Saudi Arabian Culture

Table of Contents Introduction Family, Marriage, and Children Norms, Religion, and Education Superstitions, Taboos, and Gestures Important Events in History Conclusion References Introduction Across the world, different countries have different cultures depending on racial and ethnic composition of citizens. Countries that have diverse races or ethnicities appear to have diverse cultures, while countries that have one race or ethnicity have common culture. Normally, the culture of a given population comprises of several elements of culture. Andersen and Taylor (2011) assert that elements of culture are norms, beliefs, values, and language, which comprise of material and immaterial things.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Saudi Arabian Culture specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In essence, culture consists of concrete and abstract elements that shape human and societal behaviors across all ages. Since different c ountries have different cultures due to their racial and ethnic differences, people exhibit unique behaviors that reflect their respective norms, beliefs, values, and languages. Owing to globalization and increased intercultural interaction, people need to learn about other cultures. Learning other cultures is necessary because it enhances intercultural communication, which plays an important role in promoting economic, social, and political aspects of a country. In this view, by having common norms, beliefs, values, and languages, people can easily interact and perform businesses without undue cultural restrictions. Therefore, this essay examines elements of the Saudi Arabian culture with the objective of helping visitors to enjoy their stay in Saudi Arabia. Family, Marriage, and Children Family and marriage are central in the Saudi Arabian culture because they signify the procreative ability of the society. In Saudi Arabia, family is a crucial social institution because it enhance s the social status of an individual. The family provides an opportunity for parents to take care of their children and create businesses for the benefit of the family and society. The Saudi Arabian family has patriarchal structure, which makes husband the head the family with great responsibilities of protecting and providing for the family. Owing to the patriarchal structure, the family assumes the identity of the father. In this case, Sharia law (Islamic law) makes the father to be the custodian of the children when they are still young. According to Bowen (2008), Sharia law favors men because â€Å"in case of divorce, they receive custody of all children; boys at the age of seven and girls at the age of nine† (p. 11). This means that Saudi Arabian culture gives men the right to be custodians of children in the event of separation or divorce. Therefore, a foreign woman needs to know the state of family law in Saudi Arabia before marrying a Saudi Arabian man. In Saudi Arabi a, marriage is a civil contract where a husband pays dowry in the presence of family witnesses who sign marriage agreement. The aged family members have the responsibility of discussing marriage issues and signing the marriage agreement. Bowen (2008) states that, â€Å"marriage in Saudi Arabia is contractual, with rights and obligations established by means of a formal prenuptial agreement† (p. 11).Advertising Looking for essay on cultural studies? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Throughout the marriage period, wives are subject to their respective husbands who have absolute authority over what they do. Before marriage, fathers or male relatives dictate what women do in terms of work, education, and behavior, while husbands take over the role when they marry them. In the society, the responsibilities of women lie within the family, while the responsibilities of men lie in the public realm. Women have powers in making de cisions regarding household duties and upbringing of children. Moreover, Sharia law allows men to marry up to four wives provided they treat them equally. Hence, foreigners need to understand that women in Saudi Arabia are under absolute authority of men and that polygamy is legal. Norms, Religion, and Education Saudi Arabia is a country in the Middle East that exhibit cultural homogeneity as the citizens have a common culture. Cultural homogeneity is evident as Arabic is an official language and people believe in one religion of Sunni Islam. Additionally, Saudi Arabian monarchy is a political culture that supports homogeneity of the Saudi Arabian culture in the Middle East. The Saudi Arabians, therefore, share cultural elements that define their norms, beliefs, customs, traditions, superstitions, taboos, and language. Cultural elements of the Saudi Arabian culture are familiar in the Arab countries. Transfer of cultural elements from one generation to another depends on beliefs and norms govern families. In Saudi Arabia, beliefs and values that shape the culture of Saudi Arabians emanate from families and social structures. Norris and Inglehart (2012) argue that theories of multiculturalism envisage that people â€Å"acquire deep-rooted and enduring social norms and cultural values through the process of childhood socialization within the family, local community, and country† (p. 235). Thus, family and social structures of the Saudi Arabian culture have significant impact on beliefs, norms, and values of the people. Sunni Islam is a dominant religion in Saudi Arabia as it dictates the culture of people. Beliefs, norms, and values that Saudi Arabians uphold mirror Islamic teachings that are in the Quran and Sharia law. For example, the Quran teaches Muslims to dress in a decent and modest manner to discourage sexual temptations (Aziz, 2010). The dress code of Muslims in Saudi Arabia aims at concealing rather than revealing sensitive areas of the body th at the culture considers private. Unlike in the United States where people have freedom of dressing so long as the dress code is not explicit. Since legislations support the dress code, everyone in Saudi Arabia including foreigners must dress decently. While men wear white caps (taiga) and robe (throbe), women wear cloak (abayah) and head scarf.