The Effects of Culture on Ways of Knowing

The Effects of Culture on Ways of Knowing

Culture revealed

Culture is revealed through the beliefs, customs and traditions,

the architecture and arts, the systems of communication and

political systems of a particular group of people in a particular time and place.


About this presentation:

• Daniel: Frameworks to understand cultures

• Mariano: A Culture Map comparing national cultures

• Ashok: Measuring cultural difference

• Point of view -> Worldview -> Cultural assumption

• To remind us that …

“Just because we aren’t all the same it doesn’t mean we have nothing in common”

Kirk Kerekes

Culture


Knower(s)

Reason Language

Perception Emoti

on

Ways of Knowing

Areas of KnowledgeMathematics

Natural Sciences

Human

Scien

ces

History

The Arts

Ethi

csFa

ith/B

elief

“Culture is the subconsciousprogramming of the mind”

E.G.Hall


Different types of Culture• Western Culture• Islamic Culture• African Culture• National Culture• Ethnic Culture• Tribal Culture

Subcultures: groups with distinctive characteristics within a larger culture • Organisational Culture • Youth Culture• RCNUWC Culture• ‘Area of Specialization' Culture (Subjects)


Daniel …

Characteristics

Of Culture

Adaptive

LearnedShared

Symbolic

Patterned


Economic Dimension

SocialDimension

Environmental Dimension

ViabilityResponsibility

Equi

ty

Cultural DimensionQuality of Life, Values, Aspirations, Diversity,

Innovation, Relationship, Vitality

Source: Catherine Runnelis, 2006MA Thesis for Royal Rhodes University



Values

Rituals

Heroes, Stories

Symbols

Practices

Shallow

Deep

Shallow Visible

Invisible

Visible

Hofstede’s Onion Model


Hofstede’s Dimensions of National Culture

• High/Low Power Distancedegree of acceptability of inequity of wealth & privilege

• Individualism/Collectivismrelative weakness/strength of relationships between individuals and the in-group

• Masculinity/Femininityextent of clarity and distinctiveness of gender roles

• High/Low Uncertainty Avoidancehow upset people get about ambiguity and future doubt

• High/Low Time Orientation

Source: http://www.emeraldinsight.com/fig/1360130201001.png


BasicUnderlying

Assumptions

Espoused Values

Mission StatementEthical Code

Artefacts

Shallow

Deep

Shallow Visible

Invisible

Visible

Schein’s Levels of Culture Model


Cultural Web

ParadigmCore Values

StoriesAbout

important events, people and deviants

SymbolsUniforms,

logos, titles, jargon

Routines &Rituals

Taken-for-granted ways we do things

around here, education models

PowerGenerally about the

most powerful group and their core

values

ControlsPerformance

measurements and reward systems and what they focus on

Organization Structures

Hierarchies, chain of command, rules,

formal functions


Cultural Web of UK National Health Service

Paradigm•NHS is a ”Good Thing”•Public service•Free at point of delivery•Clinicians values•Providers know best•Acute sector superior•“Ours”

Stories•Cures•Villains (politicians)•Heroes and heroism•Change agents are fools•Abuse of managers•The golden age

Symbols•Terminology•White coats/uniforms•Retinues•Mobile phones•Doctors’ dining room•Big institutions•“Royal”

Routines •Clinical rituals•Consultation ceremonies•Patient infantalising - waiting rooms - putting to bed - waking up•Ward rounds

Power•Fragmented: - professional bodies - doctors - senior clinicians•“Old Boy” network•Politicians

Controls•Financial reporting•Waiting lists•Consultant episodes•Professional responsibility

Organization Structures

•Hierarchical•Mechanistic•Pecking order of services•Tribal/Functional


Mariano …


Inglehart-Welzel Cultural Map of the World

One way of conceptualizing and comparing cultures

& cultural values


• Relative importance of family, friends, work, leisure-time, politics, religion

• Relative importance of qualities to teach children: independence, hard work, religion, responsibility, imagination, tolerance, thrift, perseverance, unselfishness, obedience

• Who would make the worst neighbours: drug addicts, different race, immigrants, homosexuals, different religion, heavy drinkers, AIDS, unmarried couples, different language

• Would people try to take advantage of you if they got a chance, or would they try to be fair?

• etc

Questionaires



Ashok …


Does Culture shape how we look at faces?

• Face processing, amongst many basic visual skills, is thought to be invariant across all humans.

• Culture shapes perception so fundamentally that it may determine the way we look at faces.

• East Asians focus their gazes on the center of faces; Westerners looked to first the eyes, and then to the mouth.The findings were produced by University of Glasgow psychologists who tracked the eye motions of observers as they looked at portraits.

• The study was small and hasn't been replicated, but the differences were stark.



• Scholars believe that differences in worldview — an increasingly popular term to describe the fundamental thoughts which cause people to commit or omit certain actions — are the root of all differences between nations and civilisations that potentially cause clashes. Hence, the so-called ‘clashes of civilisations’.

• A worldview is basically the way we see things of fundamental value in our life, such as God, religion, humanity, knowledge, politics, happiness and truth. A worldview is a direct product of culture, religion, race and belief.

• Individual learning depends on culture and language.Once people have learned to learn in a given way it is extremely difficult to learn in any other way. Culture reflects the way one learns.

• Does Biology and Culture shape the way we parent?


Points of view………..


It’s all about your point of view- and your point of viewshapes, and is shaped by

Culture

Documents

The Effects of Culture on Ways of Knowing