Introduction
Cultural practices vary greatly depending on geographical position. The advent of the technological age has shaped the world into one large community, allowing people across the globe to experience and critique new cultures. While the Nacimeran people share some similarities with conventional communities, the people’s focus on the human body and resultant rituals reveal a complex and highly specialized culture.
The Nacimera Culture
The Nacimera culture is fascinating; however, its rituals are highly peculiar. Members of the culture detest their bodies to unbelievable degrees, and their efforts to ensure purification sometimes lead to more harm. Notably, the use of magical charms and a charm box reveals the religiosity of the Nacimera people and their complex faith system (Miner, 1956). Nonetheless, their practitioners’ specialization and roles share some similarities with western cultural doctors.
The Nacimera’s mouth-rite ritual seems outrageous and outright dangerous. This practice aligns with the Nacimeran’s body image issues and occurs yearly. The society members go to a holy-mouth-man who uses his paraphernalia to exorcise evils from the mouth. Miner reports that the holy-mouth-man enlarges cavities that show signs of decay before stuffing roots to clean the mouth (1956). Additionally, if there are no holes, he creates some using his tools in a sadistic show of experience. In Western cultures, these practices are unhealthy and add to the problem instead of negating it.
Nacimera rituals seem uncouth; however, there are subtle similarities with traditional cultures. The people’s faith system is no less peculiar than prevalent religions within the United States. Nonetheless, Nacimeran rituals have a negative body image that is detrimental to societal and mental openness. Furthermore, instilling shyness regarding one’s nakedness and subjecting culture members to psychological shock when they visit the temple displays a hypocritical mindset (Miner, 1956). However, I, too, visit the dentist yearly much as the Ncimerans go to the holy-mouth-man. Furthermore, I regularly see a “listener “or a psychiatrist express my childhood traumas. In these last two respects, the Nacimeran culture does not deviate from the norm.
The observational method describes an anthropologist’s means of getting data by observing and reporting on what they see. Miner’s analysis of Nacimera culture accurately represents the observational method, mainly because he pays attention to the body ritual expressed by the society members. Furthermore, his analysis is free of bias and presents the facts in a coherent and visually relatable method. Moreover, the author’s breakdown of the specialists involved with the rituals is systematic in a manner that reflects the time and effort spent within the Nacimera community.
In terms of reaction, the Nacimera would appreciate the accuracy with which Miner depicts their cultural practices and rites. Various specialists within the community and Miner carefully took the time to lend each their importance and role definition (1956). Moreover, the author minimized his personal bias and communicated the importance and relevance of each horrifying or surprising behavior. The sum totals of the author’s observations are diligent, and the Nacimera people would react proudly to seeing the details of their culture written and passed down through posterity.
All cultures have their unique benefits and disadvantages. Ethnocentrism opposes this sentiment and defines how people judge other cultures based on their standards (Miller-Bellor & Giuliani, 2016). Essentially, people view their culture as superior and others as inferior based on their practices. The term relates to the Nacimera precisely due to the barbarity of their customs. It is relatively easy to judge how deeply they detest the deterioration of the human body; nonetheless, the Nacimera place importance on what emanates from the moth and its relation to moral integrity. Perceiving the advantages of the Nacimera culture eliminates a myopic and ethnocentric type of view.
Conclusion
In summation, the Nacimera people have unique cultural practices that center on body harm to achieve cleanliness. The sadistic and masochistic approach to wellness is a crucial difference compared to western cultures. However, the specialization of the role of the medicine man, listener, and holy-mouth-man do not differentiate much from widely accepted cultures. Adopting a culturally relativistic mindset assists in genuinely appreciating all world cultures and gleaning beneficial practices that can better all communities.
References
Miller-Bellor, C., & Giuliani, D. (2016). Culture. Local to Global: The Sociological Journey. Web.
Miner, H. (1956). Body Ritual Among the Nacirema. Societal Culture and Management, 1(3), 503–507. Web.
Writing Skills And Strategies For Successful Writing
When writing a text, each author often resorts to authoritative sources or mass media to give the words strength and enlist the reader’s support, and the case in question is no exception. In the example shown and in other cases, it is common to use a literary vocabulary to make the material understandable and accessible to all. The text presents a homogeneous solid structure in which it is possible to get lost. The work is not visualized; only general and absolutized statements are used.
In her work, the author uses a variety of writing strategies, among which the two main ones stand out – the evocation of emotion and the concretization of information. Several statements, which can take as disrespectful to the male gender, proved to be effective. For example, “in a monkey’s way to show that he needs more” (Wise, 2005). For male readers and those who do not consider themselves androgynous, this statement would be offensive. Another example is “men don’t know how to store,” which also sounds offensive to the male gender (Wise, 2005). These statements are clingy and evoke strong emotions in particular readers. From a literary point of view, it is a good text, but there are problems with the ethical aspect. This work contributed to the emergence of several ideas for my texts. First, intelligent and specific statements can fully engage readers to read the work and provide feedback. Second, issues of gender identity in today’s world are important and discussed by a wide cross-section of people, so another mention of the issue would appeal to the reader.
