Cultural Hybrids Essay Example for Free

Cultural Hybrids Essay There are many people from different countries with different cultures who want to live the American Dream. They want the idea of freedom and they feel that United States is the only country in the world who can give the people the liberty it offers. The life of a person whom no one speaks with because of one’s difference can be quite miserable. The story â€Å"This is what it means to say Phoenix, Arizona† by Sherman Alexie shows the audience how different the life of Native Americans are compared to modern day Americans. Throughout the story, details about events that happened in Victor and Thomas’s life which combines the Indian and American side of their heritage were given. Alexie was trying to tell the readers how the Indians in the reservations want to hybridize their Native American and modern American culture. Since Thomas and Victor both grew up in the reservation, they see a big difference their lives are compared to the modern day Americans. The first detail that illustrates my thesis was the Fourth of July celebration when Victor and Thomas were kids. Thomas states, â€Å"It’s strange how us Indians celebrate the Fourth of July. It ain’t like it was our independence everybody was fighting for† (16). Alexie displays how Indians try to act more Americanized in order to fit in better with the modern American crowd. Back then, no one besides their own might have spoken to them because they were different so they want to be accepted. For example, the event when they were in the airport and had talked to the gymnast, Victor says, â€Å"Everybody talks to everybody on airplanes. It’s too bad we can’t always be that way† (19). Alexie sends the readers a message of how in their minds, the only way that they were going to be liked was by forgetting their Native American culture and acting more like the modern Americans. Another factor the author provides the audience of this hybridization was through the remains of Victor’s father. Alexie writes, â€Å"They set him down carefully behind the seats, put a cowboy hat on the wooden box and a Dodgers cap on the cardboard box. That’s the way it was supposed to be† (20). The cowboy hat displays the Indian side of their heritage and the Dodgers cap conveys the American side. In this situation, Alexie provides a clear view of how the characters combine their two different cultures. It is not the fact that they are forgetting the beliefs they grew up with; they blend the two cultures together to better their lives in both nation. Next was the Spokane falls incident with Thomas and Victor’s father. Thomas utters, â€Å"He drove me over to Denny’s, bought me dinner, and then drove me home to the reservation† (20). Denny’s is an American fast food restaurant. The way Alexie combines the fact that they eat at a modern American restaurant and then goes home to the reservation once again shows the mixture of the two customs. In addition to the modern American cultures, Alexie also shows how Victor and Thomas hold on to their Native American heritage. When Thomas and Victor were kids, they had stolen a car and parked it in front of the police station. Now in the modern days, if a kid was to do this, it would be a crime and the kid would be punished. Yet the turn out for this was the exact opposite. Instead of being scolded, everyone cheers â€Å"You were very brave. Very brave† (17). They even thought of themselves as warriors. Moreover, the fact that they still call each other junior also shows a way they keep their tradition alive as Native Americans. Nowadays, people do not often call each other with respect. They just call a person by their name no matter the age. The Native Americans, on the other hand, gives the people who are older a term that shows respect. Thomas states, â€Å"Everybody on this reservation is named Junior† (17). Victor and Thomas were two of the youngest people that live in the reservations therefore everyone to them are called Junior. It is a symbol for elderly. Alexie uses Victor and Thomas Builds-the-fire as the representation of these two cultures. Thomas is the person who sticks to the old fashioned, Native American values while Victor illustrates the modern day Americans and wanting to fit in. Thomas is more traditional. He demonstrates the old Native American beliefs. Victor, on the other hand, lives in the present. Both holds on to their Native American beliefs while also trying to grasp the modern American traditions. Alexie clearly represented the hardships the Native Americans have had living in the poor reservations by using details about Thomas and Victor’s life growing up. Being judged at by the way a person is or what culture they came from is a big reason why Victor and Thomas, but mostly Victor, try to act more like the modern day Americans. Although some traditions were forgotten as they grew up, in many ways, they still held on to the fact that they are still Native Americans. Some events in their life displays Victor and Thomas turning away from their culture but still is able to remember it. No matter where a person is or who they communicate with, a culture one grew up with can never be easily forgotten.

