Analysis of Cultural Integration Notion - Assignment Example

Name Instructor Course Date Reflective Writing Reflective journal 1 My friend encountered race when he moved with his family to the United States and got a job that exposed him to a greater world of race prejudice and racism. His most important responsibilities were to detain shoplifters and be watchful on employees to ensure there was no theft by employees. Essentially, he was expected to stereotype individuals with regards to their demeanor and appearance. This origin of his job as a prevention specialist in a shop opened up an entire new world of stereotyping and racism that is quite common in the field of loss prevention. In ‘Race Prejudice as a Sense of Group Position’, Herbert Blumer explains race prejudice’s feelings as: a superiority feeling, a feeling that the race that is subordinate is essentially alien and different, a sense of proprietary claim to specific areas of advantage and privilege, and a suspicion and fear that subordinate race ties designs on privileges of the principal race. Each of these ideas and feelings were prevalent was common with every person in the department and every management linked to his department. A great number of employees in the department of loss prevention were not fundamentally racist on a personal level, but there prejudice was on group position basis. A lot of his coworkers felt that every person who got welfare benefits using EBT cards was automatically parasiting the state and that my friend being an immigrant was among the suckers, and that people who worked to earn a living were allowed more advantages compared to the ones who were not working. After moving to America, they were put on welfare and besides dealing with the reality that they were immigrants, they had a stigma affixed to being recipients of welfare. In addition, his coworkers made a tradition of mentioning that the people who utilized welfare money seemed to drive nice cars and bought expensive products, when actually it was an insignificant fraction of the people that used food stamps. Such comments as well as the despise projected by his coworkers created a very uncomfortable working environment that made him feel that he could not speak about his past in fear of getting scrutinized by his colleagues. It is apparent that these attitudes play a main role in the continuation of the prejudiced outlooks that transmit into the places of work. From this, I feel that it is essential to reflect on an individual’s past equipped with the knowledge one acquires throughout every experience that are collected over a lifetime’s course. Additionally, my realization is that while the U.S preaches unity and tolerance, in actual fact it inflicts penalties, both emotional and physical, on the people who do not match and fit the positions that have been deliberated for them. Reflective journal 2 I do not find much with which to consider in Wolf’s very pleasantly phrase yet stern warning. Most exciting maybe is Boas’s reminder of strong analysis of cultural integration’s notion as a self-evident occurrence homologous to the peoplehood’s concept. The common tendency to link culture with race with ethnic group is certainly a very intense Western essentialism’s aspect. It has been strongly criticized by the whole literature on Orientalism, the inclination to essentialize others. Perhaps what has not been consistently considered is the more common essentialism, which has distinguished our own self-representation also. Culturalism of a specific kind, ethnicity, and racism are in such idioms expressions of similar basic phenomenon, the inclination to recognize culture with a specific social cluster that in virtue of being hence recognized turns out to be an ethnicity. The acknowledgment of specificity to a specific population is the foundation of the race, ethnicity, and cultural concepts. Opposition by Boas to such ideas is all very interesting in that a lot of anthropology is based on an essentialism tracked to Boasian tradition. The present trend to ethnification or balkanization is maybe nothing which can be handled at the cultural constructs’ level themselves. Generally, it is a matter of identification itself instead of the identity content. An individual cannot make development in ethnic conflict through trial of convincing the opponents that their identities’ contents are quite mixed up. Maybe one must shift the whole discussion to identity practice instead of its products. Wolf argues that this must be done, although the acknowledgment of its stipulation shows that it is identification context instead of identity itself, which is a major issue. This would mean that the types of ethnicity, culture, and race are products of a particular social practice familiar to Western capitalist communities and that other types might be impending in other types of social forms. Wolf entitles his remarks about concepts of culture, people, and race as perilous ideas, which means that the concepts have various histories and usages and their application as frequently contributes to our confusion as decreases it (Wolf et al, 1994). On the other hand, I agree. A discussion on peril which is discussed in Wolf’s remarks is what I would like to develop but not fully developed. It should entail means in which differing conceptualizations have a role in historical systems’ legitimatization or