Cultural Integration

Course Geography

Notes Cultural Integration

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Culture: ‘a way of life’ that is passed through generations.

made up of beliefs, language, literature, music, foods, arts, sports, and architecture

Key Terms
Global Village: a term to describe how the world appears to be getting smaller through the accessibility of
technology

especially those that facilitate transfer of information

Globalisation: integration of the world’s economy through the mass consumption of mainly Western culture,
technology and trade

affects economic, political, social, cultural and environmental decision making

Homogenised: in relation to culture, a state where one culture becomes similar to another
Popular culture: that which is considered mainstram

TV programs, music

Transnational Corporations (TNC): large international companies whose operations take place inboth
developed and developing countries

HQ usually in developed countries

Cultural Diffusion: the dispersion, or spread of different cultural elements between

countries.
Eg) McDonalds

Cultural Adoption: the acceptance and integration of different cultural elements as if

they were their own.
Eg) find number of countries with McDonalds

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 Cultural Adaption: the modification of a culture to incorporate espects of another
culture.
Eg) How have the countries changed the traditional menu so it aligns with their
culture?

Cultural Integration
Definition: The incorporation of the different cultures found throughout the world and the diffusion of a
dominate global culture.

often the blending of two or more different cultures that happens without one of the cultures sacrificing the
characteristics that make it unique

society reflects cultural integration at work (global village)

through technology and trade, a borderless world is created

seen through the adoption of mass consumer culture where everything from fashion, sport, music, TV,
becomes integrated into a country’s culture, often without challenge

Cultural Integration through:

Media
Sum of information and entertainment media taken in by an individual of group.
History:

traditionally forms of printed material like newspapers and journals

printing press first form of mass media in 1400s

in 1890s, wirless telegraph was invented

once radios became affordabel and many households owned one and over 6 million statiosn had been
formed by the 1920s

radio important form of media

Current:
Oligopolies on national media (Rupert Murdoch – NewsCorp/ABC – Government/FairFax Media – Mike
Sneesby)

Oligopoly: a market structure that consists of a small number of firms, who together have substantial
influence over a certain industry or market

Media has been globalised: With technology as a major tool, media has been turned into a weapon for
cultural and ideological imperialism, in an objective sense, ‘imperialism’ meaning “the imposition by one
usually politically or economically dominant community of various aspects of its own culture onto another
nondominant community”. Demonstrably shown through the Western media, and how it penetrates the
mass communication especially on the 3rd world countries through the imposition of Western views.

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 Has been more streamlined as a result of the internet and technology

Social media has changed how we consume news: has evolved into a sort of ‘instant gratification’, in that
like social media, news is immediate (hardly much time lag when it comes to reporting break news)

Higher potentiality for misinformation to occur since the average person plays a more sovereign and
central role in influencing the mainstream dialogue within the media

Because of the internet, media has become more a highly nuanced reflection of modern society,
especially with regards to societal change.

With this, media influences how people understand each other in the process of human
communication

The way media has been communicated through technology has become diversified – people receive the
news through podcasts, videos, paper, the internet, etc.

Key Takeaways
news media copmanies seen revenues erode over past tow decades as ad revenues and subscriptions
suffer at hands of online news outlets

print media and local newspapers have been hardes hit as broadcast news continue to dominate
streaming services

Top 10 Media companies

1. Comcast → owner of NBC news, UK Sky News

2. Thomson Reuter’s

3. Warner Bro’s Discovery - operated as a media and entertainment company (CNN)

4. Paramount Global (CBS news and affiliates)

5. Naspers (Cape Town)

6. FOX corporation

Religion
Affiliation in 2021:

in 2021, the number of people who answered religion question was 93.1% of population - increase from
90.9% in 2016

Most common religions were:

Christianity (43.9%)

No religion (38.9%)

Islam (3.2%)

Hinduism (2.7%)

Buddhism (2.4%)

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 Change in religious affiliation over time

Over the past 50 years, steady decline in proportion of Australians who reported an affiliation with Christianity

same period = consistent rise in other religions and no religion

Migration and religious affiliation

Religious profile shaped by waves of migration.

