field work methods and explanations. More, Vogt goes deeper into the Zinacantan society, remarking on the food that they eat and the clothing that they wear explaining that â€Å"virtually all women know how to weave the full range of clothing in the normal Zinacanteco costume; but a few items, like ceremonial clothing and the intricate blouses presented to godchildren, are often produced by specialists within the community† (Cancian, 1972, 14). Indeed, Vogt provides an incredibly detailed account of the Zinacanteco way of life, surveying it as closely and as in-depth as if he had lived within the culture since birth. In this, Vogt’s account seems personal and literally every aspect of the society and culture seems accounted for. While he spends a great deal of his ethnographic survey on the belief system, it can be seen from his studies that the religious ways and methods are the driving force for the Zinacanteco and that the most important aspect has been thoroughly covered. Finally, William F. Wormsley wrote â€Å"The White Man will Eat You! An Anthropologist among the Imbonggu of New Guinea† as a case study into the cultural and social structure of the Imbonggu’s, which includes such aspects as leadership, marital obligations, and even magic and religion. Wormsley is the most unique of the major ethnographers because he spends time focusing on the truth of documenting a tribe, and the reactions, emotions, and ideals of the anthropologist himself while attempting such an ethnographic study. Mostly, Wormsley’s work stands out among the rest because of his personal immersion in the culture and society. While the other ethnographers, especially Annette Weiner, documented their studies with a point of view, their attempts were to show the cultures and societies without much interaction, to show the society in its cultural bubble without outside influences and distractions. While Wormsley doesn’t impede the culture he is studying by inserting himself into the historical commentary, his immersion impacts a reader into understanding the trials and tribulations from the ethnographer’s point of view, and that makes for a unique and interesting read. Overall, William F. Wormsley, Evon Z. Vogt, Colin M. Turnbull, Sharon Graham Davies, and Annette B. Weiner are among the foremost ethnographers in the study of cultural and sexual anthropology. While their research has proven to be limited in the nature of what they encompass, all highlight the fields within their chosen cultures that they intended. And of them, Wormsley stands out as the ethnographer most immersed in his ethnographic study as he detailed the life and means of his own documentary. References. Alexy, A. (2002). Viewing notes for â€Å"The Trobriand Islanders of Papua New Guinea. † Accessed July 17, 2009 http://classes. yale. edu/03-04/anth500b/viewing_notes/VN_Trobriand-Islanders. htm Cancian, F. (1972). Change and Uncertainty in a Peasant Economy: The Maya Corn Farmers of Zinacantan. Stanford, CA: Stanford UP. Davies, S. G. (2001). Negotiating gender: Calalai’ in Bugis society. Intersections: Gender, History, and Culture in Asian Context 6, Accessed 17 July 2009 http://intersections. anu. edu. au/issue6/graham. html Davies, S. G. (2006). Challenging gender norms: five genders among Bugis in Indonesia. Florence, KY: Wadsworth Publishing. Martin, M. M. (n. d. ). Society: Pygmies, Mbuti. Accessed July 14 2009 http://lucy. ukc. ac. uk/EthnoAtlas/Hmar/Cult_dir/Culture. 7865 Turnbull, C. M. (1983). The Mbuti Pygmies: Change and Adaptation. Orlando, FL: Harcourt Brace College Publishers. Vogt, E. Z. (1990). The Zinacantecos of Mexico: A Modern Maya Way of Life. Orlando, FL: Harcourt Brace College Publishers. Weiner, A. B. (1988). The Trobrianders of Papua New Guinea. New York: New York UP. Wormsley, W. E. (2002). The White Man will Eat You! An Anthropologist among the Imbonggu of New Guinea. Florence, KY: Wadsworth Publishing Co.

