American Heritage Dictionary defines culture as “The totality of socially transmitted behavior patterns, arts, beliefs, institutions, and all other products of human work and thought.” (That is of course only one of a dozen meanings of the word.) Thus, culture entails all that makes a country or group of people unique.

The United States has historically been isolationist when it comes to learning other cultures. This is understandable. After all, it is surrounded on two sides by oceans, and on a third by neighbors whose culture is virtually the same. In contrast, countries in Europe might border others with diverse cultures and languages. There it is closer and faster to get to a vastly different culture than it is to travel a few hours through the US. The young people mentioned above were introduced to a very different culture. But this cultural inoculation would probably have only a limited impact on their lives when they had once again acclimated to home. As global communication shrinks the world, it might be well to consider full immersion in another culture as a desirable part of personal growth. But how?

Few people can afford to spend extended time as travelers, visiting places off the tourist guide. Of course, one can learn superficial information about a country from books or the Internet. Some adventuresome students have taken a year off of college to visit other countries. To pay their way, they knock on a door and promise an evening of information about their home in return for a bed and breakfast.

Consider two more realistic methods of seeing other cultures firsthand. For those who have not yet gotten a college degree, how about cross-cultural learning through investing a semester or two in a university abroad? Many such opportunities are available and, in fact, many colleges and universities have student exchange programs. For those who have already earned a teaching certification, consider cross-cultural teaching. Again, opportunities abound and schools all over the world are eager to hire qualified teachers from the west. Such an opportunity is not only perfect to truly learn another culture, but, in addition, the teacher is paid for this education!

Why be content limited to the way of life your culture has given you? Consider extending your horizons through a cross-cultural adventure like international teaching. What steps could you take to make this happen? International jobs are available now. Visit http://www.nics.org/openings.php for more information.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Paul_Peters

Psychology as a scientific study has the pathology-driven Western medical model at its foundation, overlaid by the values of ancient Greece, such as individuation, self-control, and self-efficacy. The cultures of Asia have at their core the values of ancient China, such as hierarchy, moral development, achievement, and social responsibility, and a non-dualistic medical system that is based on principles of balance and harmony. Some, such as Richard Nisbett in The Geography of Thought,argue that these phenomenally diverse core systems result in very different processes of cognition. In the West, cognitive process is one of logic, critical analysis, and direct, rational thought, in which the universe is conceptualized as the sum of its parts which can further be categorized, and is generally termed Analytic Cognition. In the East, cognition is abstract, paradoxical, circular and indirect, the universe a web of infinite connections; this is known as Holistic Cognition. If cognition and constructs of illness are phenomenally different, how can the same model for human behavior and development adequately apply to both?

One’s sense of self is also quite differently defined in these two disparate regions of the world: either sociocentric or egocentric. In the former, which describes the cultures in Asia, one’s concept of self is formed within the social context, and defined by it at any given moment; a sense of selfhood requires social connectedness. In the Western world, the egocentric model is dominant; each person’s sense of self is considered autonomous and unique, individuated, and largely consistent regardless of context. Thus, while a primary goal of psychology in Western society is one of self-development, in an Asian setting it would be one of self-transcendence toward enlightenment.

The process of psychotherapy depends upon the orientation of the individual. In Western societies, this is one of dispositionism, in which the internal disposition of the person is the primary consideration. In the East, however, the orientation is one of interactionism, in which the presence of complex causalities is assumed and the focus is on relationships and reactions between persons or the person and the surrounding environment. Of course, neither of these orientations stands alone, but both are present in each setting; however, one takes clear precedent over the other. In each, the approach of psychotherapy would be rather obviously different, in focusing either on internal processes such as self-esteem or internal locus of control, or on relationships, methods and patterns of relating, and one’s place in the grand scheme of society.

Creativity is another area in which these regions of the world differ greatly. While novelty isn’t well suited to Eastern cultures, and can feel threatening to the overall social cohesiveness, it’s inherent in Western modes of thinking and behavior, and deemed crucial to problem-solving. In the West, time and one’s developmental processes are conceived of as linear and finite with a beginning and an end; thus, innovation and breaking with tradition are required to effect change, and to grow. In the East, however, development consists of successive reconfigurations and is dynamic, involving reinterpretation and new uses of tradition rather than a break with it. The spiral, not the line, is a more accurate image of progress, whether personal or societal. Creativity is both a by-product and a necessary component of the former model, while of minimal use in the latter.

