I now feel safe after two years to publish this posting without fear of a flogging in the vestry of our local church

A bit of controversy last week over the Very Reverend Sheik Rowan Atkinson (yes the ecclesiastical comedian) the mad Mullah of Lambeth (AKA the Archbishop of Canterbury or ABC as he is know to his dwindling flock) and his pronouncements about the incorporation of Sharia law into UK society – he didn’t really say this but its good to ham it up.

I do call into our local church on occasion and bowling in there last Sunday there was a gaggle of the faithful standing around and musing over the recent lecture given by ABC and his apparent call for the inclusion of some parts of Sharia Law alongside Common Law. Not withstanding the lack of insight evident about what Sharia actually is – which is more a comprehensive way of going through life informed by the Qur’an and further elaborated by the words of the Prophet as captured in the Sunnah – that covers conduct of the faithful through life as well as more mundane legal precepts. Lots of huffing and puffing was in evidence (I assume from you ed.) about sanctity of Common Law etc etc then we looked around – and talk of the devil in waltzed Mullah Colin Grahame AKA the Reverend Collin deacon of … . He had just got back from blessing the local lap dancing club … and we asked his opinion. ‘We could always call the offertory the whip round’ (polite chortling) and have young Sheila (i.e. an eighty-five year old denizen of the church) up the belfry to call the faithful to prayer (more polite chortling then having had this brilliant idea in five mins the deed was done) and ‘we could have one or two verses from the Holy Qur’an instead of the New Testament’ (muffled suppressed chortling) and have a ‘show of hands to see who’s been pinching from the poor box’ (lots of laughter) …

Then followed a more meaningful consideration of what is actually wrong with thinking about applying rules and ways of living as they have been captured in Holy Works right across the world into our everyday life (surely that’s what we do as Christians) – there is not much talk of stewardship, ethical behaviour, and the right way of going about with ones fellow human beings nowadays. It not so much about Law, as doing the right thing, because it is the right thing to do, and this sort of thing has underpinned the great religions for thousands of years. OK Sharia law as it seems to us as practiced in some countries is not acceptable, but the sentiment, that one has to take on board these; responsibilities, rules and prescriptions that were written down for very practical reasons years ago is correct. Codified, the rules were a coherent way to manage ones society – in the heart of where Islam was borne, at that time, it was a pretty fragmented violent pagan society. Islam bound together that society within a set of coherent laws and rules. Sharia law was set-down a thousand years ago (Judaism 2,500 years ago) and needs perhaps more a reflective approach now (as it does receive in many advanced Muslim countries) but the basic ethics that underpin Islam underpin Christianity as well.

Over the week the ‘Colonels from the Shires’ have appeared from the woodwork at Synod meetings complaining that no ‘rag-head’ law will hold here but they are a tiny minority – and we are not about to accept calls for the resignation of ABC from Sun Editors and journalist hacks who think ‘communion rail’ just won the franchise for the East Coast Line or the 2.30 at Lingfield. So this controversy will fade into the past and we will move on – although it must be said that ABC would be wise to have one of his minions give a future lecture a ‘butchers’ before it goes out.

After the service in the pub we reflected over the debates and controversies around this issue – that is until someone piped up – ‘Crap we left Sheila in the bell tower’

Cheers

Royston

Some Links if you would like to know more about this issue and what ABC actually said

I still see we are being prepared and softened up to allow scientists to come what may, carry out whatever experiments they see fit, probably up to and including cloning (eventually). We have over the last few weeks seen a procession of worthies come out of the woodwork to challenge the ‘naysayers’ and ‘latter day Luddites’ who are daring to raise a yellow card by suggesting we should place some limits on what science is allowed to do. Now it surprises me that this is not raising more fuss from the likes of Greenpeace and other environmental groups who are quite willing to raise the roof over a few GM carrots but seem disinterested in this far wider issue.

I waxed lyrically in a post in the ethics section on this Forum about the discursive practices being deployed as a resource to get this one past Joe public – this is the claptrap about a cure being around the corner for whatever gruesome disease is top of mind at the moment – what is at issue now is this question of ‘conscience’ and voting according to ‘it’ as Brother Brown would have it. Conscience is the cognitative and affective (emotional) processes which constitute an internalised moral governor over an individual’s moral conduct – its helps us distinguish right from wrong in action. Thus the action at stake here is whether or not to vote on this issue (the bill) in the commons (and how ones conscience informs that choice) and not over the content being proposed – at least strictly. What is needed in fact is a debate over the bounds and what constitutes the limits so we can avoid this constant leverage of the boundaries for the short-term expediencies of the moment – someone’s need to have a research proposal rubber stamped. We need to debate the systemic issue not this specific instance.

I expect if we did this exercise, we could identify the no go areas like a full cloning and go some way to saying that ‘it’ is OK to clone and keep ‘alive’ up to a few weeks until we can harvest some cells (to cure some genetic disease etc etc) – doing this at least we would have the debate up front and ‘understand’ the parameters and risk areas. I might say as a scientist and engineer that I am comfortable with some aspects of the biological research being proposed, where I part company with this particular process is when discursive tricks are used, and eminent worthies wheeled out, to overcome and avoid any real discussion and stifle opposition and reasoned debate with an recourse to emotional self-interested nonsense – with an implied suggestion that those opposing the issue should get back in their box as it is of no concern to them.

I personally welcome the intervention of some church and religious leaders, it is overdue and a refreshing counterweight to the over-weaning acceptance in some sectors of our society of the heroic nature of science, and its ability to solve all ills no matter the price in the end.

Royston

See this post in ethics section and join in the debate one way or the other!!