Intrapersonal Intern :: essays papers

Intrapersonal Intern In using my Intrapersonal communication I trying to process the information from the environment and sending explanations to myself. The first I can remember doing this a lot. I was watch the other members that work in the office very closely in how they talk to each other. What kind of verbal and non-verbal communication do they use. I do not think I was doing to be critical but to merely understand whom I am working with and get some kind of feeling where I will fit in. One interesting message that I picked up was small but something to remember. There are two different offices for the outdoor recreation program. Jared has one and Crissy has the other one. Walking into Crissy office everything is in place ver net and clean. You’re able to see everything easily. When you go into Jared office you got a disaster. Boxes of Tennis stuff all over the office. In the other corner you have outdoor magazines all over the floor and side desk. His desk is filled with paper work after paper work. On the other sided of the office you have the work-study desk and that is neat and cleaned off. Sometimes I wonder if it is a man woman thing that the desks are clean or disorder. See how Jared now works with four women in the offices. I do not think that it is true because I have some friends who are woman and their desks are dirtier than Jared’s is. The good thing that I have noticed about Jared thought is that his may look disorder but he know where everything is. If I would have asked the girls for something on their desk they could not have found it very quickly. I always see Jared and Crissy outside of the office and they always speak to me and ask me how I am doing. When they send me e-mails they are always friendly and telling me to have ‘good’ or ‘great’ weekends. So I do see that they are trying to make it as comfortable as they can or know how. They always tell me that education comes’ first so if I had a big exam or something like then I could work on that during my hour if I need to.

Explain the Importance of Carbon Taxes for the Airline Industry

Explain the Importance of carbon taxes for the airline industry. Can Ryanair and British Airways respond in the same way? What is â€Å"Carbon Tax†? In the past, polluting was free. Generating pollution has a cost, which is a cost on earth natural environment, our economy and earth way of life. A Carbon Tax changes this. Instead of being able to pollute for free, polluters must pay for a price for every tone of carbon pollution is created. How does â€Å"Carbon Tax† affect the flight industry? Industry must factor in the cost of carbon pollution in the business, just as flight companies factor in flight building and labor cost.Carbon tax has a great deal of importance in the airline industry. In 2008 the EU passed legislation to include aviation in the ETS. This means that from January 2012, overall CO 2 emissions of the aviation industry have been capped: Operators emitting more than their allocated amount of CO 2 will need to reduce emissions or – more likely à ¢â‚¬â€œ procure extra allowances. Therefore all operators flying to and from the EU will have to surrender one allowance for every tone of CO 2 emitted on a flight to and from (and within) Europe. The challenges of the ETS for airlines go beyond the immediate legal obligations.The costs for emission allowances will effectively introduce an additional commodity price risk into an operator's business strategy. Costs per passenger will increase but whether these costs can be passed through to customers depends upon the competitive position of the company compared with other operators. Increased ticket prices may reduce air travel and bring the substitution effect – Some passengers will choose not to fly as a result of increased fares and may divert to alternative modes of transportation. How does British Airways response to Carbon Tax?British Airways, the first airline to start a carbon offset scheme back in 2005, has gone live with an upgraded, user-friendly scheme that will en able passengers to offset the emissions from their flight in a one-click process at the time of booking online. British Airways suggests that airline passengers should pay carbon tax to combat climate change. By looking at the responses and speeches from management team of British Airways, the company was putting out the â€Å"green† message, and to engage with customers on the environmental issue. Carbon tax also drove British Airways to find new ways to reduce carbon pollution.For instance, 60 flights to the United States from British Airways will experiment with using Global positioning system (GPS) to track more direct routes and smooth take-offs and landings to avoid wasting fuel. Quicker landings also avoid keeping flight in holding patterns, which has unwanted pollution effects. As aviation companies grapple with high jet fuel prices, the search for alternatives to petroleum will keep British Airways focused on alternative sources of energy in order to remain competiti ve. How does Ryanair response to Carbon Tax? Ryanair has a â€Å"no frills† business strategy, with low cost, high efficiency and low price strategy.Rayanair opposed the scheme when carbon tax was levied in 2012. The former head of communications, Stephen McNamara claimed that the continuation of this eco-loony tax would damage traffic, tourism, European competitiveness and job opportunities. And Rayanair believes that they are already the greenest in the industry. The price response to the ETS has been for airlines to add surcharges to the cost of flights. Within the Europe, the company has announced a surcharge of 25p per passenger per one-way flight. In theory the ETS should be less burdensome on efficient operators such as Ryanair.However, the ETS will always represent an additional cost to airlines, and this is likely to be the reason for the opposition of Rayanair to the scheme. Conclusion A carbon tax will spur an airline to be more energy efficient. Efficiency is the foundation of Ryanair’s business strategy. Ryanair already hammer costs at every turn, get as much as they can out of their staff and equipment and provide nothing they don’t have to for passengers as they’re paying for the trip alone and not the experiences. Ryanair has plenty of plans up their sleeve to get even more from their ‘assets’ and tackle reduced emissions.The likes of removing one or two more toilets from each plane to make way for extra seats, widening the doors on planes to allow passengers to disembark in twos to shortening the turn-around time at airports. There are also talks of having a standing area on flights. These are just some of the increased efficiencies that Ryanair use as a response to a cap on emissions. British Airways and Ryanair are targeted to different market segments. The target market of British Airways is more like loyalty customer who would care about brand image.In the totally opposite way for Ryanair, their tar get market is more like price- sensitivity. However British Airways offer the international airlines, and the price of the carbon tax affected by the airway distance, as one of the biggest international airline company, who conscious of their brand image embraced the costs they felt are necessary for the environment. To make sure the company would have a position in the market, the ways that British Airways responses to carbon tax are more likely in long-term strategies, instead of dealing with the price competition.

