Online Social Networking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Online Social Networking - Essay Example Boyd and Ellison (210) define online social networking (OSN) as an online platform, site, or service that is focused on facilitating the building and reflection of online social relations among people with common social ties, interests, or who do similar activities. These sites allow users to display information about themselves like age, location, interests, and activities among others. OSN is achieved through social networking services (SNSs) like Facebook, Google+, Twitter, MySpace, Friendster, Linkedin, Spoke and Cyworld. The main function of OSN is to provide a link through which people can communicate. According to Papacharissi (120), OSN sites allow people to create a profile for representing themselves and interacting through instant messaging, email and other integrated communication channels. There is a section on these sites that is dedicated to comments, friends, and other people with similar interests. Some of them allow users to create contact groups for ease of sharing common interests. They also allow users to hold discussion forums over the internet through services like chat rooms. Secondly, OSN provides a powerful means through which people can share information and personal data among other things. SNSs offer individually-centered services which allow users to share personal data, activities, events, information, interests, and ideas within their individual networks. Thirdly, OSN provides a quick way of expanding one’s social base. The social sites allow users to view or search people that share the same interests. Individuals or organizations can also compile and share lists of contacts. They also allow users to suggest more friends to their own friends. OSN has played a role in recent conflicts. The social sites have allowed people to communicate quickly and easily.

MOD 3 CA ACC Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

MOD 3 CA ACC - Essay Example The Chief Financial Officer of the company, Lester Ledger, feels that the product lacks the aesthetic appeal and suggests repackaging them in designer bottles. This will increase the variable cost per unit by $ 4.75 and the fixed production costs will increase by $ 40,000 per year. He predicts that the sales volume will increase by 32 % (264,000 units). However, the increase in sales does not outdo the increased costs and the company will incur a loss of $ 1.334 million (as shown in Appendix 2). According to the Production Manager, Buster Bumble, the reduction in the standard size of the bottle by 10 % would drop the variable costs by $ 2.65 (amounts to $ 13.35 per unit). However, due to the reduced size, the sales will drop to $ 195,500 units. Though the contribution margin is considerably increased, the company still incurs a loss of $ 549,425 (as shown in Appendix 3). The marketing manager suggests that the product requires more promotion and an increase of marketing budget by $ 527,000 will be appropriate. This, combined with a price increase by $4.90 per unit will increase the sales volume by 17 % (234,000 units). The contribution margin is considerably increased as both the sales volume and the unit prices are higher than before. The increase in the contribution margin is significantly higher than that of the fixed costs and hence results in a profit of $ 129,600 (Appendix 4). It is evident from the above analysis that the first three proposals still result in a heavy loss for The Lovely Scent Perfume Company. The proposal made by the marketing manager indicates an estimated profit of $ 129,600. Hence it is recommended that the company should increase the marketing budget (by $ 527,000) and also increase the price by $ 4.90 per

Meaning of Life and Australian Cultural Identity Essay Example for Free

Meaning of Life and Australian Cultural Identity Essay â€Å"From separate catastrophes, two rural families flee to the city and find themselves sharing a great, breathing, shuddering joint called Cloudstreet, where they begin their lives again from scratch. For twenty years they roister and rankle, laugh and curse until the roof over their heads becomes a home for their hearts. † (Winton, 1991) Tim Winton’s critically acclaimed novel, Cloudstreet is a masterful tale of love, meaning and heartbreaking tragedy that speaks strongly of a post war Australian society that was essentially rebuilding itself after years of political upheaval and financial struggle. Good Morning/Afternoon Ladies and Gentleman. I am a representative of the National English Curriculum board and today I am here to demonstrate to you how Cloudstreet is authentic and believable, and as Marieke Hardy suggests: â€Å"It is Australian. Reading it felt like coming home. † Throughout Cloudstreet, there are numerous concepts that portray the Australian cultural identity; and the theme of religion and spirituality is especially prominent and appealing. The concept of luck, Aboriginal spirituality, and the search for the meaning of life, are all Australian ideas that Winton expertly portrays. Spirituality can be defined as â€Å"a concern for that which is unseen or intangible; as opposed to physical or mundane. † (Greenberg, 2008) It encourages a sense of peace and purpose within an individual and promotes a feeling of belonging. Additionally, religion can be defined as â€Å"the belief in, and worship of a superhuman controlling power. † (Religion) Both concepts are widely integrated into the core of the novel and are depicted through the Australian notion of luck. Luck, which some would argue has long been etched into the Australian consciousness as a common working class superstition, is, whether they are conscious of it or not, a form of religion for both families. The Pickles family, most notably Sam, rely on the â€Å"shifty shadow of God† (p 12) to warn