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Saudi Arabian Culture specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More According to the Saudi Arabian culture, foreign men must put on long trousers that loosely fit and dress in shirts that cover upper part of the body well. The culture also dictates women to dress in long skirts, which fit loosely with hem covering the knees. In this view, foreigners need to understand how to dress lest they violate dress code that the Saudi Arabian culture and legislations stipulate. Saudi Arabia has integrated Islamic religion into its education system. The government of Saudi Arabia has made basic education compulsory, and thus many students have been able to pursue their education. Through education, students study theology and cultural studies, which have enabled Islamic monarchy to thrive in Saudi Arabia (Hefner, Zaman, 2010). Though men have higher literacy levels than women, current statistics indicate that Saudi Arabia has the highest number of graduates in the Middle East (Sabry, 2012). Despite the fact that the official language is Arabic, the education system of Saudi Arabia provides quality education. Superstitions, Taboos, and Gestures Islamic religion, which shapes Saudi Arabian culture, has numerous superstitions that revolve around many issues that affect humanity. For example, Sikhism (2013) states that, â€Å"if a fly falls on your food, take it and immerse it once more because according to the prophet Mohammed, the fly carries the medicine on one wing to counter the disease it carries on the other wing† (para. 1). Such superstition portrays a different way of how Muslims deal with flies when compared to other cultures. Another superstition is that when Satan urinates into ears, a person sleeps until sunrise (Sikhism, 2013). The superstition encourages people to wake up early so that they do not appear as if Satan has urinated on their ears. In addition to superstitions, the Saudi Arabian culture has some taboos. For instance, pointing at a person using a heel, toe, or any part of the foot is offensive in the Saudi Arabian culture. Moreover, nudity is a taboo because it demeans the dignity of human beings. Concerning food, Wang (2008) states that the Saudi Arabian culture regard eating of pork and drinking of alcohol as taboos. Hence, basing on these few taboos, one needs to understand their relevance in the Saudi Arabian culture. Saudi Arabian culture restricts gestures that people use. For example, the culture does not allow men and women to have direct eye contact because it encourages promiscuo us behavior. Moreover, the Saudi Arabian culture does not allow men and women to interact freely to prevent sexual temptation.Advertising Looking for essay on cultural studies? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Thus, women and men do not hug or hold one another in a suggestive manner, unless they are married couples (Center for Intercultural Learning, 2009). Hence, foreigners should be cautious when using gestures in Saudi Arabia because some gestures are offensive to Arabs. Important Events in History Mecca and Medina are historical places that tourists must visit in Saudi Arabia because they are sacred places that have significant importance to the Saudi Arabian culture. Soharwardy (2012) states Mecca and Medina are sacred sanctuaries where Muslims across the world visit during their pilgrimage. As Muslims mark Ramadan and Hajj, they visit pilgrim sites where they worship and celebrate their religious festivities. Mecca Medina Conclusion Saudi Arabian culture is a culture that has dominant beliefs, values, norms, and traditions that reflect Islamic culture. In this view, observation of Islamic beliefs, norms, values, and traditions enables people to understand the Saudi Arabian culture a nd adopt it. Islamic religion defines family structure, marriage, dress code, superstitions, taboos, food, gestures, and social interaction. Hence, foreigners need to adhere to Islamic beliefs, norms, values, and traditions while in Saudi Arabia to prevent occurrence of intercultural conflicts. References Andersen, M., Taylor, H. (2011). Sociology: The essentials (7th ed.). New York: Cengage Learning. Aziz, R. (2010). Hijab-The Islamic dress code: Its historical development, evidence from  scared sources and views of selected Muslim scholars. Web. Bowen, W. (2008). The history of Saudi Arabia. London: Greenwood Publishing Group. Center for Intercultural Learning (2009). Cultural information: Saudi Arabia. Web. Hefner, R., Zaman, M. (2010). Schooling Islam: the culture and politics of modern  Muslim education. New York: Princeton University Press. Norris, P., Inglehart, R. (2012). Muslim integration into Western cultures. Political  Studies, 60(1), 228-251. Sabry, T. (2012). Arab cultural studies: Mapping the field. London: I.B. Tauris. Sikhism, I. (2013). ‘Superstitious’ Hadiths Explained. Web. Soharwardy, S. (2012). Makkah and Madinah. Web. Wang, H. (2008). Communication with Saudis. Asian Social Science, 4(11), 124-130. This essay on Saudi Arabian Culture was written and submitted by user Devin Mitchell to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

