Culture.

To describe cultures is an extremely difficult proposition. A gargantuan task of such magnitude requires lengthy research by anthropologists. Cultures are as numerous as the grains of sand on a golden beach. In both instances they give colour to the environment, comfort to visitors and a mysterious background that offers enormous fieldwork for researchers.

But some layman considerations about the theme may not be all that futile, after all.

A first undeniable statement would be that all countries on this globe have their own cultures, their own folklore, their own customs, habits, traditions. Whether these five elements are the ingredients of the same compound is open for discussion.

ALL COUNTRIES, THEREFORE, HAVE THEIR OWN CULTURES, WHICH CANNOT IN THE NARROWEST SENSE OF THE WORD, BE COMPARED WITH OTHERS IN DIFFERENT LOCALITIES IN THE WORLD, AS WE KNOW IT TO-DAY.

Overview of contents. Click on an item to go straight to the point.

Chapter I - Definitions.
Chapter II - Geophysical aspects.
Chapter III - Environmental perspectives.
Chapter IV - The finer activities.
Chapter V - Fashions.
Chapter VI - Governance.
Chapter VII - Services.
Chapter VIII - Influences operating on world cultures.
Chapter IX - Machiavellian principles.
Chapter X - Religions.
Chapter XI - Ethics.
Chapter XII - Local manifestations.

  1. Definitions - Chapter 1.
    1. Limitations.
      1. definitions constraints;
      2. definitions restrict depth of research;
      3. use of criteria to define:
      1. who defines criteria;
      2. is criteria universally accepted;
      3. is criteria static, inorganic, inflexible, timeless...?
    2. Perspectives.
      1. folklore;
      2. traditions;
      3. customs;
      4. usage;
      5. village fountain attitudes;
      6. shared beliefs;
      7. people's aspirations.
    3. Solutions.
      1. researching descriptions of focused areas;
      2. considering points from different angles;
      3. allowance for diverging points of view:
      1. all concerned have vested rights for ethnic interpretation;
      2. absolutes destroy tolerance.
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  2. Geophysical aspects - Chapter 2.
    1. Continental zones.
      1. European;
      2. South American;
      3. North American;
      4. Australian;
      5. Asian;
      6. African;
      7. Antarctican.
    2. Climate.
      1. temperate;
      2. tropical;
      3. polar;
      4. cold;
      5. dry;
      6. global warming;
      7. climate change.
    3. Oceans and Seas;
      1. North Atlantic;
      2. South Atlantic;
      3. North Pacific;
      4. South Pacific;
      5. Arctic;
      6. Southern;
      7. Indian.
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  3. Environmental - Chapter 3.
    1. Dwelling units:
      1. houses are reflections of living conditions;
      2. standards:
      1. sub-standard dwellings;
      2. luxurious and state-of-the-art villas;
      3. primitive lacking the basic hygienic facilities;
      4. considered to be status symbols.
    2. Leisure:
      1. screen entertainment;
      2. stage - drama - theatre;
      3. entertainment:
        1. shows based on various degrees of culture;
        2. participative acts involving audiences;
        3. passive attendance on public set-ups;
        4. the use of the female form in entertaining acts;
        5. male an ex equo competitor in masculine form acts;
        6. wine, women and song.
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  4. Finer activities - Chapter 4.
    1. Art:
      1. painting;
      2. sculpture;
      3. lieterature;
      4. poetry;
      5. music;
      6. decorative arts;
      7. body decorative art and craft;
    2. Science: its use and abuse.
      1. inventions of new technologies and machines;
      2. discovering new approaches to existing methodologies;
      3. conquest of space;
      4. science in the home and office;
      5. nurturing killer monsters at living places;
      6. science put to positive use to make life easier, more comfortable;
    3. Medicine:
      1. use and abuse of surgery;
      2. surgery and physical enhancement;
      3. surgery a life-saver and miracle-worker;
      4. advancement of healing drugs and medications;
      5. new modern killer ailments;
      6. wide spectrum of experimental genetic breakthroughs;
    4. Craft:
      1. artisans;
      2. goldsmiths;
      3. silversmiths;
      4. precious stones - discovery and creative designs;
      5. costume jewelery;
      6. filigree craft - indicative designs;
      7. ganutell and crafts natives of countries.
    5. Structures:
      1. bridges;
      2. underground means of transport;
      3. underwater means of transport;
      4. travelling by boat - leisure cruises - ports and harbours;
      5. air travel and airports;
      6. buildings for public use both for spectators as well as for the actors;
      7. edifices for the practice of sports disciplines;
      8. universities and educational institutions;
      9. hospitals and clinics;
      10. artificial waterways.