It’s often said that psychology with its concepts of mental illness and health is, or was until recently, taboo in Asian cultures, and the mentally ill stigmatized and marginalized as a source of family shame. While the latter has been true at one time or another in all societies, East and West, it’s an oversimplification of the Eastern conception of health. In classical Chinese medicine, which springs primarily from Taoism with influences of Buddhism and Confucianism, health is inclusive of all aspects – physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, and social – and conceived of as a state of harmony and balance, illnesses termed as ‘patterns of disharmony’. These patterns include symptoms from all aspects of the person. Never having adopted a Cartesian duality of mind and body, Asian cultures thus never conceived of mental illness as a distinction. This too represents a profound dissonance in the Eastern and Western conceptions of and treatment approaches for mental health. Further, various Asian philosophies view the universe, and the person as a microcosm of same, as being in a continual process of change and impermanence, while Western psychology deems the self and the personality to be largely fixed at an early age, with a sense of continuity throughout one’s life.

As the Western, largely American, model of mental health and illness has made its way to Asia, scholars have begun questioning its universal applicability. Geoffrey Blowers, an assistant dean of psychology at Hong Kong University, is one who has written and presented on this subject. Some Asian models of psychology have emerged, based upon the philosophical constructs which have strongly influenced Asian societies and individual psyches. One such example is Buddhist psychology, developed primarily in Japan and other parts of Asia. It differs profoundly from that of the West in several ways, notably in lacking a fixed concept of self but rather one in a constant state of flux; the path to enlightenment is transpersonal, one of moving beyond a sense of personhood and of the self. Some aspects of Buddhism, in particular the concept and practice of “mindfulness”, have been widely adopted within Western psychotherapeutic practices as well. Hybrid models of psychology are also being attempted, and one promising model is Chinese Taoist Cognitive Psychology. Mental health as viewed from a Taoist perspective, another of the pillars of Asian mentality, include a transcendence from self and secularity, the dynamic revertism of nature, integration with the law of nature, and ultimately a high level of transformation and transcendence.

In contrast, a recent article in the New York Times, “The Americanization of Mental Illness” [08 January 2010], identified growing trends in Asia toward not only the Western model of conceptualizing, diagnosing, and treating mental illnesses, but in the incidence of the disease patterns themselves. As an example, eating disorders were unheard of in Asia until recently, and are now fast on the rise, as are schizophrenia and several personality disorders. The concepts behind these disorders are very much a product of Western cultural values and beliefs, yet are appearing now throughout Asia. While mental disorders as conceived of in the West were largely somatized in Asian cultures, this is changing rapidly. And, with increased exposure not only to Western ideals but conceptualizations of mental illness, the manifestation of such illnesses is undergoing substantial change. Along with this, an increasing dependence not only on a pathological model but on pharmacological treatment is widely seen. A growing body of scholars protests this trend, arguing that mental health and illness have never been conceived of in the same way throughout cultures, and that this represents profound cultural alteration.

The argument can be made that science, in the form of western psychology just as in western forms of medicine before it, has made great progress in understanding human illness and treatment. Thus, a conclusion might be drawn that Asian societies would do well to adopt these methods. But a simple adoption of a system which is in many ways antithetical to that of the culture is inadequate at best. It can equally be said that Eastern philosophical systems have contributed greatly to the understanding of human behavior and, in particular, to that of consciousness. More consideration, and more care in its application, is needed, with great cultural sensitivity, and an integration of models is an obvious outcome.

Dr Anne Hilty is an health psychologist with a transpersonal orientation; she has a clinical practice in integrative psychotherapy which is additionally influenced by classical Chinese medicine, somatic psychology, and Asian shamanic traditions. Located in the Central district of Hong Kong, she can be contacted at: annehilty at gmail dot com.

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Problem: Rapid pH shift in medium

Possible Causes:

1. Incorrect carbon dioxide (CO2) tension

Action: Increase or decrease percentage of CO2 in the incubator based on concentration of sodium bicarbonate in medium. For sodium bicarbonate concentrations of 2.0 to 3.7 g/L, use CO2 amounts of 5% to 10%, respectively. Switch to CO2-Independent Medium.

2. Overly tight caps on tissue culture flasks

Action: Loosen caps one-quarter turn.

3. Insufficient bicarbonate buffering

Action: Add HEPES buffer to a final concentration of 10 to 25 mM.

