Attitudinal Behaviour Essay Example for Free

Attitudinal Behaviour Essay Purpose – In order to classify individuals based on their needs, this paper aims to consider both self-stated attitudes and behaviours in a comprehensive range of daily ï ¬ nancial affairs. Furthermore, it aims to study the impacts of socio-demographic variables such as gender, age, and education. Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire was answered by 1,282 respondents in the German-speaking part of Switzerland. Factor analysis revealed ï ¬ ve components. Based on these components a two-step cluster analysis (Ward and K-means analyses) identiï ¬ ed distinct subgroups. Linear regressions were used to investigate the impacts of socio-demographic variables. Findings – Factor analysis revealed ï ¬ ve underlying dimensions of ï ¬ nancial attitudes and behaviour: anxiety, interests in ï ¬ nancial issues, decision styles, need for precautionary savings, and spending tendency. Cluster analysis segmented the respondents into ï ¬ ve subgroups based on these dimensions with an ascending order of speciï ¬ c needs for ï ¬ nancial products. Gender, age, and education were found to have signiï ¬ cant impacts. Research limitations/implications – Real consumption behaviour cannot be observed through the survey, which limits the external validity of the study. Practical implications – The segmentation identiï ¬ es different levels of ï ¬ nancial competence and needs for ï ¬ nancial products. It allows ï ¬ nancial service providers to offer more effective advice and to meet customers on their own level to improve personal ï ¬ nancial management. Originality/value – Attitudes and behaviours in daily ï ¬ nancial affairs are examined to reveal individuals’ ï ¬ nancial competence and consequential product needs. A heterogeneous sample covers a variety of demographic groups. Keywords Personal ï ¬ nance, Savings, Questionnaires, Factor analysis, Cluster analysis, Switzerland Paper type Research paper Introduction Everyone has to manage his or her personal ï ¬ nance in one way or another. Some tend to save a lot, some like to collect information before each purchase, some like to follow their gut feelings. Private investors are not a homogeneous group but rather The authors would like to acknowledge the support of the University Research Priority Program â€Å"Finance and Financial Markets† of the University of Zurich and the National Centre of Competence in Research â€Å"Financial Valuation and Risk Management† (NCCR FINRISK), Project 3, â€Å"Evolution and Foundations of Financial Markets†. In addition, they would like to thank the Swiss ï ¬ nancial company that provided them with client data and the anonymous referee for the helpful comments. International Journal of Bank Marketing Vol. 27 No. 2, 2009 pp. 108-128 q Emerald Group Publishing Limited 0265-2323 DOI 10.1108/02652320910935607 individuals with various ï ¬ nancial practices combined with different levels of experience, anxiety and interest in ï ¬ nancial matters (Gunnarsson and Wahlund, 1997). In an increasingly competitive marketplace, ï ¬ nancial institutions need to emphasise customer relationships and the retention of existing customers that require an in-depth understanding of their attitudes and behaviours (Harrison and Ansell, 2002). The heterogeneous market is divided into smaller more homogeneous groups to meet speciï ¬ c needs with a corresponding business model (Jenkins and McDonald, 1997). Market segmentation relies, in the ï ¬ nancial industry, largely on socio-demographic information to deï ¬ ne segments for speciï ¬ c services (Harrison, 2000). It is questionable  ¨ as to how appropriate they are (Jorg, 2005), therefore in this study, selected aspects of ï ¬ nancial affairs such as routines and attitudes are gathered to gain insights towards signiï ¬ cant behavioural patt erns. The objective in this research is to examine the extent to which a broad range of private investors can be classiï ¬ ed into a small number of clusters in order to learn about group-speciï ¬ c needs in ï ¬ nancial affairs. More than 1,200 participants in Switzerland have answered our questionnaire with a response rate of 79 per cent. Unlike some other studies in this ï ¬ eld (e.g. Lim and Teo, 1997; Wood and Zaichkowsky, 