Late 18th century, Christianity was introduced by British

1800s and early 1900s: British and Irish free settlers

1940s and 1950s: Post World War II migrants from Europe

1960s: Refugees from the Middle East

1970s: Refugees from Southeast Asia

2000s: Humanitarian entrants from Africa and Middle East; skilled migrants from North-east and Southern
Asia.

Significant changes from 1947 to 2016 census data have been:

Christianity – decrease from 88% to 52%

Anglican – decrease from 39% to 13%

Catholic – increase from 21% to 22%

Orthodox – increase from <1% to 2%

Uniting Church – data only from 1981 census onwards – now in steady decline

No religion - increase from 0.2% to 30%

Non-Christian religions – increase from 0.5% to 8.2%

The 2016 census revealed the following five religions to be the most prevalent in Australia. In decreasing
order:

Christianity – 52%

Islam – 2.6%

Buddhism – 2.4%

Hinduism – 1.9%

Sikhism – 0.5%

Judaism – 0.4%

Sport
During Europe’s golden age in the 19 century, many of today’s leading sports emerged, mostly from the
United Kingdom, whose economic power and globe-spanning empire allowed sports such as soccer,
cricket, golf, rugby and tennis to spread beyond the UK to become some of the modern world’s most
popular sports

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 The emergence of the United States as the world’s leading power in the 20 century led to the spread of
North American-developed sports such as basketball, baseball and ice hockey to join the British-
developed sports as the most-followed sports in the world.

Today, North America is home to the largest sports leagues in the world, while Europe remains the centre
of many important sports, most notably football

Among team sports, there is a concession among many in the sports industry that basketball has grown to
become the second most powerful sport in the world. This is due to the fact that this sport is popular in
most areas of the world and its dominant league, the NBA is the world’s third-most-lucrative sports league,
with some of the world’s best-known sports stars.

Sport in Australia
sport is tied with image we have of ourselves and the image we want rest of world to have

once symbolised equality between people by evening out differecnes and establishing what was once
seen as a working class alternative to high culture

Two important factors are at play in the process:

1. Demographic change: larger disposable incomes, shorter working weeks, earlier retirement, longer life
expectancy and healthier lifestyles have boosted the global demand for sport

2. The communications revolution: sophisticated TV coverage has made top sport available to a wider
audience

The merchandising associated with sport is also another readily identifiable indicator of cultural integration. In
common with peers around the world, Australian teenagers wear clothing and caps with the names, logos and
colours of US basketball and football teams.

OLYMPICS

The Olympics are a fascinating juxtaposition of extreme nationalism and ultimate respect for people from
other cultures because despite being on different teams, everyone plays by the same rules.

take the time to define common norms and guidelines for respectful interaction, standards for
performance, and to create those rules with the recognition of the different cultures and diverse styles in
the group.

Advertising
Global Brands

McDonald's has developed clear, simple, consistent marketing messages that translate to different cultures
and geared products to local markets Others have capitalized on global events (eg Olympics) to boost their
brands with an international audience, such as electronics maker LG when the games were held in South
Korea and wireless carrier China Mobile when the event took place in Beijing.

Global Consumers

Effective advertising can create new demand in new markets, by influencing changes in buying habits. In
some countries, the adoption of Western products has caused cultural and political backlashes. However,

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 rising access to TV and wifi, also establish common bonds and expectations among nations, which has
worked to the advantage of airlines, clothing makers and other advertisers targeting a global audience.

Globalisation

Ads are becoming more western dominant, with many companies using the same ad (with predominantly
white people and western culture) but changing the audio to different languages. Australian children and
teenagers now have an annual spending power of over $1.8 billion, with 1.2 billion teenagers in the world
having a purchasing power of US$819 billion a year.
Superbowl

The ad revenue for the 2021 Superbowl reached 485 million US dollars. NBC charges 6.5 million dollars for a
30 second commercial in the Superbowl. Over 100 million Americans watch the Superbowl, as well as many
international viewers.