4. Incorrect salts in medium

Action: Use an Earle’s salts-based medium in a CO2 environment and a Hanks’ salts-based medium in atmospheric conditions.

5. Bacterial, yeast, or fungal contamination

Action: Discard culture and medium or try to decontaminate culture.

Problem: Precipitate in medium, no change in pH

Possible Causes:

1. Residual phosphate left over from detergent washing, which may precipitate powdered medium components

Action: Rinse glassware in deionized, distilled water several times, then sterilize.

2. Frozen medium

Action: Warm medium to 37°C and swirl to dissolve. If precipitate remains, discard medium.

Problem: Precipitate in medium, change in pH

Possible Causes:

1. Bacterial or fungal contamination

Action: Discard medium or try to decontaminate culture.

Problem: Cells not adhering to culture vessel

Possible Causes:

1. Overly trypsinized cells

Action: Trypsinize for a shorter time, or use less trypsin.

2. Mycoplasma contamination

Action: Segregate culture and test for mycoplasma infection. Clean hood and incubator. If culture is contaminated, discard.

3. No attachment factors in medium

Action: For serum-free formulations, be sure they contain attachment factors.

Problem: Decreased growth of culture

Possible Causes:

1. Change in your current cell culture medium, fetal bovine serum or other sera

Action: Compare media formulations for differences in glucose, amino acids, and other components.

Action: Compare the old lot of serum with the new lot in a growth experiment.

Action: Increase initial cell inoculum.

Action: Adapt cells sequentially to new medium.

Invitrogen provides solutions for your animal cell, stem cell and primary cell culture needs with GIBCO cell culture media, fetal bovine serum and more.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=J_Jell

A culture may be ordered by a doctor when the patient seems to be having sepsis symptoms indicating that yeast, bacteria or other by-products that are toxic are causing the body harm. The patient with sepsis shows the following symptoms:

* Fever with chills
* Rapid heartbeat and breathing
* Nausea
* A degree of confusion
* Less/decreased output of urine

Other symptoms that are more severe in nature may also include body inflammation and the formation of small blood clots in the tiniest of blood vessels. Furthermore, body organs may stop functioning and there could be a drop in the patient’s blood pressure that could be dangerous.

It is therefore obvious that these cultures should be drawn when there are apparent symptoms. It is important to know that if a person has had a surgical procedure, recent infection, a replacement of a heart valve or any immune-suppressive therapy, then the individual is definitely at a much higher risk of systemic infection. Doctors usually draw blood cultures in young children and newborns that have infection even though they do not show the typical symptoms of sepsis.

Test results of blood cultures will tell you if the patient needs to be immediately treated in a hospital. If the culture results are positive then it shows that the individual has a yeast or bacterial infection in the blood steam and needs to be treated at once. It is also important to note that sepsis is life threatening if it is diagnosed in immune-compromised patients. Doctors who are treating such patients start them on broad spectrum intravenous antibiotics to combat the bacteria.

Skin contamination could also cause a “false positive” result. If two results are positive with the same yeast and bacteria then it could be that the blood culture micro-organism is the cause of the infection. In case a blood culture set is negative while another set is positive, then it is due to a contamination or infection.

If an individual has sepsis due to yeasts or bacteria that is low, then the culture results will be reported as “negative” or “no growth”. However, in case there is a persistent symptom like a fever that does not recede then there has to be extra testing. Symptoms that persist even if the blood culture results are negative are due to:

Certain microorganisms find growth difficult in culture and thus the use of specific nutrient media has to be carried out for pathogen identification.

If a blood culture bottle that is designed for bacteria growth is used then viruses can’t be detected. In case there is a suspicion of a viral infection being the reason for the patient’s symptoms then laboratory tests should also be performed.

When yeasts or bacteria spread throughout a person’s body then the person has sepsis and experiences various symptoms. The person’s immune system struggles to fight and overcome the said infection and in turn produces factors to battle against the infection. This too can cause a person to feel sick.

Take a look at other targeted resources about blood culture system products as well as blood culture applications.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Andrew_K_Long

Practically, at a personal level, cultural competence is the ability to interact comfortably, and communicate effectively, with people from a wide range of ethnic/cultural and linguistic backgrounds, some of whom may look and/or sound seriously different from you.

At an organizational level, cultural competence requires policies and systems that support and facilitate individual cultural competence.

