- Give three compelling examples of how cultural issues affect your project.
Some cultural issues that might affect our project are ethnicity divide, education/language divide, and occupational gaps. There are many different ethnicities that make up the country of Kazakhstan. The two main groups are Russian and Kazakh. Since Kazakhstan used to be controlled by the Soviet Union, until recently, Russians were the majority. Since Kazakhstan has become independent, that has shifted. However, there are still many lasting impacts. Russians and Kazakhs speak different languages, often have different religions, and have different beliefs. So it may be difficult to work with everyone there to get our project done if we have to please two cultures. Also, that divide means that there are two dominant languages. Although Kazakh is the national language, Russian is most widely spoken. Schools used to be taught in Russian, but recently the government has placed regulations on schools to ensure that Kazakh is the language being used and taught, and that Kazakh history and culture is being taught instead. We will be staying at KazNU, so Kazakh will be the main language used and spoken, but many people will still speak Russian. We will need to make sure that we take into account Russian and Kazakh norms and culture when we begin our project. Another issue that may arise is that in Kazakhstan, there is a disproportionate spread of degrees being attained in higher education. Most students are pursuing the humanities, social sciences, and business. However, there is a lack in engineers, scientists, technicians, and professional managerial types. We will need to keep this in mind when we are trying to build our smart cities, that there may be less people who specialize as scientists or engineers.
2. Have you experienced or observed any of these social situations at home? Describe at least three such situations.
In the United States, there are also many ethnicities. I would say more so even than in Kazakhstan. Although there are parts of the US where cities or communities are divided based on their ethnicity, the country is strongly united still with the “American” culture. This may be because practically all schools speak and teach in English, and they teach primarily American history. So although we pride ourselves on being a country of many cultures, we are still strongly unified in one identity. There are educational differences between different schools across the nation (because it is so big), but the general curricula is relatively similar in the US. English is either spoken or taught at the schools here, which makes it easier for everyone to be able to work together in both the professional realm, and educational realm. In regards to an occupational gap, I think that the US has a wide spread of degrees that students are currently pursuing, and therefore there is a pretty good balance. However, some universities teach STEM better than others that may specialize in the arts. So depending on where a student goes to school can depend on the type of degree they are likely to pursue. Although certain occupations do have more people working in it, we still have a wide array of specialists.
3. Give three examples of cultural practices that can be leveraged to address community/market problems.
Standardizing education is a good step that can eliminate occupation/knowledge gaps. If everyone is taught the same major subjects, then everyone will be well rounded and able to pursue many different occupations that can benefit society. In addition, having one language that serves as a common language for trade transactions, job interactions, or economic interactions, would help things not get lost in translation. That does not mean that everyone has to speak only one language (the same as everyone else), but if one language is taught in schools (possibly in addition to others), that will help the country/community be united. In addition, teaching about many cultures in schools can help leverage problems. If people are taught from a very young age about different cultures, languages and beliefs, then they will be more understanding when they are older. The community will be inherently more accepting and inclusive. There will be less conflicts in a community if people understand each other better. However, I think that is important to let many cultures exist in a community. A community can be united and problem free without everyone having to be “the same.” Differences are good, but it is important to understand and accept them.