First Impressions World Cultures Introduction to a Global World

The United States of America It is hard to compare and contrast countries unless you know about your own… Median Age: 37 Per Capita Income: $47,800 Life Expectancy: 75(males)81(females)78(total) Infant Mortality Rate: 6.3/1,000 live births Literacy Rate: 99%(male)99%(female)99%(total) Population below poverty line: 12% Source: CIA World Factbook 2008

First Impressions Posters Family Name Location in the World Brief Description of Family We think the most valuable possession is… The families actual most valuable possession is… Does this family live in a developed, developing, or underdeveloped country?

Cultural Universals Regardless of where each family was located, putting aside how wealthy we believe each country is, what seemed to be common among every photo?

Cultural Universals Element, pattern, trait, or institution that is common to all human societies on the planet These all fall under the 4 structures of society: 1.Economic Structure 2.Political Structure 3.Belief/Value Structure 4.Social Structure These are located on the back of your vocabulary handout

Standard of Living Quality of life and quantity of goods and services available to the people Measured using 4 criteria: –Wealth –Education –Health –Population These are used to determine if a country is developed, developing, or underdeveloped. It is not enough to determine well-being by wealth alone!

Do not measure well-being by wealth alone! 1.Wealth Distribution ~ Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is an average! –May hide the fact a country has a few stinkin rich people and a mass of starving people! 2.Purchasing Power of a country varies –$15,000 in one country could be a lot of money. It would be tough to live on this in America! – Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) ~ adjusted values to equal U.S. $1 –Example: Big Mac = U.S. $3.15, Australia $2.44, and China $ Only Formal Economy included! –Informal Economy may account for far more activity 4.Ignores all aspects of development other than economic ones –Education, Health Care, Maintaining Environment

High Human Development 1.Iceland 2.Norway 3.Canada 4.Australia 5.Ireland 6.Netherlands 7.Sweden 8.Japan 9.Luxembourg 10.Switzerland 11.France 12.Finland 13.Denmark 14. Austria 15. United States 16. Spain 17. Belgium 18. Greece 19. Italy 20. New Zealand 21. United Kingdom 22. Hong Kong 23. Germany 24. Israel 25. Republic of Korea

Low Human Development 154. Nigeria 155. Lesotho 156. Uganda 157. Angola 158. Timor-Leste 159. Togo 160. Gambia 161. Benin 162. Malawi 163. Zambia 164. Eritrea 165. Rwanda 166. Cote d’Iviore 167. Guinea 168. Mali 169. Ethiopia 170. Chad 171. Guinea-Bissau 172. Burundi 173. Burkina Faso 174. Niger 175. Mozambique 176. Liberia 177. Congo, Dem. Rep Central African Republic 179. Sierra Leone

High Population Density Countries – Countries and territories in which more than half the land area has a population density above 100 persons per square kilometer RANK Country ESI RANK Country ESI RANK Country ESI 1. Japan Poland Philippines Germany Rwanda Lebanon Netherlands Jamaica Burundi Italy Belgium Trinidad & Tobago Sri Lanka Bangladesh Haiti Nepal El Salvador Taiwán India South Korea North Korea 29.2