At both levels, cultural competence is an ongoing process. There is no final destination to reach. Values, skills and knowledge will, ideally, just continue to grow.

The individual’s journey

There is a range of personal qualities or values that are regularly associated with cultural competence: curiosity, empathy, kindness, humour, persistence, patience, courage, humility, sensitivity. Some people have these naturally, and some people have to work hard to develop them.

Sometimes items of knowledge assist in the development of these qualities. When I have finished a training segment which explores how difficult it is for some adults to acquire a second language, Anglo-Australian participants have said to me that they are going to be much more patient in future with people who are struggling with English, or that they feel much more motivated to offer/arrange a professional interpreter.

Detailed information about the migration/refugee experience can have a similar effect. Many Anglo-Australians have never really ‘heard’ the intensity of the suffering and fear, and when they do, their empathy (sensitivity, patience) is greatly expanded.

The skills associated with cultural competence are not difficult to learn, once you have the values: the ability to listen carefully and to really hear; the ability to ask the right questions at the right time; the ability to organize, and communicate effectively through, a professional interpreter. One of the most daunting skills to develop if you don’t have it naturally is the ability to decipher English through an unfamiliar accent. Even this can be improved.

The good news is that cultural competence can be learned, and the learning process is exceptionally enriching. Further good news is that you don’t have to know everything about all the cultures in Queensland to be culturally competent. That would be impossible in any case (226 birthplaces? and 220 languages?).Good will, and knowing the right questions to ask, will take you far.

And good cross-cultural training will provide invaluable support and direction for this most fascinating and addictive adventure into the world of cultural and linguistic diversity.

Margaret Bornhorst is a cross-cultural trainer, in Queensland Australia. She invites you to join the cross-cultural research community and benefit from website research carried out by Margaret Bornhorst and Ann E Oliveri. Subscription is free and you can unsubscribe at any time. In addition, subscribers are eligible to nominate themselves or a friend/colleague to attend one of a number of program places to be allocated each month at an 78% discount to the normal price. For details, please visit http://www.mbcross-cultural.com.au.

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The purpose of this article is to show how bullying and other antisocial behaviors at school are preventable by looking at school culture and climate.

There are quite a variety of classroom and school-wide “stop bullying” programs and materials. These programs are useful for raising awareness and providing new skills for students, yet many ignore deeper, necessary improvements to actually prevent antisocial behaviors at school.

The goal of this article is to go a little deeper and look at some fine tuning of school climate and culture as a means to lasting change.

What is School Culture?

School culture is a model or a mindset by which actions are taken in the district, building or classroom. This model of action is based on the past experiences within the district. Thus, new employees or new students become indoctrinated into the culture, learning “how we do things around here.” This is the nature of any culture and explains why it is so pervasive, yet hard to see. It just seems like the right way to do things.

Any school’s culture can be observed in at least three contexts 1) the design and maintenance of physical spaces, 2) the values expressed (either intentionally or unintentionally) by the adults at school and 3) the beliefs that are taken for granted about human nature.

It is difficult to say any part of the school’s culture is good or bad but some elements can contribute to or reinforce antisocial behavior. For example, cramped physical spaces with too many students are ideally designed for bullying behavior. The target can’t escape and the bullier can go unnoticed.

Teachers who turn their back on antisocial behavior or simply stay in their rooms while trouble is outside the door express – probably unintentionally – a value about how students should be treated in this school.

What is School Climate?

Although there is not a consensus on the meaning of school climate many definitions focus on the “feel” of school and the human/social atmosphere. There are four components commonly discussed in regard to climate: 1) physical environment, 2) social environment, 3) affective environment and 4) academic environment.

Like culture, climate can influence or may actually be the root cause of antisocial behavior, like bullying. Each of the four components below can either hinder or help. Problems that can foster bullying are…

o A physical environment that is overcrowded, certain places hidden from view and congregating areas poorly supervised.

o A social environment where interaction is limited, students self-segregate, harassment and other forms of dominance are ignored.

o An affective environment where students are subject to favoritism, most feedback is negative or punitive, and families are excluded from the school community.

o An academic environment where expectations are low, learning styles are not taken into consideration and a sense of community is not part of the learning process.

These components of climate are interconnected. Social interactions are either enhanced or inhibited by environment. The affective environment helps the academic environment because students and families feel more a part of the school.