2004), this survey is not limited to students, but includes a broader range of the public. Instead of focusing solely on savings behaviour (EBRI, 2002; MacFarland et al., 2003), the present study embraces a wider scope of daily ï ¬ nancial concerns. Thereby factor analysis exposes ï ¬ ve underlying dimensions: anxiety, interests in ï ¬ nancial issues, decision styles, need for precautionary savings, and spending tendency. We demonstrate that our respondents can, based on these dimensions, be classiï ¬ ed into ï ¬ ve distinct groups by cluster analysis where from cluster I to V, the need for action for a better handling of ï ¬ nancial matters increases: for example, the â€Å"Gut-feeling followers† show a intuitive way of decision taking, disinterest in ï ¬ nancial subjects and a lack of awareness for the need of provision which make it difï ¬ cult to argue for or to initiate remedial action. Each cluster raises key issues in meeting their needs and allows for guidance to design and adapt instruments to assist in speciï ¬ c ï ¬ nancial requirements. To illustrate how ï ¬ nancial behaviour can be modiï ¬ ed to improve personal ï ¬ nance speciï ¬ cally for each group, examples from the area of retirement savings, an important part of daily ï ¬ nancial management, are chosen (Clark-Murphy and Soutar, 2005). Linear regression further reveals that the clusters highlight socio-demographic characteristics and help generate a better understanding, although one socio-demographic factor alone does not offer enough information to detect cluster membership. The main theoretical contribution of this paper is that we segment the investors based on the revealed dimensions in attitudes (e.g., level of anxiety), together with the self-stated ï ¬ nance-related behavioural pattern (e.g., spending tendency). In this way we could identify the speciï ¬ c needs and provide different services to each subgroup. Theoretical background and literature review Individuals show considerable deviation from the expectation of rational behaviour implied by ï ¬ nancial models (Barberis, 2003). Being conscious of the empirical limitations of the homo economicus model for exploring the behaviour of private individuals, behavioural ï ¬ nance broadens the view by combining knowledge from psychology and economics ( Camerer and Loewenstein, 2004). Our study belongs to this area. However, instead of focusing on particular anomalies and biases that individuals succumb to, such as overconï ¬ dence and procrastination (Biais et al., 2005; O’Donoghue and Rabin, 1998), we broaden the scope under review by studying general patterns when dealing with ï ¬ nancial issues. Market segmentation In the ï ¬ nancial services industry, market segmentation is a common method to understand better and serve the diverse customer base with its wide-ranging needs and various behaviours (Speed and Smith, 1992). Competitive pressures from deregulation of the ï ¬ nancial services market increase the requirement for market orientation and a more intimate knowledge of the market and its segments (Gunnarsson and Wahlund, 1997). Previous research has shown that there are various beneï ¬ ts from taking a segmented approach to the marketplace: a better serving of customer requirements; a tailoring of offerings; and higher customer satisfaction (Harrison and Ansell, 2002). It can increase customer retention and create loyalty and long-term relationships that positively affect performance (Martenson, 2008). Market segmentation aims to recognise patterns of ï ¬ nancial behaviour, identiï ¬ ed by studied segment predictors to group individuals into segments according to their product needs (Harrison, 2000). Yet, marketing in the ï ¬ nancial services industry today is still predominantly based on socio-demographic features like gender and age which are easy to identify and easy to apply in the composition of groups (Machauer and Morgner, 2001). A prediction of needs from socio-demographic characteristics cannot be assumed; therefore these widely used a priori segmentations are under review (Speed and Smith, 1992). In contrast, post hoc methods entail the grouping of respondents according to their responses to particular variables, focusing on customer motivations (i.e. needs/behaviour) that are more likely to