Music
every country has signature style of music

e.g. India, a droning singular bass note is commonly featured in songs

as time passed, globalisation has increased, signature styles have merged (diffussion, adaption,
adoption)

Diffusion

Globalization promotes the world music commerce and enhances the cultural communication; however,
mainstream pop culture replaces the traditional music and commercialized the pop music which leads to a
result that the quality of the music is decreasing.

g. jazz started in the US as a blend of African and European musical traditions. Now, it's enjoyed across
the globe, taking on many different variations within the genre.

g. jazz riffs present in pop, rock and more.

Adoption

There is adoption of music from differing cultures shifting to mainstream music. As these pieces of music
become further publicized and shared from cultures away from where they originated, adaption and
diffusion will take occur.

For example, Korean Pop music (KPOP), Bollywood music, American Country music

Tina Turner's song "Nutbush City Limits" → Made by Tina as a song about her home town and now
Australia has widely adopted it as a song to dance the Nutbush to.

Adaption

e.g. Never give up (from movie Lion) - Indian tones/melodies/riffs

e/g/ despacito - spanish and english combinations

Pros:

Appreciating different sound of cultures across the globe

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 Creates unlimited melodies, gathered from signature features of any country’s music. (i.e. lots of
musicality and creativity)

Cons:

As mainstream pop takes over the world, whilst having many opportunities to be musically creative,
everything now sounds the same!

Loss of more traditionally sounding songs.

Fashion
The globalisation of the fashion industry is and has been, an increasingly prevalent phenomenon, with major
transnational corporations such as Nike and Calvin Klein targeting the youth market and gradually influencing
consumer choices. Through magazines, celebrities, influencers, TV and movies, modelling, big brands,
different cultural fashion has been diffused throughout the western world.

Diffusion through magazines, celebrities, influencers, TV and movies, modelling, big brands (Nike, adidas,
uniqlo). Hierarchical diffusion, meanwhile, is the spread of an idea from persons or nodes of authority or
power to other persons or places. This authority can be seen as either a small group or a society.

The diffusion of "Parisian" fashion, royal fashion trends, religious doctrine, and celebrity tweets can all be
attributed to hierarchical diffusion

Examples of fashion which has been culturally integrated:

Baseball hats

Fur coats

Scarfs

Jeans (originally designed for American cowboys)

Kimonos (originally Japanese cultural outfit, now a casual outfit cover-up people wear in the spring and
summertime)

Nose rings

Effects of Cultural Integration

1. Homogenised Landscape
Homogenisationof urban landscapes: the increasing similarities between cities regardless of their
geographical location.

in the past - was easy to distinguish cities based on their streetscape and architecture

recent decades, there has been a change and cities are less uinque and more similar in their architectural
design of buildings (Manhattanisation)

as globalisation continues the landscapes and streetscapes that once defined different countries are now
incorporatingelements that dilute their uniqueness

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 traditional city remains but increasing number of exapmles of ‘like’ architecture

cities defined by office towers that are a mirror image of one another

Office and Residential Buildings

new commercial office and residential buildings tend to be designed by world renowned architects

have a similar style even thoughlocations are geographically removed from one another

Eg) Barrangaroo in Sydney

Fits outs of these architect designed buildings are high and similar to their exteriors

not reflective of a paritcular coutnry or regional culture - rather they are indistinguishable

Commercial Bulidings - Shopping Centres

Shopping centres are of a uniform deisng throughout the world

Eg) Westfield shopping centres aroudn the world

located in Australia, US, Europe

all have similar fitouts and have similar fasion/food brands as their tenants

Commercial Buildings - Hotels

Eg) Hilton

2. Economic Dominance and Dependence

Certain cities dominate the world - and thus influence their dependent cities

4 most dominant cities: London, New York, Paris and Tokyo

Cities dominate both economically and culturally

set the scene in terms of global trends in finance and banking

cultural hubs and host of entertainment and sporting spectacles

Dominance
The city’s dominance is evident through the TNCs headquartered in the world cities.

they locate there as the industries that service them - banking, accounting, finance and law are located
there too

referred to as advanced producer services (APS)

Chevron Headquarters:

It is: American multinational energy corporation that manufactures and sells a range of high-quality refined
products, including gasoline, diesel, marine and aviation fuels, premium base oil, finished lubricants, and fuel
oil additives.