Prevention

The concepts of culture and climate are critical to the prevention of antisocial behavior at school. Student-centered activities like posters, slogans and assemblies are useful but won’t override the power of school culture and climate. These are forces that will swamp most programs, even those that work on social skills or language.

If bullying is a problem at your school and if you mean to put a stop to it, some changes to school climate or culture must occur. And the tricky part is that it’s the adults, not the just kids that need to make some changes.

Changes to Prevent Bullying

Many of the solutions needed to change school climate are known to us. Nevertheless, they seem too big, too expensive or simply hard to believe these types of changes will make much difference (after all our belief system is a major ingredient in school culture).

If we look at a culture and climate as key mechanisms in prevention then there are some clear opportunities for improvement:

o Leadership from administrators and site based management teams. Culture and climate changes are the work of the collective body of adults in school. Change is most likely to occur when there is a coordinated effort aimed at particular improvements.

o Regain control of student-run areas of school. Schools buses, playgrounds, lunch lines, lunch tables and hallways are just a few spots where kids set the rules. Who goes first, who sits at this table, who gets to play and so on. This is the breeding ground for hierarchy and control. Improvement requires more training and supervision by adults, less standing around and waiting by students and a better appreciation of kid’s time and personal space.

o Support student feedback and reporting. Subtle elements in the school culture discourage reporting. Concepts like tattling teach youth that grown-ups don’t want to be bothered. Repeated surveys of students show that most kids believe adults won’t help with bullying. And over 65% of bullying happens when adults can’t see it. Reporting is critical.

o Work to build a community. A community of people is united pulling toward common goals. Too often schools are cliques and subgroups – both adults and kids – vying to move up a hierarchical ladder. People need to see and experience the commonality of the school community. We see this coming together at times around tragedy or sports teams but it needs a more uniform presence.

A Complex Society

School districts and buildings are really complex societies where bullying is one in a set of potential antisocial behaviors. Bullying is about hierarchy and when kids (or adults) assemble hierarchies form. Sometimes these hierarchies are benign or occasionally positive. Unfortunately, too often, the hierarchies within groups of students are negative and damaging to some.

To effect change in these societies we need to operate at a deeper level, at the level of culture and climate. Understanding how bullying operates with concepts like victim, bullying and bystander or helping students be more assertive in the face of this aggression is important but not sufficient. These strategies place the burden of change on the children, when really it is only the adults that have the power to make significant improvements.

Since the Columbine tragedy in 1999 there has been more attention paid to bullying. This attention has heightened awareness but sadly has not reduced the incidence of bullying in schools nor relieved the pain for many US school children.

What can be done?

What can be frustrating about school climate or school culture for any one teacher or parent is they seem too big to influence. Nevertheless, change can happen with your best efforts. Here are some suggestions:
o Do some research, asking students, where bullying usually occurs. The results are always compelling and clearly show that “place” is the key ingredient. Make these places safer.

o Organize other concerned adults to speak with either the principal, site based management team or the school board. Help them understand the role of the climate and culture.

o Make a practice of listening but not necessarily reacting, to all student complaints or concerns. School staff unintentionally creates buffers around themselves because they are often too busy to attend to students’ issues. Instead of pushing them away, develop a repertoire of simple responses to minor issues so that the major issues reach your ears.

o Avoid creating dominance hierarchies. This includes public embarrassment, clearly identifying people’s skill or intelligence (or lack of) relative to others or simply using belittling language.

References

Astor, R.A., Meyer, H., & Behre, W.J. (Unowned places and times: Maps and interviews about violence in high schools. American Educational Research Journal (1999) 36: 3-42.
Espelage, D. L. & Swearer, S. M. Bullying in American Schools. New Jersey: Lawrence, Erlbaum Associates, Inc., 2004.Gibbs, Jeanne. Tribes: A New Way of Learning and Being Together. Windsor, CA: CenterSource Systems, LLC, 2001.
Gonder, P.O., & Hymes, D. (1994). Improving school climate and culture (AASA Critical Issues Report No. 27). Arlington, VA: American Association of School Administrators.
Reinke, W. M. & Herman, K.C. Creating School Environments that Deter Antisocial Behaviors in Youth. Psychology in the Schools, (2002) 39: 549-559.

