Wednesday, January 29, 2020
Re-Made in Japan by Joseph Jay Tobin Essay Example for Free
Re-Made in Japan by Joseph Jay Tobin Essay Re-Made in Japan, edited by Joseph Jay Tobin, is a collection of essays which study Japan’s post-World War II consumption habits and is predicated on the idea that if â€Å"in Japan students study hard and workers work hard, it is equally true that pleasure seekers play hard and consumers consume hard†(Tobin, 1992, p. 1). In addition, the authors in this volume argue that Japanese consumerism borrows a great deal from the West but has given Western items and practices uniquely Japanese meanings, creating something both exotic and familiar.            Tobin, who received his doctorate in education from the University of Chicago and currently teaches at Arizona State University, specializes in the study of Japanese culture, ethnography, and the media’s effects (National Academy of Sciences). The book draws on each of these by examining how the Japanese, a nation well-known for its ability to borrow from other cultures, has borrowed Western consumption habits but is not simply aping the West. In addition, his contributors include a number of            Tobin argues against the widely-spread misconception that the Japanese can only imitate and lack the ability to create, maintaining that â€Å"the Japanese [are] engaged in an ongoing creative synthesis of the exotic with the familiar, the foreign with the domestic, the modern with the traditional, the Western with the Japanese†(Tobin, 1992, p. 4). In the process, Western cultural artifacts and habits have had their meanings changed into something uniquely Japanese, demonstrating their active engagement with the West instead of passive acceptance of imposed ways. Consumption, Tobin implies, is as important as production in shaping national identity, and Japan’s habits have made it more dominant than submissive.            The work also attacks the myth of cultural purity and authenticity, which includes the manufacturing of â€Å"authentic†goods, rituals, and notions of history and community. To its credit, the book makes a concerted effort to avoid portraying the Japanese as a monolith. The thirteen authors here study both urban and rural Japanese, as well as questions of class and gender. Though Tobin concedes that many of the volume’s observations are truer of Tokyo than of Japan’s smaller cities and countryside, he shows that similar trends pervade the entire nation, though they manifest more intensely in the capital.            The book’s essays are all intriguing, though they vary in terms of how germane they are to the subjects Tobin addresses in his introduction. Millie Creighton’s essay explores the manufacture and sale of â€Å"Japaneseness,†promoted mainly by the depato (department store, itself a Western import). These large stores fit Japan’s sense of hierarchy and are a major conduit for Western goods, though they also promote education and a sense of Japanese values. She writes: â€Å"Depato, long brokers of Western goods and customs, now also play the reverse role of re-educating a westernized consuming public of their own cultural heritage, real or imagined†(Tobin, 1992, p. 54). Also, James Stanlaw’s essay â€Å"For Beautiful Human Life†studies the large number of loanwords (nearly five thousand, mainly English-derived) in the contemporary Japanese vocabulary, most of which refer to material objects or goods largely unfamiliar to pre-war Japan (Tobin, 1992, p. 61) and examines the process of how the Japanese have altered those words’ meanings beyond their original definitions, showing how the cultural interaction was not wholly one-sided.            Scott Clark’s chapter on the Japanese bath – a traditional cultural practice which is now high-tech, with programmable water faucets and other accoutrements – also offers a good example of how foreign imports have been assimilated. More importantly, Clark studies how this traditional practice has been brought into modern consumer culture because it has assumed meaning as a self-identifier and status symbol among consumers. Even a high-tech bathing space can feel â€Å"traditional,†says Clark, showing how moderns’ sense of tradition is fluid and views tradition through contemporary lenses. In addition, many affluent Japanese patronized public bathing houses (though they have full bathrooms at home) because bath houses have become a consumer item rife with connotations of high status, good taste, and community through sharing Japanese tradition. Clark comments, â€Å"Bathing in Japan is, of course, much more than its mere material manifestations. It involves notions of status, purity, cleanliness, and bonding through naked association. . . . [If this] is neglected, members begin to feel that something important us lacking from the communal relationship†(Tobin, 1992, p. 102).            