result in a service based on individual n eed (Durkin, 2005). In research, behavioural segmentation is increasingly found (Elliott and Glynn, 1998; Soper, 2002), although researchers continue to concentrate on the ï ¬ nancial behaviour of speciï ¬ c groups and selective variables  ¨ (Warneryd, 2001). This study focuses on the general population, giving a more holistic view of personal ï ¬ nancial management activities and taking attitudes and behaviour into account. Individual investors The literature on individual economic behaviour often focuses narrowly on speciï ¬ c  ¨ areas such as risk attitudes (Warneryd, 1999; Wood and Zaichkowsky, 2004) or saving (Normann and Langer, 2002; Thaler and Benartzi, 2004). Other ï ¬ elds of research target investment in securities (Barber and Odean, 2001; Brennan, 1995; Keller and Siegrist, 2006) or focus on speciï ¬ c segments such as occupational groups (e.g., dentists and  ¨ managers (Jorg, 2005)). Speciï ¬ c ï ¬ nancial issues or situations, however, are not indicative of an individual’s behavioural and attitudinal disposition toward ï ¬ nance. Rather an interest in ï ¬ nances or having certain habits related to managing one’s ï ¬ nancial means may indeed be a moderating factor to learn about behaviours and needs (Loix et al., 2005). The attitudes and behaviours toward ï ¬ nances regarded in this study focus on individual ï ¬ nancial management behaviour. It is a topic with important implications that has not been sufï ¬ ciently examined in ï ¬ nancial and economic behavioural studies (Loix et al., 2005). The subject is not covered by the extensive research on individual’s attitudes and habits towards money, as such studies focus on the meaning of money (Lim and Teo, 1997) or basic values concerning money in general as an abstract concept (Raich, 2008), and not on an individuals’ ways of dealing with his or her personal ï ¬ nance. Previous studies of private investors have used mainly behaviour-based criteria or attitudes and do not combine both aspects (Keller and Siegrist, 2006) that are the focus of this study. This study is not product-linked but wider ranging in that it examines the self-stated ï ¬ nancial attitudes and behaviour of individual investors. Attitudes and behaviours A frequently discussed question in research is to what extent attitudes predict behaviour. A direct relationship between attitudes and behaviour has often been found to be weak, but difï ¬ culties in ï ¬ nding a strong relationship might derive from  ¨ differences in deï ¬ nition and measurement (Warneryd, 1999). The more speciï ¬ c the attitude is the better are the chances of ï ¬ nding a substantial correlation with behaviour if behaviour is also deï ¬ ned as a speciï ¬ c act (Ajzen and Fishbein, 1980). Therefore, deï ¬ ned questions or attitudes can have predictive power and a higher correlation of attitude to-wards behaviour has been conï ¬ rmed in studies (in a comprehensive  ´ meta-analysis: Glasman and AlbarracÄ ±n, 2006; Tesser and Shaffer, 1990). A further question is the beneï ¬ t of knowledge concerning behaviour. Whilst behaviour changes over time, there is a popular assertion that â€Å"past behaviour is the best predictor of future behaviour† (Ajzen, 1991, p. 202). It is a reï ¬â€šection of these ideas that leads to attitudes and behaviour being explored in this paper. Financial needs segmentation Several typologies concerning the ï ¬ nancial affairs of private investors can be found in the previous literature, but with more speciï ¬ c approaches: se gmentations are based on ï ¬ nancial maturity and knowledge (Harrison, 1994), provision for retirement (Gough and Sozou, 2005) or savings strategies (Gunnarsson and Wahlund, 1997). Loix et al. (2005) come closest to the focus of this study with the question of orientation towards ï ¬ nances but their goal is to develop a measurement scale for individual’s ï ¬ nancial management. In this study, we examine the self-stated ï ¬ nancial attitudes and behaviour through a broader basis and do not restrict ourselves only to questions concerning risk or saving. We apply the methodology of cluster analysis to identify groups of private investors in order to obtain insight into the enforcing or modifying of speciï ¬ c behaviour. Cluster analysis has become a common