About the Author: Contact Brian at http://www.k12associates.com

Brian Koenig, M.S., is the President of K12 Associates. He has been a trainer, speaker, and consultant since 1983 and has worked with more than 100 districts to prevent antisocial behaviors at school. Starting in 1998, Brian developed and implemented The Keep It Safe Project, a five-year pilot program to prevent bullying and other antisocial behaviors in three Wisconsin school districts, funded by the Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual Assault (WCASA). Through this project he discovered that in order to significantly reduce bullying, school districts needed to improve the overall climate of their schools. School districts that over-emphasized bully, victim, bystander programs without looking at the broader climate saw little or no decrease in bullying behavior. In 2003 he followed up The Keep It Safe Project with a new pilot called A Climate of Respect. This work was also funded by WCASA with additional funding from The Centers for Disease Control. From this grant Brian wrote the guidebook called Creating a Climate of Respect, and then a follow-up ebook.

In collaboration with Melissa A. Keyes, Ph.D. and Dorothy Espelage, Ph.D., Professor and Associate Chair in the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Illinois, he developed a set of popular school climate surveys currently used by more than 75,000 students, in 50 school districts nationwide. Brian is a graduate instructor through Viterbo University of La Crosse Wisconsin. He has been a presenter at the Wisconsin School Counselors Conference, Association of Wisconsin School Administrators Conference, the Standards of the Heart Conference, and various other state and regional conferences. He has co-authored a variety of articles published in a variety of academic journals, primarily in collaboration with Dr. Espelage at the University

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The author and psychiatrist M. Scott Peck says:

“The truth is that our finest moments are most likely to occur when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable, unhappy, or unfulfilled. For it is only in such moments, propelled by our discomfort, that we are likely to step out of our ruts and start searching for different ways or truer answers.”

I hope these words will give you courage and energy when you need them most in your adjustment period to your new surroundings.

Four Stages of Culture Shock

The anthropologist Kalervo Oberg (1901-1973) gets credited with naming this adjustment period “Culture Shock”. He identified four stages:

The Honeymoon Stage

As you can already guess from the name, in this stage you feel excited about your adventure. The newness and differences are still a novelty. The day-to-day difficulties haven’t set in yet. Most people feel energetic and enthusiastic during this stage.

The Crisis or Cultural Shock Stage

In this stage, reality sets in as you try to make a new home for yourself and your family. You become aware of the differences between your own culture and the new culture. You try to communicate in a new language you might not know yet. You’re not sure how to interact with people, where to find things, and how to help your children settle in. In this stage many different feelings and emotions may arise, from confusion, anxiety, homesickness, and loneliness, to being unsure of yourself, feeling less competent than in your home country, feeling overwhelmed, and feeling angry for being in this situation.

Please remember – this is a stage and you will get through it! It’s helpful to first acknowledge your feeling and then become pro-active. Participate in your new environment. Start out with small steps, as you feel comfortable. Read a local newspaper to get informed, find others in the same situation, and see what help is available to you. Slowly but surely you will build a new support system and move into the next stage.

The Adjustment or Recovery Stage

After having been in the new country for a while a daily routine sets in. Children have settled into their school, your new neighborhood becomes more familiar, you know where to get all your basic things, and you are able to communicate better. Your sense of self comes back and you even return to the excitement of the “Honeymoon Stage” more often. This stage could be described as an oscillation between the two first stages, from feeling excited to being down. Be patient with yourself. Acknowledge how far you have come, from feeling out of place to being an active participant in your new environment. This is quite an accomplishment! Continue to seek support, as you need it. Community service centers or adult education programs are good place to find courses on language or local culture. Search for support groups to connect with people with same interests. Join or start a playgroup if you have small children. Get involved in school activities of your school-aged children.

The Adaptation Stage

Congratulations, you’ve made it! Your life resumes with a familiar pattern but now has a different background component from the new culture. You’re ready to develop a realistic understanding of the similarities and differences between your own culture and the new culture. By comparing both, you have the unique opportunity to learn about two different approaches and can decide what fits best for you. Remember, it’s not about one approach being right and the other being wrong. It’s about acknowledging that there are cultural differences and that we can learn from each other.

Copyright © 2009 lisavel.com. All Rights Reserved.

Lisa Velazquez is a certified personal coach specializing in Cultural Transition who helps individuals and families adjust to a new culture through one-on-one coaching, group coaching, and presentations on cultural topics to interested groups. For more information visit http://www.lisavel.com and sign up for your free “Three Simple Techniques for a Successful Adjustment to a New Culture” PDF and for the free monthly newsletter “Building Cultural Awareness”.

