Reflective Journals by Ramyah Murali https://padlet.com/ramyahmurali/Intercultural Intercultural Communication course MSC3023 en-us 2021-02-05 01:57:58 UTC 2025-10-11 14:39:53 UTC hello@padlet.com Reflective Journals 1 ramyahmurali https://padlet.com/ramyahmurali/Intercultural/wish/1848104899 Introduction for MSC3023 Intercultural Communication by Madam Suzana Ibrahim. All the necessary course details, teaching strategies, assignments, task, reflection journals, e-book, citation, paraphrase and requirements has been shared by the lecture. The aim of this course is to recognize a greater range of dimension from global, local and national perception of intercultural communication. Basically, how would this course benefit you in intercultural communication in your daily life. Intercultural communication is a view that develops as a result of such significant cultural differences that these variations have a major impact on the success or failure of communicative interactions. This is particularly visible in business and or daily life where the effectiveness of negotiations is frequently determined by how well parties understand national features, customs, and ways of dealing with one another. Knowledge is applied in the communication of contexts and their working norms, as well as the principles of communicative interaction, under intercultural communication (Shamsitdinova, 2020). For instance, when Microsoft founder Bill Gates met President Park Geun-hye, he was criticised for being too casual during his interactions with the President. Handshakes are considered informal in Korean culture, and thus it is only appropriate for youngsters or close friend. The hand in pocket, was a gesture of superiority that was shown as an impolite person by Bill Gates. South Korea is a hierarchical society in which a person's status and authority must be honored and recognized. Learning intercultural communication enable to respect and have better knowledge of diverse cultures and learn how to communicate with individuals with different background and cultures.



Shamsitdinova, M. G. (2020). INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION AND PROBLEMS OF TEACHING ENGLISH TO THE STUDENTS-NONLINGUISTS. Theoretical & Applied Science, 84(04), 1024–1026. https://doi.org/10.15863/tas.2020.04.84.190

]]> 2021-10-27 13:03:28 UTC https://padlet.com/ramyahmurali/Intercultural/wish/1848104899 Reflective Journals 2 ramyahmurali https://padlet.com/ramyahmurali/Intercultural/wish/1848105550 Culture shock is not really a severe sickness but how as a person you are adapting yourself to a new culture. The term "shock" references to the speed of the physical action, whereas emotions and feedback feelings might occur over a prolonged period of time. Culture shock shows us in a variety of symptoms and indicators, including overall uncomfortable with unfamiliar surroundings, unreasonable concerns, problems sleeping, stress and sadness, feelings of isolation, worry with health, and feeling ill or vomiting (Irwin, 1970). For instance, there are different food culture around the world such as in Vietnam, Sarawak, Africa, Thailand, and many more. There are countries who consume insect, blood, animal brains, or well known as exotic food selection. This might be a culture shock for those who newly adapting the new culture. Besides that, there are 4 different culture shock stages which are honeymoon, negotiation, adjustment and adaption stages. Honeymoon is the initial stage of culture shock, when an individual notices resemblance between the new culture and their own. Following by negotiation stage which revealed by frustration and anxiety where the excitement will decrease slowly when problems or distressing conditions that may insult or keep you feeling unconnected occur. As a result, the individual might miss the family and close friends. Next is the adjustment stage where the individual where things slowly improve and a habit develops according to the new culture. The individual will be more familiar with the food, language, and custom that able to knowing the new culture better. Lastly adaption stage where the individual comfortable with the new culture and custom that has been apart of their daily routine. Re-entry stage where the individual might experience the inverse culture shock when return to home. Therefore, culture shock is an unavoidable aspect of adapting in new culture. 

 

Irwin, R. (1970). Culture shock: negotiating feelings in the field. Anthropology Matters, 9(1). https://doi.org/10.22582/am.v9i1.64

