Taken from the Canvas Discussion boards, posted here for posterity:

Hi everyone. I was a tad confused writing this little assignment because annotated bibliographies and literature reviews are two different things, and HOA4 seems to want us to conflate them. I am hoping that, as an early poster, I haven’t totally messed up!

Without further ado, I hope you find the following review of a paper related to cultural neuroscience interesting and enlightening 😀

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Han, S., & Humphreys, G. (2016). Self-construal: A cultural framework for brain function. Current Opinion in Psychology, 8, 10-14.

The issue at the heart of this paper is cultural influence on brain activity, with a focus on individualistic versus collectivistic values. This relates specifically to how Western culture tends to encourage independent self-construal, emphasizing independence and uniqueness of self, while East Asian culture promotes interdependent self-construal, emphasizing harmony with others. The paper had two main findings related to self-construal, or how an individual perceives, comprehends, and interprets themselves.

1. Self-construals mediate group differences in brain activity between East Asians and Westerners.
2. Self-construals modulate brain activity engaged in sensorimotor and cognitive/affective processes.

For the first finding, researchers followed procedures such as “intervention through priming” where participants read essays containing interdependent “we” or “us” pronouns, or independent “I” or “me” pronouns. fMRI studies showed that priming Chinese participants with independent pronouns induced greater right frontal activity in response to their own face, compared to priming with interdependent pronouns. Similarly, priming Asian-Americans with individualistic vs. collectivistic values before reflecting on their own traits led to increased activation of brain regions relating to episodic memory. Other tests were performed which involve neuroscientific jargon exceeding my casual understanding, but essentially what these results tell us is there is a causal relationship between culture and brain activity, and we can modify a variety of brain activity by priming specific cultural values.

The second finding essentially involved researchers using EEGs on Chinese participants while delivering painful electric shocks after independent self-construal priming. They found that the increased self-focus caused by a “temporary shift in self-construal” which enhanced the pain experience. Other tests saw independent and interdependent priming affecting a wide range of other brain activities, which demonstrated a cause-effect relationship between specific cultural values and specific neurocognitive processes.

What this all means is that culture literally and measurably affects the way our brain functions. I feel the methodology employed was appropriate because it relied on well-established methods of brain imaging and sociocultural research.

I selected a paper based on cultural neuroscience because I noticed a glaring absence of neuroscientific research in our course readings. I wanted to open a door into discussing culture from this angle. I chose this paper in particular because it is relatively short, and its abstract showed that cultural influence extends beyond the behavioural and psychological effects explored in this course. I thought the article would be easily digested. I was wrong. It was dense, complicated, confusing, and frustrating to read. In this respect I totally understand why neuroscience readings are absent from the course, and I’m not sure I would even recommend this particular reading as a valuable future resource for ETEC565G.

However, I still think it’s important to consider exploring cultural neuroscience in some way within this course. A wealth of excellent research is available to support the claims that culture affects brain function, and spending time in earnest to understand these findings would help bridge the massive gap between neuroscientists and most educators.

How to Visit Newfoundlanders for Supper

So you’ve been invited to visit a Newfoundland family for supper. You’re in for a rare treat! Newfoundlanders are known for their hospitality and friendliness. Even so, there’s room for guidance on how to make a good impression! This guide will detail what to expect, and how to behave, during a visit to a Newfoundland home.

How to Announce your Arrival

1. Ring the doorbell,
2. knock on the door, or
3. don’t announce your arrival; just walk right on in.

The third is often expected! This is especially so if you were asked to arrive at a specific time.

The only exception to this is if you’re in the city, St. John’s. Then, ring or knock first.

Greetings

Expect to be warmly greeted at the door. Expect a firm handshake from the man (“ol’ man” or “me ol’ cock” – yes, Newfoundland has a unique dialect).

Expect a hug or a kiss on the cheek (or even sometimes the lips) from the woman (“da misses”) even if you’ve never met before! It is courteous to allow this, even if you’re not the cuddly type.

Entering the Home

You should remove your shoes upon entering the home. The host may argue and say “keep your shoes on, lover” but really; take them off. The only exception is if you’re in an unfinished porch, in which case you’d remove them upon entering the main home.

A good rule of thumb is “if you keep your shoes on, you’re doing it wrong”. If you do forget, return to the porch and remove them as soon as you remember. The hosts won’t mind.

Before Supper

Expect to be offered a drink (usually alcoholic) although water, juice and milk are often available. Quidi Vidi, Black Horse and Blue Star are common beers from local breweries.