them about future events, while the Lamb’s simple game of â€Å"spinning the knife† (p 53) acts as their metaphorical life compass. â€Å"The Lucky Country† (Horne, 1964) is a phrase that originated from a book of the same name written in the 1960’s, and since then, has gained widespread popularity and thus, been attached to the Australian culture for a long time. Winton has cleverly examined this historical background to incorporate an accurate facet of the Australian identity into the novel and its characters. Also related to the concept of luck, is the fact that after Fish drowns, Oriel, once a devoted and â€Å"god fearing† Christian, begins to question her faith and the reliability of believing in God. When Fish is resuscitated, but only â€Å"some of him comes back†, (p 32) both she and Lester are emotionally forced to abandon God and Christianity and instead, turn to luck, hard work and the idea that â€Å"life and death, was all there was,† (p 65) in order to endure their circumstances. This draws on the common â€Å"Aussie battler† tradition, of which a working class person overcame challenging situations through perseverance, faith and steadfast determination. In terms of the Australian cultural identity, Winton has again taken an important and recognized historical Australian idea and shaped it to evoke feelings of familiarity and intimacy between the readers and the characters of Cloudstreet. The frequent appearance of the â€Å"Blackfella† is yet another example of how the Australian cultural identity is portrayed through examination of Aboriginal Spirituality. However, in many scenes throughout the novel, the blackfella signifies both Christian and Aboriginal spirituality through allusion and comparison. For example, he is likened to Jesus by walking on water and again when he produces a never ending supply of wine and bread in Quick’s car. This comparison is particularly effective as it symbolises the â€Å"coming together† of Christianity and Aboriginality, which was a particularly delicate Australian issue during the time period of the novel, due to Aboriginal marginalisation and the rise of Christian ideals. Essentially, the Blackfella acts as a reminder of the original religion inherent to Australia and its development, during a time when social and political change was overtaking that of its native beliefs. The â€Å"Blackfella† also acts as the conscience of the characters when they have lost their way or their family unit is threatened. This can ultimately be seen when he leads Quick back to Cloudstreet after he runs away to the country, knowing that Quick feels secretly lost without his family, and needs them to feel fully alive. He also persuades Sam not the sell the house and states that â€Å"you shouldn’t break a place. Places are strong and important,† (p 406) referring to not only the house and its tragic Aboriginal history, but also to the fragile families who live inside it. In doing so, he ensures that the families stay whole and together, which is an important and dominating religious value for Aboriginality and Christianity, both during the time period of the novel and in our modern Australian society. Consequently, the â€Å"Blackfella’s† role in Cloudstreet is a significant contribution to the novel’s relevancy to the Australian cultural identity. The Australian cultural identity is also illustrated in Cloudstreet through the spiritual symbolism and personification of the river, and its connection to the character’s search for the meaning of life. This is particularly significant for Quick Lamb, who, is spiritually linked to the river in a number of ways. The river acts as a place of peace, purpose and belonging for Quick. Connecting with his mother when they go prawning, glowing after fishing in the country, and most importantly, falling in love with Rose Pickles, are the most significant spiritually defining events that Quick experiences while on the river. Through realising just how symbolically important the river is to him, Quick finally understands the true meaning of his life, and gains a feeling of belonging that allows him to finally shed his self-degrading title of â€Å"the lost lamb. † (p 310) Australia is a country that values the water. Geographically, we are surrounded by it, with most of our population residing close to the shores. As a result of this, the water is seen as a common gathering place, from which one cannot easily escape nor regard as irrelevant to the Australian way of life. Winton has taken this idea and incorporated it into Cloudstreet, to emphasise and promote a relevant part of Australian culture. Finally, the river’s spiritual and religious connection to Fish Lamb is perhaps the most important concept of the novel. After Fish drowns and has his soul ripped into two separate pieces (spiritual fish and physical fish), the river that he so desperately longs for, essentially becomes his gateway to the spiritual world; to the place where he belongs. It is not until the end of the novel when Fish is finally free to reunite with the water that he is truly whole again. â€Å"I burst into the moon, sun and stars of who I really am. Being Fish Lamb. Perfectly. Always. Everyplace. Me. †(p 424) For many, water in Australia is culturally considered to be the blood of the country; a place of cleansing and rejuvenation. Likewise, for Fish, the river embodies the epitome of the spirit of Australia in the form of life giving water. Although his life was initially taken by the water, it is eventually returned to him when his physical self re-joins his spiritual self. In conclusion, Winton flawlessly encapsulates the cultural identity and spirit of Australia in Cloudstreet through symbolic representations of luck, Aboriginal spirituality and the search for the meaning of life. The characters’ connection with religion and spirituality resonates strongly with the reader and successfully