Friday, September 6, 2019
The End of the Cold War and the United Nations Essay Example for Free
The End of the Cold War and the United Nations Essay Abstract The end of the Cold War ushered in many significant changes in the international system. Many of these changes are seen to provide an impetus for the reestablishment of multilateralism and the collective security approach to the maintenance of international peace and security, under the aegis of the United Nations. The multilateral movement gathered momentum over the first few years of the post-Cold War era and saw a number of peacekeeping missions mandated by the United Nations across the World. However, a careful inspection of these missions, and other instances when any action failed to materialize, reveals that much of the impetus gained from the end of the Cold War conflict was lost due. Several factors contributed to this outcome, not least a lack of political will on the part of the United Nations and the Member States. The essay concludes by looking at the present situation and arguing that a similar opportunity as the one in 1991 has presented itself, leaving the United Nations in particular, and multilateralism in general, with a chance to redeem itself. Introduction: The UN during the Cold War            The end of the Second World War and the institution of the United Nations in 1945 were landmark events in the history of the world. While the conclusion of the War marked the demise of European imperialism (though the decolonisation process would continue till 1966), it also signalled a change in the norms of international society. Based on the principles of collective security, as elaborated in the Charter of the United Nations, these emergent norms sanctified (international) territorial boundaries, promising to usher in a new era of international history. However, the optimism and confidence which surrounded the formation of the United Nations – as a forward-looking model of international cooperation – was soon disturbed by the Soviet Union’s entry into the nuclear club in 1949. This was the beginning of the Cold War between the USA and the USSR, which mired international politics, as well as the UN, in an ideological conflict for the next four and a half decades.            Though the specifics of how the Cold War was fought fall outside the ambit of this paper, it is important to note its effects on the functioning of the UN. The composition of the UN Security Council – the organ charged with the maintenance of international peace and security – becomes salient here: as permanent members, both the United States and Soviet Union exercised the power of the veto (a single veto from any permanent being enough to sink a Security Council resolution), according to their geopolitical interests (see UN General Assembly, 2004, p. 13-19). This crippled the development of the UN, while consequently stunting the evolution of multilateralism. Changes at the End of the Cold War: Impetus to UN Multilateralism            The end of the Cold War, in 1991, brought with it a renewed optimism and injected fresh vigour into the UN; finally rid of the ideological divide of the previous decades, the new situation led some scholars to say that: The end of the Cold War lifts a central obstacle to the strengthening of multilateral peacekeeping and the extension of multilateral operations beyond traditional peacekeeping tasks. A revived United Nations Security Council and energetic Secretary-General are the global [centre] of this rapidly evolving effort†¦ (Roper, Nishihara, Otunnu and Schoettle, 1993, p. 1). Concomitant to this belief, the number of peacekeeping operation of the UN increased, along with the establishment of the UN Protective Force (UNPROFOR) – made famous by its engagements in Bosnia – in the years following the fall of the Berlin Wall. However, to truly understand the impact of the end of the Cold War on the UN, and its efforts to strengthen multilateralism, we must be appreciative of what actually changed at the â€Å"end of history†(Fukuyama, 1993).            An era of post-internationalism, defined by a complex system of relations between nation-states and non-state actors, was thought to be the most probable outcome of the end of the Cold War (Rosenau, 1990). In reality, the most important changes occurring in the international system were: The emergence of a unipolar world – with the United States as the lone superpower – though there was a brief debate over the possibility of a return to (a somewhat Westphalian) multipolarity. The structural and ideological impediments to the UN’s operations disappeared, resulting in an environment (apparently) conducive to international cooperation. The emergence of â€Å"New Wars,†which were intra-state affairs, and fuelled by ethno-religious and cultural divides (Kaldor, 1999). The intensification of the process of globalization, rapidly intertwining the national economies of the world into the world economy and with each other, meaning that conflicts would produce more stakeholders interested in their resolution. These changes made for an opportunity for the UN to capitalise on the changing dimensions of international politics and drive home the advantage for the renewed consensus for multilateralism.            The American preponderance in the immediate aftermath of the end of the Cold War meant that the future of multilateralism would depend, to a great extent, on the willingness of the United States to support and participate in the operations of the UN. This dependence was only natural: the US was the most economically and militarily dominant power at the time, and for any successful venture on the part of the UN, US assistance (or at the very least, support) was essential. Because of the US’ political importance, Security Council resolutions backed by the country were more persuasive and influential than earlier, thus accelerating the strengthening of the UN’s multilateral foundations. Initially, the United States readily participated in UN-backed interventions and peacekeeping missions – in Iraq/Kuwait (1990) and Somalia (1992) – which coincided with its policy of â€Å"aggressive involvement†in response to international peace and security at the time (Art, 2003, p. 2-3). Thus, American primacy at the end of the Cold War provided a great impetus to UN-led multilateralism.            The fall of the East/West divide provided an opportunity to expand the realm of the UN’s multilateral operations beyond that of traditional peacekeeping, to include such areas of peace-building as providing humanitarian assistance, transitions to democratic governments and helping with national reconstruction in post-conflict scenarios. This expanding perspective was explained by the UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali to have occurred as a direct consequence of the demise of Cold War animosities amongst the permanent members of the Security Council (1992). The proliferation of UN missions in the early 1990s – to Somalia, Cambodia, Namibia, Western Sahara, Angola, Bosnia, Croatia, El Salvador and Mozambique – goes to show how much of an impetus the removal of structural impediments gave to the UN at the end of the Cold War.            The emergence of New Wars called for a change in the understanding of intra-state violence, along with a wider interpretation of the provisions of Chapter VII of the UN Charter (UN, 1945). During the Cold War, the principles of state sovereignty and non-intervention were paramount; according to Article 2(7) of the Charter, Nothing contained in the present Charter shall authorize the United Nations to intervene in matters which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any state or shall require the Members to submit such matters to settlement under the present Charter†¦ (1945.) However, in the post-Cold War era, there has been a considerable shift towards embracing the principles of internal justice (i.e. within states) and individual rights, which require the maintenance of certain universally accepted standards (Taylor and Curtis, 2003, p. 415). This movement towards a semblance of global governance also resulted from the impetus gained from the end of the Cold War. For example, the intervention in Kosovo (late-1990s) was purely on humanitarian grounds, and explicitly breached the (now contested) sovereignty of the Republic of Serbia. On the other hand, the intervention in Somalia was carried out at the state’s request, while that in Iraq (in 1990) depended on Memorandums of Understanding between the UN and Saddam Hussein. In all of these cases, however, the increasing tendency of multilateral involvement in the domestic affairs of states cannot be overlooked.            Due to the political and economic structural adjustment policies (enforced by the IMF against the supply of loans) experienced in many parts of the world during the 1980s, the end of the Cold War came at a time when the process of globalization had already taken shape to a certain degree. This process meant the expansion of markets, along with goods and services, across the world, making countries increasingly interdependent. Thus conflict, in any part of the world, now has the potential to disrupt more than a handful of national economies. Hence, there are more takers for multilateral action to resolve conflicts, especially after the (formal) removal of ideological differences within the UN after 1991. For example, in the case of the peacekeeping mission in Bosnia, countries as diverse as Nepal, Fiji, Argentina, Senegal and Iceland, among many others, contributed personnel and supplies to the UN. This was another impetus received by the UN at the end of the Cold War, strengthening its role in multilateral ventures.            Indeed, the renewed energy exhibited by the Member States of the UN to multilaterally solve international conflicts is evidenced by the fact that peacekeeping operations undertaken after the Cold War easily outnumber those mandated during 1945 to 1990 (UN Peacekeeping, 2008). There has also been an improved dynamism in the Security Council and the General Assembly since 1990, shown by the rise in the number of resolutions proposed and adopted, as against the oftentimes deadlocked scenario of the Cold War (UN Documentation Centre, 2008). These facts show the momentum gained by multilateralism, under the aegis of the UN, in the post-Cold War era. An Evaluation of Post-Cold War Multilateralism            It is important, however, to make a crucial qualification at this point: greater involvement through the multilateral framework does not tantamount to success in resolving or preventing international conflicts. If we are to make an analytical examination of how far the end of the Cold war proved to be an impetus for the reestablishment of the UN as the focal point for multilateral projects, we must judge the same in terms of what they achieved. The possibilities that the termination of the East/West conflict held for the UN have already been discussed; now, we shall attempt to provide a critical analysis of how multilateralism has fared to obtain the true nature of the impetus in question.            Throughout the UN’s existence, the question of intervention to stop genocide (or for genocide prevention) has been a thorn in its side. The history of the UN is replete with cases of genocide – Uganda (1970s), Paraguay (1974), Democratic Kampuchea (1975-78), Bangladesh (1970-71) and Burundi (1972-73) – where it did not take any concrete steps to stop the conflict (Kuper 1982). Regardless of the changes found in the post-Cold War era, the â€Å"right to intervene†(jus ad bellum, or humanitarian intervention), has only been enforced in Kosovo (Taylor and Curtis, 2003, p. 415). The UN, however, failed to act on time in the cases of Rwanda (1994) and Bosnia (1992-93), resulting in close to a million deaths. In Rwanda alone, the death toll reached more than 800,000, and led Secretary-General Kofi Annan to remark: â€Å"The world failed Rwanda at that time of evil. The international community and the United Nations could not muster the political will to confront it†(quoted in Glazer, 2004, p. 167). Similarly, the Security Council has been sitting on the fence with regard to Darfur, western Sudan, where Arab militias known as the Janjaweed, with help from the central authority in Khartoum, have been systematically killing (and raping and displacing) black Africans since 2003. Due to the reluctance of the UN to label the conflict in Darfur as genocide, hundreds of thousands continue to die, while more are forced to migrate across the western border into Chad (HRW, 2006).            