Gender-role socilization Essay Example for Free

Gender-role socilization Essay Gender socialization is the way society shapes our sexual attitudes and behavior through various mechanisms, it defines the roles that we as males or females in society are expected to play. According to Ann Oakley, who first introduced the terms, sex refers to the biological divisions into being male or female while gender reflects the parallel and socially unequal division into being feminine or masculine (Sex, Gender and Society 1972). Sex is therefore can be seen as the biological constructed aspect of differences between men and women. As oppose to sex, gender can be seen as the socially constructed knowledge, values and practices linked to sex based differences mostly by the process of socialization. The term gender has been extended since than and not only reflects the individual identity and personality but also, at the symbolic level, to cultural ideals and stereotypes of masculinity and femininity. Gender roles are the societal expectations attached to being male and female. Through gender role socialization, a person is introduced and taught the behaviors expected to be played by them. The home often called gender factory by some sociologists, reproduces societys traditional gender roles through parental reinforcement (Appelbaum and Chambliss, 223). From birth to death, males and females are constructed to act according to societys mold of gender identity. Parents describe their newborns with adjectives pertaining to traditional gender roles. Newborn girls are described as tiny, soft, delicate, and fine-featured, while newborn boys are described as strong, alert, and well coordinate (223). Even during breast-feeding gender divides, males are treated rougher and given more milk while females are treated delicately and given less. This can best be illustrated by an experiment to show how gender stereotyping enters almost every part of an infant since the day he or she was born. The experiment better known as the Sussex experiment tried to unveil how people perceive the way an infant either a male a female should act. Infants dressed in blue were quickly thought to be male while infants dressed in pink were treated as female. Therefore gender stereotypes can be defined as one-sided and exaggerated images of men and women which are deployed in  every day life. Similarly, in the old days and even in some societies today, womens place was regarded to be in the home while men are expected to be the bread winner for the family. But there is no permanent and definite framework on how men and women should behave. Such definitions vary from one society to another. For example the study conducted by Margaret Mead in Sex and Temperament in Three Primitive Societies (1935). In some of the tribes in which she had visited women were place in a higher status than men. They were regarded as the bread winner, hold important positions in the tribe and even made important decisions. Contradict to this, men were placed in lower positions and even played the role as housewives. The roles and behaviors expected to be played by both sexes also change over-time. For example, the roles played by women in ancient Greek and Roman were limited. Women were portrayed as submissive and inferior. They did not hold any important positions in society. Most of them only played the roles of mother and housewife. Women nowadays are more aggressive and in some areas are more dominant than men. Women during the Victorian era, were expected to be grace and beauty was signified by having small waist. They were forced to wear corset to get the shape considered to be beautiful. Sexuality is defined as the sexual feelings and drives as well as the sexual practices common to a society. There is some debate on whether sexuality is innate or learned. To answer this question sociologists have come out with four main approaches: psychobiological, psychoanalytic, learning and sociological. Sociobiology is the study of human behaviors on the basis that they are not learned instead determined by the biological aspects. In other words, human behaviors are innate. They believed that certain sexual behavior emerge through the process of evolution. These behaviors emerged and are maintained simply because they have been chosen through evolutionary means as the most  advantageous features to maintain the survival of human being. Therefore sexual behaviors, whether they show feminity or masculinity are genetically programmed. Sociobiologys version of sexuality has been criticized for ignoring other factors that may contribute to the development sexual behavior such as surroundings, societys expectation, norms and culture. In psychoanalytic approach, human sexual behaviors are both determined biologically and culturally. Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalytic approach asserted that human sexual behavior is determined by three factors, the id, the ego and the superego. The id exist after an infant is born shapes the characteristic of the baby before he or she came into interaction with the outside world. The ego is the next stage of human development. In this stage a person will come into contact with external forces and this will influence the direction, whether he or she will adopt a feminine or masculine behavior. As the superego develops, the person will learn the norm and values of society. He/she will discover what the society expected from him/her. By learning the expected ways of society, the moral conscience of the person will develop. He/she will be able to distinguish what the society perceived as right and wrong. Freud held that sexual experiences will influence adult sexual behavior and personality. A girl, raised among boys will develop a masculine-like behavior. Though it may change overtime, the sexual experiences faced by the girl will have a deep impact on his adult behavior and personality. Freud has been criticized for his over-emphasis view on biological factor as the determinant of ones sexual behavior. Though he did say that sexual behavior may be cause by the process of socialization, Freud personally agreed that the biological factors play a greater role in determining ones behavior than culture. He has also been criticized for only conducting most part of his experiment  using mentally disturbed patients. His views stem from therapies with these patients. He has also being criticized for being bias in his work. He made an implicit assumption that women are biologically inferior. The learning approaches have a different view on how sexuality is developed. According to the advocates of these approaches much of sexuality is innate that is based on the cultural aspects rather than biologically. These approaches went further by identifying the process of self-identification and imitation. These approaches portrayed individuals as a reactor to society, neglecting the fact that he or she may also be an actor who constantly makes decisions to change society. These approaches have been criticized for treating individuals like puppet on the string. Individuals have no choice to make decisions, everything has been set up for them by the society. Their actions must be in line with the social expectation or they will be punished. In contrast with the earlier approaches, the Symbolic Interactionism based their theory on the assumption that individuals as social actors make have their own opportunity to make decision. They have the choice on which path they want to take. According to symbolic interactionism, sexual behavior is the result of individuals constantly engaging in interaction and communication with others. We attach sexual meaning to behavior and ourselves by observing others and their reactions on certain stimuli and labels to our behavior. By interacting with each other, we learn to play specific roles and as the result of constantly involving in these roles we learn a series of scripts. These scripts help us to define sexual behavior. For example, the specific script for a woman and a doctor at a gynecological exam. The script or the roles played by the two social actors do not give any sexual meaning or sexual assault in situation in which the doctor has to check the woman breast and genitalia. Symbolic interactionism has been criticized for not being able to explain adequately spontaneous sexual behavior and sexual behavior that occurs in ambiguous situations. It has also failed to explain the situation in which two or more individuals with different sets of scripts engage and interact with each other. Differences in sexual scripts is often given as the reason for date rape where on person defines it as sexual and the other does not. Functionalism believed that the disruption is sexuality, on how male and female should behave will lead to society to fall apart and social stability unachieved. Therefore, through the norms, values, laws and beliefs sexual behavior is regulated. Functionalists study the effect of regulations on sexuality and its contribution in the maintenance of society. Functionalism has also been criticized for putting to much emphasis on the culturally aspects that determine social behavior and ignoring the fact that some sexual drives may be innate. Ann Oakley outlines how socialization in modern societies shapes the behavior of boys and girls from an early age. Basing her work on the findings of Ruth Hartley, Oakley discusses four main ways in which socialization influences gender roles. The first way is by the process of manipulation in which parents play a huge role. For example, boys are dressed in masculine clothes. The next stage is the canalization where children are given toys to build up their gender identity. Boys are given pistol and toy trucks while girls are given teddy bears, dolls and soft toys. The third is the use of verbal appellation where such sentences like you are a naughty boy will build up boys sexual identity. The fourth stage is where boys and girls are given a set of different activities. This will encourage children to perform the sexual expectation of society and enable them to identify in which gender they belong. Ann Oakley has been criticized for her emphasis on socialization in shaping  gender roles. What about boys who have a high level of estrogen. Are they likely to behave like girls or will they due to the effect of early socialization behave like normal boys? Similarly, girls who have a high level of androgen, will they behave like boys? Or can the early process of socialization shape them to become like any other ordinary females? Ethnomethodology regard the process of developing gender roles as socially constructed. Suzanne J. Kessler and Wendy Mckenna stated that individuals categorized the world around them according to their own perspective. Therefore the decision whether to regard a person as male or female is socially produced. The process of gender- role socialization begins at the early age of childhood and continues throughout life. Society still typifies males and females according to gender-role trait expectations. There are however evidences that gender attitudes are changing beginning in the 1970s towards a more egalitarian, liberal attitudes. No matter what theories have been introduced in explaining sexual behavior whether it is innate or learned, I believed that both factors contribute in the development of gender-role identity. I based this statement on the fact that biological aspects play an important role in shaping an infant in his/her early age at least until he/she reaches the age of three. After that it is up to the family and society to shape his/her sexual behavior and define appropriate gender-roles for him/her. Gender role socialization is a life-long process. Therefore, I believe that cultural aspects play a greater role in shaping one sexual behavior than the biological aspects because they influence individuals from young until old.