evokes feelings of belonging and familiarity that confirms Cloudstreet is indeed a classic Australian novel. Bibliography Associates, R. Q. (2008, September 16). Ideology in Cloudstreet . Retrieved 2013, from www. englishcurriculum. com. au Cloudstreet Notes. (n. d. ). Retrieved 2013, from Sydney Home Tutoring: http://www. sydneyhometutoring. com. au/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Details-Cloudstreet-notes. pdf. Dot Point Notes Cloudstreet. (n. d. ). Retrieved 2013, from Sydney Home Tutoring : http://www. sydneyhometutoring. com. au/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Dot-Point-Notes-Cloudstreet. pdf. Greenberg, N. (2008, October 8). Retrieved 2013, from Can Spirituality Be Defined: http://notes. utk. edu/bio/unistudy. nsf/935c0d855156f9e08525738a006f2417/bdc83cd10e58d14a852573b00072525d Horne, D. (1964). The Lucky Country. Penguin Books Australia. Religion. (n. d. ). Retrieved 2013, from Google Definitions: https://www. google. com. au/search? q=religion+definition Winton, T. (1991). Cloudstreet. McPhee Gribble.

Youth Culture In A Young Adults Life

Youth Culture In A Young Adults Life Topic:Youth culture is a very big part of a young adults life. The way young adults dress, what they listen to, what they eat and what they do in their free time show how their youth culture has influenced them. It is often said that mass media plays an important role in shaping youth culture. It is also the main cause of moral decay in youths. Discuss. Thesis statement: Although the Internet may influence the youths to develop violent behavior, its benefits outweigh its disadvantages Mass media plays an important role in shaping the youth culture. As we all know that in the current modern society, internet, television, radio, newspapers, magazines and other mass media has became the inseparable elements of the teenagers life. Internet has become one of the most indispensable components of the youth generation. It provides a powerful platform for the youth to know about the world. However, the mass amount of information that it distributes may be both positive and negative to the youths. Teen who stared at group slashed to death. A very shocking headline appeared on Strait Times. (Tue, Nov 02, 2010, pg1) Violent behavior has already become the most notorious factor that contributes to the moral decay in youths nowadays. Violent behaviour is defined as any behaviour that causes another person any injury to the body that interferes with a persons health or comfort, or that places them in fear of being injured. (Victoria Legal Aid [VLA], 2009) Although the Internet m ay influence the youths to develop violent behavior, its benefits still outweigh its disadvantages. In this essay, I will discuss about what are the other factors leading to the violent behavior in youths and how internet benefits the youth. Internet has widened the youths channels of absorbing information and knowledge, but it includes those decadent and reactionary garbage information which may eventually cause the youth to get moral deviation. Website such as YouTube, a video-sharing website on which users can upload, share, and view videos, allows youth to contact with violent videos easily. (Hopkins, Jim October 11, 2006) While sanguinary and violent online video game also plays a significant role in influencing the youths to develop violent behavior. Counter Strike is one of the so-called killer game where the gamer plays through the eyes of a heavily armed character and kills as many enemies as possible. The violent behavior in the game like using a knife to stab the head of an enemy can be learned by youths and in extreme cases, to kill. The overflow of information of violence has intensified the juvenile crime situation, causing variations in crime types, methods and results. In the 1980s, juvenile crime general ly involves theft, fighting, stir-up-trouble crime and etc. In the 21st century, juvenile crime progresses to banded robbery, major theft even disengaged murder, armed robbery, revenge fire-tight etc. The research shows that serious crimes criminal offence has been markedly worsen. Indeed, the huge amount of information involves violence distribute by the internet plays a part in misleading the youths to develop violent behavior. However, there are still other factors contribute to the youths moral decay. We can conclude another two main factors that lead to develop violent behavior in youths in the current society. They are the domestic violence and the peer pressure. First of all, what we learn when we are young usually come from our parents, this is also why parents are their childrens first teacher. Therefore, domestic violence is undoubtedly the number one factor which cause the youths to develop violent behavior. Domestic violence is defined as violence between intimate living together or who have previously cohabited. (Eve S. Buzawa Carl G. Buzawa, 2003) The domestic violence here is mainly referring to physical abuse. Youths are highly vulnerable to fear, anxiety and pessimism if they have been seeing family abuse or even experiencing physical abuse from their parents since they were young. Children may suffer from self-abased or even get isolated from his peers and affect their academic results and daily life. If the situation becomes severe, they may be at a greater risk of runaway or committing criminal acts. Youths will get the wrong message that its okay to abuse other people or let other people hurt them. Research by Browne and Angel a (1987) supports a third of all children who see their mothers beaten develop emotional problems, boys who see their fathers beat their mothers are ten times more likely to be abusive in their adult intimate relationships. Boys who witness family violence are more likely to batter their female partners as adults, and girls who witness their mothers abuse have a