You may refuse an alcoholic beverage but should accept at least one drink, even if you’re not thirsty.

You may be asked a number of questions about yourself before supper, like “where’re ya from?” or “who’s yer mudder?” These questions may seem overly personal or “nosey”, but they’re often asked with best intentions. You should also expect the hosts to talk (or complain) at length about the weather.

Supper

Prepare yourself for a “scoff” (a big meal)!

You will be expected to arrive with a hearty appetite. In Newfoundland, “food equals love”; the more you eat, the more you’re suggesting you enjoy the food, and the more you’ll likely be liked!

Expect to eat at a large table. Upon finishing your plate expect to hear “there’s plenty more, help yourself!” It’s OK to refuse if you’re truly full, just tell the hosts you’re “stogged” or “stuffed to the gills”.

After Supper

Expect to be offered tea, coffee, and at least one type of dessert. “Snowballs” are extremely common (and delicious). The same rules of fullness apply: refuse only if you’re stogged. If you do accept but can’t finish, your hosts will appreciate the effort.

Expect to sit and chat for at least an hour after the meal is finished. It’s polite and encouraged to contribute stories, but many Newfoundlanders are born storytellers and will have plenty of entertaining “yarns” (stories). You’ll likely be offered another alcoholic drink. In fact, expect to be asked every time your glass is empty. You may refuse or accept.

When drinks are flowing it’s common for musical instruments to come out. Accordion and harmonica are Newfoundland staples, along with guitar and fiddle. Sometimes it will turn into a “kitchen party”. Stomping your feet or clapping your hands to the beat is enough to show that you’re enjoying it. Singing along is even better! This is a great way to end your visit to a Newfoundlander’s home, and you can often stay as long as you like. Or until the rum’s gone.

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Bonus Content (Warning: May Contain Mature Language)

This post was transferred as-is from a discussion post within ETEC565G on Canvas. As such, the formatting may not be perfect in all areas. My apologies!

Qatar is a culturally-diverse place. I mean truly culturally diverse; the kind of diversity that means “Nationals”, in this case Qataris, only make up about 12% of the population. Qatar is home to approximately 2,314,307 people of widely varying religious beliefs coexist peacefully. See for yourself (hover to explore the charts):

The male-to-female ratio is not well represented by either of these charts, yet I know it exists based on personal and professional experiences in Qatar. I found it well-represented by the UN’s World Population Prospects 2017:

Population is given in thousands.

Qatar has, on average, 3.41 males to a single female based on 2016 estimates. The most striking disparity lies within the 15-24 and 25-54 age groups, at 2.64 and 4.91 males to females, respectively. Being a post-secondary instructor this age group interests me, and I decided to explore how these findings may be reflected in university data. What I found truly surprised me. I’ll reproduce some charts below for context.

Enrollment for 2014/2015 year was approximately 28,000 students.

Charts reproduced from the Education in Qatar Statistical Profile 2016.

We see that while Qatari women account for a tiny fraction of the Qatari population (approx. 1.5% of the total population of Qatar is women aged 15-24, or about 80,000), they’re an undeniable focal point of the data collected.

• Comparing 2014/2015 data, their gross enrollment rate at universities far exceeds that of men – 49.9 vs. 6.9.
• More female Qataris have a post-secondary education than men when comparing proportions – 37.2% vs. 29.2%, 13.0%, and 28.1%.
• Female Qataris consistently account for the largest percentage of university graduates, both by gender and nationality, at 31%.

In short, university-level learner diversity in Qatar is completely at odds with the gender- and nationality-makeup of the country. What’s going on here?

I’ll try to unpack the situation, informed by my own informal observations of post-secondary institutions in Qatar, as well as my knowledge of the region.

Why the low Male Enrollment Rate, and Static Proportion of Male Graduates?

Sheikha Mozah, the wife of the Emir of Qatar, has lead educational initiatives since 1995, leading to the development of 16 international universities and colleges in Qatar. While this can partly explain the rise in the proportion of non-Qatari graduates, it doesn’t explain the relatively static proportion of male Qatari graduates. This, instead, can be partly explained by Qatari males joining the military upon graduating from high school. Others are often encouraged, both by their immediate families and through cultural values, to seek a western education abroad. The UK and US are popular choices. A common view is that they will acquire knowledge and bring it back to their country to help it grow and continue to prosper.

What might explain the high proportion of Female Qataris in post-secondary?