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Week 3 is on intercultural communication as a requirement for the interdependent global society. Intercultural communication occurs when 2 individuals discuss cultural beliefs and cultural elements that are entirely different that can impact communication. 6 areas will impact our life which is international conflict especially security, competition for natural resources and jobs, Environment challenges, health care issues, and population shifts. The interconnected global community can be the improvement of telecommunication between differing to the community, growth of world trade, increase interaction, and increase business as well. Growing domestic diversity that goes dramatic change such as US, Malaysia, and another country. Immigration also contributes to the country’s economy and welfare such as the US, Malaysia, and Singapore. The influence of technology allows an individual to interact with another in any part of the world. Therefore, the ideas, interests, social causes, and common practices can be shared. Malaysia is a multiracial country that has different languages, practices, beliefs, values, attitudes, religions, customs, etc. There are high and low-context cultures that impact people that communicate with different cultures. For instance, I can differentiate high context individuals who will have a long-term bond and fewer rules with a structured implementation that gives more importance compared to low context cultures that have a short bond that follows rules and is task-oriented. Based on my opinion, Malaysia is very approachable, friendly, verbal & nonverbal cues, high context cultures, etc.  Dominant cultures are known as cultures that have the control of people to follow. Co-culture is a community that is slightly different from other groups which are from values, beliefs, behavior, common practices, etc. Society is an organized community interaction with social structure, organizations, and institutions. In a conclusion, I am able to differentiate high and low-context cultures as well types of communities (King & Bailey, 2021).

 

King, C. S. T., & Bailey, K. S. (2021). Intercultural communication and US higher education: How US students and faculty can improve. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 82, 278–287. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2021.04.007

]]> 2021-10-27 13:03:54 UTC https://padlet.com/ramyahmurali/Intercultural/wish/1848106222 Reflective Journals 4 ramyahmurali https://padlet.com/ramyahmurali/Intercultural/wish/1848106865 My understanding based on cultures of the world is individuals with a unique and different set of behavior, practices, beliefs, shapes, colors, religions, and many more. Each and everyone is different in their way of cultural background. The culture influences an individual life of living and inheriting things that are important to the individuals. Through culture, the identity of an individual is developed. A society is made up of different individuals from different cultures. Culture is made up of different communities, different communities are made up of different societies and of this are made up of from different countries such as Malaysia, Thailand, India, Africa and many other countries with unique cultures. All the cultures are different in their languages, food, manners, styles of dress, religion, celebrations, ethics, and many more. Make sure to ask the individual if you would like to know about the culture. Culture is very diverse and complex. Cultures are varied from collectivism and individualism. Collectivism is known as a country that focuses on the group’s aims and needs. Where they focus more on the community. Hence, individualism is more focused on the specific individual itself. Where they are more concerned with self-independency. Collectivism countries such as Malaysia, Japan, India, and many more. Individualism countries such as America, New Zealand, Germany, and many more. Therefore, family cultures plays are a very vital role to inherit the cultures especially through reproduction, language, religion, food, identity, communication, patterns of living, values, social skills, gender roles, opinions, and many more. This week I have learned that cultures bring a huge impact on globalization and migration as well where it brings a unique family culture and tradition to another country. The cultural characteristics element informs migrants about the possibility of living in a culturally similar context, such as talking one's original language, hearing one's own music, reading one's own newspapers, and eating traditional foods (Epstein & Gang, 2010). Therefore, this shows the cultural diversity around the world.

Epstein, G. S., & Gang, I. N. (2010). Chapter 1 Migration and Culture. Frontiers of Economics and Globalization, 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1108/s1574-8715(2010)0000008007.

]]> 2021-10-27 13:04:07 UTC https://padlet.com/ramyahmurali/Intercultural/wish/1848106865 Reflective Journals 5 ramyahmurali https://padlet.com/ramyahmurali/Intercultural/wish/1848107475 Week 5 covers the deep structure of culture where lessons are learned from the family. A social institution is a place where cultural influences come into existence. Deep structure is a conscious and unconscious observation about how the world operates. The Social institution is influenced by family, state, and religion. There are 3 types of forms of the family which are nuclear, extended, and alternate family. A nuclear family is where the parents and children live together. Extended 2 generation family living together with the grandparents. Alternate forms where it’s a family that was formed with marriage, life, and partnership. There are also cultural variants in family interaction based on gender roles. For instance, in countries like Indian, males have more superiority compared to females. Compare to Us country males are successful and women are interdependent. Therefore, gender roles are also a part of cultural interactions. Besides that, an individual from a nuclear family the parents are responsible to educate the children. If not, they might learn from the community. Furthermore, an idiosyncrasy is a unique habit or behavior that a person holds. Most of the individuals did not notice the usual/odd behavior. However, it might be weird or awkward to others. For instance, hitting the public phone booth for balance, playing with hair while thinking, shaking leg while doing something and etc. Globalization impacts the mass media and migration aspects. Where in mass media the new technologies might bring new values to the family. Especially the family suffer or have difficult to justify the culture to be explained to the new generations. On the other hand, migration occurs as an escape from poverty. Therefore, the closeness of the family reduces due to distance and separation. In conclusion, culture globalization promotes the interchange of cultural values across countries and the interconnection of cultures. Hence, popular worldwide development may overtake or transform the local culture. Many people see this as a loss of values and culture and are trying to restore it (Raikhan et al., 2014).