higher rate of being battered as adults. These common sense observations are fact, not myth. (Ewing Charles Patrick, 1987) It is undeniable that domestic violence is the major factor which has caused the youths to develop violent behavior. Another one of the biggest factors that lead to teenage violence behavior will be the peer pressure. Peer pressure may be especially strong during adolescence. (Kate Havelin, 2000) The teenagers unstable mentality is being a time which may easily be influenced by their peers. For example, you might decide to buy a same brand of bag that your friends have. These kinds of behavior are usually harmless, but also can lead you to make dangerous decision. For example, one of your friends might persuade you to join his gang after you had been bullied by someone else and he told you that gang can help you revenge. Matt Monteverde (2008) stated that youths cannot resist the temptation of peer pressure. Many youths who experienced violence from their peers often worry that they may get more serious revenge if they inform the teacher or parents about the violence. We should deal with violence among youths thoroughly, or else wrong message will be given to the youths that violence can be accepte d. Peer pressure can cause the victim to gradually believe that I should be the victim of violence and submit to humiliation. Eventually, peer pressure would worsen the situation of violence among the youths and severity of upgrades. Despite of being one of the factors that contributes to the development of violence in youths, internets benefits still far beyond its disadvantage. Research had done by the Miniwatts Marketing Group on the number of internet user on a single day throughout the world. The estimated internet users are 1,966,514,816 on June 31, 2010 compare to 360,985,492 on Dec 31, 2000. The result shows the popularity of internet has been increased tremendously throughout the last decade. Not only because of internets convenience and extreme speed, but also its huge amount of information. Now we can simply classify the internets benefits into three main categories: research, communication and entertainment. Firstly, youths are among the top users who surf the Internet for research. Nowadays, it is not necessary for the youth to do their research in the library as the information provided by the internet is far much more than what a book or newspaper can provide. It is almost a must for youths today to use the internet for research for the purpose of gathering resources. Teachers are encouraging their students to do research online as we can almost find any type of data on almost any kind of subject that we are looking for. Moreover, with the help of search engines like Google or Yahoo, we can get access to the information that we are looking for within just a few seconds without stepping out of the house. The efficiency and the quantity of information that internet can provide has indeed made it a virtual treasure trove of information. Communication is the most popular use of the Internet, with email topping the list of all the technologies used. (Ernest Ackermann Karen Hartman, 2000) By the advent of internet, communication among people is not only confined to telephones and letters anymore. Emails have taken over the position of letters and become the number one communication tool among human beings. Software such as MSN allows us to chat online for hours with our beloved ones and we can even keep up to date with a friend who is sitting in the other part of the world just within a fraction of second. Today, we can even see each other by using web-cam for a better communication. Internet allows us to establish a kind of global friendship where you can share your thoughts, explore other cultures of different ethnicity. Again, internet has brought people an enormous convenience on communication. Lastly, it is none other than the entertainment that internet has bring to us. Nowadays, downloading videos and music from the internet become very common among the youths. Internet has provided the platform for millions of people all over the world to exchange information and resources sharing. We can upload pictures and videos to share with overseas friends. We do not need to wait for TV series every night anymore, we can just simply surf the internet and all the series will be there for us to watch. Apart from all these, the most popular entertainment that internet has provided is internet gaming. Online game can definitely help the youths to relieve pressures on academic studies and troubles. Dawn Smith stated (2010) Internet games can help children focus. Youths who have Attention Deficit Disorder, or ADD, can actually sit for longer periods of time to play some of their favorite games. Not only does this help them keep focus, it also teaches them patience. It allows those youth s who once cannot sit for a long period of time to sit longer periods as the game can engage the youths and keep their attention. According to Steven Johnson, social critic and author of Everything Bad Is Good For You, it also engages a childs decision making process, requiring children to think on their feet. Indeed internet is a double-edged sword, just like water can float a boat, so can it swallow the ship. However, internet itself is not in wrong, the benefits it had brought to us is very obvious. The problem now is lies on how are we going to use and control it. Therefore, the ability of self-control is very important for the youths and helping the youths to develop a healthy lifestyle should be our number one objective instead of blaming Internet for been the cause of developing violent behavior in youths. While the domestic violence and peer pressures are the major cause of violence in youths today. Internets benefits outweigh its disadvantages and it has truly become mans best tool in the 21st century.