  5. Trends and Fashions - Chapter 5.
    1. Ladies clothing:
      1. underwear - exotic - use of colour;
      2. natural materials and fibres;
      3. synthetic and artificial materials;
      4. trends and elegance before comfort;
      5. swimwear - development - one, two-piece, topless;
      6. stages in the development of female underwear;
      7. topwear - houses of fashions;
      8. models and the balance of body mass and weight;
      9. hairstyles - to-day's and yesterday's;
      10. footwear and head-dress.
      11. make-up.
    2. Men's wear:
      1. the traditional and the modern;
      2. females wearing men's topwear achieve elegance in some countries;
      3. males refrain from wearing skirts - cultural exceptions in many countries;
      4. many exceptions to these trends;
      5. the skirt for the male is fashionable in many countries;
      6. unisex fashionable trends;
      7. climate, profession, politics and religion affect trends in fashion;
      8. footwear;
      9. so far make-up not much used by males;
      10. elegant wear gives distinctive elements.
    3. YP's and children's wear:
      1. children's wear is not adults' in miniature;
      2. little divergence between adults' and young people's fashions;
      3. the advent of the glorified casual clothing.

  6. Governance - Chapter 6.
    1. Democracy:
      1. various methods of universal suffrage and franchise;
      2. stage-managed elections;
      3. use of referenda;
      4. by-elections;
      5. general elections and local authority elections;
      6. local government;
      7. parliament - one chamber - two chambers: upper and lower;
      8. collective public protest;
      9. non-government organisations and pressure groups;
      10. vox populi vox dei;
      11. group dynamics and leadership skills.
    2. Dictatorships.
      1. oligarchies: small groups ruling state;
      2. one-party system of government - camouflaged by state-managed elections;
      3. military dictatorship;
      4. communism;
      5. adsolute despotic control of power;
      6. monocracy;
    3. Judiciary.
      1. choice of judges;
      2. aged healthy persons make good judges - uninterested in hook-ups;
      3. impartiality of judgment - beyond corruption by concerned;
      4. judges in/dependent of politics;
      5. independence from organised crime and wealthy influencial persons;
      6. rewards and punishments;
      7. incarceration - capital punishment;
      8. interpretations of legal statutes;
      9. pardons and reformation of the sentenced;

  7. Services - Chapter 7.
    1. Health:
      1. primary and secondary services;
      2. free or paying services in a welfare state;
      3. means tests;
      4. from womb to tomb.
    2. Education:
      1. levels: from nursery to post-university;
      2. education a reflection of beliefs of the powers that be;
      3. free or paying educational services;
      4. paying stipendia to students during courses;
      5. selectivity - inclusion - cultivating the gifted;
      6. mainstream homogenous grouping - streaming abilities;
      7. scholarships and sponsorships;
      8. literacy - the 3R's and ICT;
    3. Welfare state:
      1. pensions - ideal age to quit - health oriented;
      2. taxation;
      3. ideal working life-span;
      4. free health services;
      5. free educational services;
      6. free medicines and medications.
    4. Communications:
      1. roads;
      2. waterways;
      3. air travel;
      4. molecular transportation;
      5. real time electronic communication - interactivity;
      6. virtual communication;
      7. wireless - radio hams;
      8. letter-writing - still the romantic and tangible;
      9. the traditional vs the very latest - mobile telephony;
      10. mastery in languages - a universal man-made language;
      11. inter-planetary communication.

