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"Culture" Articles
 

  • Costa Rican Culture - Culture is synonymous with variety as is the land of Costa Rica. And in this country touching on the topics of race, food, festivals, and customs just scratches the surface of how colorful the culture if this land is. Costa Rica has a strong and efficient national education system, with its citizens maintaining a 95% literacy rate. Combine that with the strongest and most stable, democratic tradition in all of Central America and it molds the human character that has made the Costa Ricans a self-assured and hospitable bunch. That again is the outcome of the education system that makes it obligatory up to the sixth grade; for pursuing higher education, the National University and the University of Costa Rica has been made available to the public.
  • Indonesian Shamanic Methods of Fasting and Austerities - Fasting and asceticism are essential practices in Javanese Kejawen and shamanism--especially Indonesian shamanism. Most of the unusual and unique powers acquired in Indonesian occultism are dependent upon the mastery of these disciplines with their many forms and variations.
  • Superstitions of Indonesia - In this article we present a collection of local "superstitions" in Indonesia regarding everyday life and the meanings of the omens of Nature. Avoid sweeping the house at night as this would make it difficult to attract luck. Avoid sewing a button on your shirt while wearing it as this would cause a serious illness not long after that would last for about a month and you woud always fail in your efforts in making a living. Avoid combimg your hair while walking as you will find youself in an embarassing situation.
  • Kujang - the Talismanic Sickle - There is a unique weapon that originates in Western Java, in the Pasundan (Sundanese) region. This weapon is called "kujang," (pron. "koo-jaang.") Lacking the proper English equivalent for this we have used the term, "sickle," eventhough its form somewhat deviates from the true shape of a sickle. Neither does it resemble the "scimitar" which curves convexly. In Indonesian a sickle is actually called "chelurit." The Javanese living in the eastern half of the Java island refers to the kujang as "kudi." To those who are uninformed, the indigenous people of the island of Java are not all "Javanese." The western part of the island is populated by a major ethnic group called "Sundanese.
  • Working with Foreign Cultures - Culture Cultures differ in how they communicate, how they use their time, and how they view themselves in terms of empowerment and decision making. These differences are likely to become apparent in business sessions with people from other countries. There has been considerable research done by anthropologists, psychologists and businesspeople on what these differences are and how we can learn to work effectively within other cultures, as will be described in this chapter. The main variables we will discuss are selected from the research of Edward Hall, Florence Kluckhohn, F.L. Strodtbeck, and Geert Hofestede. Many business people are not prepared for some of the basic differences that they will experience when working with other cultures.
  • From Verbalism and Vocalism to Vandalism: Graduation of Anti-Agribiotech Activism in India - A few years ago activists, allegedly belonging to the Karnataka Rytha Sangha, the State farmers' organization, burned Mahyco's trial Bt cotton fields in Karnataka, India. On October 28, 2006, in Rampura village in Karnal, Haryana State, the Bharatiya Kissan Union (BKU), a farmers' organization, using some 400 local farmers torched Mahyco's Bt rice under field trials. Mahyco suffers a loss of Rupees one million, and needs to restart the process. A BKU leader threatened to burn all such fields in the country where trials are underway, and said that 'On Friday (October 27), we got a tip-off from Hyderabad that such tests were underway in Karnal'.
  • Native American Culture Activities - As many children learn about Native American culture during November, here are some activities and information about our first citizens. Do you like barbecues? How about clambakes? Well, the next time you attend one, thank the Indians! Native Americans invented them, along with chewing gum, ponchos, chocolate, snowshoes, parkas, and moccasins. Do research to find out what else our first citizens invented! Chief Seattle's Lesson Seattle was a teacher Who taught us how to care For all the living things on earth, Fresh water, and clean air. "The earth does not belong to us," Great Chief Seattle said. "We sometimes think it does, but we Belong to earth, instead." This poem was written by Helen H. Moore and reflects a basic belief of the Indians.
  • Building A Financial Services Sales Culture - A growing number of community banks are recognizing that new and more aggressive competitors are taking new business they "believed" they would or "should" have. To help combat this they no longer accept the practice of "business as usual." They are taking the time-proven actions it takes to train, coach and reward their key business development team members to get them out on the street. Program results are showing ROI's of up to 30-to-1! This isn't easy, to say the least. A major culture change is required for most community banks when it comes to selling. Bankers have long been of the mindset that banking is a business built when prospects come to the bank and request the service they want. Unfortunately the consumer has developed a slightly different mindset lately.
  • Speaking Japanese: Learning the Language and the Cultural Etiquette - The Japanese language is considered by many to be easy to learn. Whether you wish to speak Japanese for personal reasons like travel or for professional reasons, it is important for you to consider that learning Japanese etiquette is as important as learning commonly used words and phrases. Why is it that learning to speak Japanese is relatively easy?