For more specific conclusions, one should analyze Kurt Wise’s article more closely and choose the best strategy to create a strong and universal text. Kurt Wise rightly pointed out that what distinguishes a true professional is versatility. This skill is especially important in today’s world, where it is necessary to have knowledge in a variety of fields and to reflect it correctly in texts. Communication with the public or other professions requires novice employees the ability to present a text on any topic correctly and understandably (Wise, 2005). The importance of this skill lies in creating a text that is accessible to almost any reader, regardless of their level of knowledge, unless people are talking about special literature.
Writing skills should not be neglected, even in personal correspondence or articles on the Internet. Wise points out that material on the Internet is different from what one might read in books, newspapers, or magazines (Wise, 2005). This fact can be explained by the digital format, the heterogeneous audience, and the different perceptions of the text. However, one could argue with the author that these differences are significant; therefore, novice writers produce low-level writing. With global digitalization, many print publications either partially move to the Internet or concentrate their activities there entirely. The line is blurring, so writers need to create a text usable on any medium and for any reader.
Writing skills are just as important as speaking skills because one first formulates thoughts in one’s head and then converts them into written text. It is essential not to create isolated disciplines at the university but to form a synthesis in the form of a single educational course. This approach will help students reveal their inner abilities in the written and oral presentation of their thoughts. Every year society issues a new demand for written information and its accessibility, which multiplies the demand for writing skills.
Reference
Wise, K. (2005). The importance of writing skills. Public Relations Quarterly, 50(2), 37-48.
Nutrition And Protein Intake Analysis
The Macronutrient Ranges report indicates that my protein intake is within the range recommended by the Dietary Reference Intakes (DRI) guidelines. It should be noted that my overall caloric intake is lower than recommended, with 1,654.157kcal of actual intake compared to 2264kcal. Nevertheless, the protein intake is within the recommended range of 10 to 35% of the total energy intake (Sizer & Whitney, 2017). Specifically, the actual protein intake comprises 16.003% of the overall caloric intake. Although it is within the normal range, it could be increased in order to raise the overall caloric intake, which is significantly lower than recommended. Thus, the intake of foods with high-quality proteins such as nuts, lentils, beans, tofu, or seeds can be increased.
Grams of Protein Intake
The Intake vs. Goals report suggests that I consume fewer grams of protein than recommended by the DRI guidelines. Specifically, my daily protein intake adds up to 36.869grams, while the recommended intake is 48.99grams. Thus, my protein intake comprises 75.259% of the DRI-advised amount. Considering my healthy weight is 58.18kilograms, my intake of protein should reach 46.544grams daily. Thus, it can be argued that I consume 79.213% of the needed amount of protein per day. However, taking into account that both calculations indicate a lower intake of grams of protein than required for healthy functioning, I can benefit from adding more protein-rich foods into my diet.
Protein Sources
The analysis of meals I consume shows that my protein sources are not varied. The most protein-rich food from the analyzed day was the regular Blimpie Vegimax Sandwich with 28grams of protein. Thus, the sandwich comprises more than half of my healthy protein intake. The second top provider of protein was a veggie Taco Time Burrito with 19grams of protein per meal. A vegetarian Lentil and the Mushroom soup was the third leading provider with 7.741grams of protein per serving. Other protein sources included whole wheat bread, tortilla chips, granola bar, and a variety of fruit. Therefore, most of the consumed proteins come from grains, vegetables, and, to a lesser extent, fruit. Overall, it can be argued that more variety in daily protein providers would be beneficial.
Vegan Meal Suggestions
Considering the recommended daily protein intake of 48.99grams, I would recommend an Indian spiced chickpea salad with a serving of quinoa. Both chickpea and quinoa are rich in protein and fiber and constitute a filling meal. Ingredients include ½ cup of boiled chickpea, 1/2 cup of cooked quinoa, a teaspoon of fennel and cumin seeds as well as cilantro, and scallions. According to Sizer and Whitney (2017), ½ cup of chickpea contains 7.3grams of protein, while ½ cup of quinoa has 12.0grams. Thus, the total protein intake from the meal equals 20.6grams of protein, more than one-third of the daily requirement for protein which is calculated at 16.33grams. The product quantity can be adjusted to either lower or increase protein intake if other meals lack protein or, in contrast, contain too much protein. In addition, quinoa can be substituted for jasmine rice, which contains 8grams of protein per ½ cup (Sizer & Whitney, 2017). Overall, this meal will provide over one-third of the daily recommended intake of protein for a vegan 19-year-old girl.
Table 1. Intake Spreadsheet
| Item Name | Protein (g) | Carb (g) | Fat (g) | Sat/Mono/Poly (g) |
| Chickpea, boiled | 7.3 | 22.5 | 2.1 | 0.2 0.5 0.9 |
| Quinoa, cooked | 12.0 | 54.5 | 5.2 | 0.6 1.4 2.8 |
| Fennel seeds | 0.3 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 0 0.2 0 |
| Cumin seeds | 0.4 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 0 0.3 0 |
| Cilantro | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 0 0 |
Reference
Sizer, F., & Whitney, E. N. (2017). Nutrition: Concepts and controversies (14th ed.). Cengage Learning.