Nancy Rosenberger’s essay demonstrates the relationship between gender and consumption of Western goods, which in Japan is a sort of code attesting to one’s affluence, status, and good taste, as well as the quality of one’s family. As she explains, magazine advertisements targeting Japanese housewives â€Å"link Western interior design with Western-style relationships. . . . In the housewives competition, the ultimate goal is the establishment of a feeling of ‘our house’†(Tobin, 1992, p. 113). Basically, she claims, Western design means a better family because it connotes closeness and emotional stability. Also, she adds, â€Å"Decorating allows a woman to express the whims of her ‘spirit, just as she is’†(Tobin, 1992, p. 114).            Perhaps the strongest and most intriguing essay in this volume is Mary Yoko Brannen’s â€Å"Bwana Mickey,†which uses Tokyo Disneyland as evidence that the Japanese, instead of subserviently borrowing Western culture without question or criticism, approach it shrewdly and treat it in a somewhat bemused, even condescending fashion. A near-identical copy of the southern California original, the park is not an example of the supposedly uncritical Japanese fascination with the West (indeed, the entire volume argues against that notion). Instead, Japanese visitors display their own sort of cultural imperialism, treating it as a quaint form of exotica, much like ethnic displays at world’s fairs a century ago treated people of color. Brannan claims, The Japanese view the Other dualistically: positive responses include everything from respect to condescending appreciation; negative responses range from ridicule to outright omission†Tobin, 1992, p. 227). One sees a tradition of Western thought turned on its head, with the Japanese retaining their cultural sensibilities and viewing this American import not with wide-eyed awe, but as a form of quaint American campiness.            Other essays work less effectively though they make for interesting reading. For example, William Kelly’s essay â€Å"Tractors, Television, and Telephones†is an interesting look at how those three inventions have altered rural Japanese life. While it explains the transforming effect on Japan’s countryside, it overlooks larger questions of consumption and cultural mingling and lacks a dynamic connection to Tobin’s arguments and to other essays in the book. Similarly, Diana Bethel’s chapter on homes for the elderly is a well-written piece of scholarship, but it seems out of place here as well. Dealing primarily with socialization patterns among residents of convalescent homes, the essay focuses more on their patterns of adaptation to structured living, as well as how men and women each claim and define physical space, while consumption habits are somewhat peripheral and not related to Japan’s synthesis of foreign goods and habits.            Though not every work in this volume is equally effective, Re-Made in Japan is a useful work of cultural anthropology which studies cultural dialogue and synthesis. It shows how cultural change is a dialogue, in which even seemingly subordinate recipients of foreign cultural artifacts and practices apply their own sensibilities and selectively incorporate certain things into their own cultures, transforming the imports into something â€Å"native.† For students of anthropology and cultural studies, this work has considerable value by providing models for studying the process of culture and the very nature of what makes something â€Å"authentic.†WORKS CITED National Academy of Sciences (2006). Joseph Tobin Biography. Retrieved 22 June 2006 from http://www7.nationalacademies.org/core/Joseph_Tobin_Bio.html. Tobin, J.J. (Ed.). (1992). Re-Made in Japan. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Tuesday, January 21, 2020
Garden State, Cool Hand Luke, and The Last Samurai Essay -- Film, Movi
     In the movie Garden State, Natalie Portman‘s character is trying to get Zach Braff‘s character to do something really stupid and silly, and says â€Å"This is your one opportunity to do something that no one has ever done before and no one will copy through-out human existence. And if nothing else you'll be remembered as the one guy who ever did this†¦ this one thing.†It’s movies like this, movies that are written with great meaning, that I walk away from with just this warm unexplainable feeling. Movies that have the creator’s blood, sweat, and tears in the soul of the movie, not just thrown together at the end just to make the quick buck are the ones worth seeing. Movies that are made up from filmmakers not money hungry producers, like Garden State, Cool Hand Luke, and The Last Samurai are the ones you remember. These movies to me were movies made with a particular purpose and not just to make as much money as possible, eve n though they did.      Garden State is a movie that is about a troubled twenty-something-year-old kid coming back home after the tragic death of his mother. He hasn’t been home in nine years, because of some fallouts with his parents. While he is home, he runs into old friends from high school and meets this girl he eventually falls in love with. Now that’s the typical Hollywood storyline and typical movie formula, but the purpose of this movie is underneath the sheets. Zach Braff directed this movie and had the lead role. It was his first doing both...
