Providing a Service In A Culturally Diverse Society

Why??

Demographic reality

Multicultural Policy – State/Cth/Local

Good Practice

Legal Obligations – eg. Anti Discrimination legislation

Why Do It? Because Diversity Impacts…..

1. Culturally specific assumptions embedded in practice – notions of public library/borrowing etc

2 Communication – language barriers, interpreters, non verbal communication

3 Taking cultural factors into account in providing services – what is ‘culture’/what does ‘culturally appropriate mean’

4 Administrative and procedural problems – slower pace when interpreters are used/budgets/planning

5 Knowledge and understanding of the library system – previous experiences/expectations impact

6 Specific issues for refugees/torture and trauma survivors

Earth's Village

If we could shrink the Earth's population to a village of precisely 100 people, with all existing human ratios remaining the same, it would look like this:

• 57 Asians

• 21 Europeans

• 14 from the Western Hemisphere (north and south)

• 8 Africans

Of these:

• 51 would female, 49 would be male

• 70 would be non-white, 30 white

• 50 would be non-Christian, 30 Christian

• 50% of the entire world's wealth would be in the hands of only 6 people and all 6 would be citizens of the United States

• 80 would live in substandard housing

• 70 would be unable to read

• 50 would suffer from malnutrition

• One would be near death

• One would be near birth

• Only one would have a college education

• One would own a computer

At the 2001 Census, Australia had 18,769,074 people. Of this population:

• 43% were either born overseas or had at least one parent born overseas. This represents just over eight million Australians

• Over 200 languages were spoken, with the most common being English, Italian, Greek, Cantonese, Arabic, Vietnamese and Mandarin.

Launch Internet Explorer Browser.lnk

Individual: Understanding Our Identities

DIVERSITY –

ABOUT US NOT THEM

Contrast Between Individualism and CollectivismIndividualism:

1. Fostering independence and individual achievement and self sufficiency

2. Promoting self expression, individual thinking, personal choice

3. Associated with egalitarian relationships and flexibility in roles

4. Understanding the physical world as knowable apart from its meaning for human life

5. Associated with private property, individual ownership

Collectivism:

1. Fostering interdependence and group success

2. Promoting adherence to norms, respect for authority/elders, group consensus

3. Associated with stable, hierarchical roles (dependent on gender, family background, age)

4. Understanding the physical world in the context of its meaning for human life

5. Associated with shared property, group ownership

Managing Diversity: Personal/Interpersonal

Competencies

• Understanding Diversity and its impact at all levels on you and others

• Understand personal lens and paying attention to the interpretive lens of others

• Understand personal values, beliefs and their impact on providing services

• Explore the impact of conscious and unconscious prejudice upon decision making

The Reticular Activating System

Stereotypes are a cognitive componentof human interactions

Prejudice is the evaluative component

Discrimination is the behaviouralcomponent

Racism/isms is the institutionalisedcomponent

Communication Challenges

might arise from:

Differing assumptions and values regarding the situation and roles of the parties

Cultural differences in structuring information

Different use or understanding of linguistic symbols or conventions

Insensitivity/misunderstanding to non-verbal language

Inability to work effectively with an interpreter.

NON VERBAL BEHAVIOUR

CULTURAL DIFFERENCES IN NON VERBAL BEHAVIOUR CAN BE

CATEGORISED AS:

1. KINESICS

Movements of various parts of the body. Gestures in one country

may well be inappropriate in another country

2. OCULESICS

Use OR avoidance of eye to eye contact.

3. HAPTICS

Where, how and how often people touch each other while conversing

are culturally determined patterns of behaviour

The web of cultureFamous Global Marketing Mistakes-Author Anonymous

These are the nominees for the Chevy Nova Award. This is given out in honor of the GM's fiasco in trying to market this car in Central and South America. ‘Nova’ means, of course, in Spanish, "it doesn't go".

1. The Dairy Association's huge success with the campaign "Got Milk?" prompted them to expand advertising to Mexico. It was soon brought to their attention the Spanish translation read "Are you lactating?"

2. Coors put its slogan, "Turn It Loose," into Spanish, where it was read as "Suffer From Diarrhea."

3. Scandinavian vacuum manufacturer Electrolux used the following in an American campaign: "Nothing Sucks like an Electrolux"

4. Clairol introduced the "Mist Stick," a curling iron, into Germany only to find out that "mist" is slang for manure. Not too many people had use for the "Manure Stick."

The web of cultureFamous Global Marketing Mistakes (cont)

5. When Gerber started selling baby food in Africa, they used the same packaging as in the US, with the smiling baby on the label. Later they learned that in Africa, companies routinely put pictures on the labels of what's inside, since many people can't read.

6. Colgate introduced a toothpaste in France called Cue, the name of a notorious porno magazine.

7. Pepsi's "Come Alive With the Pepsi Generation" translated into "Pepsi Brings Your Ancestors Back From the Grave" in Chinese.

8. The Coca-Cola name in China was first read as "Kekoukela", meaning "Bite the wax tadpole" or "female horse stuffed with wax", depending on the dialect. Coke then researched 40,000 characters to find a phonetic equivalent "kokou kole", translating into "happiness in the mouth."

9. Frank Perdue's chicken slogan, "It takes a strong man to make a tender chicken" was translated into Spanish as "it takes an aroused man to make a chicken affectionate."

SUMMARY: Providing Appropriate and Accessible Library Services

• Develop and Maintain profile of multicultural community– Differences between migrant and refugee

communities– Current government terminology: CALD/NESB– History of the community/settlement– Avoid homogenising

Determine the type and range of services and resources required- access issues – barriers to library services- understanding of concepts etc- Provide appropriate signage to facilities,

resources etc- Cross cultural training for staff/managers

SUMMARY: Providing Appropriate and Accessible Library Services

• Provide a Range of Multicultural resources – Ensure Collection reflects the needs of

the multicultural community– Promote resources across the community

– develop promotion and advertising strategies

• Consult with Local Communities re Needs

- importance of building relationships

Building a Relationship

• importance of credibility– Using appropriate ‘language’– Getting naming systems right– Building trust

• identifying key stakeholders• observing appropriate protocols

– Elders– Religious leaders– Getting permission

• understanding preferred communication channels– Are ‘meetings’ the best way to proceed– Importance of face to face for many communities– Be cognisant of indirect communication

• establishing the parameters

Communication