Intercultural Communication: Culture in Malaysia

Intercultural Communication: Culture in Malaysia Intercultural Communication Inter-, as you will probably know, comes from the Latin word for â€Å"between†, and the  dictionary defines â€Å"communication† as â€Å"exchanging information†. Martin and Nakayama  (2011) define intercultural communication as the â€Å"interaction between people from  different cultural backgrounds.† Importance of Studying Intercultural Communication Intercultural communication is getting more and more significant due to the advance of  globalization and increasingly multicultural work environments. It is indispensable  because of our increasing exposure to masses of other polishes. Because of this, the  cultural intelligence and cross-cultural communication skills that come with studying in a  foreign country are extremely sought after by employers who seek to earn a competitive  edge and break into foreign markets. Culture â€Å"Culture is brought up to a group or residential district, which shares common  experiences that shape the way its members understand the cosmos (Marya Axner, 2013). Academic researchers often start out with the observation that â€Å"culture† is a word with a  very vague meaning. Or rather, a word with lots of different meanings. A culture is a  unique combination of rituals (such as greeting and parting), religious beliefs, ways of  thinking (such as the earth was created), and ways of behaving (such as women can marry  at 14 years of age in Iran) that unify a group of people. Festivals Celebrated In Malaysia Malaysia is a multiracial country consisting of the three primary races in the nation. Looking for forgiveness from one another, especially from the elder members of the  household is an important custom in this portion of the universe, which leads to Hari  Raya Aidilfitri. This usage is thought as a way of abandoning past animosity, and  strengthening bonds between family members and acquaintances. â€Å"Eid Ul Fitr† is usually  celebrated to give thanks and to celebrate their success in completing the month-long time  fasting period of Ramadan. The festival commemorates the end of Haj, which is the  Muslim pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia. It also marks the  willingness of the Islamic prophet Ibrahim to sacrifice his son Ismail in an act of  obedience to Allah (God). Handing out red envelopes to children during the Chinese New Year is one of the  customs traditions in this festival. Aged people and married couples usually are the ones  that take in these handouts. The centuries – old legend includes a report of a terrible  mythical monster who preyed on villagers. On this day, families travel long distances to  meet and make merry. Though the holiday is only around a week long, traditionally it is a  15-day holiday during which firecrackers are lit, drums can be heard on the streets, red  lanterns glow at nighttime and red paper cutouts and calligraphy hangings are hung on  doorways. The famous festival among the Indians is Diwali or Deepavali that marks the victory of  good over evil. On every Diwali day, the goddess Lakshmi is worshipped as a symbol of  prosperity. Annemarie (n.d) discovered that people wear new clothes, share sweets and  light up firecrackers on this very day. It is stated that the fireworks are used to frighten the  evil spirits away, while the light embraces prosperity in the form of Lakshmi. The  preparations begin the day before, when the oven is cleaned, smeared with lime, four or  five kumkum are put on, and then it is sated with water for the next days oil bath. Etiquettes Good eating etiquette is one of the common important rules of feeding. Malays admire  good etiquette and do not appreciate bluntness. It is polite and goes for the soft sell. Beverages will not be served before dinner and it is offered by using both hands. The  right hand is only used to eat, pass, touch or handle anything while the left hand is never  used to eat because it is filthy. As for the Chinese, generally hosts a welcoming banquet while the foreign guests should  reciprocate toward the end of their visits. It is a must to arrive exactly on time for a  banquet to show punctuality and courtesy. The guest of honor is always placed at the head  of the room, facing the door. It is said that chopsticks are usually used and it is considered  very rude to tap the chopsticks on the. The chopsticks are supposedly put neatly on the  table or on the chopstick rest. Not to mention, the Indians as well, have their own etiquette of eating. Food must not be  refused when one is being served but it is all right to be the first to finish eating. Hindu  hosts are never supposed to let their guests’ plates be empty. The guests should always  assure the host that it is fine by following the host’s style of eating. If utensils are not  used, the right hand is used to eat. Spoon is a must use to take food from communal dish;  it is a rude way to use fingers. Taboos In every culture, there are always the Do’s and Don’ts. It depends on a person, whether to  believe the superstitious act or not. In Malaysia, the three primary races share some  common similarities when it comes to taboos. It is said that taboos were believed by the  ancestors, a very long time ago and it is because to bring good moral values to the  younger generation. Wasting money on unnecessary things just to make the celebration  big and merrier is not encouraged by the Muslims. Besides that, those that are celebrating  Hari Raya Aidilfitri are supposedly to visit relatives no matter how bad the family tie is. As for the Chinese, during the celebration of Chinese New Year, it is said that sweeping  the house a day before new year is bad as it will be throw the â€Å" Ong â€Å" away. Families  would be gathered for dinner to build a stronger bond with each other. No matter how  busy one would be, it is a must to celebrate this festival without missing it. Swearing or  jinxing something during new year, is said to bring bad luck to the family throughout the  rest of the whole year. For the Indians, during Deepavali, candles would be lit up, and that is one reason why is it  called The Festival Of Light and to get rid of the evil. Coloured rice would be used to  decorate the porch floor and is called â€Å"Kolam†. It is encouraged to wear bright colours  during the festival, because it is said that white and black symbolize sadness. Conclusion Every culture brings out the traditions that were believed by the ancestors, once and it is  carried on by the following generation. This leads to good moral values and etiquettes in a  person’s self. It is important to learn that intercultural communication is important  because we are highly exposed of other cultures. This brings us to understand a person’s  culture more deliberately as we are curious and try to relate ourselves to others. By  learning a person’s culture, it makes us have a wider mind of range of how others behave,  their religious beliefs and their means of establishing trust in each other. References Ahmed, S. Naumann, E. (2014). Intercultural Communication. Retrieved from http://www.internations.org/magazine/intercultural-communication-15409 Annemarie. The significance of diwali. Retrieved from http://www.auroville.org/society/diwali.htm Axner, M. (2013). Section 1. Understanding Culture and Diversity in Building Communities. Retrieved from http://ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-contents/culture/cultural-competence/culture-and-diversity/main Cultural Etiquette. Retrieved from http://www.read-write-now.org/UserDir/Documents/Cultural Etiquette.pdf Guhanatha, S. (2009). Thaipusam. Retrieved from http://www.myhindupage.org/index.php/thaipusam Hari Raya Aidilfitri. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.centralsingaporecdc.org.sg/hari-raya-aidilfitri/ Jaime, K. Hari Raya Haji. Retrieved from http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_694__2009-01-02.html Lisa, C. (n.d.). The history of Chinese New Year. Retrieved from http://chineseculture.about.com/od/chinesefestivals/a/ChineseNewYear.htm ). Martin, J. N., Nakayama, T. K. (2011). Experiencing intercultural communication: An introduction. New York : McGraw-Hill. Pearson, J.C., Nelson, P.E., Titsworth, S., Harter, L. (2013). Human communication: Intercultural communication. Penn Plaza, NY: McGraw Hill Education. The Importance of Intercultural Communication. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.ability.edu.au/latest-news/the-importance-of-intercultural-communication/