Part of the blame lies with the Genocide Convention (concluded in 1948), which obliges Member Parties to â€Å"prevent and punish†any act of genocide. But, what this clause means in terms of policy directives remains unclear; many Parties are content to push for institutional solutions in these cases, while refraining to term a given situation as genocide, so that they are not dragged into a commitment of conflict resolution. However, at the end of the Cold War, with the consensus for international cooperation and multilateral action on a high, the UN had a golden opportunity to include or append policy recommendations to the Genocide Convention. It was essential to recognise that the history of the UN’s failure to prevent genocide was a function of reluctant nation-states wary of being drawn into a long-term commitment, rather than plainly understanding it as another aspect of the East/West conflict. By oversimplifying the causes of previous failures, the UN also lost that bit of impetus which the end of the Cold War had generated.            In addition, the multilateral movement suffered another jolt when, given the losses it incurred in Somalia (1992), the American policy slowly started shifting from aggressive involvement to selective engagement: the US, by many accounts, was only interested in taking part in such conflicts which served its national interests (Power 2002). It was the intransigence on the part of the US which, in large measure, contributed to the debacle in Rwanda. Indeed, the fact that the US was actively involved in the Bosnian peace process was not lost on many, leading to speculation that the country was atoning for it inaction in Rwanda, while spawning more radical critiques claiming that the US was more sympathetic to conflicts in Europe and North America (Cooper, 2003). In any event, the reliance on the US for multilateral action proved shaky – a reality further reinforced by its unilateral decision to engage in a preventive war in Iraq (in 2003) – and only retarded the impetus gained in 1991.            The UN, Kaldor argues, also suffers from weak conceptual and theoretical comprehension of â€Å"new wars†(1999). She maintains that it was not the unwillingness to provide resources, a lack of cohesion among peacekeepers or the general tendency of making policies offering short-term solutions which protracted the conflict in Bosnia. Instead, the international community failed to grasp the nature of the â€Å"new nationalism†that had steered the country into the abyss of an ethno-religious war (Kaldor, 1999, p. 53). This failure also led to the underestimation of how the war would progress; the UN peacekeeping force that reached Bosnia had neither the resources, nor the specific mandate, for conflict prevention. Hence, there was no peace to ‘keep’.            This brings us to the issues of deployment and mandates. The UN Assistance Mission in Rwanda, which was put in place to see through the transition to democracy – as part of the Arusha Accords of 1993 – employed 2,500 peacekeepers. At the outbreak of genocide in 1994, the Security Council decided to withdraw all but a tenth of the force, leaving those still remaining in Rwanda to stand by and watch the week-long massacres. In Bosnia, the situation was hardly any better; though the total UNPROFOR contingent totalled 23,000, the requisition to the Security Council asked for 30,000 troops for the safe havens – in Srebrenica, Zepa, Tuzla, Sarajevo, Gorazde, and Bihac – alone. In the end, 7,500 troops were provided for these areas, and resources for only 3,500 could be managed (Kaldor, p. 65). Again, in Darfur, the Security Council sanctioned a peacekeeping force of 25,000 to work alongside the African Union’s 7,000-strong peacekeeping mission; however, the mission is yet to be completely deployed, owing to organisational problems.            Most importantly, though, it is crucial to understand that whatever be the deployment, if the same is not supplied with an aggressive mandate, history shows that it is deemed to fail. An aggressive mandate would entail peace enforcement, in turn requiring a wider reading of the provisions of Chapter VII of the UN Charter. Sending lightly armed peacekeepers into zones of conflict only risks their lives and achieves very little in terms of conflict prevention. In recent years, the UN has found it preferable to mandate individual countries to enforce peace in smaller-scale incidents of violent conflict, like Australia (East Timor 1999), France (Congo, 2003) and the USA (Liberia, 2003). Whether such decisions indicate the complications of an aggressive multilateral approach is difficult to say, but these cases do suggest that unilateral solutions are sometimes simpler. The problems of troop deployment and mandates, therefore, seem to have eroded much of the impetus gained by the UN’s multilateral framework at the beginning of the post-Cold War era. Conclusion: Opportunity Lost, Perspective Gained            There are two important conclusions that readily derive from the above discussion. Firstly, the changes in the international system at the end of the Cold War produced a scenario where the UN remained the only organisation capable of maintaining peace. This provided a thrust to the multilateral framework which had suffered till then under the shadow of the East/West bipolarity. Without doubt, the end of the Cold War had supplied the UN with a vital impetus to re-establish multilateralism as the definitive path to peace. Secondly, however, an evaluation of post-Cold War multilateralism reveals that this chance was squandered, leading many to call this phase of the UN’s history as â€Å"opportunity lost†(Johnson, 1999). Indeed, the breakdown of the consensus over the war in Iraq (2003) led Annan to declare that â€Å"[t]he past year has shaken the foundations of collective security and undermined confidence in the possibility of collective responses to our common problems and challenges†(quoted in UN Press Release, 2003).            Looking forward, however, we have to contend that it is precisely the US debacle in Iraq has cast grave doubts over unilateral actions, and has prepared the ground once more for the endorsement of multilateralism. Following its initial failures in peacekeeping, the UN maintained that its role in international peace and security remained â€Å"essential†(Crossette, 1994); the reverses early on in the post-Cold War era now serve as key points of reference from which to learn and devise more viable policies. The lessons of the past, thus, must provide the paths to the present (and the future). The opportunity given to the UN and multilateralism by the fall of the Soviet Union was spurned over the subsequent decade. The international system has again generated a similar impetus which should, this time, be treated with the utmost care and responsibility. References Art, R. J. (2003). A Grand Strategy for America. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. Boutros-Ghali, B. (1992). An Agenda for Peace: Preventive Diplomacy, Peacemaking and Peace-keeping. A/47/277. Retrieved June 4, 2008, from http://www.un.org/docs/SG/agpeace.html Cooper, M. H. (February 23, 2003). Future of NATO. CQ Researcher, 13, 8, pp. 177-200. Crossette, B. (December 5, 1994). UN Falters in Post-Cold War Peacekeeping, but Sees Role as Essential. The New York Times. Retrieved June 4, 2008, from http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C07E3DC1739F936A35751C1A962958260 Fukuyama, F. (1993). The End of History and the Last Man. New York: Harper Perennial. Glazer, S. (August 27, 2004). Stopping Genocide. CQ Researcher, 14, 29, pp. 165-187. Human Rights Watch. (December 2006). Darfur Bleeds: Militia Attacks on Civilians in Chad. Retrieved June 4, 2008, from http://www.hrw.org/ Johnson, R. (January 1999). Post-Cold War Security: The Lost Opportunities. The Disarmament Forum, 1, 5-11. Kaldor, M. (1999). New and Old Wars: Organized Violence in a Global Era. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. Kuper, L. (1982). Genocide: Its Political Use in the Twentieth Century. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. Power, S. (2002). A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide. New York: Harper Perennial. Roper, J., Nishihara, M., Otunnu, O. A., Schoettle, E. C. B. (1993). Keeping the Peace in the Post-Cold War Era: Strengthening Multilateral Peacekeeping – A Report to the Trilateral Commission. New York: The Trilateral Commission. Rosenau, J. N. (1990). Turbulence in World Politics: A theory of Change and Continuity. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Taylor, P. and Curtis, D. (2003). The United Nations. In Baylis, J. and Smith, S. The Globalization of World Politics: An Introduction to International Relations. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 405-424. United Nations Documentation Centre. (2008). General Assembly Resolutions | Security Council Resolutions. Retrieved June 4, 2008, from http://www.un.org/documents/index.html United Nations General Assembly. (2004). Report of the Open-ended Working Group on the Question of Equitable Representation on and Increase in the Membership of the Security Council and Other matters related to the Security Council. A/58/47. New York: United Nations. United Nations Peacekeeping. (2008). List of Operations: 1948-2008. Retrieved June 4, 2008, from http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/list/list.pdf United Nations Press Release. (November 2003). Secretary-General Names High-level Panel to Study Global Security Threats, and Recommend Necessary Changes. SG/A/857. Retrieved June 4, 2008, from http://www.un.org/News/dh/hlpanel/press-release-041103.pdf United Nations. (1945). Charter of the United Nations. Retrieved June 4, 2008, from http://www.un.org/aboutun/charter/
Thursday, September 5, 2019
Influences of Culture on Accounting Standards
Influences of Culture on Accounting Standards The impact of culture on the social institutions like accounting cannot be underestimated. Before the increase in immigration and cross-border businesses, culture has been in the domain of anthropology and archaeology. This work considers whether culture affect unified global accounting practices and whether an understanding of cultural role in accounting can help to understand international accounting standards. These prove will be made evidence using the Anglo-American and Euro-Continental accounting models (Canada and France) as case study. Although there are other factors (historical, economic, and institutional, legal system, the tax laws etc) that can affect accounting harmonization, culture is a major obstacle. SOME DEFINITIONS OF CULTURE There is no commonly accepted definition of culture. Violet (1983a) sees culture as a system that encompasses and determines the evolution of social institutions and social phenomena. Perera (1989) regarded culture as an expression of norms, values and customs that reflect typical behavioral characteristics within a defined social grouping. Kuper 1999, (cited in Baskerville, p.2) simply defines it as a matter of ideas and values, a collective cast of mind. Hofstede 1997 defined culture as the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from another.He sees cultural differences at four different levels symbols, heroes, rituals, and values. From the definitions, it shows that culture is shared among individuals belonging to a group or society, formed over a relatively long period and relatively stable. In accounting context Askary, Saeed (p.2) defined culture as those environmental factors that strongly impact national accounting systems a likely causal factor of different national accounting practices in accord with differing national cultures. CULTURAL STUDIES It is a near impossibility to discuss culture without mentioning Hofstede. He conducted the most comprehensive study of how workplace values are influenced by culture from 1967 to 1973, while working