EVOLUCIÓN DEL DETERIORO POR CORROSIÓN DEL ACERO DE REFUERZO.

The final culture dimension constructed by the GLOBE study is Humane Orientation, which is defined as “the degree to which an organization or society encourages and rewards individuals for being fair, altruistic, friendly, generous, caring, and kind to others” (Kabasakal & Bodur, 2004, p. 569). The study assessed this element using questionnaire items that addressed: “being concerned, sensitive towards others, friendly, tolerant of mistakes, and generous” (p. 571). Indonesia received a higher than average score in the dimension of societal practices, as did the Southern Asian cluster of which Indonesia is part (p. 573). The societal values score, while high, is below the world average (p. 572, 574). The opposite effect, however, is true of those societies that have lower practices scores; their societal values are higher. Hence, societies where there is already a high level of Humane Orientation practices do not perceive that a significant difference is needed – i.e. that “people should be encouraged to be”: “Very concerned about others” (p. 572) - because they already are concerned.

Motivations for cultures with high Human Orientation are described as valuing the “need for belongingness and affiliation, rather than self-fulfillment, pleasure, material possessions, and power” (p. 565). The felt need for belonging and affiliation is often associated with collectivist cultures like Indonesia where a sense of identity is draw from being part of a group (Samovar, Porter, & McDaniel, 2009a). The following attributes are commonly associated with humane-oriented societies:

others [are] important (i.e. family, friends, community, strangers); values of altruism, benevolence, kindness, love, and generosity have high priority; people are expected to promote paternalistic norms and patronage relationships; close circle receives material, financial, and social support; concern extends to all people and nature; [and] people are urged to provide social support to each other. (Kabasakal & Bodur, 2004, p. 570)

All of these attributes are mirrored in the values of Indo-Javanese cultures. Family, friends and community are highly valued. The second sila of the national ideology Pancasila, a ‘just and civilized humanity’, calls specifically for “a willingness to treat others, even

128 foreigners, in a fair manner, free from suspicion, exploitation, and oppression” (Morfit, 1981, p. 840). Virtues held in high regard by the Javanese are generosity, empathy and understanding of others (Koentjaraningrat, 1985; Megawangi et al., 1995). Moreover, community principles such as gotong royong and rukun tangga (Koentjaraningrat, 1957) reflect the drive to provide others with support, be it social, moral or financial, in daily life or in times of crisis (Megawangi et al., 1995).

The implications of this cultural dimension for this research are quite evident. In a disaster event, the society will assist others, family, friends, neighbours and strangers in whatever ways possible. It is anticipated that this trait would be demonstrated by adults and children alike.

The role and place of children in a culture is the focus of the next segment of this chapter. It has been established that culture is “a way of life” (Handel et al., 2007, p. 57) that is passed on through generations and is learned by children, primarily from their parents, but also from their surroundings (McDaniel et al., 2009). In addition, the societal view of children and adult-child interactions is heavily influenced by the values, beliefs and attitude held by that society. When values are compared with other cultures and operationalised as cultural dimensions, there can be some speculation about how children are viewed in a society. The following discussion of children expands on these ideas concerning how children and culture relate.

4.2

Children

Children are defined by the United Nations as “every human being below the age of eighteen years unless under the law applicable to the child, majority is attained earlier” (CRC, 1989). This definition is given from a legal or rights-based approach and uses age as the definitive divide between adults and children. Age is thus one defining feature that divides adults and children. But, ‘age’ would not be chosen if it did not encapsulate other ways in which children may differ from adults.

In fact, most dictionary definitions of a ‘child’ do not mention age, except in reference to the law. Instead, definitions point to biological development stages or to socially defined

129 roles. Collins English Dictionary gives several biological and socially defined descriptors of a child: “a boy or girl between birth and puberty”, “a human offspring; a son or daughter” and “a member of a family or tribe; descendant” ("child," 2010, para 3). Defining children with respect to biological development is appropriate as their “competence and skills are, to some degree, shaped by the ‘facts’ of their ongoing physiological and psychological development” (James & James, 2004, p. 18). According to Peek (2008), children’s physical size and level of cognitive development affects their experiences of natural disasters and their physical and psychological vulnerability in such an event. Prout and James (1997) acknowledge that biological immaturity is “a fact of life”, but emphasise how “this immaturity is understood and made meaningful is a fact of culture” (p. 7). Therefore defining a child based on his or her role within society is more appropriate for this research as it emphasises the social and culture components that shape children’s experiences.

In order to address the research question of how and in what ways children can be identified as social actors, this analysis draws on social theories of children beginning with traditional Western social theories, particularly the theory of socialization. Significant criticism of these traditional theories, however, eventually led to the development a new sociological theory of children and childhood, whose two principal concepts, children as social actors and the social construction of childhood, act as the theoretical framework for this research’s understanding of children. The importance of children’s peer cultures and the variation of possible childhoods acknowledged by this theory make it appropriate for this research because of the strong children’s culture that exists in the research community and how the participants’ childhoods are constrained by their cultural environment and socio-economic status.