History of Plant and Animal Domestication

History of Plant and Animal Domestication Nan Tao Ma The domestication of plant and animal has always been an important progress in human  agriculture and development. The domestication of plant such as wheat, grain or vegetable greatly  improved the food obtain and capability which allowed an increase on population due to the stable  food production; While the domestication of animal such as cow, horse or dog strength the  development of human society by significantly decreasing the manpower needed and increasing the  amount of work output. Although the domestication exists in human history for such a long time  and its common for human to domestication , there are still many questions and debate about the  beginning of the domestication. What factor pushed human to domestication, how did they first do  it and why they happened to develop in several widely spread area at the same time. The  development of the domestication is another question that troubles people. Why in some other  places there are a little or no domestication and what common does the domestication have in  different area. In this essay, we are going to discuss and analyze the beginning of domestication of  animal and plant by finding the factors that pushed people toward domestication of plant and animal  from looking at time and environment ; And compare the different area of domestication to  understand how did domestication develop through time and environment from knowing the  common factors that they shared during the process of domestication. To understand why something happened, its always important to know when it had happen. From the remain of sheep and goat that found in hominid site in southern and southern west Asia  that were older than 10000 years ago showed that there is no sign or evidence of any  domestication. It only suggested that hunters had been killing a whole population of goat and sheep  for need of food. However after the period of that, around 9000 – 10000 years ago, there is a change  toward the remain of sheep and goat that found in hominid site. The a large increase of skeleton  remains of younger sheep and goat were found in the hominid area. This showed that the practice of  domestication might began at that period of time, as the hominid started to keep herds of such  animals away from the nature realm of wild sheep and goat and trying to make and raise them  to adapted to human society. In the jiangxi province of China near the west side of the long river,  the remain of rice is found in the an old cave ruins that was 9000 – 13000 years old and was once  an settlement of early hominid that lived in that area along with stone made tools and other animal  remains. Although it was still a debate on whether hominid did start to grow rice at that period of  time, the large amount of remain in that had proved that hominid did have some kind of practice on  domestication; Else, there would not be such big settlement near the long river, as hunting and  gathering does not establish a permanent settlements for things like that, epically an area this large. In the Middle East and East Asia , the remain of dogs were found around 8000 – 12000 years old. As we knew, the dogs were wolves before they domesticated by human. The evidence of the dogs  fossil in these areas gave an important evidence of when human started to domesticated animal, as  dogs should be the one of the first animals that human domesticated due to fact that hominids lives  were based on hunting in the old time. There were more remains of other animals such as pig,  horse or cow were later found in the ancient hominids site that were 5000- 7000 years old. From  all the data that were gathered, it proved that the practice of domestication of animal and plant  started around 7000 -10000 years ago, when the neolithic age started. The rise of sea level and  climate change right after quitting the ice age could be the important factors that forced hominid to  change their life cycle they had and lead some of them to domesticate animal and plant other than  hunting and gathering in the wild. The explanation of the change of the life cycle and the change of nature of subsistence base of  hominid in sudden around 7000 – 10000 years ago has always been a question that hounded many  people. Why would they gave up their old life style of hunting and gathering and adapted a new  way of living such as agricultureà ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã… ¸ There were many debates about why the hominid suddenly  changed their way of life, there were several factors that I believe for the explanation of the  changing. The first factor was that the environment pressure forced hominid to change their way of  living. The end of the ice age brought great changes to the environment of the earth. During the  process this might have killed many traditional foods of hominid. For example the mammoths were  killed because of the rapid shift of environment that decreased their cycle of life and being hunted  too much by hominid; And not just mammoths, there might be also many other animals that  hominid viewed as traditional food were largely decreasing due to the rapid environment which  forced hominid to change their food sources and find a more stable way of keeping it. The second factor was that the population pressure was the problem that triggered the  transition of hunting to domesticate. Although hunting and gathering was a common way of life in  the nature, however, when the population was too high and the traditional food in the area were  decreasing,hunting and gathering would became unstable and much inefficient, as the food source  existed in the area could not satisfy the needed of the hominids. Thus domestication was needed,  agriculture and animal grazing were stable and providing large amount of food and compared to  hunting, it wasted less energy and safer. One evidence of that was that compare 10000 years before  where no clear sign of domestication and 10000 years after where domestication probably started  there is large amount of animals skeleton remain found in the hominids site. This showed that there  was a large action of hunting that might have killed too much animal to support the fast growing  hominid. The third factor was the suitable climax helped the hominid on transition from hunting and  gathering to domestication. During the early Holocene, although the climax changes destroyed  many previous animals, the favorable weather and increased raining greatly helped the exuberance  of vegetation and diversification of the plant family in the Holocene. This also invited many  newer spices to entered this era, such as goat or sheep and they were much gentle, as the large  amount of plant as food allowed them to not straggle for food. With the decreasing on traditional  foods, hominids were forced to change their prey and food. However, well condition provided them  enough diversity of foods that they had an significant increase on population which would  eventually became a problem as in factor two, that hominid developed domestication inevitably to  maintain a stable food source and gain abundant production from it, as domestication was much  efficient than huntin g and gathering when hominid were too populated. The domestication was  developed