at IBM as a psychologist. He analyzed data from over 100,000 individuals from 40 countries. In 1980 he identified four distinct contrasting sets of dimensions of culture which has enjoyed considerable attention. They are: (1) Power distance, showing measure of interpersonal power between people, (2) Individualism versus collectivism showing measure of personal autonomy between individuals and collectives, (3) uncertainty avoidance showing anxiety level of society members towards the future and (4) Masculinity-allocation of roles between sexes. In 2007, he added a fifth dimension that is not too relevant for our study which is Long-Term Orientation LTO; which is associated with perseverance. His study was seen as a catalyst in international accounting research which later accounting rese archers like Gray 1988, Perera 1989, Wuthnow 1994 adopted into accounting context. According to Sudarwan and Fogarty (1996, p.2), his work has been cited in 583studies from 1981-1992 and this justifies its use in accounting research. Gray (1988) developed significant accounting hypotheses using cultural values as developed by Hofstede to establish relationship to accounting values. He addressed cultural influence on accounting of different countries from the distinct societal values perspective. He identified the possibility of significantly relating accounting values, at the level of the accounting subculture, to societal values, by giving the following accounting values for consideration; (1) Professionalism; meaning preference on individual professional judgment and self regulation as opposed to prescriptive legal requirements and statutory control. It linked Hofstedes high individualism, weak uncertainty avoidance, masculinity, given the concept of assertiveness, and small power distance. (2) Uniformity; He shows preference for uniform accounting practices between companies as against flexibility of unique circumstance of a company. It reflects societies with high uncertainty-avoidance and large power-distance indexes of Hofstede. (3) Conservatism: Here there is preference for caution to measurement, as it helps one to cope with future uncertainty. It contrasts with a more optimistic, risk taking approach. This links high uncertainty-avoidance, individualism, and masculinity dimensions by Hofstede. (4) Secrecy; Here information is shared amongst the close managers and financiers as against more open, transparent, publicly accountable approach. This is associated with societies that have strong uncertainty-avoidance and power-distance dimensions. Chua 1988 (cited in Askary p.5) like Gray said that Values and beliefs play a fundamental role in the constitution of accounting knowledgeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.therefore, culture and accounting are inextricably linked. Perera 1989 (cited by Askary p.6) sees two associated ways of analyzing the cultural influences on accounting practices: determining a set of specific societal values/cultural factors likely to be directly linked with accounting practice and verification of any association between societal values and specific accounting practices. To him accounting practices/systems of different countries are influenced by their cultural values that, in turn, shape their accounting practices. Applicability of Hofstedes framework has been questioned in accounting context. Critics see his cultural dimension in accounting research as causing misleading dependence on cultural indices. Gernon and Wallace 1995 (cited in Ding Y., Jeanjean T., Stolowy H.p.9) described his cultural studies in international accounting research as trapped by a paradigm myopia by its reliance on the framework suggested by Hofstede partly because his survey was of one organization therefore do not provide reliable information on the cultural values of an entire nation. Baskerville 2003(cited in Ding Y., Jeanjean T., Stolowy H.p.9) also criticizes him for equating culture with nation. From the Encyclopedia of World Cultures OLeary Levinson, 1991 (cited in Baskerville 2002) identified that in the Middle East the Human Relations Area Files identify 35 different cultures in 14 nations. Grays indices are also criticized. Willett et al. 1997 (cited in Chanchani Willett, 2004)while criticizing Gray identifies culture as most clearly affecting those parts of the accounting environment that are essentially social and also stated that culture influences disclosure practices more than measurement practices. Despite these criticisms, the models have some uses. According to Ding et al. (2005), Hofstedes model, though strongly criticized, is still widely used because of its extensive international coverage, and robust results have been generated. His result is still used to explain national diversities in accounting though the research sample was designed and selected to avoid diversity. Chanchani Willett (2004) noted that Grays theory continues to be referred to in on-going research, and a number of recent studies have related accounting judgement on various matters to cultural influences. Hofstede/Grays analysis have attempted to understand the differences in national accounting standards from cultural background view-point, and has been useful in establishing a link between accounting and cultures. Analyses here further buttress the argument that culture plays a major role in shaping a countrys accounting standards. CULTURAL INFLUENCE AND ACCOUNTING HARMONIZATION Cultural influence in accounting environments has been a subject in accounting research and has been examined by many scholars: (Violet (1983), Belkaoui (1990, 1996 1997), and Doupnik and Salter (1995); Harrison and Mckinnon (1986), Belkaoui; and Culture and international accounting systems by Gray (1988), Perera (1989)and Fechner and Kilgore (1994) (all cited by Askary pp.2-3). They mostly established a prime facie case that culture influences accounting practices. Accordingly, Perera 1989 (cited by Askary p.2) sees each accounting system as a product of its specific environment. Mueller, Gernon and Meek 1994 (cited by Askary p.2) also noted, Accounting is shaped by the environment in which it operates. Even in reporting practice, Radebaugh and Gray (1997) through a comparative study concluded that each country reporting practice is influenced by culture despite existence of standard. Jaggi 1975 (cited by Askary p.3) appreciated that the cultural environment was an independent variable that could influence financial disclosure practices in response to value orientations. Violet 1983a (cited by Askary p.3) perceived accounting as a product . . . of its culture. Gambling and Abdel-Karim 1986 (cited by Askary p.3) reasoned that: . . . accounting theory is part of the personality and hence part of the culture. If the individuals are Muslims, their personalities are Islamic and their culture is Islamic. Therefore, their accounting theory is Islamic. From the foregoing, one can conveniently say that accounting theory and practices is a product of individuals who are influenced by their beliefs. Some cultural factors that influence accounting include language, religion, morals, values, attitudes, law, education, politics, social organization and technology. The question now is how do culture influence accounting? One cannot underestimate the power of culture. Beliefs most times guide what you do and accounting is not an exception. Moral judgment, value system, attitude towards anything, legal system, Religion or even educational background are powerful forces underlying behaviours. It is therefore not questionable that the above factors shapes accounting value, therefore impacts the accounting environment internationally. A good example is Islamic culture that does not encourage borrowing as against western culture that is anchored on borrowing. This cultural influence has proved to have made accounting harmonization difficult. A major harmonization attempt is the setting up of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), under the oversight of the International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC) through an agreement made by professional accountancy bodies from developed countries. Its objective is to develop a set of global accounting standards that require high quality, transparency, and comparability of financial statements of different countries (iasplus 2007). But its efforts have been frustrated by constraints like culture, education, taxation, political climate, and economic development of many countries. Comparison of Canada and France accounting models Hofstedes cultural dimensions as applied in accounting by Gray (1988) will be used to classify Canada and France. Canada and France utilize different accounting systems and operate within socio-economic environments which have many distinguishing features that may influence accounting. Canada has Anglo-American accounting and auditing tradition therefore flexibility and professionalism prevails. Her system and values safeguards shareholder interests. In contrast, French accounting system as in most Continental European countries relies upon the Plan Comptable and codified rules that satisfy stakeholders information needs and it is characterized by values of uniformity and statutory control (Gray, 1988). Canada and France accepted International Accounting Standards (IAS, called International Financial Reporting Standards, IFRS) since 2001 but Gray and Street 2001(cited by Othman H. B and Zeghal. D 2006) still find differences between them in terms of IAS/IFRS implementation. Leuz, and Wysocki 2000 (cited by Othman H. B and Zeghal D. 2006) argue that it is because IASC standards possess no enforcement rules and rely on local auditors and country-specific legal remedies to enforce standards. Applying Grays four accounting values as discussed above, Canada is viewed to have higher professionalism, flexibility, optimism and transparency which have shaped the finance mode and shareholder corporate-governance model. There is also lack of interaction between financial reporting because of its high individualism, low uncertainty-avoidance and power-distance index. France has higher statutory control, uniformity, conservatism, and high uncertainty avoidance which in contrast show strong government influence in accounting regulation. France has a stakeholder corporate-governance model, which is dominated by banks, government, or families. Canada has a common-law accounting system which includes the accounting standards used to prepare financial information. The provincial and federal law left the regulation of accounting standards to the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants (CICA). There is no uniform plan of accounts; rather standards evolve by becoming commonly accepted in practice, but with a considerable degree of uniformity which the CICA regulates. Accordingly, accounting and tax rules are kept separate. Financial reports are drawn up according to accounting standards. In France, Plan comptable general which Governmental imposed on accounting have strongly influenced accounting practices (Perera, 1989). This Accounting Plan is typically prescriptive, detailed, and procedural. Financial accounting is very much a public-sector activity, administered by governmental (or quasi-governmental) bodies. CONCLUSION This essay has looked at how culture influences the accounting standards and sees that culture indeed shapes the accounting standards of any particular country. Many countries place great emphasis on their own accounting standards, because of the societal values and norms on which these standards have been designed. The definition of culture and how it affects national/international accounting standards were provided, citing the analyses of Hofstede and Gray. Our analyses using Canada and France as sample countries establish the much ignored link between culture and accounting. The essay also looked at international accounting harmonization efforts of the IASB, and how culture has affected its goals. Although there are other factors affecting national accounting standards, culture indeed plays a pivotal role in determining national accounting standards. With the analyses, it is hoped that culture and accounting will be considered side-by-side when decisions are being made globally.