tool in marketing and is a well-adopted method for market segmentation as well as the applied factor analysis apparent in this paper (Punj and Stewart, 1983). The aim of the present study is to obtain a better understanding of people’s needs in ï ¬ nancial matters to provide adequate services and products. This study, based on ï ¬ nancial service consumers, identiï ¬ es distinct motivational clusters that were independent of the more established socio-demographic segmentation variables used in targeting and communicating by ï ¬ nancial institutions. This study demonstrates that, by segmenting respondents on the basis of a broader range of ï ¬ nancial attitudes and behaviour, a yield of clearly interpretable proï ¬ les can be realised and is helpful to identify those people in most need of professional ï ¬ nancial advice. This research suggests that customer’s ï ¬ nancial proï ¬ les may be useful in predicting their response to new products as well as persuading them to use existing services for the speciï ¬ c beneï ¬ ts they value. Participants and questionnaire The data come from a questionnaire that wa s completed by 1,282 respondents from various regions of the German-speaking part of Switzerland. The respondents were recruited from two sources: 53 per cent of the participants (n  ¼ 680) were clients seeking consulting advice from a Swiss ï ¬ nancial planning company, together with participants in courses in ï ¬ nancial training within the same ï ¬ rm (convenient sample). The second source was employed to avoid a client bias in the study. A total of 602 study subjects (47 per cent of the total study) were identiï ¬ ed through a combination of â€Å"quota[1] and snowball[2] sampling procedures† (Vogt, 2005) so that its composition in terms of sex, age, and other demographic characteristics came close to reï ¬â€šecting the respective proportions in Switzerland. Although not every member of the population is equally likely to be selected, the sample is composed of a wide variety of backgrounds. The diversity came from such groups as participants in a study relating to ï ¬ nancial literacy, and from different sources such as a nursing home, a group of university students, a group of teachers, company employees from four Swiss companies unrelated to the ï ¬ nancial services sector, a group of self-employed people, participants in a course for the unemployed, and a group made up of parents. The questionnaire was designed in German. Participants were ï ¬ rst asked to give their self-assessment by answering 17 questions on their ï ¬ nancial behavioural practice or attitude towards ï ¬ nancial affairs. The response format is a ï ¬ ve-point-Likert-type scale with â€Å"absolutely† and â€Å"not at all† at the two ends of the question spectrum. Subsequently, the questionnaire contains questions concerning socio-demographic variables such as age, gender, career stage, and education[3]. The age of participants ranges from 18 to 84 years old, with 58.9 per cent between 36 and 65 years old (n  ¼ 755). The natural demographic balance of men and women is reï ¬â€šected in the sample with 49.3 per cent men (n  ¼ 632) and 50.7 per cent women (n  ¼ 650). The proportion of people with a university degree or equivalent is 46.6 per cent (n  ¼ 598), whereas 33.8 per cent participants (n  ¼ 433) obtained an apprenticeship (up to ï ¬ ve years). There are 14.5 per cent participants (n  ¼ 186) who have a high school diploma as the highest educational level, whereas 5.1 per cent participants (n  ¼ 65) have only attended secondary school. There are 10.5 per cent (n  ¼ 135) participants who were studying at a university or at another institute of higher education at the time of our survey. Methodology and results Factor analysis As the ï ¬ rst step we conducted an exploratory factor analysis, a principal component analysis, in order to determine the underlying dimensions of the ï ¬ nancial attitudes and behavioural tendencies. The chosen solution with ï ¬ ve principal components was constructed using the varimax rotation technique and can explain 53.3 per cent of the total variance. Different opinions concerning what constitut es a high loading are found in the literature, e.g. 0.3 (Gardner, 2001). Here, the rotated factor loading of 0.5 was chosen as a threshold.

