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CONCEPTS OF PRIVACY.
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Compares American & Asian beliefs. Natural rights & positive rights. Ideas & importance of privacy in U.S. , Japan, China, Korea.... More...
5 Pages / 1125 Words
6 sources, 6 Citations, MLA Format
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Paper Abstract:
Compares American & Asian beliefs. Natural rights & positive rights. Ideas & importance of privacy in U.S. , Japan, China, Korea.

Paper Introduction:
Privacy is a conception that is much under discussion in America today because of the perception that we are losing much of our privacy in an age of computer surveillance and intrusion. The concept of privacy might seem a simple one to most of us, but in fact the very idea of privacy is viewed in different ways in different cultures, some of which do not even have the concept of privacy at all. Most Western nations share our general idea of privacy, as can be seen in the fact that the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which embodies a conception of human rights, includes a provision regarding privacy. There are differing conceptions of what human rights are and how they can or cannot be protected. Much of the history of the discussion of rights as described by Cranston shows that there has been a

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An example is the tendency for complex family andkinships structures to weaken or break down and be replaced by structurallysimpler two-generation, nuclear families. There are different definitions of privacy even within our culture.Social and behavioral scientists offering differing definitions of privacy. B. South Korea: a country study. "Privacy in the Family: Its Hierarchical and Asymmetric Nature." Journal of Comparative Family Studies (Winter 2 ), 1-25. If solitude implies a boundarybetween the self and outsiders with which to maintain space for self-evaluation free from interference, then there is a conception of privacyeven if there is no such word. Works CitedCranston, Maurice. New York: Basic Books, 1962.Leppert, Paul. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Based on the four elementscited by Westin, the Chinese show that they place high value on three ofthe four: solitude, reserve, and intimacy. Your Korean will empathize with you if you tell him that meeting his terms would cause you to lose face (Leppert 76).The very idea of "face" suggests a social ordination unlike our emphasis onprivacy and individuality. But contemporary Japanese find the word useful, which indicates that the value system has changed and the concept of privacy is now more respected (Tamura and Lau 323).This shows not only how a different culture may lack the concept of privacybut also how cultures change over time, perhaps because of contact withother cultures, perhaps for some other reason. "Family Therapy to Japanese FamiliesConnectedness vs. In fact, the conception of privacy in China is different from its Western counterpart because, in the West, privacy is defined individually or socially in relation to the individual's affiliation with various groups, and the intimacy between members of a particular group is a product of the specificity of the group itself . TheChinese also do not have a word for "privacy," but this does not mean theydo not have the conception in a different form. Shaw. The affect associated with a desire for privacy, the definition of privacy as a condition of the person, the duration of the average privacy experience, and the change in affect at the completion of the experience suggested that privacy has a therapeutic effect (Doherty). Westin, further states that privacy has four functions: itenables the individual to achieve (1) personal autonomy, (2) emotionalrelease, (3) self-evaluation, and (4) limited and protected communication.Another view is offered by Altman, who suggests that privacy exists insocial units composed of combinations of individuals and groups, meaningthat privacy is a question of the permeability of boundaries betweenoneself and others. . Chula Vista, California: Patton Pacific Press, 1987.Newell, P. Differences emerge when Americans and Asians do business. & W. What Are Human Rights? Finally, there has been an increasing tendency for theindividual's location and personal associations to be more transitory thanin the past when they were permanent and lifelong (Savada and Shaw 1 3).Such shifts may increase the demand for privacy as we know it in thefuture. China is another Asian country with a different idea of privacy. American"frankness" is a barrier, since Asians translate frankness as rudeness.Understanding and trust are best established through obliquecommunications: In Korea you must never make your counterpart "lose face" by putting him on the spot. Yet, in a documentlike the Universal Declaration, positivist assertions are made for naturalrights, offering moral statements requiring that natural rights be upheld.Cranston notes that in the early articles of the Universal