Wednesday, September 4, 2019
The impact of culture on women entrepreneurship
The impact of culture on women entrepreneurship The author has been involved from the age of thirteen years old in business enterprise both Small and Medium Enterprises (SME). The author comes from a business orientated family and spent her working life both in family business and private capacity. This made the author believes that one of the most important issues that the women entrepreneur experiences in this business sector is culture challenges. The author believes that women entrepreneurship has got many opportunities but the impact of culture challenges these opportunities in particular if we compare UK and Sub-Saharan women entrepreneurship. Considering entrepreneurship sector it has long been considered an important factor for socioeconomic growth and development because it provides millions of job opportunities, offers a variety of consumer goods and services, and generally increases national prosperity and competitiveness (Zahra, 1999). Although in recent years women have been included in a number of studies on entrepreneurship, however, there has been little focus on challenging traditional definitions of entrepreneurship or on developing new methods to collect information on entrepreneurship (Moore 1990, p.278; Stevenson 1990, p.442; Moore and Buttner 1997). The entrepreneurship literature has increasingly acknowledged the desire by women to be economically independent and their role and contribution as female entrepreneurs in shaping the labour market (Goffee Scase, 1985). Entrepreneurship or self-employment normally involves setting up a new business or buying an existing business. Gartner, (1988) defines entrepreneurship as the behaviours associated with performing entrepreneurial activities (i.e. what an entrepreneur does rather than on whom the entrepreneur is). The entrepreneur environment is surrounding by many societal factors such as cultural, economic, political and social forces. These factors can join together to create threats or opportunities where entrepreneur operates. Despite the presence of a favourable environment, individuals who are motivated by factors such as financial rewards, achievement, social, career, and individual fulfilment, for these conditions or motives to encourage into entrepreneurship a national culture supports and encourages entrepreneurial activity is needed. Berger, (1991), points out that individuals personalities and behaviours, firms, political/legal systems, economic conditions, and social traditions are all intertwined with the national culture from which they originate. Hence, the study of entrepreneurship on a cultural basis seems appropriate. Furthermore, taking women themselves as subjects for analysis and comparison three levels of similarity or difference should be considered. First, no matter w here women live, they experience similar types of role complexity, especially when combining the roles of working mother and wife. Second, no matter where women live, they encounter similar problems when trying to get started as entrepreneurs or when trying to expand their business activities. Third, in contrast to male entrepreneurs, women entrepreneurs face unique challenges arising from the local environment in which they must operate. It is these differences arising from the specific social and cultural environments in which WEs operates that are the subject of investigation in this study as well as the differences between women themselves, their roles or their personal experiences. Consequently, this study takes the cultural approach to study the women entrepreneurs in sub-Saharan Africa compared to the U.K by examining factors in the environments in which Women Entrepreneurs (WEs) operate. The goal is to understand better how cultural barriers of many types impact the efforts of WEs. In order to address these gender-particular problems, social cultural is suggested to cover two goals: Addressing the changing social beliefs, attitudes and behaviours that negatively affect women entrepreneurs. The ways of improving conditions in institutional systems and environments in the women entrepreneurs The research questions The extant entrepreneurial literature has certainly increased our understanding of entrepreneurs and the gender dynamics of entrepreneurship, a key concern is the tendency for typical studies to focus on entrepreneurship issues in Western developed economies to the neglect of developing .If entrepreneurship is accepted as a key driver of economic growth and an essential component of national development, then a better understanding is needed of those factors which promote or inhibit womens entrepreneurship in the U.K and sub-Saharan Africa. Two questions are of principal interest in this study: Under what conditions do women become entrepreneurs in the U.K and sub-Saharan Africa? What types of cultural and environmental barriers must they face and overcome? The next section explains the methodology. We then present and discuss the findings and argue that while many challenges identified are common in this sector they are experienced differentially and are strongly influenced by the nature of the cultural values in context. Keywords: women entrepreneurs; sub-Saharan Africa; U.K, cultural environment The research methodology In order to understand the nature of WEs experience in the U.K and sub-Saharan Africa, it is necessary first to understand the socio-economic and cultural context in which they live and work. The present study is exploratory in nature. The study was carried out in the U.K with selecting women entrepreneurs doing different types of business. The study covered two types of participants women entrepreneurs from the U.K and others women entrepreneurs who originally came from Sub Saharan African countries settled and started a business in the U.K. The combination of the selected groups gives different business cultures. Our goal is to demonstrate both similarities and differences in the experiences of WEs trying to operate their own business. The data for the study was collected from both primary and secondary sources. Primary data was collected from selected women entrepreneurs through formal interviews. The participants from the Sub Saharan Africa were selected on a convenience basis to represent Somali, Ethiopian, Eritreans, and Ugandans. The reasons that made the researcher to perform samples interviews from both participants are the limited timescale for the researcher as well as the availability of these women in entrepreneur business in the U.K. Secondary data was collected from published data in books, journals, magazines report and newspapers. In trying to assemble relevant statistical data from secondary sources for this profile, the researcher encountered considerable difficulties with incomplete, out-of-date, or missing data. Even in publications produced by Department for Business innovation and Skills (BIS), banking system such as Nat west, in the U.K and leading international agencies such as the World Bank, UNESCO (2011), UN, and the CIA (2011), statistics proved to be inadequate for the purposes of this study. The next section presents the relation between the gender and the entrepreneur. Gender and the Entrepreneurial Career Choice The literature described the term entrepreneur with a particular emphasis on the view of the nature and purpose of entrepreneurial activities. Thus, an entrepreneur is defined as one who undertakes a commercial enterprise and who is an organisational creator and innovator (Gartner, 1990; 2004). Theoretically entrepreneur includes elements of smallness, competition, deregulation, innovation and risk (Verheul Thurik, 2000). Considering these features an entrepreneur historically assumed to be male (Green and Cohen 1995, p.299; Beggs et al.1994). However, Winn, (2005) stated that entrepreneur is the one who prospects for or exploits opportunities and who has a tenacity to face challenges. Whereas, Krueger and Brazeal (1994) described entrepreneurship as gender neutral who perceive themselves as pursuing opportunities irrespective of existing resources. This definition is in line with affirmation of Buttner and Moores (1997) that the entrepreneurship is a gender-blind career choice. Alt hough this assertion is theoretically true, in practice gender and environment act together to confirm the success or failure of women as entrepreneurs. Studies report that women entrepreneurs differ from men in terms of their motivations, the types of external barriers that they face, and the type of help available to women (Buttner and Moore 1997; Mattis 2004; Woldie and Adersua 2004). Cromie (1987) compares womens and mens reasons for forming businesses on 13 different criteria and notes that women are less preoccupied than men with economic gain, and more often cite child-rearing demands and career dissatisfaction as reasons for business formation. In a similar way, Hisrich (1989) summarises the comparisons that have been made between female and male business owners in terms of motivation, source of funds, occupational background, and reasons for occupational departure, personality, background, support group and type of business. Other studies similarly compare the motivation of female and male entrepreneurs (Cromie 1987; Birley 1989) and management styles in women-owned and men-owned enterprises (Chaganti 1986). Accordingly, the literature points to a variety of intrinsic and extrinsic factors that might influence women to choose an entrepreneurial career. Intrinsic factors include the persons personality or traits such as having a proactive, assertive personality, being self-governed and positive (Akrivos et al., 2007, Mordi, et, al., 2010). In this respect, female entrepreneurs have been found to be less oriented to financial reward than men (Rosa et al, 1996), valuing work satisfaction and challenge, and to hold androgynous or masculine self perceptions (Brodsky, 1993) such as confidence, a sense of adventure and risk taking. Extrinsic factors include family circumstances and family orientation, the influence of socio-cultural factors, the political-economic climate surrounding the business environment and dominant features of human resources within the labour market (Ituma Simpson, 2007). The aspiration to own and manage a business might stem from a desire to be self-sufficient, to gain personal satisfaction and esteem as well as a desire for more opportunities and flexibility than exists for women in the employed labour market (Carter, 2000; Winn 2004, 2005; Carter and Cannon, 1992). This quest for autonomy and flexibility may be particularly relevant for those women with caring responsibilities (Carter, 2000; Hewlett, 2002) who accordingly seek to combine work and non-work activities (Mordi, et, el., 2010). Using these comparisons and to develop a form of typical female entrepreneur the factors that describe the differences between the male and female entrepreneur can include women and men are socialized differently and as a result have different orientations especially when it comes to business; as women face certain structural and cultural barriers rather than men and finally women have distinctive ways of conducting and managing their own business (Amine Staub, 2009). Carter (2000) points out; women are not disadvantaged in the world of self employment because of their lack of mental, physical, educational and other kinds of abilities, but as a result of gendered categorisations. These categorizations have close links to other variables, such as cultural values, family commitment, lack of business capital and credit facilities that can act as limitations to the female entrepreneur (Mordi, et, al., 2010). Taking these differences there is anecdotal evidence that cultural beliefs about gender and entrepreneurship have consequences for women entrepreneurs. For example, women entrepreneurs frequently reported that perceived lack of credibility by investors due to their gender disadvantages them in their searches for credit (Moore and Buttner 1997; Carter and Cannon 1992). Kiggundu (2002) reported that most successful African entrepreneurs are male, middle-aged, married with a number of children, and are more educated than the general population. Staub and Amine (2006) argue that many women in sub-Saharan Africa are ready to go as entrepreneurs, if only environmental conditions are more favourable to their efforts. Consequently, theory suggests that gender stereotypes may systematically disadvantage women entrepreneurs as few studies have investigated the extent to which cultural beliefs about gender might impact men and women in the initial decision-making process of choosing to start a business in the first place (Heilman and Chen 2003). This gender carrier choice review highlights the significance and value of some of the cultural and environmental factors which is the focus of this study. To deepen our understanding for these factors the next section will present more cultural motivations and types of women entrepreneurs. Types and motives of Women Entrepreneurs Definitions of the term entrepreneur tend to assume and emphasise a particular view of the nature and purpose of entrepreneurial activities. Goffee and