HQs: San Ramon, California

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 Countries it operates within: Chevron's oil and gas exploration and production operations are primarily in
the US, Australia, Nigeria, Angola, Kazakhstan, and the Gulf of Mexico

active in more than 180 countries

have a regional base in Africa located in Nigeria in Lagos

1. Lagos is the capital city of Nigeria

Lagos is a busy port city built on a series of islands and surrounding land on the West
Coast of Africa

Lagos, formerly the capital of Nigeria, is the largest city in the country with a population of around
9 million.

In addition to the oil industry, other businesses that fuel the economy include motor vehicle
assembly, food processing, metal manufacturing, textile production and chemical manufacturing.
Lagos is a road and rail terminus and has an international airport. The country of Nigeria is one of
the world's largest oil exporters. Oil accounts for over 90% of foreign exchange earnings.

Lagos is one of the fastest growing cities in the world. It is a metropolitan area which originated on
islands separated by creeks. Lagos Island, situated at the southwest mouth of Lagos Lagoon, is
protected from the Atlantic Ocean by long sand spits such as Bar Beach, which stretch up to 100
km east and west of the Lagoon. The weather is generally hot throughout the year, with two
seasons: the wet season and the dry season. The dry season begins in November and lasts until
March. The rainy season typically runs from April to October each year.Number of people it
employs: 42,595 (2021)

Accommodation: The Chevron Lekki Office Complex is located on the Lekki – Ajah expressway,
east of Lagos and about a 20 minute drive from Victoria Island where the schools and much of the
shopping and dining is located. Most of the office workers report to the main office buildings that
are located inside the Chevron estate. A few employees work off-site, either in a nearby hotel
complex or Victoria Island (such as some of the NOJV activity and special projects). In total, the
Lekki office complex hosts approximately 1,500 employees.

Amenities available at the Lekki office complex include the cafeteria, which has the capacity to
seat more than 1,000 employees at a time. It is also often used for major events and town halls.
The cafeteria at Lekki serves company provided meals, for both lunch and dinner, with a variety of
national and continental menus. Many expatriates choose to walk home for lunch. Meals are
complimentary for all employees.

Medical Support Services: Chevron Medical division has clinics for primary health care and
provides high quality health care to employees and their families.

Chevron Nigeria Limited (CNL) currently provides medical services to employees, spouses
and their dependents primarily through their medical facilities in Lagos (Lekki Hospital,
Gbagada Hospital), Warri, and Port Harcourt.

The Escravos clinic is available for workers in that location. In Abuja, employees and families
can access one of two designated external hospitals.

Across locations, services include:

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 outpatient clinics.

in patient (admission) services.

emergency care 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. In unusual cases where an employee is
unable to access CNL medical facilities the person(s) can obtain care at designated
health facilities for up to 24 hours.

Specialty care varies from location to location and includes pediatrics, internal medicine,
obstetrics & gynecology, general surgery and orthopedics, occupational health and
physiotherapy. Persons requiring dental, ophthalmology (eye), ENT (ear, nose and throat) and
dermatology (skin) care are referred to Chevron approved medical providers. In addition,
patients may be referred to external facilities for specialized care.

Dominance and Dependence

TNCs have their HQs in world cities but with globalisation they look to other regions of the world to perform
aspects of their business such as processing, manufacturing, resource extraction

driving factor: significantly lessl abour costs in LEDCs

Dependence
While TNCs operate in LEDCs and sometimes offer emlpoyment opportunities to locals, they often bring with
them a workforce, their culture, their way of doing business and have little regard for local culture, traditions
and way of life.

often highlights marginalisation of the local population and the polarisation between local people and
those working for the TNCs

Across Lagos Lagoon from site of Chevron is the world famous Makoko - floating slum

Makoko is characteristic of many sites in developing countries

characterised by an informal economy

informal economy: diverisfied set of economic activities, enterprises, jobs, and workers not
regulated or protected by state

Textbook notes on informal economy:

Informal economy and formal economy occupy the same geographical space but links between them are
poorly developed.

