Back to CourseSmart. When reading the book online it doesn't highlight very well. I find it difficult to highlight on my laptop, it wants to highlight in another column or not at all. I'm finding it to be a real problem. Saving the book to read offline is a joke too. If I wanted to make things more difficult for students to read their e-book I don't think I could have planned it any better than CourseSmart did. What a joke!
Anyway, here's my paper on Subcultures.
Subcultures
Subcultures are groups of people
that have different ways of looking at things. They can come together because
of a common occupation or an activity they have in common. These subcultures
develop their own talk. They have their own norms, values and gestures.
In Pierre I’m familiar with three
subcultures, Alcoholics Anonymous, Bikers, and Ham Radio Operators. In Alcoholics Anonymous it’s the devoted
members who make up the subculture. They use sayings such as, “One Day at A
Time”, “Live and Let Live” and “First Things First”. Newcomers may not understand what they mean. Also, AA members have their own common
values. They value sobriety and freedom from alcohol. They also value honesty,
service, humility and the coins they receive for their length of sobriety. A norm in AA is their personal introduction.
They do it by first name only and then say they are an alcoholic. A gesture in AA
is for new comers to receive a beginners chip and for members to receive chips
at significant anniversaries in their sobriety.
I’m a Ham Radio Operator and know
the subculture well. They have abbreviations for phrases when they speak on the
radio called “Q” signals. QTH is a person’s location, QRN is trouble with noise
and QRT is to stop sending or speaking. Hams value their radios, antennas and
the technical knowledge to use them effectively. They also value radio
communications over other forms. In an emergency or disaster they know they can
communicate with the outside. One norm
for Hams is to have radios and antennas on their vehicles. You may notice large
antennas sticking above a vehicle on the highway. That could be a Ham. A
gesture used in CW (Morse code) operation is for the last operator signing off
to give a “dit dit” with the CW key. That just signifies that he or she heard
the last transmission of the other operator.
I also happen to ride a motorcycle
and have recognized the biker subculture for years. The clothes they wear are a
good example of how they differ. Black leather jackets and chaps are used for
riding, especially long distances. Bandannas, riding gloves and custom boots
are the norm. They also have biker rallies to come together and have fun. At a rally they break or bend the norms of
mainstream culture. It could be
considered a moral holiday as with Mardi Gras.
Bikers value their motorcycles and riding. They also have a unique gesture
they use when riding. As two bikers pass each other in opposite directions they
stick their left hand out. It’s usually with the index finger sticking out and
the other four fingers closed.
Each of the above subcultures is
well known and people, like me, sometimes belong to more than one subculture at
a time. We live in a pluralistic society, made up of many different groups.