due to the existed suitable condition and suitable spices that was not in the era before. The one strong evidence that showed the possibility of the climaxs influence led and improved the  hominids mutation from hunting and gathering into a stable domestication was the existence of  raining and seasonal change after the the glacier was melted after the ending of the ice age. Before  the Holocene entered, there was the big freeze knew as the â€Å"Younger Dryas†, where there whole  land of earth was covered by ice and snows and no sign of seasonal change and raing. There was  little or no sign of domestication. However in the Holocene, where the tropic area, existence of  raining and seasonal changes appeared, the domestication of animal and plant grew rapidly in  many area. The explanation of it also proved the theory I talked before; the raining and seasonal  changes created a prefect cycle for agricultural which was not existed in the previous years. The  climax provided a great opportunity that hominid would eventually adapted to it due the gro wing of  population and exploring of food source to decrease the pressure in the new condition. This was  the one of the most important factor that drove humanity into practice of domestication, as without  the great environment, the domestication would not be practiced. Overall, the exchange from hunting and gathering into the domestication was something that  was inevitable. For example, when you have the opportunity to drive a car, you wold not want to  keep on riding your bicycle. It was in the human nature to always find a better way to live, that we  kept on mutating our method. The domestication was too obvious and too effective in the new  and suitable environment that it was normal for hominid to discover and change their method into  it. The need of new food source in the rapid changed world, the well structured and suitable  condition for domestication pushed the hominid to change their way of life. If the exchange of hunting and gathering to domestication was inevitable, why there were some  place had it more intensely than others, why some place that was apparently suitable for  domestication had little or no domestication and what factor these place which had domestication  have had in common? Although the factors in the last few paragraphs showed evidence and proved that due to the  climax, needed and exploration of new food source and grow population pushed the hominid to  adopt domestication, they were only the primary factor. There are also many side factors that would  cause change , alter or perhaps stop the exchange from hunting and gathering society into  domestication and agricultural. The special climax and weather condition of unique places and the  animal or plant species in the particular places also have great influence on the mutation from  hunting and gathering into domestication. Even though, the global climax after the ice age became much hotter and warmer that it was  suitable for agriculture, not all the area in the earth had suitable environment for domestication to be  practiced. One obvious example was the Eskimo who lived near the north pole and still as a society  of hunting and gathering. The crucial condition of the north pole was too harsh for any practice of  agriculture, as the in the first few paragraphs we indicated that climax was the one of the most  important factor for domestication of plant. In north pole, the cold air and non-existence of  raining made it impossible for any grow plant to produce enough amount of food source. However,  there was still little domestication such as making dogs as pet, as the need for fast traveling and  more manpower led people to domesticate dogs ( environment pressure). Another example was the  dessert area. In most place of dessert no domestication of animal nor domestication of plant we re  found as the environment was even too harsh for hominid to survive. There are also many other suitable areas that has well structured environment for agriculture or  grazing, but the species lived in its area or geography of it prevented hominid to domesticate in  such areas. The species had very big impact on the success of domestication, as for some species ,  they were too hard or impossible to domesticate in that era. For example, in some areas of ancient  Canada, the hominid there did not developed agricultural, but kept on hunting and gathering. The  reason why this happened was because the animals in that area was too hard to domesticate and  there was no useful plant that can be planted for extra food production. It was much and safer easier  to kill a bear than domesticate it, as bears cannot reproduce fast enough and dangerous to kept. The  Egypt had developed good agriculture, although it was in the middle of dessert. This happened  because of its geography near the Nile river and the suitable plants that grow beside it. The Nile  river provided enough water to support the people and agriculture, while the plants such as rice  were productive and easy to rise. The primary factor such as climax and side factors such species and geography decided the  domestication of an area, as in many areas that was fast growing they all shared common elements. In most demonstration area, the climax was often close or the same, as it was the most important  factor for domestication. It should often be dry summer, raining winter and favors plant with seed  that can survive long period. If summer was too wet or cold, or the overall season was too dry, most  domesticated plant would not survive. This was why in cold like north pole or hot place like Africa,  the domestication of plant for food was very hard. For most domesticated animal, they have been  selected by several same reason. They should be unagressive and maybe unterrioral that they were  easy to be capture and domesticate. They should be have fast growth rate and easy breeder in order  to be reproduce in a fast rate so that the food supply of hominid society could be supported by  them. They should also have a strong herding instinct that they were much easier to be controlled. This was why in early domestication, the animals that had strong herding instinct such as sheep and  goat or easy breeder and fast growth rate such as pig and chicken were selected first in most area, as  they were easy to controlled, feed and could benefit hominid in high production rate of born. For  the plant domestication, they also shared lots of common. Most of the plant that selected were near  the habitation site and were high productive. They also had to be suited or adapted to the right  seasonal cycle in order to provide enough food at right season for hominid. Overall, the  domestication in different places shared many common as the climax, geography and the species  in the area greatly affected the progress of domestication. In conclude, the exchange of hunting and gathering to domestication was something that was  inevitable for human, as the prefect environment and suitable species gave the opportunity for  hominid to learn and practice domestication. More importantly, it was our human nature of always  finding a better way of living led us to it and from the domestication we created more stable society  and kept looking for a better life that led to technology and created the spectacular world we have  today.