A latent infection Essays

A latent infection Essays A latent infection Essay A latent infection Essay A latent infection refers to an infective agent, in this instance a virus, staying in an inactive or hibernating province [ I ] . This can happen in both DNA and RNA viruses, including Herpes Simplex virus and HIV. The virus life rhythm includes two parts, the lytic and lysogenic rhythm. Latent infections come under the lysogenic rhythm. This latent phase is utile in hedging an immune response so the virus lasts for a longer clip within the host cell. The lytic rhythm is the chief rhythm where reproduction occurs and is shown below in diagram 1. The first phase is attachment where the virus attaches to the host cell via a receptor. The viral nucleic acid is either injected into the cell through incursion or the whole virus atom is taken up by endocytosis. If the virus was taken up in this manner it now needs to be uncoated so the viral nucleic acid is exposed in the cytol of the host cell. The following phase is cistron look and the control of cistron look determines the overall class of a virus infection ( acute, chronic, relentless or latent ) ( Principles of Molecular Virology, 4th edition, Alan J. Cann, 2005 ) . Depending on the type of nucleic acid, DNA or RNA, look and reproduction of the cistron can take topographic point in the cytol or the karyon of the host cell. Assembly so takes topographic point to acquire all the constituents necessary to do a new virion together and they are packaged into membranes and envelopes. This is known as the ripening procedure and is the point when the virus becomes infective. Replication occurs rapidly and so many mature virions are made, that they are released from the host cell through lysis of the cell wall. The virions can now reiterate this procedure on another host cell to distribute the infection. Diagram 1 the lytic and lysogenic rhythms: Viral DNA/RNA is incorporated into the host genome in the lysogenic rhythm besides shown in diagram 1. The host genome is now termed a prophage and the viral nucleic acid replicates as a portion of the host cell and can be passed onto girl cells. No new virions are made in this rhythm and there are no symptoms from the infection. The viral nucleic acid can stay in the lysogenic rhythm for a long clip but if the prophage is triggered by emphasis or UV visible radiation, the rhythm can return back to the lytic rhythm where new viral offspring is formed. Viral latency is portion of the lysogenic component of the virus life rhythm. Gene look is down regulated so, in this latent province, the virus is non being replicated ( Janeway s Immunobiology, 7th edition, Murphy et Al, 2008 ) . The viral nucleic acid is integrated into the host genome and replicates with the host genome but no new viral proteins are being made. This happens at a point after the initial infection with the virus. There is no disease nowadays in this phase but the virus has non been eradicated. The virus can be reactivated from a latent province to a lytic province due to a figure of factors. These include emphasis, sunlight or hormonal alterations. A reversion to the lytic phase of the life rhythm consequences in viral proteins being made and the infection returning, but perchance in a different look compared to the initial infection. The latent province is maintained by the written text of certain cistrons, either maintaining the virus in the latent province or returning it back to the lytic. The forms of the latent phase can be studied utilizing bacteriophage lambda as it does non do disease. Diagram 2 below shows in graph signifier how the virus can travel in and out of a latent province over clip. Diagram 2 latency graph demoing viral burden vs. clip The virus in the latent phase does non bring forth any proteins, which makes it undetectable to the immune system as there are no sensing markers. The virus can besides conceal in cells that do non split, for illustration in some cells of the immune system. The virus does non acquire broken down or engulfed by macrophages as it has become portion of the host cell. The latent phase is a good manner of lasting in a host cell in order to reinfect the host subsequently on. It can so besides spread to other host cells, advancing drawn-out endurance and perennial infection. In a productive infection, the lytic rhythm is activated and viral proteins are made. This is different to the latent phase. The virus would merely last for a certain period of clip in a productive infection until it was eliminated from the host. Herpesviruses do latent infections in many different carnal species ( Introduction to Modern Virology, 6th edition, Dimmock et Al, 2007 ) . Herpesviruses can do different sorts of diseases, for illustration, poulet syphilis, the Herpes Simplex Virus and the Epstein-Barr virus. The Herpes Simplex Virus or HSV has many types, which include Type 1, associated with cold sores around the oral cavity and Type 2 with venereal herpes. Once infected with the HSV virus, it infects the mucose membranes around the oral cavity. The viral DNA of HSV1 so integrates into the host genome in nervus cells called nervous ganglion [ two ] . Viral look is restricted during the latent phase, so no viral offspring is formed. The virus can be in the latent phase and remain in the organic structure for the remainder of its life, perchance