Resources

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_Japan

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_Japan

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_holidays_in_Japan

http://web-japan.org/kidsweb/explore/housing/index.html

Japanese Culture

Mohamed Abid Aziz H00155069

Japan is one of the most developed of the Eastern Asian countries. Geographically comprising over 6800 islands, Japan is strategically situated off the eastern coasts of China in the Pacific Ocean. Research shows that Japan’s history dates back to around 30,000 BC. Japanese history is maybe one of the most diverse histories in the world, with early influences of other nations and later going through long periods of isolation making Japan a very interesting part of the world as far as many aspects are concerned. Japan’s inhabitants came from many different cultural backgrounds like the Ainu people, the Yamato people and the Yayoi people who introduced wet rice farming around 500 BC in Japan. Chinese historians were the first to mention Japan in writing. Buddhism was first introduced into Japan by the Baekje, which was one of the “Three Kingdoms” as mentioned by the Chinese historians. But the later development of Japanese Buddhism was mainly influenced by China and, although it faced resistance at first, it was encouraged by the ruling class and began to gain widespread acceptance at the start of the Asuka Period. However, “Pure Land Buddhism” became highly popular only much later in the 2^nd half of the 11^th century. Japan has been involved in many wars, mainly the two World Wars, which have highly affected Japan and its people and politics. Though victorious in WW1, Japan was tragically defeated in WW2 by the horrific atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Demographically Japan is considered one of the highest in number of residents mounting up to more than 127 million people. Out of these, over 98% are ethnic Japanese and the dominating ethnicity is of the Yamato people. The foreign minority groups include Koreans, Chinese, and as surprising as it may sound, Brazilians and Peruvians of Japanese descent.

Mohamed Bassam Alyousaif H00208358

There is much cultural diversity floating around the country and many religions such as Shinto which is the official religion. In the ancient mythology Shinto encourages the Japanese to be courageous about one’s own self reliance, to respect the nature’s beauty, to be polite, and reserved; another religion is Amaterasu which refers to the goddess of the sun and there are a few Catholic Christians and 3 percent Chinese and Koreans.

The population in Japan is estimated to be 135 million people, many located in Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya. Their cultural diversity is wearing the latest motley clothes, but in business wear both men and woman wear business suits and a woman’s legs shouldn’t be revealed publically. If there is a special occasion or ceremony they wear Wufuku which usually comes in a red color.

Their behavior is very good and very strict such as their focus about one’s own loyalty, devotion, and losing your temper. They take care of the sickness by giving them face masks in the office to avoid contagions; they never talk about politics in public and never hurt other people’s feelings and when they meet strangers they greet by bowing or by closing their hands together. They always think about the future and heading to the right path although they never forget about the age and traditional ways.

Alabed Ediha Al-Amri H00211234

In Japan there are a lot of cultures that date back especially with the language, food, traditional dress, holidays and celebrations. First, 130 million of Japanese are talking Nihongo Language which is a primary language in Japan. However there are Chinese characters of the combination of three scripts with the written Japanese language; the first character is Kanji while the other two are Hiragana and Katakana. Second, the two primary foods of the Japanese are rice and noodles, and they can be served with sea food and beef. For example Sochi (fresh raw sea food with rice), Sashimi (fresh raw sea food with soy sauce) and Sukiyaki (paper- thin slices of beef or chicken with vegetables and cubes of tofu cooked in broth); these are famous delicious foods in Japan. They also drink tea, but the green tea is the national beverage in Japan. Third, the favorite traditional dress of Japan is the Kimono which is generally made of silk and it has large sleeves reaching from the shoulders all the way down to the heels and it is tied with an Obi; this Obi is a wide belt. Kimonos are now usually specially worn at weddings, special occasions and festivals. However, there is another kind of the traditional dress called Yukata and it is often worn in summer by children and young adults at festivals and other special occasions. Fourth, there are a lot of holidays in Japan, such as citizens’ holiday on May 4. Finally, in Japan they have a special traditional ceremony such as The Tea Ceremony and they are doing this ceremony to keep their culture ongoing. However, there are a lot of other ceremonies, for example The Birth Ceremony, The Marriage Ceremony and The Death Ceremony.