Issues Related To Household Expenditures And Consumption Economics Essay

Issues Related To Household Expenditures And Consumption Economics Essay Introduction With economic and social progression of the nation the minimal basket of basic human needs which a society would expect for its citizen may be expected to keep expanding. These changes in the basic needs of the society may be affordable by the level of income. The level of income of the households ensures the minimum standard of living in the society. Household income and consumption expenditure are two direct monetary measures used in assessing the economic well-being of a population. However, consumption expenditure is pre ­ferred to income as it reflects long-term economic status of the household, particularly in low income countries (Friedman 1957). It is important to note however that expenditures are not similar with income, which may even be a better indicator of well-being, for various reasons. Among them is the possibility of consumption without expenditures at least within the same period. According to Atkinson, (1998), Expenditures are thus supposed to better reflect long-term or permanent income and are from this point of view considered to be a better measure of economic well-being and respective inequalities. Besides, in developing countries, income estimates are under-reported, drawn from multiple sources and vary across seasons. Though the consumption expenditure data are collected in many developing countries including India, the process is time-consuming, expensive and needs adjustment for household size, composition and for price level. Owing to these difficulties, the economic proxies (consumer durables, housing quality and household amenities) are collected to measure the economic sta ­tus of the households in both small-and large-scale population-based surveys. In the context of the growth performance during these two decades, economists and policymakers have become interested in the trends in regional inequality during this period. Rising regional inequality can create economic, social and political problems for any country. For the Indian economy, it has serious ramification for the continuation of the reform process. Hence, it is of utmost importance to understand the regional disparity in terms of consumption expenditure on consumer durables, housing quality and household amenities of the economy. Household expenditures as they result from budget limitations at the one hand and choices based on needs, demand, preferences etc. on the other may be regarded as manifestations of economic and social inequalities as well as cultural differences and social distinctions. Studying the patterns, disparities and determinants of household expenditures and their changes across time by making use of large scale population surveys thus seem to be promising in various respects. At a most general level it may provide insights into general consumption behaviour as a major source of human well-being and respective choices and restrictions. Investigating household expenditures and consumption patterns is considered to be key for the monitoring and explanation of inequalities and changes in material living standards and general welfare. Studying expenditures and consumption behaviour of households also seems to be an important and promising strategy to extend and supplement mainstream approaches of studying inequality as a key topic of sociological and economic research. As one would expect, research on household expenditures and consumption is much more common and popular among economists and looks back to a long tradition in economics (Stigler, 1954). This issue was also addressed by Houthakker (1957) as early as in the 1950s. The issues related to household expenditures and consumption have been disregarded in sociology and particularly empirical sociological research to a large degree, although family and household budget data frequently used for empirical study in the early days. Some observers and commentators of developments in sociological research thus conclude that consumption has been strongly neglected in sociological research (Rosenkranz and Schneider, 2000). Thus it is an area which needs greater attention to be paid. Although there is a long history of research on patterns of household expenditures and their changes across time, which goes back to the 19th century and the famous work by Ernst Engel and others, these questions have attracted surprisingly little attention in recent years. Blacklow and Ray, (2000) in their paper compare, using Australian unit record data, income and expenditure inequalities over the period 1975-76 to 1993-94. The study finds inconsistencies between the two inequality movements over much of this period. They, also, observe differences in the nature of income and consumption disparities. Bà ¶genhold and Fachinger, (2000) used repeated cross sectional data (RCS) in their empirical analysis which is based on the West German Income and Expenditure Survey (IES) in 1973, 1978, 1983, 1988 and 1993. The results revealed that the relationship between income and expenditure is given but it is weak. All in all, the social organisation of consumption is a research object in itself to obtain information about the living standard of individuals and households. Zaidi and Klass (2001) in their study on poverty and inequality in developed countries focus on income. This paper presents trends in consumption-based poverty and inequality in nine member countries of the European Union. During the 1980s, both poverty and inequality increased in Italy, France, the United Kingdom, Germany and Belgium, while decreases in both poverty and inequality are observed for Spain and Portugal. In Greece only inequality increased. Dhawan-Biswal, (2002) measure inequality in Canada with a comprehensive look at inequality trends in Atlantic Canada during the period 1969 to 19966. They use consumption expenditure as a measure of family well being and compare it with the income based measure of well being. Overall consumption inequality has continuously been lower in Atlantic Canada in comparison to the rest of Canada. Meyer and Sullivan, (2003) found in their study that it is fairly compelling that most households can more easily report income. They suggested that use consumption to supplement income in analyses of poverty whenever possible. Kalwij and Salverda, (2004) examine in detail the changes in household expenditures patterns, and in particular services related expenditures, in the Netherlands over the years 1979, 1989 and 1998. Using Engel curve estimations, these changes are related to changes in household demographics, employment, the budget and relative prices. They find that the dominating changes in demand are decreasing shares of expenditures on food and clothing and an increasing share of expenditures on housing. Decrease in food expenditures is for a large part explained by changes in household characteristics and the budget and about a third is a price effect. The increase in housing expenditures share is predominantly a price effect. Blow, Leicester and Oldfield (2004) examined how and why has the way in which the average British family spends its money changed over the past 25 years by using data from the UK FES between 1975 and 1999. It looks not only at broad changes in total spending, but also at how the division of expenditure between basics and non-basics and between durable goods, non-durable goods and services has altered over time. Johnson, Smeeding and Torrey (2005) used the period 1981 and 2001, to measure economic inequality among groups in the general population in the United States. Two measures of income and consumption are used to gauge relative well-being. Households with children are at a disadvantage, relative to the general population through both prisms. And households with children are the only group whose distribution of consumption was relatively more unequal than their distribution of disposable income throughout the 1981-2001 period studied. Comparison with the general population is a zero-sum game where households with children are relatively less well off, regardless of whether disposable income or consumption is used as the resource measure. Brewer, Goodman, and Leicester, (2006) in their study on Household spending in Britain by using 30 years of data from household surveys conclude that although there has been much recent emphasis on the advantages of measures of household expenditures in assessing household welfare in more academic circles, this has yet to work its way into the mainstream poverty measurement debate. This study shows the trends in poverty in Britain since the 1970s when household expenditure is used as a measure of financial well-being, rather than household income and investigates how using spending, rather than income, as a measure of well-being alters our view of who is poor. It examines the spending levels of the lowest-income households and analyses