Switzerland

            Switzerland is a relatively small country, in the middle of Western Europe. It is located between Germany, Italy, France and Austria. The population of Switzerland is 7 million, which is a lot considering its size. More than 60% of Switzerland is on high mountains; about 4 km above sea level and the rest is on flat valleys and hills.  The Swiss nationals speak four different languages, French, German, Italian and Romansh

Furthermore, Switzerland is famous for many things; it is one of the largest exporters of watches in the world, and exports brands like Rolex and Swatch; also it is the country of the Red Cross founded by Henri Dunant. It is also one of the world’s greatest destination for skiers; is has some of the most beautiful mountain tops, and they are all covered with snow.

Switzerland became a neutral country in the 17^th century due to its geographical location; it was centered between three countries that were at war, Italy, France and Germany. It gained the neutral status to gain national security for its citizens; later on in the 1920s when Switzerland joined the League of Nations, its neutrality was reaffirmed by a number of countries. Even though Switzerland is a neutral country, every country must be able to defend itself if any kind of trouble occurs, so the Swiss Armed Forces were created; the professional soldiers are only five percent of the military, the rest are male citizens aged from 20 to 34, and in some special cases up to 50. The military has Land Forces and Air Forces, but no navy because there are no lakes bordering neighboring countries. Orders are made so that the soldiers keep all the Army equipment at home. The objective of the Swiss army is not take part in war, but to take part in peacekeeping missions around the world.  After the Cold War started in 1945 there were a number of attempts by the “anti-militarist group” to disband the Swiss Army; it was defeated by almost 2 thirds of the voters.

Diverse is what you would characterize Switzerland’s culture as, and because of the country’s different languages, it has a big range of traditional customs. Some regions in Switzerland would be culturally related to its neighboring country that shares its language. The Romansh culture is in Eastern Swiss and survives only in the upper valleys of the Rhine and the Inn and it struggles to maintain its rare linguistic tradition. Switzerland is home to many forms of art; it is home to about a thousand museums; the numbers of the museums tripled since 1950. Some of the greatest cultural performances are started yearly, like the Lucerne Festival which is a series of concerts held in Lucerne Culture and Congress Centre; also the Montreux Jazz Festival is the second largest annual festival in the world right before Canada’s Montreal International Jazz Festival. And last but not least, at the Locarno International Film Festival, which is held annually in the city of Locarno in Swiss, a prize is given to the best film in the international competition; this festival has launched the careers of a large number of directors and actors.

As the confederation was formed in 1291, it was mostly composed of German speaking regions, so the first forms of Swiss literature were in German. Later on in the 18^th century, French became a more fashionable language in Bern and some other places, where the French language’s influence was more marked than before. Some of the prominent French-speaking writers wrote books that were later on released as Hollywood movies. But the most famous piece of literature that came out of Switzerland is Heidi, a story about an orphan girl who lived in the Alps with her grandfather; it was later on created into a cartoon which most of the world has seen.

Since the freedom of the press and speech is assured in Switzerland, the Swiss News Agency broadcasts around the clock almost all of its national languages; it broadcasts news on everything from politics to economics, society and culture. Switzerland has published the largest number of newspaper titles in proportion to its population and size, but almost every city has one local newspaper; the cultural diversity is a big aspect of why there are a huge number of newspapers.

Locarno International Film Festival - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (n.d.). Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved January 18, 2012, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Locarno_International_Film_Festival

Montreux Jazz Festival - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (n.d.). Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved January 18, 2012, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montreux_Jazz_Festival

Ogay, T. (n.d.). Switzerland. Countries and Their Cultures. Retrieved January 18, 2012, from www.everyculture.com/Sa-Th/Switzerland.html

Switzerland - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (n.d.). Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved January 18, 2012, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Switzerland

Switzerland and its main attractions. (n.d.). Switzerland Travel and Destination Guide and Reservation Services. Retrieved January 18, 2012, from http://www.magicswitzerland.com/main_attractions.htm

Why is Switzerland Regarded as a Neutral Country?. (n.d.). wiseGEEK: clear answers for common questions. Retrieved January 18, 2012, from http://www.wisegeek.com/why-is-switzerland-regarded-as-a-neutral-country.htm

Vocab #2

High context communication involves using hands and expressions to help express meaning.