Scase (1985) distinguish between four types of female entrepreneurs (conventional, innovative, domestic and radical). Goffee and Scase (1985) argue that Conventional businesswomen are highly committed both to entrepreneurship ideals and to the conventional gender role for women. These women accept the fact that they have to work long hours to fulfil both their domestic and entrepreneurial roles. Goffee and Scase note that conventional businesswomen run their business in ways which are compatible with their domestic obligations and do not require family members to undertake additional tasks. Goffee and scase (1985, p.96) suggest that these women do not see the need for restructuring of gender relationship. However Innovative entrepreneurs, by contrast, are committed to entrepreneurship ideals but not to the conventional gender roles. D omestic businesswomen do not uphold entrepreneurship ideals but are committed to conventional gender roles. Radical proprietors have low commitment to both entrepreneurship ideals and to conventional gender roles. Through this framework, Goffee and Scase (1985) are able to explain some of the differences in whose willingness to compromise with the male business world and to sacrifice personal and family relationships for the sake of their enterprises enables them to overcome many of the obstacles which many women face'(ibid.,p.142). To be precise, innovators women entrepreneurs are likely to be booming entrepreneurs in so far as they imitate the male work norm. Considering these types of women entrepreneur Birley (1989, p.37) argues that profile of women entrepreneur in the future will continue to move closer to that of their male counterparts. To achieve this stage women entrepreneurs need certain motives to encourage them to be in business. Scholars emphasised different motives for entrepreneurs as general the most notably economist Cantillon and Marx who pointed out that profit maybe one motive of entrepreneur business. Furthermore, the entrepreneur may be driven not only by economic motives but also by psychological motives like the desire to innovate and create new products (Schumpeter, 1934). The desire to take risk and a spirit of adventure may be another (Knight, 1921). Moreover some entrepreneurs have greater access to information or knowledge and wish to exploit that advantage (Kirzner, 1973). However, the positive reasons alone may not motivate entrepreneurship as some individuals may have no other option but to choose self- employment (Basu Altinay, 2002). (references in london articles) Krueger and Brazeal (1994, p.101) asserted that favourable environmental conditions such as support from political, social, and business leaders and a team spirit in the community effectively encourage entrepreneurship among both men and women. Social support from family and friends who provide positive role models, as well as from parents who promote entrepreneurial aspirations during childhood, all contribute to create positive environmental conditions favouring womens entrepreneurship. In contrast, (Mordi, et, al., 2010) argue that lack of access to seed funds and working capital are two environmental factors that particularly discourage women entrepreneurs. It is clear that motivations of women entrepreneurs based to some extent on the gender beliefs. Thus in the next section the relation between the gender beliefs and entrepreneurship will be discussed. Gender Beliefs and Entrepreneurship This section presents the shared cultural belief about genders by prescribing different expectations of competence for women and men or gender status beliefs in the area of entrepreneurship. Then analyze the implications of those beliefs for womens as entrepreneur business choice. It is reported that women often perceive they lack credibility because of their gender when they seek funding (Carter and Cannon 1992; Moore and Buttner 1997; Smallbone et.al. 2000). To discuss this sociologists increasingly understand gender as a multilevel structure, which includes cultural beliefs and distributions of resources at the macro level, patterns of behavior at the interactional level, and roles and identities at the micro level (Ferree, Lorber, and Hess 1999; Ridgeway and Correll 2004; Risman 1998) (Reference- baud2010.SPQ.snap article). The influence of culture on entrepreneurship was first emphasised by Max Weber at the beginning of this century. As Weber (1976) famously argued, Protestantism encouraged a culture that emphasised individualism, achievement motivation, legitimation of entrepreneurial vocations, rationality, asceticism, and self-reliance. Based on that Hoftstede (1991, p.5) defines culture as a collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from another. In this sense Hoftstede (1991) regards culture as a collective phenomenon that is shaped by individuals social environment, not their genes. In this way he defines culture a set of shared values, beliefs and norms of a group or community. Basu Altinay, (2002) argue that these cultural values and norms will either converge or conflict with a societys ability to develop a strong entrepreneur orientation. For example, thinking about a new business ventures means confronting a great deal of uncertain ty. Moreover, in the development of new ideas, entrepreneurs have to make their own decisions in setting where there are few, if any, historical trends, and relatively little direct information (Basu Altinay, 2002). Accordingly, Hofstedes in his research shows that national culture affects workplace values across a range of countries. Basu Altinay (2002) views the cultural differences result from national, regional, ethnic, social class, religious, gender, and language variations. Hence, values are held to be a crucial feature of culture and cultural uniqueness. Consequently, Berger (1991) argues that any modernisation in countries must include cultural transformation. As such, entrepreneurship develops from the Bottom up such that culture gives rise to entrepreneurial potential. Thus, Bergers stated that it is culture that serves as the conductor, and the conductor, and the entrepreneur as the catalyst (to entrepreneurship) (Berger 1991, p.122). To widen our understanding to the effect of culture on the women entrepreneurs it seems necessary to take some examples on this field. In the United Kingdom, notably in the East Midlands (Nottingham and Leicester) Somali women have challenged the male-dominated perception which portrays women as housewives with little contribution to the public arena. Study by Hassan (2002) reveals how Somali women in the UK rejected their traditional culture that gives husbands authority over their wives. A traditional power relation at the household level that allows husbands to control their wives is no longer accepted in the UK. A Somali woman narrates Men should learn how to cook, do the laundry and change the nappies (Hassan 2002), a new male role which used to be a female role in Somali. This led to an increase in marriage breakdown. However, women have become shapers of their lives. On the other hand men seem not happy with the new culture that they need to understand and to response to posit ively. They put religion to stop women taking new roles. Men are using religion as a scapegoat when they say that women are abandoning Islam. This is the way this country is, and we should adapt to it, said a female interviewee (Hassan 2002). In the city of London Ethiopian and Eritrean women have improved their entrepreneur skills and become engaged in different small business activities such as restaurants and cafes to generate income to help them to support themselves and to improve their living standard as well as to send remittances to their families and communities in their homeland. Thus, challenging the economic exclusion is that many women in Diaspora are exposed to and also giving them financial independence and economic power. Moreover, gaining economic power could lead to decision-making power at household level. Thus, challenging the patriarchal system that perpetuates males domination. In a study comparing indigenous African entrepreneurs to entrepreneurs of European and Indian descent operating in Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe, Ramachandran and Shah (1999) found significant differences between sample members. Differences were seen in their education, networks, and business growth rates, with entrepre neurs of European or Indian descent having more formal education and better business networks. Despite the considerable progress many countries have achieved in developing their economies, entrepreneurial activity remains relatively limited in many these nations (Berger 1991) Cultural Challenges of Women Entrepreneur The literature showed that women entrepreneur businesses are generally smaller, grow more slowly, and are less profitable (Fasci Valdez, 1998; Hisrish Brush, 1984; Kalleberg Leicht, 1991; Rosa Hamilton, 1994). Buttner and Rosen (1988) similarly found that American loan officers rated women as significantly less like successful entrepreneurs on the dimensions of leadership, autonomy, risk taking, readiness for change, endurance, lack of emotionalism, and low need for support when compared to equivalent men. More generally, scholars have argued that entrepreneurship is an activity that involves a sense of dominance tied to notions of masculinity within modern capitalist cultures (Bruni, Gherardi, and Poggio 2004; Connell 1995; Mirchandani 1999). A number of theorists attempt to identify barriers which female business owners face. These theorists focus on the social structures, which support gender differences. Several authors maintain that research on women entrepreneurs suffers from a number of shortcomings. These include a one-sided empirical focus (Gatewood, Carter, Brush, Greene, Hart, 2003), a lack of theoretical grounding (Brush, 1992), the neglect of structural, historical, and cultural factors (Chell Baines, 1998; Nutek, 1996), the use of male-gendered measuring instruments (Moore, 1990; Stevenson, 1990), the absence of a power perspective, and the lack of explicit feminist analysis (Mirchandani, 1999; Ogbor, 2000; Reed, 1996). Loscocco et al. (1991), for example, examine why women-owned businesses are typically less financially successful than businesses owned by men. They argue that womens lack of industry experience and family situation (in particular responsibility for childcare) explain part of the difference in income. Other reasons include the fact that women-owned businesses are typically small in size and are concentrated in poorly paid sectors of employment. Other barriers are identified by Aldrich who studies entrepreneurial networking and notes that women tend to form larger numbers of strong ties; this over-investment in the maintenance of networks can translate into business disadvantage as a woman entrepreneur risks spending much of her time on relationship matters rather than business ones (1989, p.121). Woldie and Adersua (2004) reported that aspiring WEs face additional barriers to success arising from negative social attitudes. Prejudice against WEs is experienced much more severely in Africa than in developed Western nations, arising from deeply-rooted, discriminatory cultural values, attitudes, practices, and the traditions of patriarchal cultures. Local prejudice is expressed through differential attitudes toward women in general, and through different standards and expectations for womens social behaviour in particular. While social attitudes are not the only factors hindering womens entrepreneurship, they are recognized by Gartner (1985) as critical factors. Lack of educational opportunities for girls throughout sub-Saharan Africa puts women at a tremendous disadvantage in adult life. Not only are they unable to improve their own intellectual and social abilities through education, they also suffer from social subservience and an inability to engage in business on an equal footing with men. Inadequate education leaves women ill-equipped to resist normative pressures from society for them to conform to traditional social role expectations for division of labour. Educational deficits also make it difficult for women to counter pressure by their husbands and family members to conform to social norms. In Muslim communities of sub-Saharan Africa (such as in Nigeria), it is not considered socially right or proper for a woman to work outside the home or to own her own business. It is feared that a married womans access to an independent source of income will change traditional roles in the family, undermine patriarchal domestic relations, and affect the balance of power within the household, potentially leading to divorce and the possibility of self-determination. Socially constructed meanings may interpret the fact of a married woman working for pay outside the home as deriving directly from a mans inability to control his wife or to provide adequately for his family without her assistance. Fearing such a loss of control, personal honour or social standing, many men simply refuse to allow their wives to start or operate their own businesses. An even greater threat is the social stigma that might attach to a man if his wife is seen to be more