whether low-income pensioners spending on basic and non-basic items increased as a result of the large increases in entitlements to means-tested benefits since 1999. Zhang, Xie and Zhou, (2009) studied the disparity of consumption expenditure among rural areas in China by principle and method of cluster analysis. Results showed that income and consumption expenditure of 31 districts, cities and provinces could be divided into 5 classes of income and consumption. Shanghai City was the only city rated as the first-class areas with highest income and consumption. Bhattacharya and Mahalanobis (1967) had decomposed the Gini-coefficient and the standard deviation of logarithms for the year 1957-58 based on the household consumer expenditure survey data of India and found that one-quarter of the total inequality was being explained by between-state inequality and the remaining three-quarters was explained by the within-state inequality. Paul, (1988) studied the importance of household composition in the analysis of inequality measurement based on the National Sample Survey data (25th round). The results for rural Punjab reveal that the ranking of households by per equivalent adult consumption expenditure (PEAE) differs significantly from the ranking by per capita consumption expenditure (PCE). Many households classified as poor according to the criterion of PCE are not so classified by the criterion of PEAE. The exercise also reveals that the distribution of HCE, if not adjusted for household size and composition effects, gives biased measures of the extent of true inequality. Jain and Tendulkar (1989) in their paper deduces the analytical conditions for the movements in the same or in the opposite direction of the real and the nominal relative disparity in cereal consumption consequent upon the differential movements in the prices of cereals faced by the bottom and the top fractile groups of the population. These conditions are used for interpreting the movements in the real and the nominal relative disparity with reference to the Indian rural population over the period from 1953 to 1978. Datt and Ravallion, (1990) argued that the costs and the benefits of regional policies will tend to be borne widely within regions. Some benefits are likely to leak to the nonpoor in recipient regions, and some costs to the poor in donor regions. The paper suggests that the quantitative potential for alleviating national poverty through purely regional redistributive policies is small. Even assuming no political problems, the maximum impact on poverty is nomore than could be achieved simply by giving everyone a uniform (untargeted) windfall gain equal to about 1.5 percent of Indias mean consumption. And other considerations including increased migration to areas of higher benefits make it unlikely that the maximum impact will be attained in practice. Greater alleviation of poverty requires supplementary interventions that reach the poor within regions, by reducing the costs borne by the poor in donor regions and enhancing benefits to the poor in recipient regions. Mishra and Parikh (1992) in their paper measured household consumer expenditure inequalities in India by regions (states) and sectors (urban-rural) for the years 1977-78 and 1983 based on the National Sample Survey data. The results consistently indicate that the inequality within states contributes much more towards national inequality and within-sector inequality explains a large part of state level inequality. The inequality at state levels has shown a decline from 1977-78 to 1983 due to a better monsoon season in 1983, and anti-poverty programmes. Dubey and Gangopadhyay (1998) in their analytical report mention intra-state disparities by using NSSO consumption income data set. There are several states in India where the incidence of poverty across regions within a state is very high. They reported for seven regions of Madhya Pradesh, poverty incidence varied from one of the lowest in the country in the western region to one of the highest in the eastern region. Deaton and Dreze (2002) in their paper presents a new set of integrated poverty and inequality estimates for India and Indian states for 1987-88, 1993-94 and 1999-2000. The poverty estimates are broadly consistent with independent evidence on per capita expenditure, state domestic product and real agricultural wages. They show that poverty decline in the 1990s proceeded more or less in line with earlier trends. Regional disparities increased in the 1990s, with the southern and western regions doing much better than the northern and eastern regions. Economic inequality also increased within states, especially within urban areas, and between urban and rural areas. They also examine other development indicators, relating for instance to health and education. Most indicators have continued to improve in the nineties, but social progress has followed very diverse patterns, ranging from accelerated progress in some fields to slow down and even regression in others. Gaiha, Thapa, Imai and Kulkarni (2007) in their analysis of the 61st round of the NSS for 2004-05 confirms higher incidence and intensity of poverty among the STs and SCs, relative to non-ST/SC (Others). A decomposition of poverty gap suggests that a large part of the gap between the ST and Others is due to differences in returns or structural differences while among the SCs it is due largely to differences in characteristics or endowments. Whether these structural differences are a reflection of current discrimination is far from self-evident, given the important role of personal identity in determining performance. The policy design therefore cannot be limited to enhancing the endowments of the STs, SCs and other disadvantaged groups. Dubey (2009) examine the interstate disparity in five states in India i.e. Gujarat, Haryana, Kerala, Orissa and Punjab by using NSSO data of 50th round and 61st round. He used three indicators, consumption, inequality and incidence of poverty. Highest level of disparity emerged in Punjab followed by Gujarat and Kerala. Haryana has least disparities only marginally lower than that in Orissa. Singh (2010), in her study examined and analysed the disparities in level of living as measured by monthly per capita consumption expenditure across different income groups in various states in India based on 61st round survey of NSSO. Various measures like gini coefficient and rank for the states in rural and urban areas has been calculated. Disparities in MPCE across income groups are observed in Punjab. Srivastava and Mohanty (2010) in their study used data from the World Health Survey, India, 2003, covering a nationally representative sample of 10,750 households and 9,994 adults, examines the extent of agreement of monthly per capita consumption expenditure and economic proxies (combined with the wealth index) with the differentials in health estimates. Cain, Rana, Rhoda and Tandon, (2010) utilise household-level consumption expenditure data to examine the evolution of inequality during 1983-2004 in India. Various measures of inequality show that inequality levels were relatively stable during 1983-93, but increased during 1993-2004. The increases in inequality have not precluded reductions in poverty, however. They are also more of an urban phenomenon and can be accounted for by increases in returns to education in the urban sector to a considerable extent, especially among households that rely on income from education-intensive services and/or education-intensive occupations. Significance of the study The National Human Development Report 2001 for India (2002) reveals vast differences in human development and poverty between the States of India in 1981. The report notes that At the state level, there are wide disparities in the level of human development. (NHDR 2002, page 4). The report also notes that disparities amongst the States with respect to human poverty are quite striking. Socio-economic disparities across the regions and intra-regional disparities among different segments of the society have been the major plank for adopting planning process in India since independence. Even after its impressive performance in the field of science, technology and agriculture during the last three or four decades, a vast majority of Indians are facing the problems of poverty. They are denied even the basic needs of human life like food, safe drinking water, shelter, health, education etc., and are forced to live in a degraded social and physical environment. According to the 61st NSS, the proportion of persons living below poverty line was estimated at 27.5%3 (i.e., more than 315 million people). But, about one third of the population lives under the poverty line of $1 a day, and out of them three in four poor people live in rural areas. Thus, poverty in India is most widespread in the rural areas. Despite a vast range of poverty eradication programmes and several measures adopted in this regard, even after more