  • Diwali - The Festival of Lights - Diwali is celebrated all over India and elsewhere in the world where Indians gather together. Traditionally known by its Sanskrit name Deepavali, it actually means "a row of lights". Although predominantly a Hindu festival, it is observed by Sikhs and Jains as well. In general, Diwali celebrates the triumph of light over darkness, goodness over evil and knowledge over ignorance. The story of its origins varies, depending on where you happen to be. In northern India, the story goes that King Rama fought a lengthy war against Ravana, the demon king of Lanka. The festival is in honour of his victory, his homecoming with his wife, Sita, to Ayodhya and his coronation.
  • Common Freshwater Pearls - Biwa Pearls: These were the first freshwater pearls to be cultivated by Japan in Lake Biwa. After this started a wave of pearl production all over the world which is continues to this day. Though excessive harvesting and environmental pollution caused the destruction of the lake and the mussel producing the pearl has also nearly become extinct. So the Biwa production has stopped. But the name today signifies original and good quality pearls. The name Biwa pearl is due to its place of origin and it is rare to find Biwa pearls today. Keishi Pearls: This is a word of Japanese origin meaning Poppy seed. These pearls are formed when the mollusk ignores the implanted piece and does not coat it with nacre.
  • Pearl Jewelry - The magnificent luster and delicate translucence of the layers of a pearl imparts an exquisite charm to it. It has therefore been valued as a precious gemstone since ages. The value of the pearl in jewelry is determined by a combination of all the attributes i.e. the luster, color, size, lack of surface flaw and symmetry. Among those attributes, the most important factor of pearl quality according to jewelers is luster. If however for the pearls under consideration, all the factors are equal, the larger the pearl the more valuable it is.
  • Are You a Manager or a Leader - or Both? - When I ask my coaching clients, mostly senior executives, what they do during a typical working day, I notice that most of them spend the majority of their time with management rather than with leadership issues. You may ask: What is actually the difference between management and leadership? I like the simple but to-the-point distinction made by the legendary Peter Drucker. He said: "Management is about doing things right, Leadership is about doing the right things." Or in other words: Management is about efficiency, leadership about effectiveness. Typically, the more we move up the career ladder, the more important leadership skills become.
  • History of Pearls - In the beginning pearl hunting was the only means known for harvesting pearls. A little before the start of the 20th century divers manually pulled oysters from ocean floors and river bottoms and checked each one of them individually for pearls. However, not all natural oysters produce pearls. In fact, in a haul of three tonnes, only three or four oysters will produce perfect pearls. Eventually the process of culturing pearls was discovered. Nowadays, almost all pearls used for jewelry are cultured by planting a core or nucleus into pearl oysters. Normally it takes three years after the planting for the pearls to be ready for harvesting but it may take up to six years also before the pearls are produced and ready.
  • Who Wrote Aesop's Fables? - Everyone is familiar with Aesop's Fables. They are short stories usually about animal characters designed to make a point about human behaviour. Aesop has been credited with inventing the fable. Indeed, the name Aesop has become synonymous with fables. However, animal fables existed long before Aesop.
  • The Importance of Stories - Long before the advent of a written history, the elders of ancient civilizations used stories to teach the new generation. The lessons might have related to the values of the society, their particular version of how they came to be, their purpose on the earth, or methods of obtaining food or a spouse. The most well known of the ancient stories were the civilisation's particular version of how Earth came into existence and how they came to be here on earth. These are known as the great Creation Stories. Every civilisation had an explanation for what the Earth sun, moon and stars were, along with more intricate details of the place of fire, water, animals and humans in the ecosystem.
  • Indian Art and Architecture and its relation to Indian Music - To understand a kind of people the most important thing to study is their literature, and art. In case of India, the cultures that have developed are not one but many. The subcontinent has been a rich base for the cultivation of an even richer set of cultures, which have been influenced by different settlers of over thousands of years. The multitude of languages spoken and the mix of religions present have further enriched the land and its people.
  • Hollywood Celebrities and Pop Culture - The Rape of the Mind - Fame, fortune, and power stand at the top of the heap when it comes to what we call success. Most peculiar of these is fame. It seems the rule, which is rarely spoken out loud is, anyone who is very well known didn't get that way because they did everything wrong. Oh really!
  • Employee Feedback - Building a Positive Workplace Culture - Did you know? Businesses in the United States waste $105 billion each year dealing with poorly performing employees. (Sweden $1.3b, Australia $4.1b, Hong Kong $5.0b, Netherlands $7.1b, India $10.8b, UK $24.5b) United States managers spend 14% of their time redoing or correcting the mistakes of others - approximately one hour every day. (Sweden 8%, Australia 14%, Hong Kong 24%, Netherlands 15%, India 20%, UK 11%) Could employee feedback improve this situation? What is Two-Way feedback all about anyway?
  • Constructive Feedback in the Workplace - Feedback at Work - Give and Take What can you say to your employees and how can you say it? Where can you give and get feedback? How can you bring out the best in your staff? How do you handle difficult interchanges without inflaming the situation? How do you respond to critical feedback yourself? These are common questions, many of them reflecting frustration and fear of dealing with the 'hard stuff' of managing people. But employee feedback doesn't have to be difficult. Positive feedback, when you tell people they've done well, should be easy.
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