 

Raikhan, S., Moldakhmet, M., Ryskeldy, M., & Alua, M. (2014). The Interaction of Globalization and Culture in the Modern World. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 122, 8–12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.01.1294

]]> 2021-10-27 13:04:20 UTC https://padlet.com/ramyahmurali/Intercultural/wish/1848107475 Reflective Journals 6 ramyahmurali https://padlet.com/ramyahmurali/Intercultural/wish/1848108112 Week 6 I have to understand that perception has to be learned, determined based on the culture, consistent, and sometimes inaccurate. On the other hand, values are the backbone of your beliefs. Values also show the bad and good paths of life. It depends on the cultural pattern that the individual has been brought up in. Based on Hofstede’s set of Value dimensions is a framework that has been used to understand the different cultures of different countries based on individual/collectivism, uncertainty avoidance, power distance, Masculinity/Femineity, long term/short term orientation, and indulgence/restraints. Individualism is where the individual focuses on the self-compared to collectivism focused more on the group interdependency. Those countries with a high number of uncertainty avoidance have a low tolerance for uncertainty. Power Distance shows how the community manages the inequality of people. High power distance shows that high inequality in the community compares to the low power of distance have minimized the inequality. Masculinity and femininity show the level of male and female values in the country. It also shows the dominantly of the gender according to the culture. Long-term it’s better than a short-term orientation toward future advantages. Industry versus indulgence shows that how does the country gives importance for industry and leisure. Industrious culture focuses more on the industry compared to indulgent culture focus more on leisure. In conclusion, cultural patterns and values play a very vital role in intercultural communication. By this, we get to know how does the culture differ from the culture around the world. In conclusion, cultural values change actively. However, economic expansion, education, and politics are all components of social changes that may have an impact on work-related cultural characteristics. As the exterior environmental variables shape a community considerable difference in cultural values occur (Wu, 2008).

 

Wu, M.-Y. (2008). Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions 30 Years Later: A Study of Taiwan and the United States*. Intercultural Communication Studies, 1. http://www.homecont.ro/pitagora/Hofstede-04-Ming-Yi-Wu.pdf

]]> 2021-10-27 13:04:31 UTC https://padlet.com/ramyahmurali/Intercultural/wish/1848108112 Reflective Journals 7 ramyahmurali https://padlet.com/ramyahmurali/Intercultural/wish/1848108741 2021-10-27 13:04:44 UTC https://padlet.com/ramyahmurali/Intercultural/wish/1848108741 Reflective Journals 8 ramyahmurali https://padlet.com/ramyahmurali/Intercultural/wish/1848109313 2021-10-27 13:04:55 UTC https://padlet.com/ramyahmurali/Intercultural/wish/1848109313 Reflective Journals 9 ramyahmurali https://padlet.com/ramyahmurali/Intercultural/wish/1848110089 Generally, identity is related to the difference and similarities cultures. Therefore, the similarities can influence our perceptions, and attitudes to people and new things. For the dissimilarity, it may cause stereotyping, racism, and ethnocentrism. Intercultural communication occurs when there is a difference between cultures among people. Identity is our reflection of our opinions and views. The identities can be influenced by several cultures which are racial identity, gender identity, Ethnic identity, National identity, regional identity, organizational identity, Personal identity, cyber identity, and fantasy identity, etc. This topic improves my understanding to differentiate Stereotypes and Prejudice. Stereotypes are any view or idea applied towards an individual targeting a specific race, gender, sexual and group.  For instance, Chinese individuals are good in Math subjects. Mainly Stereotyping will relate to gender roles, as shown in the BBC news interview. Moreover, stereotyping also make people difficult for intercultural communication. Stereotyping is also known as assumptions towards certain cultural information that involved a certain group of people. When comes to stereotyping be flexible and do more research on the related topic. On the other hand, prejudice it’s a judgment or view that is not from a real experience.  A negative judgment towards an individual is known as prejudice. Prejudice, according to Gordon W. Allport, is a judgmental attitude or reaction against an individual only because he or she represents the group to which someone has assigned unpleasant attributes (Kolb, 1954).

