Culture Questions

1) Identify the culture/and or country of origin for the interviewee. Include how you met the person. Include any basic information that you may have like gender and approximate age. If he or she is no longer living in their country of birth, how long have they been away?
Australia

2) In their country of origin: how do people greet each other (shake hands, bow, embrace, other). Has the traditional form of greeting been impacted by globalization and if so, how?

Say Gidday. Shake hands in formal situations.

3) How are children educated in their country? Is there a difference in how males and females are educated or certain minorities? What do you think are the primary goals of education in the country and how (if at all) has this changed in the last 50 years?

Quite well. Same quality of ed for both genders, but the university population is more female than male

4) What is the literacy level (as a whole and by gender))
Near 100%

5) What is the normal dress for men and women? Are there any special traditional items of clothing and when are they worn?
Pretty much the same as the US but a couple of years behind ;-)

6) What is the type of government for the country?
Democratically elected idiocracy.

7) What are the major religions? What are the basic beliefs of these religions?
We have christans, jews, muslims, sikhs, hindus, atheists and jedis.

8) What are the important holidays? Are there special observances of these holidays? Do you feel the attention to these holidays has changed in any way due to the effects of globalization?
Our only unique holidays are:
Australia day (26th January) day the first English settlers landed in 1788 - a sizeable minority feel a little squeamish about celebrating it because of our treatment of the original inhabitants - and some refer to it as 'Invasion Day'.

ANZAC day (25th April) the day in 1915 we launched a near suicidal beach invasion of Turkey under the command of the British. It was our first significant military act as a nation (the former colonies of Australia were governed separately until they 'Federated' into one nation, Australia, on January 1 1901 (which we don't celebrate because we are too hungover.

9) What are the types of communications technology available to most people in their daily lives (for example, TV, computers, cell phones, Internet…) How much of a difference is there between rural and urban areas in availability and use of technology?
Huge saturation of mobile/smart phones, high telecom costs but >80% of households have internet access. Remote rural telecommunication is subject to patchier coverage and slower speeds. Still plenty of nearly uninhabitead areas with little mobile coverage.

10) Where and how do people get married? What is the average marriage age? Is it acceptable not to get married? What is the attitude towards divorce? What changes have occurred in the traditional family structure in your country in your lifetime (or your parents and grandparents lifetime?)

Average marriage is 29.6. People get married in churches and backyards.
72.5% of marriages are performed by celebrants http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celebrant_%28Australia%29
It is socially acceptable not to get married.
Divorce is not stigmatised.

11) What is the national language of the country? Are other languages spoken and how many languages does the typical person know?

English is typically spoken but a number of other languages are spoken (all by less than 2% of the population, including Mandarin, Italian, Arabic, Greek, Vietnamese, Spanish, Hindi, Tagalog

Most of us only speak one language

12) Who are the important national figures in your country (past or present)? They may be in entertainment, art, religion, politics, science etc.

Don Bradman (famous sportsman) looms large
Russell Crowe, Cate Blanchett, Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman in movies
We have nobel laureates http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Australian_Nobel_laureates but few of us really know them. We know we invented the black box flight recorder and the cochlear implant, but we don't know which one of us did the hard work.
Our most revered politician died last year, Gough Whitlam, but he'd been out of politics for decades.

This list might help http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/the-greatest-of-all-our-50-top-australians/story-e6frg6n6-1226562801398?nk=02f6bd43d9e1b65c8478cab82f7c7a62


13) How do people spend their leisure time? How much influence has western culture (movies, clothing, consumer products, foods…) had on the lifestyle and values of most people?

Massively influenced by the US. Sadly. Though we get a mix of British, local and US Television the American influence is prime. I don't know that it has affected our values.

We're largely an outdoor culture so going to the beach, fishing, hiking, picnicking are all popular. We're a bit foodie so a fair restaurant & cafe culture. Motor sports and recreation pretty popular as are large sporting events involving some version of football (soccer, Aussie Rules, Rugby League, Rugby Union) or cricket.
14) What is a problem you deal with most because of your culture?
Probably alcohol abuse

15) What is something people may believe about your culture that bothers you?
Not much.

16) How do you feel your country or region of the world has been most impacted by globalization? This may include both negatives and/or positives.
Being a western nation in Asia has been a unique opportunity. The downside is our vast natural resources have made it too easy for us to live off non-renewable and low value add sources of income. So we send dirt cheap iron ore to Asia then buy it back as automobiles (for example).
Out immigrant experience has been fairly unique and somehow we've bumbled along for a century without really ******* our economy or society.

17) What do you feel are the key challenges that face your country right now?
What to do when commodity prices crash. The insane price of housing. Investing in our people via education and primary health care. Looking after environment already threatened by mass extinctions, climate change, water shortages and resource extraction.

18) What are the most important things (resources, people, knowledge…) you feel your country or region has to offer to the global community

Our people. Generally, smart without arrogance, a belief in fairness, looking after others, trying to be relaxed, wary of those in power and supportive of the underdog.