Diversity and
what it means to me..
Diversity: 1 the
fact or quality of being diverse: Difference; 2 a point or
respect in which things differ; 3 variety.
Diversity evokes
a lot of different meanings when you ask people what they
think it means. Some people gripe at the thought of it while
others approach it with an open mind. People often associate
diversity with racism, but they two words couldn't be farther
apart in meaning. Although they greatly influence the success
of the other, diversity brings a variety of items together
while racism pulls them further apart.
While in Dr. Gray's
Psychology class I got a hands on view of multiple cultures.
The project itself was very interesting, allowing the individual
groups to meet and talk with each other. Sharing their views,
thoughts, and knowledge on a culture other than their own.
We learned about many different aspects of the culture by
researching information, visiting places that had been influenced
by our assigned culture, and by meeting with a liaison from
the culture.
Each group in the
class consisted of 7-9 students and we were assigned specific
tasks with individual due dates. Four journals, a 20-minute
presentation, and an individual paper were all collected
and graded. The journals were to be used in recording the
information and discussions that were held during the group
meetings. Many groups met with their liaisons, went to dinner
at a restaurant related to their group's country, visited
places with the cultural influence of the culture they were
studying, or went to stores that sold goods from the country
they were assigned. The 20 minute presentation, which counts
like a test what a time in which we were to discuss all that
we learned about the culture and differences of our country
from America. Whether people created a video, made a skit,
or talked about their country, each group was to learn as
much as they could. The individual paper is a paper in which
we are to summarize what the project was like, how it helped
us, the strong points, what we liked about everything in
the project, and the weak points of the project.
Our group was given
the assignment of exploring Australia. From the beginning
I knew I would love this assignment, because ever since I
was young Australia has fascinated me. After we completed
the assignment, I had gained so much information that my
view had greatly changed. I always saw Australia as a country
that would be very modern, high-tech, and fast paced. In
learning about Australia I learned the people there are very
laid back and have a "no worries" attitude about most of
life. When teenagers graduate from high school they go straight
into their trade verses going on to college first to see
what they would like to me. If they decide they do not like
the profession they choose and want to start a new profession
they must start over from the very beginning. The average
young adult stays at home until they are 23-35 years old.
People there often don't marry until they are in their late
twenties. People don't see it as a necessity to succeed and
tend to become jealous of those who do succeed. The culture
is to keep everything the same as it has always been and
change is rarely seen as a positive thing.
The Peoples of Australia
We came from all over the world.
Australians are a very friendly open sort of people. We love our sports,
our family barbecues and the beach. We are very urbanised - most of us living
in the larger cities along the coast. Almost 94% of the population are of
European decent and as a result we have a western outlook and culture. In
general Australians are very tolerant of other people and their customs.
Work
- Australians are one of the most
urbanised societies in the world. Almost 80% of the workforce are employed
in service industries such as: offices, banks, etc in the major cities.
- About 16% work in manufacturing.
- About 3% are farmers or graziers.
Wool is one of Australia's major exports. Wool shearing is hard work.
Australia is rich in mineral deposits.
We mine and export alumina, iron, coal, copper,gold, uranium, etc all over
the world.
- About 1% work in the mining industry
Sports
- During winter we play Australian
Rules Football which is played with an oval ball on an oval field with
eighteen players on each team. We also play Rugby.
- In the summer we play cricket.
Cricket is played with a flat bat and a round leather covered ball. Each
team has 11 players. The objective of the game is to hit the ball as far
as possible without getting "caught out" or without having the ball come
in contact with your body or hitting the stumps (3 short poles behind the
batsman
- The next Olympic games will be
held in Sydney Australia in the year 2000.
Leisure
- Almost 85% of Australians live
within a few hours drive of the coast.
- Most major cities have bicycle
tracks.
- We love to race almost anything:
horses, camels, goats, cockroaches and even earth worms.
- Australia has lots of wide open
spaces and parks.
Pictures