successful than he is (Njeru and Njoka 2001). Such deep social embarrassment and dishonour of the family name are deemed intolerable outcomes in many cultures of the world, not just in Africa. (See, for example, studies of the social impact on families of womens employment in the maquiladora factories along the US-Mexican border over the last 30 years [American Friends Service Committee AFSC 2006].) While such fears are grounded in traditional socio-cultural beliefs, attitudinal change can be accomplished through education of both men and women, allowing women to achieve self-determination and men to enjoy a more prosperous family life with their wives financial contribution to the household. Recommendations on how to bring about this type of change in attitudes towards women, work and independent enterprise will be addressed in a later section on social marketing. Some type of problem or proposed shortcomings of women. Women are discussed as: (the references on articles on women) Having a psychological makeup that is less entrepreneurial or at least different from that of a mans (Fagenson, 1993; Neider, 1987; Sexton Bowman-Upton, 1990; Zapalska, 1997) Having less motivation for entrepreneurship or for growth of their businesses (Buttner Moore, 1997; Fischer et al., 1993) Having insufficient education or experience (Boden Nucci, 2000) Having less desire to start a business (Carter Allen, 1997; Kourilsky Walstad, 1998; Matthews Moser, 1996; Scherer et al., 1990) Being risk averse (Masters Meier, 1988) Having unique start-up difficulties or training needs (Birley et al., 1987; Nelson, 1987; Pellegrino Reece, 1982) Using less than optimal or perhaps feminine management practices or strategies (Carter et al., 1997; Chaganti, 1986; Cuba et al., 1983; Olson Currie, 1992; Van Auken et al., 1994) Behaving irrationally by turning to unqualified family members for help (Nelson, 1989) Not networking optimally (Aldrich et al., 1989; Cromie Birley, 1992; Katz Williams, 1997; Smeltzer Fann, 1989) Perceiving other women as less cut for the role of entrepreneurship (Fagenson Marcus, 1991) Attributing loan denials to gender bias instead of flaws in the business plan (Buttner Rosen, 1992) The Africans we interviewed display an impressive confidence in their entrepreneurial ability. Insert your interview quotation here Women entrepreneurship problems explanation Hisrich outlines the central problems faced by women entrepreneur and develops prescription for (their) success (1989, p3). These prescription include the need for women to gain experience in financial management by taking loans and managing family finances, obtain occupational experience in middle management, study engineering, science, technical or business-related subjects, learn to prioritize between organizational and family responsibilities, and develop support systems and mentors. According to Hisrich suggests that women need to develop a girls network (1989,p.280 to parallel theold boyss network, and to learn to delegate business or family responsibilities to others when necessary.) Aldrick argues that women need to increase their network diversity by adopting, like male entrepreneurs, an assertive and instrumental orientation to personal networks (1989,p.128). Goffee and Scase argue that real potential for the growth of small business (1985,p.142) lies with women who have a low attachment to conventional gender roles, such as the innovators whose willingness to compromise with the male business world and to sacrifice personal and family relationships for the sake of their enterprises enables them to overcome many of the obstacles. Recommendation and conclusion This study allows us to make several points about the impact of culture on women entrepreneur. This review of the literature on women entrepreneurship and gender presents a complex picture of critical environmental barriers, social challenges and practical problems that men, and more particularly women, must overcome, if they want to become entrepreneurs or expand their small businesses. In sum, this study supports the theory that cultural beliefs about gender and entrepreneurship play a key role in determining who becomes an entrepreneur and who does not. This finding is substantial given that entrepreneurship, unlike any one specific job or occupation, is an entire form of work. That is, entrepreneurs cover a wide range of occupational skills and educational backgrounds, not just those that are particularly male-dominated. Thus, the simple fact as reviewed that cultural beliefs benefit men at the task of business construction restricts the alternative of otherwise qualified, creative women. Furthermore, there is no doubt that entrepreneurs generate jobs and contribute to economic development and innovation. If widely held cultural beliefs about gender constrain womens involvement in that process, then their role as leaders in society, and in economic production more specifically is also constrained. The specific recommendations of this study are: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ To contribute to building a strong studies on women entrepreneur on a long-term vision favouring stability in this field that can lead to sustainable development and regional integration among ent
Tuesday, September 3, 2019
Peer Pressure Speech -- Peer Pressure Speech
The first point I want to make in this speech is that peer pressure is NOT a bad thing. We all are influenced by our peers, both negatively and positively. It helps define who we are and how we feel about subjects in our lives. It is how we chose to react to peer pressure that defines who we are as an individual. Are we a leader or a follower? Both types of people are needed to make the world go round. Basically, the difference between negative and positive peer pressure is the outcome. The reverse of the situation above is negative peer pressure. The situation itself is positive peer pressure. Or is it? What if a teen really doesn't like sports, but pushes himself to do it to please his friends or to be accepted? Therefore, he probably doesn't do to well at it, and gets only jabs at hi...
Monday, September 2, 2019
Sapir-Worf Hypothesis: Linguistic Determinism and Linguistic Relativit
Sapir-Worf Hypothesis: Linguistic Determinism and Linguistic Relativity The romantic idealism of the late eighteenth century, as encountered in the views of Johann Herder (1744-1803) and Wilhelm von Humboldt (I 762-1835), placed great value on the diversity of the world’s languages and cultures. The tradition was taken up by the American linguist and anthropologist Edward Sapir (1884-1939) and his pupil Benjamin Lee Whorf (1897-1941), and resulted in a view about the relation between language and thought which was widely influential in the middle decades of this century. The â€Å"Sapir-Whorf hypothesis,†as it came to be called, combines two principles. The first is known as linguistic determinism: it states that language determines the way we think. The second follows from this, and is known as linguistic relativity: it states that the distinctions encoded in one language are not found in any other language. In a much- quoted paragraph, Whorf propounds the view as follows: We dissect nature along lines laid down by our native languages. The categories and types that we isolate from the world of phenomena we do not find there because they stare every observer in the face; on the contrary, the world is presented in a kaleidoscopic flux of impressions which has to be organized by our minds--and this means largely by the linguistic systems in our minds. We cut nature up, organize it into concepts, and ascribe significances as we do, largely because we are parties to an agreement to organize it in this way-an agreement that holds throughout our speech community and is codified in the patterns of our language. The agreement is, of course, an implicit and unstated one, but its terms are absolutely obligatory; we cannot talk at all ... ...version of the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis is generally accepted. Language may not determine the way we think, but it does influence the way we perceive and remember, and it affects the ease with which we perform mental tasks. Several experiments have shown that people recall things more easily if the things correspond to readily available words or phrases. And people certainly find it easier to make a conceptual distinction if it neatly corresponds to words available in their language. Some salvation for the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis can therefore be found in these studies, which are carried out within the developing field of psycholinguistics. Works Cited: Crystal, David. "Language and Thought." in Language: Readings in Language and Culture, Sixth Edition. Clark, Virgina P., Eschholtz, Pual A., Rosa, Alfred F., editors. St. Matin's Press. New York. 1998. p. 631-32 Sapir-Worf Hypothesis: Linguistic Determinism and Linguistic Relativit Sapir-Worf Hypothesis: Linguistic Determinism and Linguistic Relativity The romantic idealism of the late eighteenth century, as encountered in the views of Johann Herder (1744-1803) and Wilhelm von Humboldt (I 762-1835), placed great value on the diversity of the world’s languages and cultures. The tradition was taken up by the American linguist and anthropologist Edward Sapir (1884-1939) and his pupil Benjamin Lee Whorf (1897-1941), and resulted in a view about the relation between language and thought which was widely influential in the middle decades of this century. The â€Å"Sapir-Whorf hypothesis,†as it came to be called, combines two principles. The first is known as linguistic determinism: it states that language determines the way we think. The second follows from this, and is known as linguistic relativity: it states that the distinctions encoded in one language are not found in any other language. In a much- quoted paragraph, Whorf propounds the view as follows: We dissect nature along lines laid down by our native languages. The categories and types that we isolate from the world of phenomena we do not find there because they stare every observer in the face; on the contrary, the world is presented in a kaleidoscopic flux of impressions which has to be organized by our minds--and this means largely by the linguistic systems in our minds. We cut nature up, organize it into concepts, and ascribe significances as we do, largely because we are parties to an agreement to organize it in this way-an agreement that holds throughout our speech community and is codified in the patterns of our language. The agreement is, of course, an implicit and unstated one, but its terms are absolutely obligatory; we cannot talk at all ... ...version of the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis is generally accepted. Language may not determine the way we think, but it does influence the way we perceive and remember, and it affects the ease with which we perform mental tasks. Several experiments have shown that people recall things more easily if the things correspond to readily available words or phrases. And people certainly find it easier to make a conceptual distinction if it neatly corresponds to words available in their language. Some salvation for the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis can therefore be found in these studies, which are carried out within the developing field of psycholinguistics. Works Cited: Crystal, David. "Language and Thought." in Language: Readings in Language and Culture, Sixth Edition. Clark, Virgina P., Eschholtz, Pual A., Rosa, Alfred F., editors. St. Matin's Press. New York. 1998. p. 631-32
Overcoming Obstacles as a Teacher in the Modern Day Essay
