“Community: “Sharing One Skin”

By Jeannette Armstrong (Okanagan)

With the Okanagan tribe, one member within the community goes into depth of what “community,” is, what makes us human, and what the words “sharing one skin,” really means. First and foremost, Armstrong mentions the importance of introduction as a Native American individual; her point stands strong once she mentions who she is and where she comes from. Armstrong provides the opportunity for readers to learn more about what her tribe believes in, and shares lots of similarities between the many Indigenous tribes across the world. With that in mind, she also mentions what exactly makes the Okanagan. . .well, Okanagan. There’s the physical self, emotional self, thinking-intellectual self, and the spiritual self which are all equally important when speaking in terms of what makes an individual human. Throughout the article, she provides translations behind many words in the Okanagan language, but most times, she also shares that most aren’t exact translations, considering that what’s spoken in the Okanagan language is more so of a “lingo,” when it comes to those particular menacing behind these words.

Armstrong, Jeannette. “Community: ‘Sharing One Skin’”. Paradigm Wars: Indigenous Peoples’ Resistance to Globalization. Sierra Club Books. 2006. Print. Pg 35-39.

“Native American Identity”

by Perry G. Horse (Kiowa)

The overall summary of the article speaks in terms of what “Native American identity” is. With that in mind there are 2-3 different terms used to describe what being an Indigenous person is in America, however, it’s also based on personal preference. There’s American Indian, Native American, and Indian. There are a total of 6 passages in the article speaking about how the terms “American Indian” as well as “Native American,” are used based on those topics/questions which include the following: Ethnic Nomenclature, Racial Attitudes, Legal and Political Status, Cultural Change, Personal Sensibility, “What Are You Anyway?, “Summary,” and Recommendations. Horse provides information on how we can use either terms based on how Indigenous Peoples are with the environment of the social status as well as how they react to the statement “white privilege.”

Horse, Perry G. “Native American Identity”. Serving Native American Students: New Directions for Students Services, Number 109. Wiley. 2005. Print. Pg. 61-67.

Economic Schools of Thought: Crash Course Economics #14

YouTube Video

Some key points described in the economy, throughout the video, include Communism, Capitalism, Group Behaviors, and Keynesian Economics. The history of the Great Depression in America is also mentioned, and how much of an impact it has made towards nearly every single person throughout the course of its occurrence. With that in mind it also describes some terms like Socialism (system where the means of producing and distributing goods is owned collectively or by a centralized government), and Monetarism (the focus on price stability, money supply increase, gradual growth of money and how to control it). People who’ve brought up ideas of how the economy should be are also brought up into discussion. People like Thomas Malthus whose idea was that "the world would die of hunger due to the population," who was wrong, and Charles Darwin Scholar who had the idea that "providing aid to the poor and social programs are immoral," who was, since then, also proven wrong.

“Economic Schools of Thought: Crash Course Economics #14.” YouTube, uploaded by CrashCourse, 6 November 2015, https://youtu.be/tZvjh1dxz08.

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An Integrated Review and Synthesis From a Psychological Perspective

by Xijing Wang and Zhangsheng Chen

Behaviors are constantly changing when there is a change of environment or a certain object involved. In this case, this scholarly article “An Integrated Review and Synthesis From a Psychological Perspective” written by Xijing Wang and Zhangsheng Chen takes the approach of a literature and emotional perspective on how money can affect a person in different situations. Majority of the time it takes a negative turn since money has a lot to do with the fact that it can reveal power, wealth, strength, and a boost of an individual’s self esteem. From there it has been proven that money can lead to competitiveness, individualism, and leaning more towards making a decision for themselves, selfishness, when presented in front of money. Past tests have been conducted to reveal a person’s behavior when it comes to money and how they precisely change based on the situation they’re in. Some of the time there are some cases where money can create positive change. For one it can boost self-esteem, as stated before, it can create a feeling of empathy and sympathy speaking in terms of helping others, such as the homeless.

Wang, Xijing, et al. “Money: An Integrated Review and Synthesis From a Psychological Perspective.” Review of General Psychology, vol. 24, no. 2, June 2020, pp. 172–190, doi:10.1177/1089268020905316.

Pandemic Leads to Shift in Teens Spending Habits

by Elise Preston

Teens across the nation, specifically Gen Z, have heavily contributed to the economy when it comes to their shopping habits that have been implemented for a while until the pandemic of Covid-19 hit. Many of the businesses have had a difficult time trying to gain more customers considering that many people have been staying home to avoid catching the sickness. To be more specific, Gen Z’s spending habits “was at the lowest we’ve seen in two decades,” as stated by Erinn Murphy who is a PIper Sandler Senior Research Analyst. Many companies have had a drop in percentages when it comes to people spending money on their products. “Spending on cosmetics dropped 20%, and apparel was down 11%, with Nike as the number one brand,” says Preston describing the changes that have occurred in businesses since the pandemic occurred. More teens have driven to shop online rather than person as well which has contributed to the drops in percentages in spending money on products. Despite these positive changes for teens, it’s not so great from the perspective of the economy. In fact the economy has worsened since the pandemic began.

Preston, Elise. “Pandemic Leads to Shift in Teens' Spending Habits.” KRQE NEWS 13 - Breaking News, Albuquerque News, New Mexico News, Weather, and Videos, Nexstar Media Inc., 3 Nov. 2020, https://www.krqe.com/news/business/pandemic-leads-to-shift-in-teens-spending-habits.