Use Of Consequentialism, Desire Satisfaction Theory And...

Consequentialism is an approach to Ethics that argues that the morality of an action is reliant on the action s consequence (Mastin, 2008). This theory is based on two main principles, first, that the rightness or wrongness of an act depends solely on the results of it and secondly, that the better act is the one that produces more good as a consequence. What is meant by consequence here is everything that a certain action brings about, including the action itself. The good end required by an action could be happiness or anything that leads to happiness. Happiness, in this context, refers to well-being and flourishing of an individual or society as a whole – aggregate happiness. There are many theories of the good in philosophy, including consequentialism, desire-satisfaction theory and objective list theory. All these theories relate happiness and pleasure to both intrinsic (something worthwhile not because it leads to something else, but for its own sake alone) and instrumen tal good (something considered as a means to some other good good). Utilitarianism is a branch of consequentialism first presented by Jeremy Bentham and then modified by John Stuart Mill. The version of utilitarianism I will be assessing throughout this paper is the theory of act utilitarianism by John Stuart Mill. Utilitarianism in a nutshell, is the idea that the moral worth of an action is solely determined by its contribution to maximising the happiness in terms of pleasure for everyone. It claimsShow MoreRelatedAcct3563 Individual Report1177 Words   |  5 Pagessense of what is right and wrong. Utilitarianism is an ethical theory where the rightness and wrongness of an action entirely depend on whether it is able to maximize overall well-being. However utilitarianism is often criticized for its moral aspects, as acting in a utilitarian way often involves making immoral or unethical sacrifices if the outcome results desirably. Key applications of Utilitarianism Consequentialism Consequentialism conveys that the rightness and wrongness of an action dependRead MoreTorts study notes Essay17110 Words   |  69 Pagesï » ¿ 75 Tex. L. Rev. 1801 Texas Law Review June, 1997 W. Page Keeton Symposium on Tort Law MIXED THEORIES OF TORT LAW: AFFIRMING BOTH DETERRENCE AND CORRECTIVE JUSTICE Gary T. Schwartza Copyright (c) 1997 Texas Law Review Association; Gary T. Schwartz Introduction Currently there are two major camps of tort scholars. One understands tort liability as an instrument aimed largely at the goal of deterrence, commonly explained within the framework of economics. The other looks at tort law asRead MoreGp Essay Mainpoints24643 Words   |  99 Pagespossible discrepancies in the re-election of President Ahmadinejad. †¢ When the media has so many other motives, it can hardly be relied on to provide reliable information. The individual, on the other hand, has less hidden agendas. Mainstream GOOD: Use professional journalists (compared to citizen journalism) – content quality †¢ Citizen journalist â€Å"on-the ground† reports vs. professional whose sole purpose is to uncover each and every piece of information related to the news article they are writingRead MoreMm-Chapter 1-3 Dawn Iacobucci17854 Words   |  72 Pages107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without the prior written permission of the publisher. For product information and technology assistance, contact us at Cengage Learning Customer Sales Support, 1-800-354-9706 For permission to use material from this text or product, submit all requests online at www.cengage.com/permissions Further permissions questions can be emailed to permissionrequest@cengage.com ExamView ® is a registered trademark of eInstruction Corp. Windows is a registeredRead MoreInternational Management67196 Words   |  269 Pageshave incorporated additional findings of the comprehensive GLOBE study on crosscultural leadership. A continuing and relevant end-of-chapter feature in this edition is the â€Å"Internet Exercise.† The purpose of each exercise is to encourage students to use the Internet to find information from the websites of prominent MNCs to answer relevant questions about the chapter topic. An end-of-book feature is a series of Skill-Building and Experiential Exercises for aspiring international managers. These in-class