Thucydides Essay -- Ancient History, Greek

In the year 426, the tensions between the oligarchs (the rich minority) and the democrats (poor majority) rose so high, that it developed into a civil war. It had begun with the democrats tricking the oligarchs in to believing that Thucydides recounts the events that took place during the civil war in Corcyra. He claims that the civil war was just the first of many within Greece. Once word spread to the rest of the country with what happened in Corcyra, many civil wars broke out between many political groups (3.82) The varying political ideas among the two main parties created even more of a division than there already was, setting the two groups into a major civil war. Thucydides explains it best in saying â€Å"civil war brought many hardships to the cities [...] and will happen always as long as human nature is the same.† (3.82) It just takes one disagreement between the oligarchs and democrats to set everything in motion. One of the major issues however, was during the civil war, the Corcyreans had nearly lost all of their human compassion and values. Throughout this paper, three of the major values that were lost during the civil war will be addressed, along with Thucydides’ reasoning as to why they were lost. One of the first values that were re-evaluated according to Thucydides was that there was a tendency to change the meanings of things to justify their actions: to give more credence to what they were doing. Thucydides mentions how â€Å"ill-considered boldness was counted as loyal manliness; prudent hesitation was held to be cowardice in disguise, and moderation merely the cloak of an unmanly nature.† (3.82) Furthermore, â€Å"a mind that could grasp the good of the whole was considered wholly lazy.† (3.82) Thucydides is s... ....84), you’re faced with a very real possibility of civil war. As we have seen, Thucydides attributes a large amount of the civil war to ones predisposed thirst for blood and savagery. Having examined three different values that were lost among the Corcyreans during the civil war, as well as Thucydides beliefs to why it happened, will provide a better understanding of human nature during ancient Greece. The civil war in Corcyra between the oligarchs and the democrats was one of the first in Greece, but it most certainly was not he last. Once word had spread throughout Greece about the events in Corcyra, many of the Greek cities had engaged in a war similar to that of the Corcyreans. In civil war, as is in any war, it promotes our most primal and aggressive desires and allows them to surface and in a time of peace, any and all aggression, is easily lost.

The Meaning and Significance of Books to Three Characters in Dai Sijie’s Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress

Ever since the first caveman delved to carve out pictures on rock, life has been changed, shaped, molded, and transformed by the magic of writing. The written word—or images, as in the case of the old caveman—as created by the combined efforts of experience and the musings of the human mind has opened doors and paths for otherwise enclosed spaces and dead ends. One may be physically alone yet feel surrounded by a wealth of friends and exotic locations brought upon by the narratives of gifted writers.The experience of reading, while often done on one’s own, has the power to strengthen and expand the mind and the mindset, allowing entry to ideas that may not have been available to the reader previously. Such was the collective effect of books on the young minds of Luo, the Little Seamstress, and The Narrator; while they were each exposed to practically the same thoughts as gleaned from the legendary writings of iconic Western authors—Balzac, in particularâ⠂¬â€their interpretations made the ultimate difference.The magic of the words spun so engagingly and in a thought-provoking manner eventually cast its spell on the specific need of each individual. While The Narrator and Luo were marked for re-education as a requisite of the Cultural Revolution, the Little Seamstress, on the other hand, was in dire need of education. The ending revealed the outcome of these goals in terms of friendship, love, life, power, and respect.II. Power and Life as Read By The Narrator Of all three characters, The Narrator achieves the traditional level of one who comprehends the nature and purpose of reading books—which is the equivalent power resulting from learning new ideas and exploring uncharted territories. Books gave him the confidence to be what he never thought he could, and do things he would have never considered.The discovery of this newfound power ironically meant new life in the midst of his training to eliminate intellectualism; thus i t was a non-negotiable fact to claim the source, even if it meant breaking into Four-Eyes’ home, or having his â€Å"body as a rallying ground for armies of lice† (Dai Sijie 71) at the miller’s. The Narrator is a boy of gentle and unassuming character, making him the perfect foil to Luo’s aggressive and devil-may-care stance, born out of his privileged background.The Narrator was of ample means as well, but Luo would outdo him in almost every aspect. The Narrator’s knowledge was the acquired taste of violin music, whereas Luo’s affinity for storytelling made him the more popular of the two. Even in their common interest in The Little Seamstress, Luo emerged as the victor. Thus when The Narrator discovered the power afforded not just by Balzac, but also of â€Å"Flaubert, Gogol, Melville, and even Romain