The teaching profession has always been a highly esteemed and revered occupation due to the fact that educators impart knowledge into the minds of every single individual throughout the population, whether the student decides to be a doctor, engineer, mechanic, politician or artist in adulthood, the foundation of their learning has came from a highly dedicated and resourceful educator. However, when examining this occupation in greater detail it can be observed that there are countless obstacles that effective teachers face every day. It is common knowledge that children have a short attention span and their teacher has the role of planning lessons, which engage the learner and guarantee that the lesson is one that interacts with the student and encourages them to be involved. They also must be aware of different methods to implement that will see the child remembering the material and retaining the information that the teacher is presenting for the future lessons. When teaching in the classroom, educators must be prepared when confronted with children showing ill desired and disruptive behaviours. It is the method in which the teacher reacts to these behaviours that will pave the way for the remainder of the year, if the teacher reacts in the correct manner and demonstrates to the child the expectations within the classroom then it can be anticipated that the student will understand what is and isn’t acceptable, a certain challenge. Attention is where learning begins and therefore attracting and upholding student attention is paramount (Curtindale, Laurie-Rose, Bennett Murphy, 2007). Attention capacity and duration is limited for every individual, this needs to be acknowledged in the classroom and strategies need to be formed to prevent students from neglecting important information in class. Learners find it particularly difficult and their attention easily shifts from one stimulus to another, caused by not only distractions from other students but also from outside the classroom. When students find it difficult to concentrate this can negatively impact not only their own learning but also the learning of others. Therefore, teachers must control and provide an environment that engages and holds students attention whilst teaching imperative material. Eggen (2010) states that effective teachers plan their lessons so students attend to what is being taught and ignore irrelevant stimuli. They must ensure that their lesson will be one that learners can actively be involved in and interact with, not just submissively require students to listen to what is needing to be taught, but experience it. Teachers may employ a variety of strategies to do this, from demonstrations to discrepant events and thought provoking questions. Another fundamental approach that creates an environment of achieving ones attention is calling on students by name. This guarantees that learners are aware that the teacher will not only call on the class as a whole but may call on them individually, by name, resulting in a need to be attentive. Chapin, O’Connor and Anderson (2009) make an interesting point however that as teachers we need to be mindful when calling on students to participate and remind them of their right to pass or ask for more time before answering in the classroom. The obligation to participate in a classroom does not equate to an obligation to give answers on demand†(Chapin et al. , 2009). When teachers practice these strategies for holding their learners attention and ensure that they are apart of the teaching not just observing it, the likelihood of the student’s memory retaining the material is also greatly increased. Another obstacle faced by teachers in the classroom is that of their learners retaining the material taught throughout the term, from one lesson to another. If any student in the class is having difficulty remembering the previous lesson, they have a high risk of falling behind in their learning and development, which can then lead to troubling behaviour. There are certain aspects of memory retention that must be understood and practiced in the classroom for students to achieve learning targets and overcome this impediment. These techniques are employed to take knowledge from a child’s working memory and encode it to be stored within their long term memory, ensuring that they are then able to recall this understanding and build upon it in future lessons. Schema activation is one such encoding strategy that involves activating prior knowledge so that new knowledge can be connected to it (Eggen 2010). One of the most effective ways of activating a student’s prior knowledge is through conducting reviews of the previous lesson before embarking on the new learning material. This ensures that the students form conceptual connections between what they have already learnt in the past and the material that they are about to be taught. Another effective method of encoding is material organisation, where related items of content are athered into categories that assist in illustrating the relationships between them. This can take the form of charts, models, outlines and hierarchies, which are all examples of organization systems. With the connections easily observable and the information well organized, the student is then able to retrieve this knowledge more easily, as stated by Ormrod (2006, pg190), Long-term memory retrieval is the process of â€Å"remembering previously stored information and â€Å"finding†it in memory†. If strategies are put in place by the educator in the classroom, the students will experience a greater retention of material and a greater ease at â€Å"finding†stored information from past lessons, also making certain that they are less likely to be disruptive and display adverse behavior, an obstacle that all teachers desire to prevent if possible. Classrooms are busy and often hectic places in which groups of students vary in interests and abilities must be organized and directed, in ways that maximize education and minimize disruptions. It is imperative that the teacher responsible for each class is equipped with knowledge and strategies that can be implemented when faced with undesirable behaviour from students. First and foremost, a teacher must show withitness within the classroom, they must notice the behavior of all students and respond quickly to unexpected events. The students will be much less likely to attempt negative behaviour knowing that the teacher is aware of every action and movement that occurs and the knowledge that there is a consequence, either positive or negative for every action. When faced with ill desired behaviour from a student, the teacher must first establish whether the student is going to take responsibility for their actions and if not, implement behavioral interventions – either reinforcement or punishment to ensure that the student understands that there are consequences for adverse behaviour. One approach that would create a rational response to the student’s behaviour would be to implement a negative reinforcement – for example, by taking away 5 minutes of the students free art time on Friday afternoon, whilst the rest of the class, has their full 30 minutes. Alternatively the teacher may use their judgment and decide to implement an effective form of punishment for the student instead. This may be a simple timeout for the misbehaving child or a more severe detention during their lunch break or after class. Regardless of the tactic that the teacher decides to use with this misbehaving student, once the student understands that there are consequences for poor behaviour, the probability of this behaviour continuing is scarce. Children that act in this manner and misbehave in class often look to their role model for discipline and in many situations their teacher may be their only adult role model in their life and therefore it is imperative that these situations are handled appropriately. In conclusion, it can be observed that there are many challenges that a teacher must overcome in their normal day-to-day occupation, with a majority of them that go unseen to the general public. Initially they must obtain the student’s attention and curiosity and then maintain it throughout the class, whilst having lessons planned around engaging the students and allowing them to experience what is being taught. They then must ensure that the pupil is being taught in a way that will ensure their long term memory to guarantee that they will remember the material and therefore build upon it in future lessons. Teachers must also be equipped with strategies and techniques to overcome ill desired behaviour from students in a way that creates an understanding of the expectations and classroom rules. Fortunately there are many teachers and educators that have gone before and paved the way for the future graduates, they have been willing to share their ideas, examples and methodology in regards to what they have found that has been successful and what has not. Techniques such as calling students by name to gain their attention, organizing new learning material in such a way that makes it easier for the students to retrieve it from their memory and implementing reinforcements in place of harsh punishment for students that are testing the boundaries within the classroom. This knowledge and experience from other mentors in the industry guarantees that the classroom of the future is not only a brighter place to be but also a well informed one.
Sunday, September 1, 2019
A Brief Analysis Of the Counterculture Movement of the 1960s Essay
A.Definitions of the CountercultureIn its most common and initial sense, the counterculture refers to the culture, especially of young people, with values or lifestyles in opposition to those of the established culture in the dictionary. Until its appearance in 1969 in Theodore Roszak’s influential book, The Making of a Counter Culture, â€Å"counterculture†, written as one word or two, has become the standard term to describe the cultural revolt of the young. Although distinct countercultural undercurrents exist in all societies, here the term counterculture refers to a more significant, visible phenomenon that reaches critical mass and persists for a period of time. According to Roszak’s definition, the counterculture movement refers to all the protest movements that happened in America in the 1960s, including both the political movements such as the women’s liberation movement, the African-American Civil Rights Movement, the antiwar movement against Vie tnam, the environment movement, the gay rights movement, and the cultural â€Å"movements†as drug abuse, hippies, free sex, and rock and roll. Several explicit and dozens of implicit definitions of counterculture have been offered since the term was proposed more than three decades ago. One explicit definition that Westhue gave from the ideological and behavioral perspectives is â€Å"On the ideological level, a counterculture is a set of beliefs and values which radically reject the dominant culture of a society and prescribe a sectarian alternative. On the behavioral level, a counterculture is a group of people who, because they accept such beliefs and values, behave in such radically nonconformist ways that they tend to drop out of the society. â€Å"Another definition that Timothy Miller gave in his The Hippies and American Values defined the counterculture as â€Å"a romantic social movement of the late 1960s and very early 1970s, mainly composed of teenagers and persons in their early twenties, who through their flamboyant lifestyle expressed their alienation from mainstream American life.†From this definiti on we can draw a conclusion that the main force of the counterculture movement is young people from middle class families. B.Social Background in the 1960sThe 1960s was a transitional period of great social change. Economically, like the 1920s and 1990s, the decade of the 1960s was a period of remarkable prosperity in the U.S. as measured by such statistics as GNP and the unemployment rate. But culturally, it was a period when long-held values and norms of behavior seemed to break down, particularly among the young. The far-reaching changes that developed in the late 1960s affected many aspects of society. Many college-age men and women became the major force of the civil rights movements. Other young people simply separated themselves from mainstream culture through their appearance and lifestyle and joined the group of hippies. Attitudes toward sexuality appeared to loosen, and women began to openly protest the traditional roles of housewife and mother that society had assigned to them. With the nation shocked and paralyzed by the Vietnam War, thousands of American youth showed their concern through campus rallies, antiwar demonstrations, and concerts for peace. Many of the nation’s youth were strongly opposed to the war taking place halfway across the world, in which their fathers, brothers, and husbands were dying. United in their antiwar sentiment, thousands of young people joined in their creation of the â€Å"counterculture.