Understanding the Psychology of Why People Buy: Behavioral Economics

by Melina Palmer

The podcast “Understanding the Psychology of Why People Buy: Behavioral Economics” by Melina Palmer, who has a strong expertise within the field of economics, speaks from the perspective of a person who’s running a business. This gives more of an insight into specifically what could help gain more consumers to buy more products from “trending topics” or looking at different perspectives, meaning many other businesses, to gain a different approach on how an individual can showcase their products. Palmer also speaks heavily on “brain biases” and how it can affect the outcomes of your decisions when it comes to trying to showcase a product for people. She makes it a point to, “stop letting those biases get in your way,” and to not fear success as well as failure since they “work together”. Palmer then brings up three different topics that drive people to buy; Availability, familiarity, and social proof bias. Social proof, as Palmer describes it, is “humans looking to others to determine their course of action,” meaning to look for credible sources when showcasing products. She also claims that “wisdom of an expert matters,” which helps people to learn to trust your brand. Familiarity bias, in short, is the fact that “humans like things they’ve heard about before.” So in other words, because they are more familiar, they then tend to like certain brands more. Last but not least is availability bias. What that is humans thinking of a certain situation happening constantly before making a decision. To be more precise Palmer brings up an example of an individual constantly experiencing floods around them, but not exactly happening to them, and from that they then purchase flood insurance. However the floods stop occurring for a while, and the individual feels safe enough to then revoke their insurance only to experience a flood directly right after.

Palmer, Melina. “Understanding the Psychology of Why People Buy: Behavioral Economics.” The Brainy Business, Player FM, Oct. 2021, https://player.fm/series/the-brainy-business-understanding-the-psychology-of-why-people-buy-behavioral-economics.

How Values of Individualism and Collectivism Influence Impulsive Buying and Money Budgeting: The Mediating Role of Acculturation To Global Consumer Culture

By: Barbara Czarnecka, Bruno Schivinski, and Serep Keles

Global consumer culture (GCC) which is “the globalization of consumers’ wants and desires, and the search for, and construction of, the individual concept of ‘self’ through material symbols such as global brands. . .understood by consumers around the world”. (Czarnecka, Schivinski, Keles, 3), as well as acculturation to global consumer culture (AGCC), “how individuals acquire the knowledge, skills, and behaviors that are characteristic of a nascent and de-terriolized global consumer culture,” (Czarnecka, Schivinski, Keles ) play a large role when defining what creates an individual in terms of their habits, and overall personality when involving the economy. There are also a total of 4 categories that associate with GCC and AGCC as well as “vertical/horizontal individualism-collectivism” (Czarnecka, Schivinski, Keles, 5) which include the following: Horizontal Individualism, Vertical Individualism, Horizontal Collectivism, and Vertical Collectivism. Horizontal/Vertical individualism values the idea of ‘self’ as well as the fact there’s a tendency to have competition and a desire to be unique. As for Horizontal/Vertical Collectivism it highly involves groups as well as a shared similar interest towards something. In other words, there’s constant support within such groups.

Czarnecka, Barbara, et al. “How Values of Individualism and Collectivism Influence Impulsive Buying and Money Budgeting: The Mediating Role of Acculturation to Global Consumer Culture.” Wiley Online Library. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. 29 June 2020. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/cb.1833.

“How Has Globalization Benefited the Poor?”

By Nina Pavcnik

When speaking of globalization for those who fall within the community of poverty, trade plays a significant role when speaking in terms of globalization having a positive impact on those who struggle financially. As stated by Pavcnik, “we have no evidence that trade leads to increases in poverty, and declines in growth. Pavcnki also further explains that many countries and communities all across the world “tend to grow,” and “living standards tend to increase”. However there also has been an increase of inequality amongst those who are and aren’t educated, although there is inequality, it doesn't necessarily affect the positive impact that globalization has made on those who are poor. The impact of globalization also highly depends on the area that one may live in, in which cases, “you can see how the result depends on the underlying structure of the economy prior to trade liberalization,” as stated by Pavcnik after explaining how Vietnam had a high demand for rice which benefited those who worked on farmlands. It’s also only possible to commit to the act of trade when there’s “political and economic stability”. With that in mind, if there’s globalization involved within a country or place, there are more job opportunities that open, and with more job opportunities leads to more employment, thus creating an increase of benefits for the poor.

Pavcnik, Nina. “How Has Globalization Benefited the Poor?” Yale Insights. Yale School of Management. 28 Apr. 2009. https://insights.som.yale.edu/insights/how-has-globalization-benefited-the-poor.

“Poverty is a Form of Violence” - International Women’s Day with Women’s Work Campaigner Reema Nanavaty

Women constantly experience inequality throughout the majority of the world no matter what it is they do, and in order to gain recognition for what they do, they have to earn respect within the world in order to finally pursue what they do. This all connects to the fact that because of this sort of factor practiced throughout the entirety of workforces, there’s always a “lack of level playing field for women in work,” says Rajes Mirchandani. Now this all unfortunately leads to poverty, as women, “in the labor force are in the informal sector,” says Reema Nanavasty, who is the Secretary General of SEWA (Self-Employed Women’s Association) located in India, meaning that the salary they receive doesn’t reach up to par with the work they do. However, there’s still a sign of empowerment that can be made by a woman, and with that comes confidence and their ability to voice their opinions without feeling the fear of being spoken against, as they are attempting to create a better world for women. This then creates leadership, and with leadership comes the “integrating approach to the poor”. When concluding the podcast, Nanavasty shares a final word of advice as summarized by Mirchandani. “The solution, as Nanavaty says, “is less about outlawing gender discrimination and more about recognizing and supporting the skills traditionally passed down through women as official and profitable forms of work”.

Mirchandani, Rajesh. “‘Poverty Is a Form of Violence’ – International Women's Day Podcast with Women's Work Campaigner Reema Nanavaty.” Center For Global Development, Center For Global Development, 2 Feb. 2022, https://www.cgdev.org/blog/poverty-form-violence-international-womens-day-podcast-reema-nanavaty#.