The Impact of Absent Fathers in Black Female Upbringing Essay -- Famil

A father’s role in a child’s life is extremely important when it comes to a child’s development. With so much emphasis placed on young black boys needing their fathers during crucial developmental ages, the rate of our young black girls growing up without fathers is staggering and overlooked. What is an absent father? The definition is quite simple; an absent father can be defined as a father who is not present in the life of their child whether it is physically, emotionally, or both. Although the absence of a father is detrimental in any child’s life, the absence of such in a young black girl’s life is even more crucial. The absent father in a black girl’s life leads to, in some cases, promiscuity and teenage pregnancy, poverty, and emotional affects such as feelings of unworthiness and unable to be loved, fear of abandonment, and issues with rejection and commitment. The ways in which they view the opposite sex, the outside world and their self are forever tainted as a result of missing the key element of a father. I do not have any memories of my own father as a child. I met him when I was about fourteen years old. My mother and grandmother, with the help of my uncles and aunt, raised me. Although I had strong positive male role models in my life, there was always the void of my father that I dealt with on a daily basis. I can remember at a young age, before blowing out the candles on my birthday cake, I would wish that my father would show up to my party. I had elaborate daydreams of him coming back into my life and doing things with me like I saw on television. It never happened. While walking to the train station one evening my uncle casually said to me â€Å"there’s your father† as if I saw him on an everyday basis. I didn’t... .../p/articles/mi_m1272/is_n2572_v121/ai_13358877/ Ellis, B.J., et al. 2003. Does father absence place daughters at special risk for early sexual activity and teenage pregnancy? Child Development 74(May/June):801-821. Hogan, D., P., and Kitagawa, E. M. (1985). The impact of social status, family structure, and neighborhood on the fertility of black adolescents. Am. J. Sociol. 90: 825-855. Kost K, Henshaw S and Carlin L, U.S. Teenage Pregnancies, Births and Abortions: National and State Trends and Trends by Race and Ethnicity, 2010. Stanton, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. National Center for Health Statistics."National Health Interview Survey." Hyattsville, MD, 1988. Toppo, Greg, â€Å"Obama urges absent fathers to re-engage in children's lives†. USA Today. 19 Feb, 2011. http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2010-06-22-obamafathersday22_ST_N.htm

Hmong Essay -- essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The traditional Hmong live a horticultural society they depend on domesticated plants, they are well-adapted on soils of the tropical rain forests and poor soil places which are unsuitable for intense agriculture. Prehistoric Hmong are thought to have moved from Eurasia and made a few stops at Siberia. As their custom they settled in the highlands (mountains) from Vietnam and Laos and later in Thailand. They inherited the name â€Å"Miao†, from living in the mountains. Today Five million Hmong reside in China, more than any other country. The Hmong people have straight black hair and have a short, sturdy stature. In the southern margins of the Sahara Desert, going southward toward East Africa are tall, rather thin dark skin peoples called the Nuer. To the Nuer horticulture is degrading toil. The Nuer live the pastoral mode of production with their primary dependancy on animal husbandry, cattle. Although the cattle is not raised for the meat, unless they become barren, or injured they eat them under special conditions. Usually adapt in dry grassland with short growing seasons. Although they do eat/grow crop it is very little. Milk is one of the main foods of the Nuer. Both cultures sacrifice animals to heal souls. The Hmong believe in the dab as the evil spirit, the Nuer believe in the evil eye. The evil eye is a person with supernatural power who causes damage to people who look at them. For the Hmong the most common cause of illness is soul lo...

