Ethical issues behind intercultural contact

Questions 1. Go to The Globe. Locate Peru (in South America). Take a look at the photograph for Machu Picchu and the corresponding link. This structure is on the list of Forgotten Wonders of the World. Millions of people each year visit this site. This brings in much need money to the economy, but it also endangers the site as people try to steal a piece of the structure, they mark up the site with carvings of their initials or graffiti, they leave trash behind, and just the sheer number of people walking on the floors and touching the artifacts wears them down. • What issues FROM THE READING in the section Do the Ends Justify the Means need to be addressed to preserve wonders such as Machu Picchu from destruction? • Summarize what the link says about Machu Picchu. • List and explain the other 2 ethical issues. 2. The scene you just viewed is at the end of the film. The Japanese soldiers won a battle using modern guns and cannons (provided by Americans). The samurai's skill with swords was no match for these modern weapons. The text discusses 3 ethical issues behind intercultural contact. As the world modernizes, cultural traditions may be left behind. • Which of the 3 ethical dilemmas/issues come into play in this situation? • List and explain the other 2 dilemmas/issues discussed in the text. Video: FIU | Video 22- Last Samurai_CC 3. Ecuador Poor Maria was ill and probably needed medical attention. But her mother's deeply ingrained cultural beliefs and notions prevented anybody from coming hear her. No amount of persuasion could get her to cooperate until one caseworker drew upon her knowledge of cultural differences and finally convinced the woman to allow her daughter to receive medical treatment. The following account is based on true story and illustrates the need for intercultural understanding. A child protective service worker had been asked by local school authorities to find out why Maria Ramirez had been out of school. The school principal had received alarming news from the school nurse sent on several occasions to look into the girl's absence that Maria's mother refused to cooperate and allow her daughter to receive the medical attention she probably needed urgently. The worker left for the Ramirez's home in the predominantly Hispanic suburb of the sprawling American city. Upon her arrival she found Maria's mother was very glad to have somebody with whom she could speak Spanish. Visibly upset about Maria's illness, she told the worker that she had resorted to several remedies well known back home to bring her daughter's fever down. But she was convinced that it was too late because evil spirits had already taken possession of Maria and were causing her to suffer. This is why she had locked her daughter in her bedroom and had put a pair of large sharp scissors, suspended at the end of a string, directly above Maria's bed (and her head). The scissors would "cut" any spirit that tried to enter the young girl's body. The alarmed worker immediately asked whether she could see the child. The reply was, No. Nobody could enter the room. They might possibly bring spirits into the bedroom. The mother calmly explained in a very matter-of-fact way that evil spirits could cling to any person. Under no circumstances would she let anybody, including the Spanish-speaking woman, into her daughter's room. The worker knew that she had to remove those dangerous scissors. But how could she persuade her mother to let her see the child, let alone remove the scissors in which the woman had so much faith? Knowing that such beliefs run deep in people's cultural patterning, the worker was facing a dilemma: how to gain access to the child's bedroom, remove the dangerous scissors, and get the mother to agree to allow a doctor to examine her daughter. The worker, although familiar with many Southern and Central American folk practices, had never heard of this remedy before, but had heard from her own grandmother of a similar practice whereby scissors were placed over the door to a sick person's room. The worker started by gaining the mother's confidence in recognizing the cultural validity of such folk healing practices. She then explained that the mother should remove the scissors from above her daughter's bed and place them over the door to her bedroom. This would prevent any evil spirit that clung to a person from entering the room. This would allow a doctor to enter the child's room with no risk of evil spirits' also entering the room. The mother agreed, saying that all she wanted was to see her daughter well again. The caseworker and a doctor were able to examine Maria and treat her and within days the child was well again. • What would have happened if the case worker had insisted on taking Maria to a hospital immediately, or tried to force her way into Maria's room? Relate this to what the text says about Culture's Influence on the Health Care Context. • List and explain the 3 prevailing understandings of the causes, treatments and preventions of illness. • 4. What color should not be used in graphic design in China? • What two add campaigns failed due to their mis-translation of words? Video: FIU | com3461 Business Video (ass9) 5. In detail, summarize at length the video series titled "Communicating Across Cultures" and relate it to ANY aspect of the course you wish. You are required to watch all videos in this series. Video: The skill of communicating across cultures (linkedin.com)