Declaration, thelanguage is the language of the old natural rights tradition: The rights to life, liberty, property, equality, justice, and the pursuit of happiness are spelled out in twenty articles, which name, among other things, the right to freedom of movement; the right to own property alone as well as in association with others; the right to marry; the right to equality before the law and to a fair trial if accused of any crime; the right to privacy; the right to religious freedom; the right to free speech and peaceful assembly; the right to asylum. In this conception, individuals contact othersselectively, and the individual's perception of privacy develops from hisor her ability to regulate the flow of information efficiently, withoutinterference from the outside (Ying-Keung 1-2). Among the institutions outlawed are slavery, torture, and arbitrary detention (Cranston 33). For instance, while the traditional family in Korea has held swayfor centuries, in recent years there has been an increase in the departurefrom that tradition. They often convey concepts which are not valued in the other culture. Much of the history of thediscussion of rights as described by Cranston shows that there has been abattle between supporters of natural rights and supporters of positiverights, as if the two had to be mutually exclusive. Privacy in English is such a word . . Ying-Keung cites Liang as to the particular importance of family inChinese culture, emphasizing the special "love" between father and sons.Liang considers this love to be a supreme state of intimacy in which theindividual places the care of the father/son above his/her own: Liang's view on the relations between individuals and the family in Chinese tradition helps to explain why in Chinese culture; privacy may be defined by the family boundary, by differentiating family members from other people. There are differing conceptions of what human rightsare and how they can or cannot be protected. Another trend noted in recentyears has been the movement toward equality in family relations and theresulting improvement in the status of women. The concept of privacymight seem a simple one to most of us, but in fact the very idea of privacyis viewed in different ways in different cultures, some of which do noteven have the concept of privacy at all. This may change as other social institutionschange. Most discussions of privacytend to focus on the visible and invisible boundaries between individuals.Westin proposes four states of privacy which include: (1) solitude--thestate of being alone and unobserved; (2) intimacy--the establishment ofintimate relations with others, across various small social units; (3)anonymity--the capability to remain unrecognized in public; and (4) reserve--the ability to protect personal information and to maintain psychologicalbarriers. Most Western nations share our general idea of privacy, as can beseen in the fact that the United Nations Universal Declaration of HumanRights, which embodies a conception of human rights, includes a provisionregarding privacy. Separateness: Applicability of Family Therapy to Japanese Families." Family Process 31(4)(1992), 319-34 .Ying-Keung Chan. Some define it in terms of the individual's ability to withdraw fromunwanted interactions, while others refer to the subject's ability to avoidpublic disclosure of personal information. "A Cross-cultural Comparison of Privacy Definitions and Functions: A Systems Approach." Journal of Environmental Psychology, 18 (1998), 357-371.Savada, A.M. in traditional Chinese culture, because of the asymmetric characteristics of the "king-vassal", "father- son", "husband-wife" relationships, the reciprocity of the input- output process is seldom taken for granted (Ying-Keung 5). . Government Printing Office, 199 .Tamura, Takeshi and Annie Lau. The fact [that the] Japanese did not talk about privacy indicates it was not a valued idea. Newell conducted a cross-cultural study of privacy and found that themajority of students (aged 17-45) from Ireland, Senegal, and the UnitedStates believed that not being disturbed was the most important element ofprivacy: Fatigue and the need to focus were the main affective sets associated with seeking privacy. Privacy is a conception that is much under discussion in Americatoday because of the perception that we are losing much of our privacy inan age of computer surveillance and intrusion. But you can also make this concept work for you. A third trend noted has beena movement away from lineage- and neighborhood-based social relationstoward functionally based relations, which means that people in the citiesno longer work among their relatives or neighbors in the fields or onfishing boats but instead work among unrelated people in factories, shops,and offices. Doing Business with the Koreans. In a discussion of family therapy in Japan, the authors note, There are some conceptual words in English and Japanese which do not have an equivalent translation and have to be expressed in round about ways. .

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