  8. Pressures operating on culture - Chapter 8.
    1. Finance.
      1. richer countries dominate cultures;
      2. poorer countries surrender ethnic elements;
      3. ample current examples proof enough;
      4. money rules the world;
      5. corruption;
      6. good use of wealth;
      7. in god we trust but cash comes first;
      8. money is evil - looks like nobody is booking heavens.
    2. Politics:
      1. impositions by the powerful;
      2. power corrupts - absolute power corrupts absolutely;
      3. might is right;
      4. survival of the fittest;
      5. fire-power dominates the power of logic and reason;
      6. the power of persuasion - conviction is more powerful than the sword;
    3. Dimensions:
      1. the larger countries dominate the smaller;
      2. smaller countries submissive and humble;
      3. population dimension;
      4. control of population growth;
      5. planning pregnancies;
      6. conflicting ideologies about birth control;
      7. ongoing research on human engineeroing.
    4. Gregariousness.
      1. living in groups - from cave to grave;
      2. emulation and imitation;
      3. mass hysteria;
      4. the lost and found sheep;
      5. the lost and found customs;
      6. exporting and importing culture.
    5. Philosophers:
      1. western philosophers;
      2. eastern philosophers;
      3. champions of logic;
      4. pace-setters - marketing of ideas - advertising;
      5. world philosophers.

  9. Machiavellian principles - Chapter 9.
    1. The Prince - 1513.
      1. Nicolo' Machiavelli;
      2. revolutionary and prophetic principles;
      3. debating the origins of ownership;
      4. strength in armed combat;
      5. a handbook of evil - or reality.
    2. Theory and Practice.
      1. political action, reaction or non-action;
      2. tragedies and choices;
      3. Belfagor Arcidiavolo (1518-1527);
      4. theory and practice of political philosophy.

  10. Religions - Chapter 10.
    1. World religions.
      1. beliefs in the supernatural;
      2. faith, logic, philosophy and reason;
      3. events forced by beliefs - strong ones move mountains;
      4. liturgies;
      5. cults;
      6. the perennial and universal struggle: good vs evil.
    2. Peculiarities in content, substance and appearance.
      1. vestments - colourful and flushy;
      2. ornaments - heavy decorations - statues, paintings;
      3. paraments - creating magnificence;
      4. peculiar to different cults, religions, faiths;
      5. imagery.
    3. Secret societies:
      1. origins - some embedded in traditions;
      2. progression - the wise leaders maximizing on the blinded followers;
      3. validity - the relevance of secret societies in to-day's set-ups.

  11. Ethics - Chapter 11.
    1. Togetherness:
      1. living together imposes demands;
      2. respecting the neighbourhood;
      3. respecting the neighbours;
      4. difficulties in multi-racial living zones;
      5. fomenting racial hatred leading to violence and terrorism;
      6. a measure of personal freedom to all;
      7. Freedoms:
        1. freedom of movement;
        2. freedom of possession - wealth and property;
        3. freedom of expression;
        4. of thought, principles, ideal;
        5. freedom of association;
        6. freedom of faith or de-belonging;
        7. personal freedoms within parameters of collective freedoms.
    2. Life-styles.
      1. universally or partially acceptable norms;
      2. beyond the acceptable custom;
      3. norms conditioned by time, space, ethnicity;
      4. beyond one's means to compete;
      5. limitless endeavour to earn more to cope and or to enjoy;
      6. globalization results: the pluses and the minuses.

  12. Localized manifestations - Chapter 12.
    1. Localized - particuliar - peculiar.
      1. bands, music, dance, festas: urban and national;
      2. pyrotechnics:
        1. accidents leading to death;
        2. typical of fireworks-oriented societies - consequential hardships;
        3. colour, design and craftsmanship;
        4. chemistry based - trial and error hazardous;
        5. two basic types: catherine wheel and aerial displays;
        6. insurance coverage.
    2. The profane and the holy:
      1. holy processions in different countries;
      2. either solemn manifestations or simply profane;
      3. customs tarnished religiosity of manifestations;
      4. statue-carrying festivals;
      5. doubtful religious content and holiness;
      6. carnivals;
      7. parades - passing on a message with greater fuss;
      8. festitivities with a message.

    BY WAY OF CONCLUSION.
    A few man-made manifestations of cults, which mixed with custom and tradition become culture, are synonymous with their places of existence. Manifesting culture or a cult, is another way of putting a country's cultural background and a nation's aspirations, into proactive action.
    1. Pyramids;
    2. Carnival do brazil;
    3. Taj Mahal;
    4. Tarxien's only performing oracle in existence;
    5. Skyscrapers;
    6. highways;
    7. Ocean liners;
    8. trans-world aircraft;
    9. Tour Eiffel;
    10. Bridges;
    11. Electronics;
    12. Cinema;
    13. Beneficial use of atomic fision.
    14. The seven wonders of the world as perceived circa 2000 BC;
    15. The seven wonders of the world as perceived in July 2007 AD.

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