Factors Influencing Intercultural Communication

In this chapter I will shortly describe the literature I will be using to inform my research problem.

Kwesi Kwaa Prah, director at the centre for Advanced Studies of African Society in Cape Town, explains that culture encompasses everything that results in the fabrication of humans. This includes both the tangible objects that are the material products of humanity as well as the intangible creations of the human such as religion, language, regular usages and everyday practices. (Prah, 2007: 3)

We often forget that South Africa is indeed an African country. At least three quarters of South Africa is made up of African language speaking people. Therefore how do we ensure that that the African character of South Africa is fully and democratically

This framework identifies the efficiency of the intercultural communication prosses that determines the success of an international business. This paper outlines the issues that influence the intercultural communication process within cultures and the understanding of cultural identities. (Espinar , 2010: 1)

We can also identify why there is a loss of cultural identity and how to understand different cultures when assessing the human behaviour by understanding where culture originates from within an individual, what influences their cultural development had on the individual and how they have formed their cultural identity. This can be identified through the literature of W.Huitt (2009); A systems approach to the study of human behaviour. (Huitt, 2009: 1)

Paulo Freire explains that individuals have alienated their cultures because of the direct society they follow. This direct society refers to the culture created by the new lifestyle in society. Freire’s idea is that education can create a cultural action for freedom. The individuals that have alienated their cultures will no longer be attracted to the lifestyle of the director society, but will now uncover their alienated culture. By doing this the alienated culture will begin to recover their voice, and therefore reform their culture and cultural identity. (Freire,

I will be able to use these ideas for direction. The theory will provide me with the framework to use all the ideas mentioned above to design a solution to the problem at hand.

The first theory I will be using to guide my research as well as my design is the Design to Improve Life compass. This “compass” is part of Design to Improve Life Education which is a large scale education project that has been running from 2010. This project was done in the Öresund Region of Scandinavia and was developed by INDEX: Design to Improve Life® and partners. (Hvid, 2010: 4)

The Design to Improve Life compass is a guidance, management and control tool that ensures that all students and teachers involved in the many different education formats in INDEX get along well and successfully through the course. (Hvid, 2010: 11)

The INDEX: Design compass illustrates the Design to Improve Life process and is at the same time a tool that one can use to help create the same process.

The Design to Improve Life compass includes four phases which are:

1. The prepare phase

2. The perceive phase

3. The prototype