Cultural Influences On Emotional Expression and Perception Essay

Everyone is uniquely shaped, and should not be compared with others. Expressing ourselves can differentiate from other expressions since we are unique in each and every way. Some similarities may exist, but not necessarily every aspect of what we tend to express. As defined in the textbook, â€Å"emotional expression is the most important representation of our emotions, and may be similar to others† (Adler, Proctor, and Towne 137). Perception is part of the emotional expression because â€Å"it is the process of selecting, acquiring, interpreting, and organizing sensory information† (wikipedia.org). These two are important because we express what we express with the perception of our emotional expression. Different situations will result in different perception of emotional expression. For example, we may jump when we feel excitement or cry when we feel grief. Every expression we make is appropriate on what we feel in that particular event. We live in a country with a very diverse culture, and everyone is raise differently base on their culture. This paper will talk about the cultural influences on emotional expression and perception. Examples, description, and explanation will also be given to further explain the topic. Although many emotions and expressions of emotions are universal, some differences exist among many cultures. The comparison of both cultural similarity and difference has been very important in the area of emotional expression and perception (Matsumoto par. 2). It is very helpful to know the similarities and differences in emotion across cultures. It helps us understand the role of emotion in our lives and the importance of emotion to our thinking and behaving. People in different cultures categorize emotions differently. Some languages have classification for emotions that are not classified in other languages. It is a belief that nonverbal expressions of emotion differ across cultures, due to the fact that different cultures have different display rules. Display rules are norms that tell people whether, which, how, and when emotions should be displayed (wikipedia.org). The power of cultural norm determines how and when to show emotions that is not actually felt. The comparison of emotions helps us understand the role of emotional expression and nonverbal behaviors in social interactions to improve interaction among people from different cultural backgrounds. In addition, when comparing expressions, people of different cultures agree on which is more strongly expressed? Cross-cultural research indicates that the answer to this question is yes. Itziar and Fernandez compared these differences in paired expression of the same emotion (par. 5). According to the research, the result was that â€Å"ninety-two percent of the time, the ten cultures in their study agreed on which of two expressions was more intense† (Fernandez, Carrera, Sanchez, Paez, and Candia par. 5). For example, looking separately for each emotion, American and Japanese agreed on which photo were more intense in 24 out of 30 comparison. These findings are important because they suggest that people of different cultures use the same visual cues in judging others (Fernandez, Carrera, Sanchez, Paez, and Candia par. 8). The role of culture in emotional control is shown most explicitly through the use of display rules. Display rules are learned, culturally determined norms that govern people’s display of emotions in different social situations (Matsumoto, 1990). Matsumoto (1972) found cultural differences in display rules when a group of Japanese and American students were shown stressful film stimuli in two conditions. In the alone condition, both the Japanese and American students displayed the same negative facial expressions of fear, disgust, and distress. However, when the experimenter was present, the Japanese students smiled to mask their negative emotions while the Americans continued to exhibit their negative affects. Furthermore, a study by Matsumoto (1990) found that Americans rated disgust and sadness as more appropriate in in-groups than did the Japanese. In contrast, the Japanese rated anger as more appropriate in out-groups than did the Americans. The above findings suggest that the Japanese and American students utilized different sets of display rules which influenced either their expression or inhibition of their emotions (Matsumoto par. 2). The different sets of display rules can be understood in terms of the American and Japanese emphasis on individualism versus collectivism respectively. Individualism and collectivism are dimensions of cultural variability that refer to the degree to which a culture encourages individual needs, wishes, desires, and values over that of the group  (Matsumoto, 1990). For example, individualistic cultures emphasize individual goals and independence. Collectivist cultures, on the other hand, stress collective goals and dependence on the group (Matsumoto, 1989). It could be understood in this context that the expression of negative emotions in an in-group setting is regarded as extremely negative in collectivist countries, since the manifestations of such emotions threatens the interdependent relationship of the group. In an individualist country, however, the expression of both positive and negative emotions may feel right and good since such expressions highlight both the separation of self from others and the individual’s private, internal attributes (Forgas and Bond, 1994). What may feel good then, in this case the inhibition or expression of emotions, is largely dependent on one’s culture and socialization. To take this idea a step further, the correlation between emotional inhibition and well-being, either negative or positive, may be dependent on one’s respective culture. A past research on the relationship between emotional control and well-being has yielded conflicting