delegitimatization, where we live (Wolf et al, 1994). I think that today everyone is living in an outstanding historical system; an outstanding society here means capitalist world-economy. Values may be incorporated into single superegos to changeable extents or not. And there can be clusters, even organizations, actively against these values. However a historical system is into able to work unless at least a couple of values and norms of this type prevail. Having read Wolf concepts on ethnicity, I now realize that we live in a very complex cultural dynamics. We need to pay attention to change and continuation, and to raising personal diversity and upcoming new variations. Additionally, we need to notice what is mutual, and what is not, in different groupings of culture. Reflective journal 3 Life expectancy is very essential test of livability of a society. If an individual feels isolated from the society within which they reside, depression is likely to set in. They stop caring for themselves and become prone to various illnesses, and they do not seek medical attention regardless of its necessity hence, die early. Since colonization of Australia by British started in 1788, the subject of Aboriginal individuals has been one of massacre, disease, and dispossession. Unlike various colonized countries, settlers in Australia signed nearly no agreements with the original population, and the ones signed were repudiated by great authority who were in charge of the continent and proclaimed Australia terra nullius which means nobody’s land. This colonization brought about discrimination amongst the Australians as is evidenced by their life expectancy. The most important idea about this scenario is discrimination. In whichever society, discrimination is solely overcome as personal conscience turn out to be more sensitive. Sadly, the previous decade has experienced continuous scapegoating of Aboriginal individuals by the central government and a resulting dulling of the state conscience. According to Mahatma Gandhi, a nation may possibly be judged through the means in which it handles its citizens that are most disadvantaged. In this case Aboriginal people are the most disadvantaged citizens in Australia unlike their non-Aboriginal counterparts. Aboriginal Australians feel isolated from the entire Australian society. Basically, they die 17 years younger compared with their non-Aboriginal counterparts. Their lifespan is clearly shorter compared with the inhabitants of a couple of the poorest nations in the world like Bangladesh. At first, I questioned this discrepancy in relation to life expectancy since Australia has a medical system that is among the most sophisticated in the world. Having learnt that there is life expectancy discrepancies in Australia, I now think effective measures need to be taken to end this situation. For instance, if the government actually plans to realize reconciliation in its country, it will consider some steps. For starters, it will give sufficient and culturally suitable primary health care to Indigenous individuals across the nation. Presently, this is grossly underfinanced, and it will require an increase by numerous hundred million dollars every year. Health professionals in Australia are unified in their assurance that with such an input, they could decrease the death rate of Aboriginals by 1/3 within one decade. Implementation of such measures will kick off a major transformation in the society of Australia. This is required for the society’s survival. The population of Aboriginals in Australia is rising faster compared to the rest of the population, and Aboriginal people’s proportion in a couple of areas in Australia of crucial ecological significance is rising. In the coming years, we will greatly depend on Indigenous individuals to maintain an environment that is sustainable, with healthy waterways and foodstuffs that is pollution-free. Reflective journal 4 There are various lay beliefs that my family adhere to in an effort to promote health. One of the lay beliefs practiced in our home is health as lifestyle reflection, involving a moral dimension. This is demonstrated in healthy behavior as good diet, exercise, not smoking, and exercising in an effort to prevent genesis of chronic diseases like heart disease and hypertension. Ideas regarding disease causes seem to emphasize biological instead of behavioral factors. Studies have indicated that not every person is convinced regarding the association between lung cancer and smoking. One of my aunties has rheumatoid arthritis and she has lay beliefs that when she lies down when feeling unwell, she is allowing her condition to win, which she considers to be part of her life. The means in which we perceive experience and relate with the world will basically be defined by our culture. Similar to other codes and beliefs of behavior, the ones about health are a division of culture and, as a result, have the capacity to differ across the different cultures. Actually, health beliefs have been indicated to differ by both ethnic and socioeconomic group. Health beliefs may be perceived as a means of comprehending our bodies as well as making sense of things that go on within them. Some authors have communicated the significance of lay health beliefs, both within the degree to which messages of health education are assimilated and the extent lay beliefs vary from