†The 1960s was a decade of counterculture, with its music, its poetry, its fashion, its art, its way of life, its political struggle, and its contradictions, its rise and its failure. Then the questions are raised: what caused the so-called â€Å"counterculture movement†? And why did the movement happen in this specific time period?aThe Beat Generationâ€â€Ã¢â‚¬â€œCultural RootsThe counterculture’s deepest roots lay in the â€Å"Beat Generation†, a group of American writers who came to prominence in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Jack Kerouac’s On the Road (1957), Allen Ginsberg’s Howl (1956), and William S. Burroughs’s Naked Lunch (1959) are often considered the most important works of the Beat Generation. The term â€Å"Beat†was reported to be coined by Jack Kerouac in the late 1940s, quickly becoming a slang term in America after World War II, meaning â€Å"exhausted†or â€Å"beat down†and provided this generation with a definitive label for their personal and social positions and perspectives. They are influenced by Eastern philosophy and religion (e.g., Zen Buddhism) and known especially for their use of non-traditional forms and their rejection of conventional social values. The Beat Generation phenomenon itself has had a huge influence on Western Culture more broadly. In many ways, The Beat Generation can be seen as the first modern â€Å"subculture†. During the very conformist post-World War II era they were one of the forces engaged in a questioning of traditional values which produced a break with the mainstream culture that to this day people react to or against. There’s no question that Beats produced a great deal of interest in lifestyle experimentation (notably in regards to sex and drugs); and they had a large intellectual effect in encouraging the questioning of authority (a force behind the anti-war movement); and many of them were very active in popularizing interest in Zen Buddhism in the West. During the 1960s other cultural movements absorbed â€Å"Beat†ideas and attitudes, and those who practiced something similar to the â€Å"Beat†lifestyle were called â€Å"hippies†. Echoes of the Beat Generation run throughout all the forms of counterculture that have existed since then. Some time during the 1960s, the rapidly expanding â€Å"Beat†culture underwent a transformation: the â€Å"Beat Generation†gave way to â€Å"The Counterculture of the 1960s†, which inherited a great deal of â€Å"Beat†thoughts and life styles. bThe Affluent Societyâ€â€-Economic RootsTo analysis the phenomenon of the countercultural movement of the 1960s, the major force of the movement  the baby boom generation  has to be mentioned here. After World War II, Young males returning to the United States following tours of duty overseas during World War II established families, which brought about a significant number of new children into the world. This dramatic increase in the number of births from 1946 to 1964 is called the baby boom. In the United States, approximately 79 million babies were born during the baby boom. Till the year 1964, babies who were born during the first waves of the baby boom was already 18. And in the following 6 years, during the counterculture movement in the 1960s, baby boomers who were studying in high school or college became the major force of the counterculture movement. The baby boom generation grew up in an affluent society and enjoyed an unprecedented economic and social welfare. During the 1950s, America’s Gross National Product (GNP) increased 51%, the real weekly earnings of factory workers increased 50%. By 1960, more than 30% of the population was middle class. Changes in education and housing further demonstrated the growth of the middle class. For the first time, the white young people were able to get to the universities without having to start their working life at the age their parents had to. The education they received broadened their horizons and made it easier for them to accept the social, technological and cultural transformations. They had cars; many of them lived in the suburbs, and were enjoying an easy life. Those people were going to be the stars of the years to come, with new ideals and hopes, and, one of the most important things, new cultural values, expressions and thoughts. Besides, the baby boomers were the first group to be raised on television, they watched scenes from the Vietnam War, and the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Robert F. Kennedy which strongly affected their sense of security. The boomers found that their music was another expression of their generational identity. Rock and roll drove their parents crazy. Transistor radios were personal devices that allowed teenagers to listen to â€Å"The Beatles†and â€Å"The Motown Sound†. Baby boomers constitute the single largest population explosion in history, and the culture they created transformed America, permeating every decade since the 1950s. cThe Turmoil in the 1960sâ€â€-Political RootsThe 1960s was a decade of political turmoil: the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Cold War, the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Robert F. Kennedy and the Vietnam War all greatly influenced young people who were born during the baby boom period. The Vietnam War was the longest military conflict in U.S. history fought in Vietnam from 1959 to 1975, involving the North Vietnamese and the National Liberation Front (NLF) in conflict with United States forces and the South Vietnamese army. The hostilities in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia claimed the lives of more than 58,000 Americans. Another 304,000 were wounded. The Vietnam War was the longest and most unpopular war in which Americans ever fought. And there is no reckoning the cost. For many of the more than two million American veterans of the war, the wounds of Vietnam will never heal. Baby boomers played major roles both as troops and protesters during the Vietnam War. The war dragged the whole generation into miserable memories: either young people themselves or their relatives, friends were fighting in the frontline, many of them dead or wounded. They were scared, distressed but couldn’t find better ways to let off their rage except doing drugs or indulging themselves. The Vietnam War became a high-profiled criticism and a platform to promoting peace and criticizing the draft. As a result, the antiwar movement against Vietnam broke out in the year 1965, centering on the colleges, with the students playing leading roles. C.Major Events in the Counterculture MovementThe counterculture movement consists of a series of events mainly took place in the later half of the 1960s and it is difficult to trace back to the exact beginning of it. The counterculture stood against the traditional values of middle-class society, and manifested its rebellion in several ways: long hair, brightly colored clothes, communal living, rock and roll music as showcased at Woodstock, free sex, drugs, and riots are some of the means through which the counterculture asserted itself. Through protests and anti-war demonstrations, the counterculture challenged the governmental institutions of American society and the youth spoke out for what they believed in. Throughout the decade many counterculture events increased the movement’s notoriety, but two in particular, the Summer of Love and Woodstock Festival, represented the spirit of the protests. a.Summer of LoveThe Summer of Love refers to the summer of 1967, particularly in the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco, where thousands of young people loosely and freely united for a new social experience. As a result, the hippie counterculture movement came into public awareness. The beginning of the Summer of Love has popularly been attributed to the â€Å"Human Be-In†at Golden Gate Park on January 14, 1967. Thousands of people answered the call of the â€Å"Human Be-In†from the counterculture leaders, gathering in Golden Gate Park to promote peace, happiness, and love. During the spring, more disillusioned youth traveled to San Francisco upon hearing a declaration that the summer of 1967 would be the â€Å"Summer of Love.†The Haight-Ashbury neighborhood of San Francisco quickly became the gathering place and home for many displaced youth who came to celebrate the counterculture event. City government leaders, determined to stop the influx of young people once schools let out for summer, brought added attention to the scene. An ongoing series of articles in local papers alerted national media to the hippies’ growing momentum. During that summer of 1967, as many as 100,000 young people from around the world flocked to San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury district, Berkeley and other San Francisco Bay Area cities to join in a popularized version of the hippie experience. The Summer of Love attracted a wide range of people of various ages: teenagers and college students drawn by their peers and partying military personnel from bases within an easy drive’s distance. For the most part, the Summer of Love proved successful in its ability to spread the counterculture message, but by the fall of 1967, overcrowding, homelessness, hunger, increased incidents of crime and drug abuse signaled a change in the movement. On October 7, 1967, those remaining in the Haight staged a mock funeral, â€Å"The Death of the Hippie†ceremony, to signal the end of the played-out scene. It is already 40 years since the party was over in the Haight-Ashbury. But the influence of that summer in 1967 has never disappeared. The San Francisco hippie, dancing in Golden Gate Park with long hair flowing, has become as much of an enduring American archetype as the gunfighters and cowboys who roamed the Wild West. b.The Woodstock FestivalAs the most famous of all the counterculture concerts, the Woodstock Music and Art Fair took place in Bethel in upstate New York from 15 to 17 August 1969. The festival was called â€Å"Woodstock†, because it was supposed to be in the town of Woodstock, in Ulster County; but the town would not give a place for such a large event, because they thought that over a million people would come. Although the show was planned for as many as 200,000 fans, over 500,000 came; most of these did not pay to get in. The roads to the concert were jammed with traffic. People left their cars and walked for miles to get to the concert area. The weekend was rainy and overcrowded, and fans shared food, alcoholic drinks, and drugs. The Woodstock Festival is remembered as the high point of the â€Å"peace and love†ethos of the period, largely because the disaster that the over-crowding, bad weather, food shortages, supposed â€Å"bad acid†(LSD), and poor facilities presaged was somehow avoided. Unprepared for such a large crowd, massive traffic jams ensued, food and water quickly disappeared, and bathroom facilities were scarce. Despite the potential for violence and disaster, the festival advertised as â€Å"Three Days of Peace and Music†lived up to its billing. Listening to popular musicians of the day such as Jimi Hendrix, Joan Baez, and Janis Joplin, concertgoers seemed to bond because of the harsh conditions and a common desire to promote peace and love. Throughout the 1960s, music served as an integral part of the counterculture movement. Seen as a way to both embrace an alternative lifestyle and protest against war and oppression, hippies organized many outdoor music festivals across the United States. As the most famous music festivals organized by hippies, all in all, Woodstock remains a lasting icon of the countercultural movements of the 1960s that looked to change the world through its acceptance of values and beliefs that contradicted the established power structure of the United States. The festival, the participants of which exhibited extraordinary good feeling in the face of rain and organizational chaos, marked the high point of U.S. youth counterculture in the 1960s. D.InfluencesThe counterculture eventually died out in the 1970s for several different reasons like the deaths of notable leading figures and the end of the Civil Rights Movement and Vietnam War. Since then, large social groups such as the hippies have diminished, or are virtually non-existent. To some Americans, the attributes of the counterculture reflected American ideals of free speech, equality, and pursuit of happiness; whereas other people saw the counterculture as self-indulgent, pointlessly rebellious, unpatriotic, and destructive of America’s moral order, and some have criticized the counterculture movement for being too aggressive and showing some similarities to the establishment itself. As a matter of fact, the counterculture remains a highly controversial topic in American society; and the only thing that can be agreed upon is its enormous impact on American society in almost every aspect: in fashion, the commonly wore neckties and suits in the 1950s had been replaced by everyday wear, and generally longer hairstyles became new fashion not only for young people but for the middle aged; in music, the blending of folk rock into newer forms including acid rock and heavy metal became popular; in sense of value, interracial dating and marriage have become common and generally accepted, frankness regarding sexual matters has become the norm, the rights of homosexual, bisexual and transexual people have expanded; in religious aspects, eastern religions and spiritual concepts, karma and reincarnation in particular, have reached a wider audience; in lifestyles, co-operative business enterprises and creative community living arrangements are widely accepted. Interest in n atural food, herbal remedies and vitamins is widespread. The greatest legacy of the counterculture, both to culture and to the succeeding countercultures rests in a greater and deeper concern over human needs and human nature as an essential step in emancipating human creativity. Although almost 40 years has passed, there are still indications of the influence of the counterculture movement within contemporary technologies. The ideas of the counterculture movement such as sharing, community, self-expression, anti-establishment, and individual freedom can be seen through many of the technologies we have today. As one of the most heatedly disputed issues in cultural studies and sociological arena, the counterculture movement influences different generations in both lifestyles and ideology and should be remembered by all of us. References: Bradbury, Malcolm and Temperley, Howard. Introduction to American Studies. New York: Longman House, 1981. Miller, Timothy: The Hippies and American Values. Knoxville: The University of Tennessee Press, 1991. Roszak, Theodore: The Making of a Counterculture. Garden City, New York: Doubleday, 1969. Westhues, Kenneth: Society’s Shadow: Studies in the Sociology of Countercultures. Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson, 1972. . â€Å"†. Jan. 2004: 68-97.
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