findings. Where one line of research suggests that the active inhibition of emotions will lead to an increase in physiological arousal and a decrease in well-being, the other proposes that the inhibition of emotions will result in a higher level of well-being. The aim of the present study is to unravel parts of the conflict by examining the influence of gender and culture on the relationship between emotional control and well-being in two ethnic groups, Asians and Caucasians (Aeker and Williams par. 10). Furthermore, seventy-nine participants were asked to fill out questionnaires assessingtheir level of emotional inhibition, subjective well-being, and identification with anindividualistic versus collectivist culture. Results found that Caucasians and Asians differed onthe individualism-collectivism scale, with Caucasians being more individualistic and Asiansmore collectivists. The effect of culture was found with Caucasians having a negative correlationbetween emotional inhibition and well-being while Asians having an almost zero correlation. Influence of gender was also found in which increases in the level of emotional inhibition isnegatively correlated to well-being for the female sample, but for the male sample, there wasagain a zero correlation. An interactive effect of culture and gender was also found with Asianmales having the most positive correlation between emotional inhibition and well-being, andCaucasian females having the most negative correlation between emotional inhibition and well-being. Explanations of the findings in terms of gender and cultural norms are discussed(Matsumoto par. 5). The interacting effects of cultural and gender norms were also demonstrated. Asian maleswho were high on emotional inhibition were highest on well-being and Caucasian females whowere high on emotional inhibition were lowest on well-being. The results could be understood inthe context that Asian males are socialized by both their gender and cultural norms to inhibit their emotions. The act of inhibition is then consistent with what they believe they should do. Caucasian females, on the other hand, are told by both their gender and cultural norms to express their emotions. The act of inhibition is then contradictory to these expectations. It makes sense then that when one’s actions are consistent with one’s perceived cultural and gender expectations, the result would be a higher level of well-being than when the actions are contradictory to the expectations. Though the results demonstrate that both culture and gender influence the relationship between emotional control and well-being, the present study also has important limitations. First, the emotional inhibition scale measures the inhibition of both positive and negative emotions. It can be understood from a collectivist context why the inhibition of negative emotions is valued because the expression of such emotions is deemed threatening to the group. However, the expression of positive emotions is not only non-threatening but can actually facilitate group harmony. It can then be predicted that for negative emotions, inhibition will correlate positively with well-being. However, since the inhibition of positive emotions is contrary to the cultural norms, the inhibition of positive emotions will correlate negatively with well-being. Since the emotional  inhibition scale combined both types of emotions, we can speculate that there might be a canceling effect, resulting in the zero co rrelation found for the Asian sample. Furthermore, the Asian sample in the present study consists of students from U.C. Berkeley. It can be speculated that these students have to some extent acculturated into the American system and perhaps have embraced parts of the individualist culture, such as the value of expressiveness. Though the ICIAI depicts significant cultural difference between the Asians and Caucasian sample, the issue of acculturation can be reduced with cross-cultural research comparing the U.S. population with the Asian population. To investigate further the meaning of differences, Matsumoto (1993) showed ratings from Japanese and Americans on smiling versus non-smiling faces with regard to intelligence,attractiveness, and sociability. Americans rated smiling faces as more intelligent than neutral faces; the Japanese, however, did not. Americans and Japanese both found smiling faces more sociable than neutral faces, but for the Americans the difference was greater. These differences suggest that cultural display rules cause of Japanese and Americans to attribute different meanings to the smile, and serve as a good explanation for perceived major differences in communication styles across cultures. Evidently, the study has contributed to the understanding of the relationship between emotional expression and culture. Although results have shown that there are definitely effects of culture on emotional expression and perception, the future research is needed to extend the influence. For example, a study measuring the expression of positive and negative emotions separately will be easier to understand on how cultural norms affect the emotional expression and perception. The finding of cultural influence is a great step forward in understanding the role of emotional expression. However, it is just the beginning in investigating the complex between the control of emotions and our perception. Summing up, this paper talked about the different expressions the people in  different cultures gave. Everyone is brought up differently and taught differently. Therefore, we express our emotion differently because of the surroundings we grew up in, and the people that influenced us. Although people in certain parts of the world are different in terms of the background, tradition, and norm and so on, all of us are crossing that barrier on having friends by effective communication. 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