4.8 Towards a global culture?

Question 1

What is cultural diffusion?

Answer 1

Cultural diffusion is the spread of one culture to another by various means.

Question 2

How has globalisation influenced cultural diffusion?

Answer 2

Globalisation has led to increased cultural diffusion and the development of a sort of global culture.
This has been done through:
social media
tourism and international migration
containerisation and transport
religion

Question 3

How has cultural diffusion affected people’s diets in China?

Answer 3

economic growth has gone hand in hand with a rapid growth in obesity levels
9.7% of Chinese people have diabetes and there’s 100 million obese people- five times as many as 2002
growth in fast food market
They’ve experienced a ‘wealth-deficit’ problem as the rural poor are still thin while the urban middle class get fat
the problem is fueled by the Chinese obsession with academic achievement, which leaves no time for physical exercise

Question 4

How has changing diets in Asia affected the environment?

Answer 4

By 2015, China had the world’s biggest market for processed food as meat consumption per capita went from 5 to 50kg
Livestock farming has caused a steep rise in emissions of methane
Crops are imported from around the world to feed China’s animals
The Amazon rainforest has been cleared to make space for soya cultivation to feed Chinese cattle
Increased desire for shark fin soup at Chinese weddings. As incomes have risen, the number of sharks killed worldwide has doubled

Question 5

How does the spread of global culture benefit disadvantaged groups?

Answer 5

-A recent shift in attitudes towards disabled people has taken place and global media has helped to turn the Paralympic games into one of the worlds biggest sporting events by celebrating the physical achievements of elite athletes with disabilities.
-Paralympics started as an event for war veterans in 1948.
-In 1988 for the first time the Paralympics were help immediately after the Olympics.
-Uzbekistan first entered a team to the Paralympics in 2004 with one athlete. In 2016 they entered 32 and won 31 medals!

Question 6

Why was the 21st of March 2016 such a monumental date?

Answer 6

Barack Obama became the first president to visit Cuba in 57 years

Question 7

What happened to Cuba in 1959?

Answer 7

Cuba’s head of government, Fidel Castro, declared Cuba a communist state, when he took over the country in a revolution that resulted in its isolation from the Western capitalist world for 50 years

Question 8

How did the Cuban economy survive as a communist state?

Answer 8

Subsidies from the communist government in the USSR supported its economy until 1991, when the Soviet Union collapsed

Question 9

What happened in Cuba after 1991?

Answer 9

Cuba began a period of development that included accepting some foreign capital- particularly about tourism. Tourism brought many Cubans into contact with foreign travelers and their cultures for the first time.

Question 10

What has happened in Cuba since 2008?

Answer 10

Since 2008, when Fidel Castro resigned due to ill health, his brother Raul has been in power in Cuba. President Obama’s visit was a result of the relaxation of strict controls by Raul, which has allowed free enterprise businesses to be set up for the first time in decades

Question 11

What has happened in Cuba since 2012?

Answer 11

Cubans have been able to buy and sell houses and cars, take out loans and set up private businesses. This new openness has led to improved relations with the US. An initial sign of thawing relations between the two countries was the reopening of the US embassy in Havana in 2015, followed by Obama’s visit

Question 12

What is the downside of Cuba’s move to capitalism?

Answer 12

Guarantee of state employment has now gone and state owned farmland has been sold off to private companies
Growing inequality

Question 13

How has Cuba’s culture changed thanks to the relaxed rules?

Answer 13

-spread of TV (Netflix is now allowed there), the Internet and tourists is broadening Cuba’s knowledge to the rest of the world and challenging Cuba’s traditions and values
-the cap on remittances sent home by Cuban Americans to relatives back home has been lifted
-Cultural erosion has also lead to changes in the environment. Beach resorts have changed cuba’s coastline and its coral reefs are now threatened by increased tourist activity

Question 14

How has cultural diffusion encouraged diversity in the UK

Answer 14

Global cultures develop where global processes exist at a local level. Urban environments in British cities, like Leicester’s golden mile have been transformed by years of inward migration. Ethnic enclaves like this gain their own identity, where street furniture, road names and cuisine add to the city’s multicultural character and strengthen cultural diversity

Question 15

What is cultural erosion?

Answer 15

the loss of traditional language, food, music, clothes and social relations often associated with specific cultural groups.
Globalisation can lead to cultural erosion through people wanting the same things. Traditional and cultural traits are being ‘watered down’ and ‘eroded’ by globalisation

Question 16

How often does a language become extinct?

Answer 16

Every 14 days

Question 17

How many UNESCO sites are there in the UK?

Answer 17

33

Question 18

Since June 2014, how many ancient historic sites in Iraq has ISIS destroyed?

Answer 18

28

Question 19

How many different tribes exist in Papa New Guinea?

Answer 19

7000

Question 20

How did colonial rule change in Papa New Guinea over the last 2 centuries?

Answer 20

The island became partly British and partly German in 1884. By 1905, British New Guinea had become under the rule of Australia and the country gained its independence in 1975

Question 21

How did colonial rule affect Papa New Guinea’s cultural identity?

Answer 21

Missionaries and administrators suppressed tribal warfare to allow freedom of movement and integrated villagers into the colonial economy as plantation workers and mission helpers. Missionary activities also lead to the spread of Christianity and Western education. Classes started to emerge as parents with good jobs provided for their children’s future. Increasing intermarriage between cultural groups meant that couples failed to pass on their native language to their children

Question 22

How has the discovery of the copper mine in 1964 affected Bougainville?

Answer 22

It was argued that the profits from the mine would benefit all Papa New Guinea. However, Bougainvillieans were suspicious of the motives of the Australians and Rio Tinto (British TNC) They were also resentful of the mainland Papua New Guineans who were bought in to work for the mine. In November 1988 a guerrilla operation began that became the Bougainville Revolutionary Army. The conflict continued throughout the 1990s and it’s been difficult for the police who have been fighting their own fellow citizens.

Question 23

How has France resisted the move to a global culture?

Answer 23

-The French government is extremely supportive of French filmmakers
-Under local law, 40% of television must consist of French productions and no more than 55% American film imports
-French language music is heavily promoted on radio stations
-Since 2007, the French government has been more accepting of globalisation because of successful French TNCs such as EDF energy

Question 24

How has Bhutan resisted the move to a global culture?

Answer 24

-Tourism was introduced here in 1974
-Aware of unrestricted flow damaging the environment and culture, the government introduced a policy of ‘high value, low volume’ tourism
The policy involves imposing a US$200 per person per day tariff and has succeeded in providing a source of government income for education and health, while at the same time making tourism in Bhutan an exclusive experience

Question 25

How has China resisted the move to a global culture?

Answer 25

The ‘great firewall of China’ prevents internet users from using BBC or Facebook services
China’s government sets a strict quota of 34 foreign films a year

Question 26

How has North Korea resisted the move to a global culture?

Answer 26

Totalitarianism state that has minimal contact with the outside world
Foreign media is forbidden, interaction with tourists is strictly controlled and the Internet is inaccessible to almost everyone
BBC journalists found that university students had never heard of Nelson Mandela