Beowulf is an Epic Hero Essay -- The Epic of Beowulf

A true hero does not fear death or, but instead risks all that he is for what he believes to be right, moral, and just. Beowulf is an epic and tells the story of a legendary hero, conquering all obstacles as if he was immortal. Up until the end of Beowulf’s life he was constantly looking to be the hero. However, his humanity is exposed by his death. Heroes all share the characteristic of their willingness to die in their effort to accomplish their heroic act, thus making the act in itself heroic. Throughout the epic, Beowulf in many ways exhibited all the qualities and characteristics needed to be a true hero. Beowulf was passed on from person to person. Beowulf possesses the superhuman abilities, and the amazing power to hold his breath under water for an unlimited period of time. It is easy to feel that these characteristics separate from the realistic nature of the story, and gives the impression that Beowulf is more like a myth than a man. In the epic Beowulf, he's portrayed as almost inhumane, but clearly fulfilled his role as a true hero. Beowulf has a strong belief in fate. If he dies in battle he believes it’s because it is his destiny to do so. "Fate will unwind as it must!" He realizes the dangers but fears nothing for his own life. This is what makes Beowulf a true hero. Even after serving his people as King of the Geats for fifty years, he goes to battle in hopes, or fate, to destroy a dragon who is terrifying all of his people. At this point however, Beowu...