professional ones. Health behaviors are particularly significant since it is via encouraging them that people can improve their opportunity to practice good health. Previously, I did not question my auntie’s lay belief because she had stated that it was part of her life. Lay beliefs, studied both in anthropology and sociology have been indicated to lie behind greatly of individuals’ behavior about illness and health. Many patients, including my aunt have learnt to live with her joint problems for a couple of months now and consider it as part of life, a nuisance that she puts up with and lives around. It was noted that my aunt has solved a theory of cause grounded on common sense, like damp weather, cold, or heredity. It is abundantly clear that her symptoms are constantly put into perspective. She does not talk of the extents of stiffness or pain but of pain that prevent her occasionally from doing hobbies or working. I have significantly improved my understanding of lay beliefs and how they influence health behavior. Armed with this knowledge, I will be able to appreciate people’s beliefs regarding their health and understand how such beliefs influence their health, keeping in mind that individuals seem to assume beliefs to match with their lay perceptive. Reflective journal 5 Sea levels have now reached the critical mark, and only the arid interior of the continent, which it is thought cannot support large numbers of people, is likely to escape flooding. There is already speculation that many Australians and especially those living in coastal cities will be forced to leave the continent. I found immigration due to climate change to be the most challenging experience ever in my life. As my family and I were thinking about where to go because of the flooding brought about by increased sea levels, a lot of things went through my mind about how it would feel to be in a foreign country with different cultures and language. We were forced to go to the United States as climate refugees. The European Union (EU), Canada, and the US give temporary refuge to the affected people. Climate refugees are in the larger cluster of immigrants referred to as environmental refugees. We faced a lot of challenges when we moved to the United States. For instance, climate refugees are not guided by international laws. We were at a greater political risk compared to other refugees who were in the country due to political or conflict oppression. Unlike conventional refugees, we were at risk of being sent back to our devastated homeland or enforced into a refugee camp. We had to adjust to diverse cultures, languages, and laws as required by the United States. For me, these were the most significant experiences. Other challenges were in terms of health care and educational systems. Opportunities were given to the host population as a priority and this indicated discrimination against us. Staying in vulnerable conditions poses a lot of issues in relation to health and social. Cultural shock is the feeling an individual experiences after running off from their familiar home to reside in another social or cultural environment. Since we had come from a different culture, adapting to the US culture was a major challenge that we faced. For instance, U.S is a high content communication culture unlike Australia’s. We increased the U.S population thus straining the scarce resources leading to competition over them and ultimately resulted to conflict between us and the host population. In order to deal with culture shock that we were experiencing, we did not give up but continued to learn the new culture. I created new friends who helped us learn the American culture. Having experienced cultural difference in a new country, I now know that some people can inflict emotional and physical pain to others just because you do not share a similar culture. Additionally, I have learned that if preventive measures were taken to prevent floods like building terraces, we could not find ourselves in the state that we were. Reflective journal 6 The way key principles of multiculturalism operate in the arena of health profession is reflected by the multicultural health in the health profession of Australia. This includes ensuring that health professionals’ training has a specific and strong emphasis enhancing competence in culture as well as effectiveness. This entails the capacity to work effectively and competently in working environments with different cultures as well as in encounters with diverse groups from various cultural backgrounds in the achievement of best healthcare profession. Culture influences a patient’s illness presentation. The healthcare professional should understand the practice of healthcare profession is affected by both the cultural background of the patient and of the professional. In Australian healthcare profession, multicultural health entails making an assessment that is holistic concerning the needs of the patient and recognizing cultural issues’ impact in the Australian setting. Every person makes the implication of their health experience from within their background of culture. The social cluster where people live affected their interpretation of the implication of their experience of illness and health and influences their understanding of the significance of symptoms. Cultures help establish the behaviours people use when presenting to the healthcare