repeating at different phases. If the virus is reactivated from the latent phase, it goes into the lytic phase and replicates to organize new viral offspring, which reinfects the mucose membranes of the oral cavity. The new infection can besides look as a signifier of herpes zosters after reactivation. The latent phase of HSV1 has no effects on the host and no symptoms are produced from it unless reactivated into the lytic rhythm. Factors that affect the reactivation of HSV1 include other unwellnesss, for illustration a cold, sing nerve-racking state of affairss either emotionally or physically an d hurts. Within the nervous cells, in the latent phase, RNA sequences are expressed called Latency-associated Transcripts ( LATs ) . There are tonss of LATs and they modify procedures within the host cell so it is non removed by the immune system. This is the merely active portion of the virus during the latent phase and they help keep latency within the cell. LATs are besides required for reactivation. The Epstein-Barr virus or HHV-4 virus is besides portion of the herpes virus household. Peoples infected with the Epstein-Barr virus are frequently symptomless for most of their lives. If the infection arises in a kid, there is an acute infection. However, if the infection arises in an grownup, it can do glandular febrility. Symptoms include a sore pharynx, conceited secretory organs and a febrility [ three ] . The infection starts in the salivary secretory organ and can hence be dispersed direct contact with the septic spit, for illustration, through caressing. It lasts for around 2-3 hebdomads but after that clip, there are no longer symptoms and the virus remains latent in resting, memory B lymphocytes [ four ] . When the B cells are infected with EBV, they proliferate and T cells are recruited to acquire rid of septic B cells. Reactivation of the EBV virus frequently causes a subclinical infection but can besides do malignant neoplastic diseases, like Burkitt s lymphoma, largely found in Africa or B cell lymphoma. When the virus is in a latent province the cistrons are expressed in the round signifier of an episome, instead than a additive signifier in the lytic province. Upto nine viral proteins are expressed in the latent province which is a little sum compared to the viral proteins produced in the lytic province. These specific proteins help to keep the latent province. These include six Epstein-Barr atomic antigens ( EBNAs ) and three latent membrane proteins ( LMPs ) [ 5 ] . EBNA-1 is the lone one of these proteins which is necessary for DNA reproduction and the others are used in cell procedures like cell signalling. EBNA-1 is besides the lone antigen nowadays in Burkitt s lymphoma and T cells ca nt adhere with it, so ca nt acquire rid of the septic cell. Human Immunodeficiency virus ( HIV ) is a RNA retrovirus, which causes AIDS. AIDS is a status where the immune system has been degraded so much that it can no longer contend against infection. HIV contains 2 RNA strands and is covered by a protein coat. When HIV infects a cell, rearward RNA polymerase is used to change over its RNA into DNA so that reproduction can happen within the host. After infection, the virus either replicates quickly to infect other cells or goes into the latent province in CD4+ T lymphocytes. HIV is known as a slow virus which means it takes a long clip to bring forth symptoms, frequently taking to a late diagnosing of the disease. An infection with HIV causes flu like symptoms at first, before going symptomless and traveling into a clinically latent stage. In this stage there is still reproduction of the HIV virus in some cells but some of the virus has gone into a latent province, which means some of the virus is active and some is inactive. The clinical la tency phase varies in length from hebdomads to old ages and the virus can still be passed on to other people as the retroflexing virus is besides present. CD8 T cells are responsible for the diminution of the virus but they can non extinguish the virus. Peoples with the HIV virus carry the disease for the remainder of their lives. Anti-retroviral drugs and chemotherapy can non acquire rid of the virus from the latent phase, so even if the activated virus was eliminated, the virus can still re-emerge. The latent virus can be reactivated but the specific grounds for this happening are non known. Reactivation of the virus from the latent phase, consequences in more serious symptoms developing and leads to the oncoming of AIDS. To reason, latent infections are another manner that certain viruses can hedge the immune responses of the host. The virus can either conceal in cells in certain tissues like the Herpes Simplex Virus or conceal in B cells of the immune system like the Epstein-Barr virus. HIV is a RNA virus that prolongs the life of the virus by concealing in CD4+ cells. All these viruses can be reactivated to do a ulterior infection. Often the reverting infection is acute but sometimes more serious infections arise for illustration malignant neoplastic diseases like Burkitt s lymphoma upon reactivation of the EBV virus. The latency phase is a clever technique of the virus to remain in the host for a longer period of clip. hypertext transfer protocol: //dictionary.reference.com/browse/latent Latent Viruss and Diseases from World of Microbiology and Immunology. Â ©2005-2006 hypertext transfer protocol: //www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/ebv.htm Introduction to Modern Virology, 6th edition, Dimmock et Al, 2007 hypertext transfer protocol: //www.science.org.au/nova/026/026key.htm