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American Heritage Dictionary defines culture as “The totality of socially transmitted behavior patterns, arts, beliefs, institutions, and all other products of human work and thought.” (That is of course only one of a dozen meanings of the word.) Thus, culture entails all that makes a country or group of people unique.

The United States has historically been isolationist when it comes to learning other cultures. This is understandable. After all, it is surrounded on two sides by oceans, and on a third by neighbors whose culture is virtually the same. In contrast, countries in Europe might border others with diverse cultures and languages. There it is closer and faster to get to a vastly different culture than it is to travel a few hours through the US. The young people mentioned above were introduced to a very different culture. But this cultural inoculation would probably have only a limited impact on their lives when they had once again acclimated to home. As global communication shrinks the world, it might be well to consider full immersion in another culture as a desirable part of personal growth. But how?

Few people can afford to spend extended time as travelers, visiting places off the tourist guide. Of course, one can learn superficial information about a country from books or the Internet. Some adventuresome students have taken a year off of college to visit other countries. To pay their way, they knock on a door and promise an evening of information about their home in return for a bed and breakfast.

Consider two more realistic methods of seeing other cultures firsthand. For those who have not yet gotten a college degree, how about cross-cultural learning through investing a semester or two in a university abroad? Many such opportunities are available and, in fact, many colleges and universities have student exchange programs. For those who have already earned a teaching certification, consider cross-cultural teaching. Again, opportunities abound and schools all over the world are eager to hire qualified teachers from the west. Such an opportunity is not only perfect to truly learn another culture, but, in addition, the teacher is paid for this education!

Why be content limited to the way of life your culture has given you? Consider extending your horizons through a cross-cultural adventure like international teaching. What steps could you take to make this happen? International jobs are available now. Visit http://www.nics.org/openings.php for more information.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Paul_Peters

There is a close and intimate connection between culture and language. It does not only mirror each other, but also enrich and develop each other. Culture began when speech started (Kroeber, 1923). There are experts who say that you cannot fully understand the culture without understanding or having direct access to the language.

It is a characteristic of culture to be socially transmitted through language. Culture is transmitted to one generation to another through language, whether it is verbal or non-verbal, through gestures and signs, orally or in writing. Overall, we could see that communication was actually a manifestation of culture. Children learn language based on what they see in their community. For example, it is difficult for Africans or Koreans to fully grasp the concept of Santa Claus since it is not that significant in their culture and community.

In 1931, Edward Sapir wrote his perception of language. In his articles, Sapir mentioned the man’s perception and cognitive faculties can be seen and understood in the language. According to his study, it mentions that there are no two languages exactly similar. Because there are different social relationship evolving around the language and this would manifest on the language, itself.

Another thing to ponder on is that in a national culture, there are also subcultures. Subcultures are smaller groups that also have norms, values, beliefs and special languages which make them distinct or different form the national culture and broader society. Subcultures may be based on the age, social class, occupation, politics, education or religious affiliations. An example would be military language. In this case, understanding the subculture’s language would help us understand the organization structure.

Second language learners are even encouraged to immerse on the culture of the language they are learning. Linguists like Krasner (1999) stated that for second language learners it is not enough to be learn the liguistics, but it is also important to know the behaviour and patterns in the community which can be significant in the language. For example, how to address the elderly and show respect. Another concrete example would be using “You there, come here.” This is grammatically and linguistically correct. However, it is inappropriate to use to talk to elder or authoritative figures.

There are teachers that would incorporate culture while teaching second language. For example, to teach about eating utensils, vegetables, fruits or meat, then it would be better to teach about the food culture. In this way, the students will be able to understand the concept behind the words and vocabulary being taught. Not only will the student learnt he language quicker, but they would also be able to relate it to their own culture. This understanding would help the, appreciate and understand, on a higher level the other people’s culture.

It is impossible for a culture to exist without languages and languages to exist without having a culture. How we perceive the world and life would be represented on how we speak of it. These two do not just reflect each other, but feeds each others existence.

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This sample was quite severe but the participant was told that it was mild. The participant was sat in a separate room in front of a machine to administer the shocks. The levers on the machine increased gradually from 15 to 450 volts, with labels of words and numbers describing the level of shock that each would give, for example, ‘135 volts, strong shock’. The participant gave the ‘learner’ pairs of words to memorize. If the participant gave an incorrect answer when asked to recall the pair of the word the participant gave in the test, the experimenter ordered the participant to administer a shock. The shocks were not actually being administered but with each incorrect answer the shock was, apparently, increased. The ‘learner’ would begin to object to the shocks and complain of heart pain, but the participant was given instructions to carry on, such as ‘you have no other choice sir, you must go on’.