Low context communication is the opposite, e.g. giving simple factual instructions

Polychronic is an adjective referring to the practice of doing more than one thing at a time. It is often called multi-tasking today.

Monochronic people tend to do one thing at a time, concentrating on one task, avoiding interruptions and taking deadlines & schedules seriously.

Diffuse: in a diffuse society people are not happy talking about work or family life.

Past-oriented societies follow the same traditions, generation after generation.

Ascription: having the same schooling, career or status as your father is an example of ascription. In an ascription-oriented culture people get their position or status from name, age & connections.

Culture shock: honeymoon, discomfort, irritation & reality are stages in how many people deal with adjusting to an alien culture.
Collectivism means putting the interests of a group or family before your own individual interests (individualism).

The UAE's Airports - Before and After

In the past, Sharjah used to be the link between the eastern world with the western world; it was a one of the most important airports. The people of Sharjah lived a simple life; even though they were poor and still hadn't discovered oil, they seemed happy, they lived in simpler times. The population of Sharjah was around 15,000 people which is nothing compared to the population now, which is more than a million and most of the people were locals and some Indians. The locals lived on the sea; most of the money they got was from selling pearls and fish. The locals used camel caravans to transport from place to place. What I saw from the video is that in the past the UAE wasn't very multicultural.

Furthermore, the UAE is once again one of the world's most visited countries, but now as you can see from the flash mob that occurred in Dubai's airport there are almost no locals around but many many different cultures. Flash mobs rarely occur anywhere around the world, but to see it in Dubai clearly means that our country is becoming more diverse.

Definition

1. Affluence = wealth.

Abu Dhabi is an example of an affluent society.

The opposite of affluence is poverty.

2. Ethnicity.
Your ethnicity is determined by factors such as race, religion, language.

3. Ability= skill.

He has the ability to get very high grades.

4. Diversity = the quality of being different.

This course is about cultural diversity, which means people of different cultures living and working together.

5. Assimilation = absorption.

Cultural assimilation is the process whereby a minority group gradually adapts to the customs and attitudes of the prevailing culture and customs.

6. Demographics = composition of a population.
The demographics of the UAE are discussed in our first post. You can analyse demographics according to race, religion, age, wealth, etc.

7. Religion = a set of beliefs.

Religious people try to live according to the teachings of their religion.

8. Race = a group of people with similarities, particularly physical appearance.

You can a similar nationality but a different race.

9. Multiculturalism = many different cultures.

A multicultural society is one where people of different cultural backgrounds live and work together.

10. Personality = individual character.

She has a very nice personality: kind, patient, tolerant and loving.

11. Prejudice = bias.

Apartheid in S. Africa was based on racial prejudice against black people.

12. Acculturation = the mixing of different cultures.

If a foreigner here in the UAE says he does something like an Emirati, then that would be an example of acculturation.

13. Bias = prejudice.

Bias is a negative opinion of a person or group based on race, colour, culture or whatever.

14. Discrimination = treating people differently.

Apartheid meant discrimination in favour of whites and against blacks.

15. Fringe = edge, margin.

A fringe group is a small minority, usually expressing an extreme opinion.

16. Population = the number of people.

A census is a count of the number of people in a country.

17. Stereotyping = making assumptions or generalisations about a person or group of people.

Americans are rich, while Mexicans are poor.

18. Gender = Sex.

There are two genders, male and female.

19. Resistance = Opposition.

There have been many signs of political resistance to established governments in the Arab spring of this year.

20. Advantage = A favoured position.

If you are an expatriate, being able to speak the local language is a big advantage.

21. Racism = Hatred of another person or group of different race, often based on colour.

The apartheid system in S. Africa was an example of racism.

22.Ethics = Morality, i.e. what is right or wrong.

Ethical behaviour is honest behaviour.

23. Productivity = The ability to produce something.

The company's productivity rates are rising.

24. Behaviour = The manner of acting/conduct.

The students' behaviour is very good.

25. Belief = Confidence, opinion..

I have great belief in her.

Tibetans believe in re-incarnation.

26. Majority = Most.

The vast majority of Arabs are Muslim.

27. Income = Salary.

All employees have a monthly income.