than 60 years of Independence the situation is still very critical. In recent years, some significant changes have occurred in the poverty alleviation strategy. The Government of India has launched various programmes, such as NAREGA, MNAREGA, Integrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP), Training of Rural Youth for Self Employment (TRYSEM), Development of Women and Children in Rural Area (DWCRA), Wage Employment Programme, National Rural Employment Programme, Jawahar Rozgar Yojana, etc., for the alleviation of poverty. Further, these programmes are now the responsibility of the local bodies (Panchayati Raj institutions) that are expected to improve their performance. But despite all the rigorous efforts, the desired results could not be achieved and considerable level of regional disparities remained in the society. The Structure Adjustment Programme of economic reform s since 1991 with stabilisation and deregulation policies as their central pieces seems to have further widened the regional disparities. Sen 2002 rightly observed that, the real concern of the so called anti-globalization protesters is surely not globalization per se, for these protests are amongst the most seem to stem in large part from the continuing deprivations and rising disparities in level of livings that they see in current period of globalization. Liberalisation had resulted in the rich becoming richer and the poor, poorer. No State actually got poorer in terms of falling per capita income but the interstate inequality certainly increased  [1]  . The seriousness of the emerging acute regional imbalances has not yet received the public attention it deserves. On the basis of above it can be understood that no significant study has been found in the area of disparity in household consumption expenditure for the period 2005-06, 2006-07 and 2007-08 by using NSSO unit level data in India. The NSSO has been collecting data on consumption expenditure on a regular basis for over four decades. Along with other infor ­mation, it collects detailed information on food and non-food items in a reference period. While majority of the studies happen to be at macro level, this study is a more specific analysis in micro frame by using unit level data household survey conducted by NSSO in India. It is able to lay stress on certain vital issues that needed a more serious discussion. To large extent, the study can be regarded as pioneering one. Objective of the study: The major objectives of the study are as follows: To know the expenditure structures and consumption patterns To know the level of disparity in household consumer expenditure in Indian society. To know the level of disparity in household consumer expenditure in various regions (states) and sectors (urban-rural) in the society. To know the difference in levels and patterns of household consumer expenditure and across socio-economic groups i.e. caste, religion and family structure in the society. To know the difference in levels and patterns of food and non-food expenditure of across socio-economic groups i.e. caste, religion and family structure in the society. Methodology Data: Collecting consumption expenditure data is not new in India. The National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) conducted an all-India survey of households on participation and expenditure in education, employment, unemployment, migration and consumer expenditure on a regular basis for over four decades. Surveys on consumer expenditure are being conducted quinquennially on a large sample of households from the 27th round (October 1972 September 1973) of NSS onwards. Additionally, the NSSO has conducted annual consumer expenditure surveys using a smaller sample of households from 1986-87 to 2007-08. In the present study data will be utilised from the three rounds of NSSO consumer expenditure survey i.e. 62, 63 and 64 round collected in the year 2005-06, 2006-07 and 2007-08 respectively .These three consumer expenditure surveys belongs to annual series. Data Analysis: In the present study the disparity in terms of consumer expenditure will be measured in the above mentioned three rounds of survey. Data provided by NSSO is in text document. For the analysis of these unit level data we will use statistical software (STATA). Disparity in terms of MPCE will be calculated for the state wise, region wise, caste, religion and family structure. Different statistical methods (like; descriptive statistics, range, standard deviation, coefficient of variation, Gini coefficient Lorenz curve, Theils index, etc.) will be utilised for measuring inequality and disparity. Graphical presentation of the results will be used for the easy understanding of the data. There are the criteria (Mean Independence, Population size independence, Symmetry, Pigou Dalton Transfer sensitivity  [2]  , Decomposability, Statistical Testability) that make a good measure of income inequality. Among the most widely used are the Theil indexes and the mean log deviation measure. Both belong to the family of generalized entropy. The formula is given by Where is the mean income per person (or expenditure per capita).The value of the measures vary between zero and infinity, with zero representing an equal distribution and higher values representing higher levels of inequality. The parameter in the GE class represents the weight given to distances between incomes at different parts of the income distribution, and can take any real value. For lower value of GE is more sensitive to changes in the lower tail of the distribution and for higher values GE is more sensitive to changes the affect the upper tail. The most common values of used are 0, 1, and 2. GE(1) is Theils T index and GE(0) is Theils L (sometimes refered to as the mean log deviation measures) are given by: Atkinson has proposed another class of inequality measures that are used from time to time. This class also has a weighting parameter Ɇº (which measures aversion to inequality). The Atkinson inequality measures defined as Decomposition of Income Inequality The issue of relating subgroup inequality levels to overall inequality has been discussed in the number of recent studies (Cowell 1980, Cowell and Kuga 1981, Bourguignon, 1979, Shorrocks 1980 and 1984, Shorrocks and Mukherjee, 1982, Das and Parikh 1982, Mishra and Parikh 1992). If the total inequality can be expressed as a function of sub-group inequality values, when the sub-groups are mutually exclusive and exhaustive, then a variety of ways is found to decompose the total inequality. The particular method of decomposition depends on the nature of the inequality index and the way in which it is decomposed since the decomposability of the indices differ from measure to measure. The most attractive type of decomposability has been additive decomposability. An index is additively decomposable if it can be neatly expressed as the sum of a between-group term and a within-group term. Conceptually, the between-group component can be defined as the value of the inequality index when all the within-group inequalities are assumed to be non-existent by a hypothetical assignment of the group average income to each member of the same group. The common inequality indicators mentioned above can be used to assess the major contributors to inequality, by different subgroups of the population and by region. For example, average income may vary from region to region, and this alone implies some inequality between groups. Moreover, incomes vary inside each region, adding a within-group component to total inequality. For policy purposes, it is useful to be able to decompose these sources of inequality: if most inequality is due to disparities across regions, for instance, then the focus of policy may need to be on regional economic development, with special attention to helping the poorer regions. More generally, household income is determined by household and personal characteristics, such as education, gender, and occupation, as well as geographic factors including urban and regional location. Some overall inequality is due to differences in such characteristics-this is the between-group component-and some occurs because there is inequality within each group, for instance, among people with a given level of education or in a given occupation. The generalized entropy (GE) class of indicators, including the Theil indexes, can be decomposed across these partitions in an additive way, but the Gini index cannot. To decompose Theils T index (that is, GE(1)), let Y be the total income of all N individuals in the sample, and be mean income. Likewise, Yj is the total income of a subgroup (for example, the urban population) with Nj members, and is the mean income of this subgroup. Using T to represent GE(1), Where is the value of GE(1) for subgroup j. Equation separate the inequality measure in to two components the first of which represents within group inequality while the second term measures the between-group inequality.