The results showed that 100% of participants would administer up to 240 volts, a ‘very strong shock’, 68% would administer up to an ‘extremely intense shock’ of 360 volts and 65% would give a ‘XXX’ shock of 450 volts. This level of obedience was far higher than anyone, including Milgram, expected. Milgram used this to suggest that ‘normal’ people are capable of performing intolerable requests under the influence of a legitimate authority. The presence of authority creates a situational pressure to perform and often responsibility is thought to be that of the authority and so an individual feels less responsible for his or her actions.

At the time of Milgram’s experiment, the United States was beginning to recover from McCarthyism. McCarthyism is a term used for the period of time throughout the 1950’s where anti-communism was enforced (retrieved January 5th, 2007, from wikipedia.com website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McCarthyism). People were persecuted if it was believed they were communist or sympathized with communists. They were made unemployed, imprisoned and sometimes even executed for espionage. The presence of this type of oppression at the time of Milgram’s experiments may have had an effect on the level of obedience found. Although by the time of the experiment society was no longer experiencing McCarthyism, it was accustomed to obeying the order that it must adhere to an anti-communist way of thinking or else face consequences. For this reason levels of obedience may have been higher than in later generation in the United States. Although participants were not expecting a negative consequence for not proceeding with the experiment, it is likely that an effect of McCarthyism was to obey authority without excessive questioning and without conscious thought.

Milgram-type studies have been conducted across different cultures to try to discover any cross-cultural differences in obedience. Kilham and Mann (1974, cited in Blass, 2000) found the lowest obedience rating noted in literature, of 28% of participants administering shocks up to 450 volts. This study took part in Australia. Edwards et al. (1969, cited in Blass, 2000) found a high obedience rating of 87.5% in South Africa. A possible explanation of the difference in these results may be explained by the way in which these cultures are brought up to view obedience. Australia is an example of an individualist culture, whereas South Africa is an example of a collectivist culture. Individualist cultures emphasize the importance of personal freedom and independence (Taylor, Peplau & Sears, 2005). Children are brought up to respect authority to also to be self reliant and independent. They are encouraged to be assertive and develop uniqueness as an individual. Collectivist cultures exert more emphasis on the importance of social groups. Children are brought up to be obedient, act in a certain manner and respect the traditions of group culture. Obedience and conformity is viewed positively as a way of connecting with others and becoming responsible for one’s own actions. Individualism can often cause rebellion against authority. The Australian results can be interpreted in this way. A low obedience rating would indicate that participants were rebelling against the authoritative orders to shock the ‘learner’ beyond what is thought necessary. Participants from South Africa would carry on shocking to fatal levels as they have been brought up to respect authority, disregarding their own beliefs.

A study by Shanab and Yahya (1978) on Jordanian college students used a Milgram-type experiment to test obedience. A control group were free to give or not give the shocks. An experimental group were ordered to give the shocks, as in the Milgram experiment. It was found that 62.5% of the experimental group gave shocks to up to the end of the scale, compared to only 12.5% of the control group. This clearly shows that authoritative influence affects people’s actions, even in disturbing situations. However, Jordanians are a collectivist culture and so it would be expected that the obedience rate would be much higher than that of individualist cultures.

Blass (2000) collected data from obedience studies in order find out if obedience rates have changed over time across cultures. He used Milgram-type obedience studies where the ‘learner’ and ‘teacher’ were separated from one another. The studies spanned 22 years, from Milgram (1963) to Schurz (1985, cited in Blass, 2000), the latest study he found at the time of his investigation. Levels of obedience ranged from 28% to 91%, although Blass found no relationship between obedience rate and the year of study.

Although cultures have different views on obedience and how to react to requests and orders made by legitimate authorities, evidence is inconclusive that cross-cultural differences exist. Shanab and Yahya’s study shows that not all collectivist cultures are more obedient to authority than individualist cultures. Similarly, the high obedience rates found by Milgram indicate that not all individualist cultures resist obedience due to their upbringing of uniqueness and independence. Obedience levels have not seemed to increase or decrease as a result of time and generation. It has been shown that variance does occur but not in relation to the year of studies conducted.

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