Many Qatari females are encouraged, and sometimes required, to pursue post-secondary education “at home”, within familiar Qatari culture, where it is assumed they are less likely to stray from traditional Islamic values.

Furthermore, in a culture where arranged marriages are still common, a post-secondary education can prove to be quite lucrative; not only for men but also for women. The accompanying increase in social status provides an advantage over the “competition”.

Further Reflection

One last culturally-relevant relationship I wanted to explore was one between faculty and students. Consider this final figure:

In 2014/2015, non-Qatari faculty accounted for 89% of staff (61% male, 28% female). This inspired a few questions of my own:

• Most faculty are non-Qatari men, while most students are Qatari women. Most Qatari schools have gender segregation until post-secondary. Many female students arrive to integrated classrooms and struggle with mandated group work, and it’s not uncommon for them to flat-out refuse to work with males, or vice versa. Is this really a culturally acceptable environment to impose while expecting all students to perform at their best?
• Even if women are educated at “home” in Qatar, they are usually taught by foreigners. Does this not impart its own culture? Is one to assume that instructors will not influence them?
• Parrish and Linder-VanBerschot (2010) state it is “critical that instructors … develop skills to deliver culturally sensitive and culturally adaptive instruction.” International institutions rose extremely quickly – 12 were built between 2009 and 2010 – and staffed in a hurry, with faculty often having cultural backgrounds in strong contrast to their learners. To what extent was, and is, the cultural competence of their staff assessed?
• International institutions, such as Carnegie Mellon, University of Calgary, and Northwestern University, were brought to Qatar “wholesale” to teach curriculum often unchanged from their western counterparts. Until very recently, most students hadn’t grown up engaged with, or with any experience of, western education systems. Faculty need to appreciate these cultural differences and be aware of their own cultural assumptions when dealing with common issues such as plagiarism among their students (Hayes & Introna, 2005). Are these institutions, or the State of Qatar in general, aware of the disconnect between their students’ backgrounds and their curriculum, as well as what possible impact they may be having on the cultural identity of learners?

Even with my analysis, or reflection, of the data I do not have all the answers. Perhaps no one does. I’ve learned that data on diversity, while very interesting, simply does not tell the whole story. It takes comparing and contrasting the data and exploring possible reasons for trends to make any sense of it. And, in truth, I’ve likely only scratched the surface of what could be revealed by the data. I’m very much looking forward to your own thoughts on the data, and to see yours as well!

Scott

Main Data Sources

All data collected for this assignment can be considered generally reliable. However, there are aspects of the data that make it inaccurate to some degree, especially for large data sets, such as estimations, interpolation, unavailability of public records from local government, and so on. Overall the data is considered trustworthy, as each source supported the findings of the others, with no one source contradicting another. Further detail on sources can be seen below. The “reliability” scores are my own judgments.

Data: Qatar Demographics
Author/Source: indexmundi (through CIA World Factbook)
Current as of: January 20, 2018
Reliability: 5/5
Comments: Recent, non-sensitive data collected by the CIA. US has strong ties to Qatar, so data is quite reliable.

Data: Qatar Education
Author/Source: Education in Qatar Statistical Profile 2016 – Qatar MDPS
Current as of: 2016
Reliability: 4/5
Comments: Data is directly from the Qatar Ministry but the data being a few years old.

Data: Nationality/Population
Author/Source: Priya DSouza, Priya DSouza Communications
Current as of: 2014-2017 depending on source
Reliability: 4/5
Comments: Collected independently as exact nationality breakdown is not publicly available from the Qatar Ministry.

Data: Population Estimates/Projections, Gender Data
Author/Source: World Population Prospects – United Nations
Current as of: July 1, 2018
Reliability: 5/5
Comments: Very similar data to Priya DSouza, only minor discrepancies likely due to a few years’ difference in data collection.

Data: Religions in Qatar
Author/Source: PEW Research Center Religion & Public Life Project
Current as of: 2010
Reliability: 3/5
Comments: Data is from 2010, decreasing the reliability rating.

References

Hayes, N., & Introna, L. D. (2005). Cultural values, plagiarism, and fairness: When plagiarism gets in the way of learning. Ethics & Behavior, 15(3), 213-231.

Parrish, P. & Linder-VanBerschot, J. A. (2010). Cultural dimensions of learning: Addressing the challenges of multicultural instruction. International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 11(2), 1-19.

Nieto, C. & Zoller Booth, M. (2009). Cultural competence: Its influence on the teaching and learning of international students. Journal of Studies in International Education, 4, 406-425.