28. Adverse = Bad, harmful.

We didn't go on a picnic because of the adverse weather conditions.

29. Values = Beliefs.

I value honesty very highly.

30. Traditions = Customs.

They are handed down from generation to generation.

31. Generation = Group of people born at about the same time.

In some societies people talk about a generation gap; each generation has its own ideals & standards.

32. Sensitivity = Empathy, awareness of someone else's feelings.

She's very sensitive. She cares about how other people feel.

33. Slang = Slightly improper language.

Have a shufti at my blog.

34. Ethnocentrism = Seeing everything from the viewpoint of your own culture.

An ethnocentric viewpoint is narrow and limited.

35. Stratification = Rigid division of society.

The Indian caste system is an example of social stratification.

36. Socio-cultural = Relating to society & culture.

Language, ethnicity, religion are all socio-cultural factors.

37. Resident = Someone living in a particular place.

Khalid, Aziz and Hedley are all Abu Dhabi residents.

38. Poverty = Being poor.

The opposite of poverty is affluence or wealth.

39. Nationality = The country you belong to.

You can have different race or ethnicity but the same nationality.

40. Minority = Less than half.

Christians are a minority of the UAE's population.

41. Class = Group.

You can have upper class, middle class, lower class.

42. Globalization = Worldwide connectivity.

Global brands or logos today are recognised worldwide; we all know the logos of Nike, McDonald, Mercedes etc.

43. Virtual = Not real, imaginary.

Computer games create a virtual world which is not real.

44. Barriers = Obstacle.

To make progress you have to climb over or go round or go through barriers.

Blindsight

Types of cultural diversity in the movie: the German woman who sets up a school for the blind in Tibet. Erik, the blind American mountaineer who volunteers to guide blind children up Everest. They are from western cultures, based on Christianity, as opposed to the traditional Tibetan culture based on Buddhism. The traditional Tibetan view that blindness is a form of divine punishment for sins committed in a previous life or incarnation, as opposed to the western desire to overcome disability, to achieve, to get to the top. The support that Erik received from his father when learning to hike, as opposed to the Tibetan woman who said ‘without eyes a man is not complete.’

Challenges people in the movie encounter: they all, in the expedition, face the physical challenge of lack of oxygen at high altitude. The blind children have the additional challenge of performing an extreme feat blind. The blind girl with 2 blind brothers and a blind father, whose mother died of a heart attack, leaving her daughter with no effective support. Erik losing both his sight and his mother at an early age.

Stereotyping/bias/prejudice/discrimination: the traditional Tibetan view of blindness; the difficulty Tashi, the street kid, had in gaining acceptance from the other children; the cigarette burns on his body. The boy who was sent away to live with a Chinese couple and who was beaten when he failed to beg enough money, or when the money was stolen from him. Tashi hid the fact that he was Chinese, believing only Tibetan children could join the expedition.

Benefits because of different culture: the Tibetan girl gets a place in an English language school as a result of coming into contact with western culture. Tashi similarly finds his father and would almost certainly not have done so without western help. The bonding & sense of group belonging seemed to promote a greater mutual understanding and a greater sense of cultural diversity. The greatest conflict within the group which we saw was between the westerners, some of whom wanted to go for the summit and others who wanted to turn back together.

Cultural Diversity

Most people you would have met in Abu Dhabi 50 years ago were of the same culture: the same language, Arabic, the same religion, Islam, and the same traditions such as camel racing & falconry.

This culture still exists but there are now many people from different cultures, with diverse first languages, religions & traditions.

We can say, then, that the UAE, over the past 50 or so, has become more culturally diverse. It is more cosmopolitan, in the way that cities like London & New York have been for centuries.

Reflection

          The population of the UAE from the year 2000 was 4.5 million. My reflection on the demographic is that the population would have increased by a large number from that date. Mostly because all the locals have large families and their numbers increase rapidly. Furthermore, a lot of people are looking for jobs, so they come to work in the UAE. The number of people that are looking for jobs is increasing because the population of the world is increasing, and because the UAE offers a lot of jobs for many people. Because of the recession that happened in the United States, a lot of families came looking for jobs, so that is a factor that helped in increasing the population of the UAE. In the future I believe that a huge increase will happen in the population of the UAE.