Rolland† (Dai Sijie 119).The last author’s work, Jean-Christophe, proved to be the most significant to The Narrator; it was pe rhaps the singular theme of â€Å"one man standing up against the whole world† (Dai Sijie 119) that resonated within his own reality. The separation from his parents and the humiliation that awaited them as part of the ostracized bourgeoisie, his forced stay in Phoenix Mountain, and the rules that he had to follow may have been the factors that The Narrator believed he had to fight.At the end of the story, it was the values of love and loyalty imparted to him by the books he read that led him to act on the greatest adventure of his young life: protecting The Little Seamstress as a promise to Luo. III. Adventure and Conquest as Read by Luo The boy Luo appeared to be the most complete of all characters, specifically since his attitude and interests were simply within the conventional concept of heroes in books. A typical hero was one who exhibited exceptional courage, devoid of weakness, and saved the damsel in distress.While Luo did read the books he and The Narrator got their hands on, he was particularly fixated with the work of Balzac, the first of which was about a â€Å"French story of love and miracles† (Dai Sijie 57). With this in his arsenal, Luo proceeded to use the book’s allure to capture the heart of The Little Seamstress, his own version of a storybook princess. Clearly, Luo’s relationship with books had more to do with his goal to conquer, rather than to enrich his mind.Luo already had the gift of gab and an innate talent for spinning tales, and traveling great distances to read Balzac’s stories to The Little Seamstress was part of his concept of adventure. If heroes in novels presented jewelry and clothes to their ladies, Luo’s offering was his borrowed stories, intending to educate the girl on culture, as he was of the mind that â€Å"’she’s not civilised, at least not enough for me! ’† (Dai Sijie 27). Little did he know that his constant sharing of knowledge from Balzacâ€⠄¢s books would not only impart culture, but change the way The Little Seamstress viewed her own life and value.As an added note, it is apparent that Luo, among all the characters in the novel, did not undergo much change or progress; what he was in the beginning was the same as in the end. Again, this correlates with the narrative of a hero, who always begins and ends with the same amount of strength and bravado. IV. Freedom and Discovery as Read by The Little Seamstress The Little Seamstress, being a country girl, was the exact opposite of The Narrator and Luo; all she had to offer were her sewing skills, her sense of daughterly duty, and her exquisite beauty.The last quality had been expounded upon by The Narrator at length, her face at one time he described as â€Å"oval†¦ and the sparkle in her eyes—without doubt the loveliest pair of eyes in the district of Yong Jing, if not the entire region† (Dai Sijie 21). Being of no formal education, The Little Seamstre ss could not read, and thus relied on Luo to take her through the fascinating worlds she could not access. Her life, until the arrival of Luo and The Narrator, was dull, mundane, and repetitive—as life in the country during the Mao era was characterized.It could be assumed that her skills in sewing were simply acquired for lack of choice; her father was a tailor, and a successful one at that. Women like The Little Seamstress, hidden in the mountains and tasked to do female-oriented jobs, had little or no chance to grow intellectually; and the ban on intellectualism during this period made this even worse. Thus her attraction to Luo may not just be seen on the superficial level, but also because she saw the boy as her only source of the kind of knowledge she lacked.Ironically, it is her acquired knowledge of her celebrated beauty that allowed her to move forward and embark on a new life; by taking Balzac’s words to heart, â€Å"a woman’s beauty is a treasure bey ond price† (Dai Sijie 184), The Little Seamstress set forth to make use of the one quality she knew she had and explore opportunities that would separate her from the mechanical life she was doomed to live. Literature offered her not just the exotic locales described to her by Luo, but also the understanding that she had to be part of such a world for her new dreams to be realized.Dai Sijie’s description of her eyes as her best feature had become a metaphor for her new outlook. V. Conclusion The appropriation of books as the catalyst in the novel is more than just a technical device to introduce the idea of learning new ideas and philosophies; the more integral aspect is the environment in which they exist, a society where intellectual growth and exploration is deemed illegal and immoral. By creating this setting, the hunger for knowledge had become more palpable, and the acquisition of it, albeit secretly, became the weapons needed by the more vulnerable members.Having young people on the verge of adulthood is perfectly suited for this argument, as they are the most capable of traversing the distances of new knowledge. Ironically, books and young people do not always mix, in less restrictive circumstances; but because of the situation into which they had been forced, books became their sole ally. Clearly, the author took on a critical view of Communism and how it greatly affected China and its people; by exposing the practice of ‘re-education’, Dai Sijie put forth a believable discussion regarding the natural human need for growth, individuality, and knowledge.