 

Kolb, W. L. (1954). The nature of prejudice. by Gordon W. Allport. Cambridge: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Inc., 1954. 537 pp. $5.50. Social Forces, 33(1), 90–91. https://doi.org/10.2307/2573151

]]> 2021-10-27 13:05:06 UTC https://padlet.com/ramyahmurali/Intercultural/wish/1848110089 Reflective Journals 10 ramyahmurali https://padlet.com/ramyahmurali/Intercultural/wish/1848111071 Intercultural communication in contexts based on application in business, education, and healthcare for this week. In this chapter, all the communication will affect culture, societal and that will happen and have similar rules that regulate the communication flow. Moreover, culture also discovers the right communication attitude based on the social and physical context by several rules. There are three assumptions about context which are communication is rules governed, context help to specify communication rules, and communication rules are culturally diverse. Besides that, Malaysia utilized Hierarchical culture compared with Egalitarian culture. Moreover, there is intercultural communication in a business context where how business able to accommodate throughout different cultures and knowledge in a different culture, cross-culture group work and other important corporation that may lead to a successful company. This differs into several approaches which are business protocols, greeting behaviors, personal appearance, gift, taboos, etc. For instance, the government does not have a culture of gift-giving compared to the private sector. Moreover, there are several key principles in a multicultural business context which are organizational style, leadership style, decision making, formality, impact of group, and manager motivation methods. Based on health context language play a vital role. Sometimes it may lead to miscommunication that causes unfavorably effect. Moreover, various cultures have different beliefs. Health belief systems are divided into 3 main categories are Biomedical perspective or scientific, Supernatural/Magical or religious perspective, and holistic perspective. Supernatural or religious perspectives system is different from the other two 2 perspectives which are Biomedical and holistic. This is because the medical practice is built upon the belief structure that the universe is regulated by supernatural powers. That whole tradition's adherents have strong beliefs in the presence of black magic, mystery, and bad spirits. Besides that, the disease is considered a consequence of supernatural activity, mystic forces, and demonic human interaction, and Illness is portrayed as a paranormal agent's retribution in this perspective. However, the sickness treatment is different based on the supporters or healers. For instance, Mental diseases are indeed a consequence of complex spiritual entities, paranormal forces, magic, or black magic, as said by ancient Hindu literature (Kate et al., 2012). On the other hand, a holistic perspective where the process will be treated as a whole not separately or with any supernatural treatment. Throughout the medical practice, a person is treated as a whole and a set of interconnected aspects such as physiological, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual. For instance, Chinese traditional medicines that focused on a holistic perspective where allow the human body to heal in a natural approach and whole such as yin and yang, qi, body fluid, acupuncture (Keji & Hao, 2003). Compare to both above systems the scientific/biomedical approach is focused is more on the scientific approach and the principle of action and reaction where it is viewed from the microbiological perspective or scientific. This is more to a western healthcare system that focused on policy, science and preventive or therapeutic intervention for illness or diseases compare to holistic and supernatural perspectives. For instance, scientific or biomedical perspectives also identify useful treatments for illnesses such as mental disorders, cancer, diabetes, HIV, infection, that required help and quick treatment from those people who suffer from the illness (Cherry, 2020).

 
Kate, N., Grover, S., Kulhara, P., & Nehra, R. (2012, January). Supernatural beliefs, aetiological models and help seeking behaviour in patients with schizophrenia. Industrial psychiatry journal. Retrieved February 4, 2022, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3678179/ 

Keji, C., & Hao, X. (2003, May 20). The integration of traditional Chinese Medicine and Western Medicine: European Review. Cambridge Core. Retrieved February 4, 2022, from https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/european-review/article/abs/integration-of-traditional-chinese-medicine-and-western-medicine/2CE830CB634D7AB0F21928BD1C4C840A 

Cherry, K. (2020, March 19). Explore a list of psychological disorders from the DSM-5. Verywell Mind. Retrieved February 4, 2022, from https://www.verywellmind.com/a-list-of-psychological-disorders-2794776 
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