Features include:

informal economy is labour intensive, small and locally owned

exists to serve needs of the urban adn rural poor and tends to beoutside control of authoirites

jobs in informal sector have potential to foster self reliance, personal autonomy, self identity and
development of personal skills

however can be prone to worker exploitation and higher rates of workplace injuries

employment numbers greater than formal sector

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 if given opportunity however, most would choose to work in the formal sector

at community level, small self help groups cooperate to improve living conditions

build schools, health clinics and provide basic infrastructure like communal taps, toilet blocks and
waste collection

work performed occurs on a reciprocal or unpaid basis

3. Threats to cultural diversity and sovereignty

corporations spend a large amounto f money trying to standardise consumer markets and international
bodies like WTO

facilitate this through liberalisation of the glboal economy

leads to diffusion of western culture

result in loss of cultural diversity, loss of language and loss of domestic control (sovereignty)

English as an agent of cultural integration:

more than 1 billion speak English

60% of world’s broadcasts are in English

70% of world’s mail addressed in English

85% of international phone calls in English

Iceland has a committee using existing Icelandic words and sounds to create new words than adopting
English equivalent.

In 1993, Russian government passed a law requiring all stores and businesses to display signs in Russian.

In French speaking Quebec, parliament enacted a French only sign law and appointed so called language
police to ensure no signs in English.

following legal challenge, law was changed to permit non Frnech words but only if the French words were
at least twice as big

Other countries see lack of proficiency in English limiting ecnoomic potential.

many countries promote English as a 2nd language and become concerned when education system fails
to deliver level of expertise considered desirable

Factors affecting cultural integration

1. Technological Change
New technologies in tleecommunications, transport and computers have gone through significant
advancements.

in turn transformed way cultures interact

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 barriers like distance and cost ar ebeing broken down - becoming a global village

Change has defined way people and cultures interact:

large amounts of information can be accessed and transferred instantaneously

goods ands ervices can be purchased form suppliers on other side of globe

financial transactions can be made 24hr per day via itnernet and fibre optic cabe

communication takes places in ways unimaginable generaiton ago

e.g. interactive TV, internet

2. TNC
Production and distributionof goods and services increasingly dominated by TNCs.

have been able to exert power through this dominance

sales of world’s 10 largest companies exceeds combined GDP of the world’s 100 economically least
developed countries

TNCs generally start in developed countries (HQs) and then expand - moving operations into developing
countries.

developing coutnries welcome TNCs - provides employment opportunities

while wages are paid to workers in developing countries, profit is returned to developed countries

Due to developing reliance on TNCs - has lead to diminishing of sovereignty of individual nation states.

TNCs have been able to expand and exert dominance due to following factors:

1. trade barriers have been removed - liberalisation of world trade

2. access to computer and telecommunications technology no longer restricted (due to cost)

3. financial markets have been deregulated

4. consumer tastes are more similar throughout world as global TV marketing campaigns promote a range of
lifestyle products and options

3. Global Media Networks

Industyr dominated by large, principally US and Western European corporate players:

walt disney, rupert murdoch

Objective: ensure that their products and those of theri advertisers reach largest number of consumers -
resulted in standardisation and homogenisation of world markets - characteristic of cultural intregation.

advertise and spread film and entertainment programs + news broadcasting

news broadcasting has increased level of standardisation which in turn reduces range of perspectives
available to public

one point tends to prevail - usually pro-Western perspective

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 4. Cultural Imperialism
Def: dominance of one culture over all others

american fast food, fashion, music. TV, books - elements of emerging global culture

5. Actions of governments
Governments face challenge of managing globalisation while maintaining cultural identity. Different
approaches:

some actively promote cultural integration

some protect countries from loosing their local culture

e.g. French government used both restrictive legislation and incentives to restrict use of English
language materia lin France

e.g. North Korea isolates people from outside cultural influences

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