African Literature and Culture - 1447 Words

African Literature and Culture: African writers’ representation of male-female relationships Analyzing male-female relationships in African literature enables a better understanding of how African writers view the gender roles including the application of religious aspects, marriage and identity, midwives and slave women, nationalism, and migration. In earlier works, the female gender was often perceived as â€Å"the Queen Mother.† Many African writers portray women in traditional roles whereas articles written in the past few decades analyze male-female relationships with a more feminist approach. This paper will analyze articles by leading African writers concerning the representation of the male-female relationship. In 1997, Jamaica†¦show more content†¦No matter the make-up of the class †¦ overwhelmingly folks want to come back as white and male. The reasons they give all confirm the race/sex hierarchy in our nation; they all simply believe they will have a better chance at success a nd at living long and well if they are white males. (Hooks 134) Most African female writers portray the male-female relationship are unequal to the female, where as male writers portray the opposite (e.g. Hook’s writing; 2004). Hooks explains the view that â€Å"wise progressive black women have understood for some time now that the most genocidal threat to black life in America, and especially to black male life, is patriarchal thinking and practice.† (Ibid) Hooks explains that â€Å"any distinction to be made between the status of black females and males†¦does not lie with a difference in the substantive nature of suffering or in the degree of life-threatening risk.† (135) An example of Hooks’ thinking is given: †¦my father never wanted Mama to work, but she understood that to ensure the educational advancement of her children she needed to bring money in. She defied him to go out and work. Working helped her self-esteem. She moved positively forward and helped us all move forward, and Dad stayed stuck, pissed that she went out to work. (136) Unlike Hooks’ peers, the inclusion of the male-female gender is an unrestrained account what life is really like for each gender, including the stereotypicalShow MoreRelatedDefinition Of African Literature879 Words   |  4 PagesAfrican literature  is defined  as  literary  works of the  African  continent.  African literature  consists of a body of work written in many languages and encompasses various genres, ranging from oral  literature  to  literature  written in colonial languages (â€Å"African Literature†). This is the dictionary definition of African literature, but African literature is far more than this. You cannot define it in two sentences because it is very complex and transcends race, culture, languages, and borders. AfricanRead MoreNew Negro Essay984 Words   |  4 PagesThe abolition of slavery in the United States presented southern African Americans with many new opportunities, including the option of relocation in search of better living conditions. 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People speak English not only in the US but all over the world, and there are many different types of English that they speak. In this article by Jack Sidnell, it explains how the African American Vernacular English (AAVE) is known as BlackRead MoreThe Harlem Renaissance s Influence And Impact1262 Words   |  6 PagesThe Harlem Renaissance s Influence and Impact The Harlem Renaissance era is known for its rich culture and being the source for many African American breakthrough artists such as Alain Locke,W.E.B DuBois, and Ethel Waters. . Whether it be the diversity of music, drama, art, or literature, it’s surely present during that period of time and still is today. Many questions about this time period include â€Å"How was Harlem life like back then?† â€Å"What is the Harlem Renaissance?†, and â€Å"How did itRead MoreVoices Of Freedom : Slavery s Impact On African American Literature1204 Words   |  5 Pages Voices of Freedom: Slavery’s impact on African American Literature In the early to mid-nineteenth century, America found itself divided over the issue of slavery. The culture, traditions, and economy of southern states depended heavily on slave labor, while the northern states opposed the institution of slavery. Even though the slave trade was declared illegal in the early nineteenth century, slavery itself was not illegalized until more than a half century later. Abolitionists used powerful