Health Care Communications Methods Essay

Health Care Communications Methods In the health care industry there are several different ways to communicate. We must communicate with the doctors, nurses, care givers, patients and their family, guardian or representative. There are formal and informal ways of communication, as well as verbal and nonverbal ways to communicate. There are advantages and disadvantages to all of these communication choices, and HIPAA of 1996 regulates all of the information and the degree of how it is communicated and to whom it is communicated. There are several different types of communication methods that can be used when transferring information. There is verbal and nonverbal communication. Verbal communication would include things like speaking face to face, or when you are using the telephone, which is another great way to use verbal communication. Some other types of verbal communications would be the telemedicine; this is the clinics adoption of things like voice mail. According to a study done by NIH 50% of communication done in a clinical setting is done face to face while the other 25% is done through email and 25% is done through voice mail. (Tang, 1996). While according to another study 50% of all communications done in a hospital setting is done face to face with the patient themselves (Touissant, 2005). When you are communicating using nonverbal communication, would be when you are communicating through sign language, eye contact, body language, hand written communication, emails, fax’s and text messaging. With these types of communication there is always room for potential errors to occur, due to typing errors, spelling mistakes and grammatical errors â€Å"If information is the lifeblood of healthcare then communications system is the heart that pumps it† (Lang, 1978). The communication process is made up of the people sending and receiving the message. The communication channel is quote the pipe that the message travels on. As the administrator of a small local nursing home I have just received information that a large national group is purchasing our small establishment. This is going to pose several challenges because many of my patients either have trouble communicating, either because of health reasons or the fact they cannot understand, I have a lady that does not speak a bit of English, and she is deaf. This poses a big problem because I will need to get a Spanish speaking person that knows  how to use sign language in Spanish. For my patients that do not have any family in the local area I will have to send out written notification to their family members last known address and request the mail to be forwarded. I will try to use any email addresses that the family or guardians have left for us to use in case of an emergency. It is a possibility to use social media like face book and twitter to put out a message regarding the nursing home being sold and the patients being displaced but there is only a limited amount of information we can put on the interned due to the HIPAA and the protected medical health records (duPre, 2005). The information used in the social media sites must be general in nature only, no names or personal information can be released or that would be a violation of the HIPAA privacy act which would come with sanctions and fines that the nursing home cannot aff ord, especially now, the last thing we need is negative publicity. With all communication there are advantages and disadvantages, some of the advantages of using social media like face book and twitter would be the fact that you can reach hundreds, thousands even millions of people with only one post on the social media sites. Some of the disadvantages of using social media sites are the restrictions and lack of detail we are able to use when referencing the patients. Some of the family members have not seen their family in several years and it is possible without a name they may not even know that the message would or could pertain to them or their family because it has been so long since they have had any contact with them. In conclusion there are many different ways to communicate in the health care industry, there are verbal and nonverbal communications, and there are formal and informal ways of communication. We can communicate face to face, over the phone, via email, voice mail, face book and twitter. The HIPAA privacy act of 1996 protects and regulates the way we disclose the protected medical information about our patients. When communicating information over the internet through face book, twitter and other social media sites there are specific protocol that must be followed on order to protect the privacy of our patients protected medical records. References Tang, P.C.,(1996) Clinical information activities in diverse ambulatory care practices. Falls Surp. PubMed . Touissant, P.J. (2005). Supporting communications in health care. Boston, PubMed. duPre, A. (2005). Communicating about health care. Current issues and perspectives (2nd ed.). Boston, McGraw Hill. Hicks, N.J. & Nicols, C.M. (2012). Health industry communication. New media, new method, new message, Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning

My Opinion On Pro s Case - 1479 Words

Before I begin my final round, I want to thank my opponent for this debate. I have no doubt that he truly believes what he is professing. Though this is unconvincing to me, it cannot be said of my opponent that he is attempting to deceive or put forth arguments he does not believe in. I hope it is understood that I feel I too have been sincere. With that, I will provide my analysis of both cases and why I think I have won this debate. Pro’s Case My opponent has claimed that Jesus is historical. That he performed many miracles including raising himself from the dead. That we have good reason to believe these miracles happened due to so called eyewitnesses. He concludes that accepting those things prove that the Jesus is God. I maintain†¦show more content†¦I, like pro doubt the stories of Muhammed, Sri Sthya, and others. For me this is consistent with my view doubting Jesus as God. For Pro, this is inconstant based on his arguments. Pro does argue that â€Å"while eye witnesses are helpful for proving things, you got to make sure that they weren t deceived.† This is a reasonable thought but not helpful in this debate. We have no way to make sure that those who witnessed Jesus were not deceived. If we did, this would not be a very interesting debate as we would simply know as a matter of fact. Pro asks can my opponent name one person in history that claimed to be God and yet wasn t also insane or a liar? This is easy, every Latter-day Saint. I was raised Mormon, and while I no longer identify as one, it is a core tenant that we are all Gods. While I find the belief silly and unsupported I don’t believe the millions of members to all be insane or liars. Pro also states that because Jesus is referred to as a â€Å"good teacher† it is fair to say he was not a liar. I feel this has been addressed sufficiently. It is obvious people can be both good teacher’s and liars. To believe otherwise is to lack interacting with society at all. During this debate we have discussed whether New Testament Sources are valid historical accounts. I mentioned that Tom Clancy novels meet the same criteria as the Bible for being accurate. To this he says â€Å"That is a fair point. The problem is