Intertwined Cultures in the Writings of Jhumpa Lahiri Essay -- Literar

Charlemagne was once quoted having said â€Å"To have a second language is to have a second soul† (Kushner 29). In achieving full comprehension of another language, one also gains insight into the culture of foreign individuals. It is common knowledge that in the modern world, English is the dominant tongue. Yet, bilingualism, even multilingualism, is a sure sign of possessing the scarce knowledge of cultural diversity. As American society becomes more accepting of various cultures in its politics and education, foreign voices also appear more in American literature. The diversity of origins of the latest young writers is vast: In The New Yorker’s 2010 â€Å"Top 20 Under 40† list of new American writers, over one-third were not born in this country. Their homes cross the globe, from Latvia to Peru (â€Å"Top 20 Under 40†). The rise in popularity of stories of these bicultural writers can be attributed to the changing of attitudes in America. Our history and present is laden with the accounts of immigrants. Their perspectives are fresh and bursting with talent. Jhumpa Lahiri, a female Bengali author, gained prominence after she was listed in the 1999 edition of the â€Å"Top 20 Under 40†. That same year, her collection of short stories â€Å"Interpreter of Maladies† was published, and went on to sell millions of copies worldwide. Lahiri in particular is well known for, in the words of Aviya Kushner, â€Å"translating the immigrant experience for us, often lyrically†¦as the English-born child of immigrants, she can move smoothly between both worlds, marveling and assuring us that, yes, it will be all right† (Kushner 27). In many of her short stories, Lahiri focuses on that transition from a foreign culture-in her case, Indian-to American culture. More than oft... ... May 2012. . Kakutani, Michiko. "BOOKS OF THE TIMES; A Broken Body in Shiny, New China." The New York Times. The New York Times, 04 July 2008. Web. 4 May 2012. . Kushner, Aviya. "McCulture." The Wilson Quartlerly 33.1 (2009): 22-29. JSTOR. Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Dec. 2009. Web. 2 May 2012. . Lahiri, Jhumpa. Interpreter of Maladies: Stories. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1999. Print. Ranjini, V., and N. Ramakrishna. "Immigrant Experience In Jhumpa Lahiri's Interpreter Of Maladies And The Namesake." Poetcrit 21.1 (2008): 64-74. Literary Reference Center Plus. Web. 5 May 2012 Tyrell, Michael. â€Å"Interpreter of Maladies: Review.† Harvard Review 17 (1999): 198-199. JSTOR. Web. 4 May 2012.

William Goldings Lord Of The Flies Essay examples -- Lord Flies Goldi

The author, William Golding uses the main characters of Ralph, Jack, and Simon in The Lord of the Flies to portray how their desire for leadership, combined with lack of compromise leads to the fall of their society. This desire for leadership and compromise led to the fall of their society just like multiple countries during times of wars. In the Lord of the Flies, William Golding uses characters to convey the main idea of his novel. The story begins with a war, and a plane carrying several young boys, who are being evacuated, is shot down from the sky. There are no adult survivors; however; the boys were brought together by Ralph blowing on the conch shell. They formed a tribe to stay alive. Slowly the stability and the sense of safety in the group started to deteriorate, similar to the downfall of societies during World War II. They are not only hunting animals now, but they are killing each other like savages in order to stay alive. This action of killing is like Hitler during World War II and his persecution of Jews during the Holocaust. One of the main characters, Ralph, was very likeable to everyone and was almost immediately elected as the leader of the tribe, with the only competition being the leader of the choir boys, Jack. Even though Ralph just wants to get home, he remains to look strong and tough to the other boys, to try and keep things as civilized as possible. So, Ralph decides that; "We've got to have rules and obey them. After all, we're not savages. We're English, and the English are best a... ...the North and the South, just like the differences between Jack and Ralph in this novel. Chaos broke out in both situations and led to multiple murders. Another example of desire for leadership that led to society downfall was Germany during World War II. Adolph Hitler was the leader of Germany who created a nation that persecuted Jewish persons. He did not give in to anyone or any nation; this led to the breakout of World War II. Jack is an example of Adolph Hitler due to his desire of power over the island. Jack's actions led to a similar situation as Hitler's, however not as extreme or wide spread. So, the desire for leadership, combined with lack of compromise usually leads to the fall of a society or at least a drastic change.

The Internets Accuracy and Usefullness :: Internet Research Papers

The Internet's Accuracy and Usefullness The following 15 web sites that I found on the Internet about the topic "Teenage Drinking and Driving" were given a rating between 1-5, with 1 being the lowest and 5 being the highest. I have listed these paragraphs in order with statistics being first, then prevention, and finally why teenagers drink and drive. Plus, I have an article and a book that I found on this topic. The information that I found on these web sites could be useful in writing a research paper, but I ask this question to myself: Can I find this data and information somewhere else? In my judgement when anyone is doing a research paper you can find the same data you find on the Internet in a book, magazine, or newspaper article. Although, I think that the Internet isn't very helpful in writing a research paper, some sites do have good data, but you just have to know how to find a good site. The web sites dealing with statistics were given a rate of 4 because I found them to be accurate sites for teenage drinking and driving, but you could find these sites in a book or article. The reason that I did not give them a 5 is because I did not feel that they were unique, and that you could not find them in another place. For example, in the web site called "Teenage Drunk Driving! Know the Facts!" This web site gave a lot of statistics on teenage drinking and driving, and how serious a problem it is in that specific age group (www.fugitive.com/is18.html). Another site that gave a lot of statistics was the site called "What the Research says about Youth and Drinking and Driving and Ways to Apply Research." This site gives statistics on teenage drinking and driving too, but it also talks about laws that should be passed in order to come down harder on DUI's because of the deaths that occur with these accidents (www.ncadd.com/tsra/abstracts/youth.html). The web sites in this paragraph also deal with statistics and was given a rating of 3. Although, these web sites were less accurate than the 4’s, I would probably use some of these. The first one comes from the California Office of Traffic Safety, gives statistics about Teenage Drinking and Driving in California (www.ots.ca.gov/campaign/3d98impaired.html) Next was the site from the Arizona Department of Safety, gives information on statistics of drinking and driving in Arizona compared to other states (www.