To Kill a Mocking Bird Critique :: essays research papers fc

To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel that has received great acclaim, largely due to setting, themes, and accuracy. The setting, themes, and accuracy of the novel seem to fall into place in a great order, which makes this novel receive great acclaim. To Kill a Mockingbird is set in a small town in â€Å"fictional† Maycomb County, Alabama 1933-35. â€Å"It was more of collection of short stories than a true novel†¦yet, there was also life† (Commire, 18). The Characters of To Kill a Mockingbird we also created from people in Lee’s life. For example, she used here father, Frances â€Å"Finch† Lee, as a model for Atticus Finch. â€Å"To Kill a Mockingbird, Is a novel of strong contemporary national significance†¦Miss Lee considers the novel a love story† (Commire, 155). The novel could be considered a love story because it shows the love of a father toward his two children. Apparently, Lee chose the mockingbird to represent the â€Å"purity of heart, and selflessness of characters like Atticus Finch, Tom Robinson, and Boo Radley (Moss and Wilson, 395). To Kill a Mockingbird underscores many themes and represents a universal story from a regional perspective (Stabler). The overall argument involves the obvious plea for justice while mocking the civilization of Southern society. To Kill a Mockingbird is considered a â€Å"classic†, it was a bestseller, and it is required reading for many High School’s in the U.S. (Stabler). Even today in bookstores, like Barnes & Noble, it is easy to find a copy of the book on the shelves. It is even showcased on the bags of Barnes & Noble. It is felt that To Kill a Mockingbird gives â€Å"an accurate reflection† of life in the south during the 1930s (Stabler). There was much racism in the south during the 1930s. Edgar Shuster states, â€Å" In the course of their growing up, the children do a great deal of learning, but little of that learning takes place in school,† (Bernard). It goes to show, that not all life lessons can be learned in school. Shuster also states, â€Å"The achievement of Harper Lee is not that she has written another novel about race prejudice, but rather that she has placed race prejudice in a perspective which allows ups to see it as an aspect of a larger thing (Bernard). Like something that comes from fear and lack of knowledge. Keith Waterhouse believes that â€Å"Miss Lee does well what so many American writers do appallingly: she paints a true and lively picture of life in and an American small town, and she gives freshness to a stock solution† (Kinsman, 481).

Auditors’ Contribution to Subprime Mortgage Crisis

What role did the accounting profession play In the recent supreme mortgage crisis? What could they have done differently? An Independent auditor has a duty is to: Identify, measure. And communicate financial information about an entity for decision making purposes. They are also responsible for generating the financial statements/reports for an organization. (Marshall, Unmans, Vile, 2008) The supreme mortgage crisis is the result of contract laws allowing lenders the characterization of supreme mortgage loans.Other causes of the supreme mortgage crisis were poor decisions made in terms of operating investments and finance. Risks were managed poorly, and fraud occurred in some instances. Due to the construct of supreme loans and its impact on borrowers, I. E. , lenders offering small down payments with cost deferral features, high loan to value ratios, and escalating payments, borrowers underestimated the true cost of the loan and were deceived by the completes In loan transactions I n which lenders Intentionally complicated the lingo In the transactions.Channel Leonard 2012) Borrowers took advantage of the fact that lenders would make an extensive effort to pay their mortgage bills, however, when they couldn't due to medical bills, company downsizes, etc†¦ This led to accountants having to maneuver through transactions in an effort to determine fair value measurements; ultimately making inaccurate estimations based on an illiquid market. This led to oversights in fair value accounting and lost accruals. For an independent auditor, it is most important to provide users with the most accurate financial information.When they cannot, it seems as fraudulent practices have occurred, whether intentional or inadvertent. Consequently, due to investigations by the Securities and Exchange Commission on unethical practices discovered at some firms, along with Issues and concerns of other firms, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FAST) along with the Public Comm ittee of Accounting Oversight Board (PEPCO), offered guidance for auditing processes Involving fair values measurements.Issues continued to persist, which led to the PEPCO performing financial audits on the financial statements devised by auditors at varying firms due to delinquencies in the auditing process for fair value measurements, financial estimates, adequacy of disclosures, and the ability of the auditor to continue the audit. According to the Chief Accountant for the Securities and Exchange Commission, auditors were warned of the financial risk areas but many were not providing accurate information or following the committees' guidance.Auditors didn't comply with the SEC's current standards and rules which led to improper auditing, fraudulent, and Inadequate financial reporting. (Kroger 2011) In conclusion, there were some auditing firms that operated using dishonest practices. Having said this, I do not believe all accountants were at fault nor can be blamed for the suprem e mortgage crisis due to the lack of exactness when making fair value measurements, along with accountants' inability to predict the future. They have received all documentation of the entity transactions.In order to prevent the blame in its entirety being placed on accountants, it would have been wise of the accountants to regularly check for revisions in the guidance offered by the SEC as updates of how to manage potential issues occurred. The SEC was aware of many issues and published documents to guide auditors for handling potential problems with fair value estimations. (Kroger 2011) Implementation of those suggestions would have helped curb issues when auditing fair value measurements of entities. Kroger, J. (2011, April 6).

Operations Management at Dell Computers - 943 Words

Dell Operations Management Introduction Founded in 1984 by Michael Dell, Dell Computer (NASDAQ: DELL) in the latest fiscal year generated $62B in revenue and earned a Net Income of $3.4B, the majority of sales generated from mobility-related products ($19B). Dell is atypical of the many PC hardware manufacturers who have been able to bypass the extreme price wars that left many of them bankrupt and well-positioned to be acquired by larger competitors. Dell transitioned quickly to a solutions-based strategy and has been successful in creating enterprise-wide systems and software solutions for many of its Fortune 500 clients globally (Dell Investor Relations, 2012). In order to attain this level of concerted, synchronized performance, Dell has had to move from being focused just on OM as a means to coordinate hardware suppliers to using these core technologies and processes as a means to support strategic alliances in software as well. enterprise software Strategic alliances with Microsoft, SAP, Oracle and other leading ente rprise systems and solutions vendors are being integrated into the OM processes and workflows throughout the company today (Dell Investor Relations, 2012). This shift in strategy are making the operations management (OM) aspects of the Dell strategy critically important in the delivery of highly customized systems and networks that often require third-party intellectual property (IP) as well in the form of complex, highly valuable software. 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