He is reported to have said that each individual possesses certain patterns and forms of contemplation, emotions and possible acting that they have probably acquired during their life (Hofstede and Hofstede, 2005).
Most of these patterns have been obtained through their early childhood experiences as those are the time when an individual is most likely to acquire learning and build on it. Just the way a computer regards its "thought processes" and functioning as its software, the patterns or formations of thinking, experiencing and carrying out psychological processes in an individual can be referred to as the software program of the mind (Hofstede and Hofstede, 2005).
However, this does not imply, most definitely that individuals are supposed to function or behave as a computer does. An individual's actions or behavior is affected or decided by his or her "software" only to a certain degree. The person typically possesses a basic ability to go away altogether from the predetermined patterns and carry out something entirely new, innovative, damaging or unpredictable. The thought processes first begins with a person's own relatives, expands to the nearby regions, at the learning place, in social societies, at work and thus, spreads out in the entire society (Hofstede and Hofstede, 2005, 2-3) (Hall, 1989).
One another noteworthy standpoint was provided by the British Cultural Studies, particularly by Raymond Williams who stated that culture can be defined as "a way of life," expanding considerably the scope of the concept and thereby, legalizing the mass culture and the contemporary types of entertainment as various facets of cultures. He (1976, 13) considers that this way of life is enclosed within a certain system incorporating noteworthy customs comprising of communication, media, philosophy, production, fashion etc. (Williams, 1976).
Individuals comprehend the world and its implications by a framework of shared notions, principles that are conceptually and culturally strengthened. Even though individuals may not realize it, the cultural identification of meaning is inherent in the language. As words are the most significant forms of human interaction they should not be considered just mere conveyors of messages. Even more so, all types of interaction (oral, non-oral, visual, auditory etc.) shape the way individuals carry out their thought processes (Hall, 1989)..
For instance, if a certain train that should depart at 9:30 departs 20 minutes later, it does not come to be known as the 9:50 train but as the 9:30 train that got late. The very concept of time, which is assumed to be a given, has cultural implications in the form of rightful or incorrect social behavior (Valentine, 1995, 31). Culture is, thus, "a lens" (McCracken, 1986) by means of which people can view happenings, understand or collect them (Hall, 1989).
The concept of culture can be better comprehended if it is considered as a group of common meanings, and thus a signifying framework or order. The signifying order is a combination or a group of symbols, signals and writings that a social faction develops and applies to meet the demands of day-to-day lives and plan potential practices. Thus, from this standpoint, culture is a way of life that is premised on the signifying order established initially in an ethnic setting, which is carried forward by means of the signifying order from one family in the lineage to other (Danesi, Peron, 1999, 22).
Therefore, approaching the topic from a different angle, it can be concluded that as soon as the language hindrance of individuals are surpassed, intercultural interactions between individuals can be facilitated, who would then be able to comprehend each other. To conclude for this research, culture can be defined a historically conveyed or carried forward framework of signs, implications, actions, notions and principles that distinguish a group of people from others (Hall, 1989).
The notion of mass and popular culture became apparent during the time of the nineteenth century and the concept of culture gained the characteristics of what it means today. We, as a society live by defining, labeling and classifying the things around us and this is facilitated by what we acquire from our culture. As per Sotshangane (2002; as cited in Andrejs and Iveta, 2009), culture can be best regarded as a resource like energy, food, wind etc. And it can be considered as the ways and the outcomes of individual communication with and significant modifications of the nature. This communication is directed to move to a surrounding that is more fit for human existence and to the entire plan of action of human orientation within the surrounding.
Moreover, culture can also be regarded as the customary type of life in the form of a national society...
Identity development is a topic that has been studied for some time. There are two main ways to address it: as young children who are just developing an identity and as adults who are changing or developing an identity they never created or did not like as a child. Each person, as he or she grows, develops a distinct and separate identity from other people (Willemsen & Waterman, 1991). While
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