Buddhism in the Himalayas

Organized religions have become a part of one’s historical and cultural background. The need for political leaders and gurus to gather the people into one unit, for the maintenance of stability, has paved the way for the pursuit of knowledge; leading to the development of numerous philosophical undertakings and spiritual enlightenment. The proliferation of religious missionaries to the designated countries of contact have created and divided communities; cultivating a new set of belief systems and codes to abide by.At the onset of the spread of major religions like Christianity, Hinduism, Judaism, Islam and Buddhism, spiritual fermentation took place as socio-political activities merged with the religious practices of the various cultures present in a community. Throughout history, these major religions will struggle to outlive each other as they compete to gain a stronghold of followers for the preservation of their cultural beliefs. For this reason, many minority groups in a community are most likely to have been isolated or persecuted by the ruling culture.This was the case with Christianity under the Roman Empire, which accounted for the martyrdom of thousands of Christians who fought for their faith (Tignor et al. , 2008). However, during the rule of Constantine in 312 CE, the tables were turned and Christianity was now the flagship of the new Rome. This pivotal event is the key to the expansion of religions to far-reaching territories, as it conveys universal codes that pertain to the human condition.It is in this sense that the quest for religious ties was crucial to the progress of a community since morality played a big part in the formation of the people’s morale. Religion is said to be the cement that binds people together in any adversity and it is through this viewpoint that cultures grew and developed, as citizens become more aware of their place in the society. The grounds to which religion has shaped a community can be observed in a number of perspectives, particularly in the way artworks are made in a particular area (Tignor et al. , 2008).Wherever Buddhism spread, it seemed to rely on a necessary set of ingredients that encouraged it to prosper. The Silk Road was said to have advanced the spread of Buddhism in Tibet as the reach of most Indian missionaries in the mountainous regions of the Himalayas have contributed greatly to the foundation of Buddhism as one of the major religions in the world. It became a vehicle for Tibet to engage in trade with other neighboring countries like Nepal, China, Kashmir, Mongolia and Bhutan. Trade did not only consist of goods, but also of people, knowledge and religion.As a result, Buddhism was integrated into the livelihood of the Himalayan regions (Kapstein, 2000). The Role of Local Kings in Promoting Buddhism The success of the acculturation of Buddhism in Tibet would not be possible without the welcoming arms of most of the rulers in Tibet, starting with Princess Wench eng and Princess Jincheng. Then King Songsten Gampo established cordial relations with China and Nepal by marrying the Princesses of each country, securing the maintenance of harmony with these neighboring states.Both Princesses introduced the precepts of Buddhism to the King and its followers, which initially helped the expansion of Buddhism in the local communities. It was only under the reign of King Trhi Songdetsen that officially gave the go signal for Buddhism to take root in Tibet as it was legitimized it as the major practicing faith (Kapstein, 2000). The Padhmasambava statue found in the RMA represented the figure that further brought Buddhism to the Himalayas.Padhmasambava was said to be a guru who was summoned by King Detsan to Tibet in order to broaden the reach of Buddhism in the local communities. During this time, the ministers who adhered to the Bon religious sect disliked the direction in which Buddhism was heading for so the King administered the help of Padhmasanb ava to deter the growing power of the ministers. Wherever Buddhist missionaries went, chaos was sure to follow. As a result, civil war broke out between the two religious sects and the spread of Buddhism came to a stand still after the assassination of King Detsan.Under the guidance of the ministers, Lang Dharma took over and a long line of hostilities occurred across the land as persecution of the Buddhist monks and nunneries were carried out, bringing destruction to the initial monasteries built for worship (HAR 65422). Monastaries were a vital component of the Buddhism faith as it not only serves as a refuge for those who practice the faith or are oppressed, it is also the place where important books and records about Buddhism are stored. Destroying such an establishment would disrupt the solemnity of the faith.This is the reason why so many Indian and Chinese missionaries were needed in Tibet as rebuilding the monasteries was necessary for preservation of Buddhism. Under the rei gn of Je Tsongkhapa, the Ganden Monastery was erected amidst the chaos that enveloped the warring local communities. The monastery housed many monks and nuns who had been driven away by the enemies of the Buddhist religion and was described to be one of the grandest monasteries ever built. It also contained an extensive collection of Buddhist teachings and philosophies from famous gurus and translators who have kept the recorded teachings of Buddha (Kapstein, 2000).As years past, Tibetan and translators and pilgrims decide to take a journey to India, China and Nepal in search for gurus and more teachings that they could bring back to their homeland. This has led to the visitations of different Buddhist missionaries in Tibet; most notable are Atisa, the Indian scholar and the great translators Rinchen Zangpo and Milarepa. The presence of these three missionaries supported the rebirth of Buddhism in the local communities, after its devastated state during the reign of Lang Dharma.This was said to be the beginning of the evolvement of the Buddhist tradition (Kapstein, 2000). Emergence of a New Buddhist Tradition The Avalokiteshvara Statue and Painting seen in the RMA depicts the evolution of the images that constitute the image of Buddha to the local communities (HAR 65451 & HAR 40). Both of the artworks show the different adaptations made of the image of Buddha to fit the culture of a particular area. For instance, in China, Avalokiteshavara is referred to as Quan Yin while in Tibet he is known as Chenrayzeg.When Buddhism started its roots in India, it was known as Teravada Buddhism but by the time it has reached East Asia, it had become Mahayana Buddhism which consisted of slightly different set of beliefs yet still rooted in the Indian precept. When this spread into the Himalayas, it became known as Vadrayana Buddhism. From this context, one can see that while the teachings and stories about the Buddha are the same in many different regions, it often takes on the aspects of the local culture (Snelling, 1999).In reference to the Buddha Shakyamuni painting found in the RMA, one can denote that the painting illustrated different sights that foretold stories of Buddha Shakyamuni’s life. A part of the painting features people conversing with each other, while the Buddha is seen with a halo-like appearance as he gives lessons to a group of people (HAR 955). Himalayan art often depicts religious stories of tradition by incorporating Chinese and Western styles. Although the painting was done in Tibet, the stories included in the painting originated from India as that is the main setting of Buddha’s representation in the stories.The solemn presence of nature in the painting such as the mountains, trees, clouds and the wide landscapes demonstrates how Buddhism has interlocked with different cultural systems (Kapstein, 2000). Due to the blending of the Chinese, Indian and Tibetan systems, the results produced three subcategories of Bu ddhism in Tibet which were the Kadampa, Sakyapa and Kagyupa. All three only differed from the school of origin that they belonged to but they collectively teach the same principles that the great Buddha had taught (Snelling, 1999).Based on the research given about the historical context of Himalayan art and its special relation to Buddhism, it can be denoted that the artworks emphasize the importance of spiritual life in the Tibetan community. Most artworks depict a sense of other worldliness as it attempts to illustrate the merging of the earthly realms and the divine. Representations of important figures that facilitated the spread of Buddhism are seen as supernatural, with the appendage of several arms and a crown of miniature skulls over their heads, having serene stature that signifies respect.Most often, the artworks illustrate a unisex type of portrayal with a god-like stance, trampling over evil forces. The same can be said about the representations of Buddha, although eleme nts of earth-bound activities suggests that artists attempt to make Buddha seem more approachable to the people. The integration of Buddhism in Tibet’s culture has greatly influenced the way they view the world around them, and this in turn provides an outlook into the rooted spirituality that are present in the Himalayan regions. References: Avalokiteshvara statue & painting. HAR 65451 & HAR 40. In The Rubin Museum of Art.Buddha Shkayamuni – Life Story. HAR 955. In The Rubin Museum of Art. Kapstein, M. T. (2000). The Tibetan Assimilation of Buddhism: Conversion, Contestation, and Memory. New York: Oxford University Press, pp. 57-58. Padmasambhava. HAR 65422. In The Rubin Museum of Art. Tignor, R. , Adelman, J. , Brown, P. , Elman, B. , Pittmann, H. , & Shaw, B. (2008). Worlds Together Worlds Apart: History of the World. (2nd ed. ). NewYork: W. W. Norton & Company. Snelling, J. (1999). The Buddhist Handbook: A Complete Guide to Buddhist Schools, Teaching, Practice, and History. Rochester, Vermont: Inner Traditions.