Sharjah's past airport and Dubai's modern Airport

Back in 1937, Sharjah was a very simple place for mostly local Arabs who struggled with slavery and a less technological lifestyle. They had to walk long distances in the hot desert and their communication device is less than helpful. The locals genuinely cooperated with a European sergeant handling business and to expand the popularity of Imperial Airways.

The setting was very basic with plain buildings. The people working seemed to be very strict about their way of doing their jobs, careful not to make any mistakes and to be very respectful, from studying the weather to making the visitors feel comfortable.

Today modern airlines which land in Dubai experience a completely different vibe; the environment was very cheerful and freely expressing yourself by joining the dancing crowd unscheduled; the place was very trendy and the ultimate of technological edginess, as in the video you can not only see locals but almost every nation around the world coming together to make Dubai one of the most desirable and beautiful places, comfortable and relaxing.

Reflection

Cultural diversity is when different religions and other countries collide; it is important that people respect other life styles.

And at the same time it also means having a mix of human societies and cultures living together in a land or region and respecting differences; it means being socially inclusive, built up as one.

Also it means having people to learn about other people's ways of life, about how they live, dress, types of language, food, and also about their religion. So when it comes to all of these cultures we have cultural diversity.

Definitions

 1. Affluence = wealthy.
Abu Dhabi is an example of an affluent society/The opposite of affluence is poverty.

2.  Ethnicity = is determined by factors such as race, religion and language.

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 analyze 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.
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.

13. Bias = prejudice.

Bias is a negative opinion of a person or group based on race, color, culture etc.

14. Discrimination = treating people differently.

Apartheid meant discrimination in favor 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. Stereotype = making assumption or generalizations about a person or a group if people.

Americans are rich, while Mexicans are poor.

18. Gender

There are two genders, male and female.

19. Resistance = opposition.

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

20. Advantage = a favored 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 color.

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

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

Ethical behavior is honest behavior.

23. Productivity = the ability to produce something.

The company's productivity rates are rising.

24. Behavior = manner of acting/conduct.

The student's behavior is very good.

25. Belief = confidence.

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, or 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 generations to generations.

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 ideal & 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 viewpoint of view.

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 and culture.

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,

Christian is a minority of the UAE’s population.

41. Class = group.

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

42. Globalization = worldwide connectivity. 

Global brands or logos today are recognized 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

Cultural Diversity: in the story there are a group of kids who were blind from Tibet whose religion is Buddhist , which their tribes and religion see as a cursed people who had done bad things in their lives; it is as a punishment for them but they are trying to overcome the situation of being handicapped; the hate, discrimination, stereotyping and racism has got a hold on the people; the kids who got beat up for not achieving the proper money budgets and the kid who’s Chinese is being burnt all over his body with the cigarettes. A German lady and some of her friends from America, gave the opportunity for some blind kids in Tibet, to climb Mountain Everest; this is where the cultural diversity collided and helped them to reach the capability and challenges to reach their goal; they are being trained in how to climb and they face excessive challenges; the other thing is that oxygen is getting lower every time they go higher. While they are on their path to the top, they somehow failed to reach their goal because of the lack of oxygen, but they were proud of what they have done learning the English language, and their confidence got lifted up and they were appreciated and hoping to start life in a new fresh start.

Cultural Diversity

a) The counting of the population took place in the year 2000. With growth of the economy in the UAE and making the East Coast famous, allowing the Europeans and Americans to come to the Gulf to either visit, stay and live here, or applying for jobs, the population has increased.

b) The percentage of Hindoos has increased over the last decade; just spotting them on the street is very easy, like cab drivers and such and many other jobs.