professional. Hence cultural competence development is a significant skill in healthcare professional. Values and beliefs influence the patient interaction. Divergent beliefs are able to influence health care via competing therapies, healthcare system’s fear, or distrust of therapies that are prescribed. This gap of perception can negatively influence decisions in treatment and thus may affect patient outcomes regardless of appropriate therapy. Even though healthcare professionals apply biomedical model in understanding illness, patient values and beliefs are affected through behavioral and social factors together with anatomy or biology. It is significant to recognize and deal with perceived benefits and barriers of therapies to enhance patient adherence to clinical plans through making sure that the importance and benefits of treatment are properly understood. I think healthcare professionals need to understand the individual patient’s functional understanding of illness, and the symbolic meaning and relationship meaning, accompanied by a review of this information and informing the patient the issue from the healthcare professional’s perspective and, eventually, involving the patient by asking him or her to summarize. Agreement between patient and the healthcare professional is a major variable that affects outcome. Hence I think communication should be culturally competent. The healthcare professional should understand the way difficulties in language complicate communication during patient/healthcare professional’s interaction. It is important to note that a patient can speak English; poor English proficiency may bring about problems of communication, leading to potentially serious health conditions. These may entail not understanding the way of taking medications, slight misunderstanding that may be crucial in emotionally charged matters, and issues of mental health and cultural assumptions. It is not good to stereotype people according to culture; hence the healthcare professional should understand how environmental and social determinants of health affect quality multicultural health care. From this discussion, I have significantly improved my knowledge of patient interactions in relation to the influence of culture. Reflective journal 7 Throughout this semester, I have been asked to write my reflections on some topics covered in lectures and tutorials. At the beginning, however, I found the task to be quite difficult even though my classmates did not have a lot of hardships. I took it to myself that I should practice more because practice makes perfect. This is a phrase that simply means that rehearsal of behavior with time brings about a degree of perfection. It is argued that the advantages of the process of reflective learning are normally built up with a period of time, where students normally demonstrate a set of developmental transformation, personal development, and changes in viewpoints in the course of the process. Since a reflective journal entails recording thoughts, personal experiences and thoughts, as well as insights and reflections a student has in the process of learning, this demonstrates a student’s ability to think more intensely unlike general learning where the student may not be able to synthesize what was learned. This skill is useful to me as a learner because it fosters active learning. The reflection process encourages students to consider the initiative of being active and self-driven. It also allows individual student to explore ideas and concepts related to their feelings and thoughts from various perspectives. Learners can be sovereign thinkers via the practice and are able to solve various issues by themselves. Another reason why I consider reflective writing as essential is that it helps in progress of understanding in students. Reflection offers a good opportunity for instructors to obtain better understanding concerning the way learners feel and think concerning the course, and the progress of learning for students all through the course that will ultimately promote the learning process of the student. Through reflective writing, I have improved my skills of writing. Writing journals of reflection can engage students in a fresh writing form that they might not get an opportunity to experience previously. This exposure can yield improvement in the skills of writing. As a skill, reflective writing enables a learner to freely express personal views while criticizing one-self. Assignments of reflective journal offer the stage for learners to liberally express what they feel and think concerning the course as well as their process of learning, and also enhance the expression of opinions, personal experiences, and ideas. This is a suitable arena for learners who are basically not willing or afraid of speaking up in the tutorials and classes to express themselves. Lastly, I think reflective writing is useful because it enhances creativity and critical thinking. Self-reflection’s process promotes the development of skills of critical thinking among students when they relate knowledge to the actual world issues. This has helped me develop my creativity as well as questioning attitudes towards various problems and issues, which I could not do before. Work cited Wolf, Eric., Kahn, Joel., Roseberry, William and Wallerstein Immanuel. Current Anthropology, Vol. 35, No. 1 (1994), pp. 1-12. Read More