Monday, January 13, 2020
Educational Preparation Essay
There are many differences in the competencies of Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) and Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing (BSN) graduates. To start, I think it is best to look at the through the perspective student’s eyes when they are deciding which type of program to attend. The first question one may ask is â€Å"How long is this going to take?†On average, an ADN program takes 3 years to complete, the BSN requires a minimum of 4 yeas. The difference in the length of programs is first based on the amount of prerequisites required. â€Å"While Associate Degree in Nursing students do need to take science prerequisites and some liberal arts classes, they don’t have to earn nearly as many credits in this area as BSN students do.†(ADN vs BSN Debate I Difference in Competencies, Salary & Education.2013) â€Å"Instead of the sixty-six nursing credits that a BSN student must complete, the student in the associate degree program needs forty-nine nursing credits†(ADN vs BSN Debate I Difference in Competencies, Salary & Education.2013) Therefore, the ADN program takes less time to complete, is more condensed, and is more focuses on clinical skills. BSN programs have a direct goal of not only graduating clinically competent nurses, but nurses that understand that this profession is deeply rooted in science and theory. The differences in competencies between the ADN and BSN nurse is based on this understanding of science. If you had to explain what science is in one word that word would be â€Å"why†. BSN programs are typically centered around critical thinking and evidence based practice – they â€Å"why†of nursing. â€Å"Numerous research studies have demonstrated that the ADN and BSN nurses are not different in skill competency when they graduate, but within a year, the BSN nurses show greater critical thinking skills, better problem solving, and the development of clinical judgment; three skills of increasing importance for the increase in acuity of patients in hospitals and other health care settings.†(West Coast University: Dean’s Corner – The Differences Between Associate Degree Nurses and the Baccalaureate Degree Nurses.2009) The ability to use critical thinking when caring for a patient is what defines all other competencies. Competencies aren’t based on just the task the nurse is about to complete, but knowing why she is working towards completing this task. Without that training in understanding the â€Å"why†, her competencies are limited to just tasks. A fast growing trend in nursing today is complex technology used in patient care. Often times the nurse finds herself faced with not only caring for the patient, but managing high-tech equipment involved in that patient care. Being a resourceful nurse is not just beneficial, but crucial to patient care. BSN prepared graduates are experts in research due to the expectations in the BSN curriculum. â€Å"A major concern in an era of evidence-based practice is that the majority of practicing nurses have not experienced a formal research course. These classes are generally lacking outside of the baccalaureate curriculum. It would seem that an understanding of the research process would be necessary to deliver optimal patient care†(Ayers & Coeling, 2006; Thorpe & Smutko, 1998). The ability to conduct research appropriately is a skill that is taught. We live in an age where information is just a click away. If a nurse isn’t using the correct resources, the patient is the one that suffers. The push for continuing education in nursing is one of the many forces that shaped what nursing is today. The BSN prepared nurse encompasses the ability to be resourceful, a bold and capable critical thinker, and one that will lead the profession into a strong future. As a nurse, we should never settle for just the standards put in front of us. We should always be looking for a way to improve patient care for the individual patient, as well as the practice of nursing as a whole. To settle for just the minimal requirements and standards of nursing is to just complete the tasks assigned to us. Developing critical thinking is what brings us to better patient outcomes. Learning to think ahead – planning for the worst, expecting the best is what restores patient health. The human body is a dynamic, complex integration of systems working in unison to maintain life. If one of those systems is not working correctly the nurse is cued in because of our critical thinking skills. It is what keeps the nurse’s brain â€Å"on†, assessing at a constant. It’s not always the system we’re â€Å"caring for†that tells us what is wrong. This is where the critical thinking comes in. We should always be asking â€Å"why†as a nurse. References ADN vs BSN Debate I Difference in Competencies, Salary & Education. (2013). Best Nursing Schools, Degrees & Online Nursing Programs. Retrieved January 13, 2013, from http://www.bestonlinenursingprograms.com/3356/adn-vs-bsn-debate Ayers, D., & Coeling, H. (2006). Incorporating research into associate degree nursing curricula. Journal of Nursing Education, 44(11), 515-518. West Coast University: Dean’s Corner – The Differences Between Associate Degree Nurses and the Baccalaureate Degree Nurses. (2009, February). West Coast University – Nursing Programs – Los Angeles, Orange County, Inland Empire. Retrieved January 13, 2013, from http://www.westcoastuniversity.net/deanscorner/print.php?article=22
Sunday, January 5, 2020
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