So we see again in the press that too many hospitals in England are falling short in the most basic care they are giving elderly patients. The Care Quality Commission carried out unannounced visits at 100 hospitals to assess dignity and nutrition standards and identified concerns in 55 cases, describing the findings as “alarming”.

A few months ago I saw an article on sky news about a specific instance of poor care and it struck a chord with me when my mother died in a hospital in a NHS Trust Newport Hospital a few years back. Apparently in the case sky highlighted officials from the South London Trust have apologised to the family of Derek Sauter, who later died in hospital of pneumonia (no doubt lessons have been learned!!). The 60-year-old patient did not receive a “proper and professional standard of care” when he was admitted with a chest infection in June 2008. A formal investigation was conducted into his death, after it was found his oxygen levels went unchecked for 11 hours and were 35% lower than recommended.

Ruth Sauter, the patient’s daughter, said she was disgusted by the treatment her father had received. She told The Daily Mail: “His condition was not life threatening, and nurses had specific instructions to keep close tabs on him. “‘But their appalling lack of care, and cruel behaviour killed my father…It’s so much worse knowing that he died alone, thirsty and scared on that ward.”

Well this sort of treatment is not that uncommon four years ago I was in the same situation. I turned up at the Hospital to find my mother had been placed in a geriatric ward (she actually had a blood disease and should have been in haematology) with four other old ladies left in their soiled bedclothes in a rather drafty backwater of the hospital. There was poo on the floor and the wash basin stank through lack of a disinfectant. When one of the other patients started screaming a hassled nurse came out of their rest room where they were watching TV to shout at this patient to ‘f***ing’ well shut up. No shame there were dozens of visitors present in the neighbourhood. Tea came around and boiling hot tea was tipped into a mug and handed to my mum who could not hold the cup as her hands were very bad by then. Fortunately I was there that time to hold the cup but she told me that many a time she was thirsty and could not get help from the ‘feckless idle bunch that passed for care staff on that ward’.

So it happens and we all listen to the excuses, apologies and the lessons learnt but know that nothing will change and what has happened will happen again … and again … and again until the NHS is sorted out.

Act Utilitarianism is used to judge every situation individually and without regards to the wider view of community. Within this premise the path of action that would bring about the greatest good to the most number of people in that specific situation would be followed -allowing every action to be judged within its own circumstances and merits and thus creating a flexible ethical theory for how to deal with everyday situations.

Situation Ethics looks at what is the most loving thing to do in any given situation. It looks to the teachings of Jesus to decide what actions must be taken and states that there is no absolute moral law save for love. This love is all-deciding and is always the right course of action even if this goes against scripture or the specific laws of a culture or country. Every situation is also treated separately so that the reason of love can be applied individually.

If we apply these general rules to a situation such as voluntary euthanasia we can see how different conclusions can be drawn.

The term voluntary euthanasia refers to a form of assisted suicide where an individual asks for assistance in ending their own life, for example, when their quality of life has fallen so low (or is predicted to decline) they see death as a better option that continuing to live, but perhaps lack the physical means to perform the act themselves. They may choose instead to ask for help from a doctor or a family member. This is illegal in this country (the UK) but permitted under strict criteria in places such as Switzerland and the Netherlands. This can mean that people will travel abroad to seek help for an act that is against the law here.
Someone following Act Utilitarianism (or Situation Ethics) will look at each individual case and decide based on those key factors present within the specific case what the best course of action is to take. An Act Utilitarian will be seeking to bring about the most utility for the greatest number, so will not only take into account the happiness of the patient but also everyone else involved, including family members, friends and the doctors and other medical staff concerned. Taking this into account, the patients themselves are of little importance in the decision when following Act Utilitarianism, which is in every case, is concerned with the majority as opposed to the minority standpoint.

If, for example, a young mother with a family decided that she wished for assistance to end her life and her suffering after being diagnosed with cancer, it is very unlikely that an Act Utilitarian would permit this. Not only would her family suffer greatly in her sudden passing, but it would also put a strain on the doctors who would have to perform the euthanasia – perhaps going outside the law to perform the act. However, if it were a terminally ill old man it is likely that he would be allowed to die, as he would have fewer family members and this death would be less against the norms of nature due to his age. The hospital budget, too, would be being forced to spend a great deal on his health care – money that could help far more people if put to a better use, as well as saving medical resources for others.
Someone taking a Situation Ethics perspective will already believe that all life is sacred and a gift from God. Murder will be considered wrong in most situations, but again if it can be shown as the most loving thing to do then that is finally decided as the right decision, regardless of legality. If a patient then was in so much pain that they no longer wanted to live, the most loving thing to do would (most likely) be to allow them to die a quick and painless death rather than continue on in suffering. Similarly to utilitarianism, the views of others involved will also be taken into account, though there is much less chance of a ‘tyranny of the majority’ circumstance taking place. Overall then whereas Act Utilitarianism and Situational Ethics are both case based the focus differs in where the utility lies whether for the individual or in the majority as in Act Utilitarianism.

In the mythical Blackberry world the symbolic display of the device announces: ‘I am indispensable’, ‘I’m a big shot’, ‘I am so important that I receive emails 24/7 so I can make world changing decisions’ (no you are not). It becomes almost a ritual on the train, sit down, roll the thumbwheel – and then the Blackberryite attempts to peer at a small screen to thumb-type in some inane response to a colleague. Probably also sitting on some other train on their way to their office peering into a similarly small screen enacting a drama and playacting at work. I have received these messages stripped of context with useless content – usually a simple acknowledgement of some minor nature but in reality announcing to me (as if I cared) that they ‘working’ and able to respond immediately.

There is also a darker side to the use of mobile technology which is an extension in this post modern world of the disciplinary office and the rise of surveillance at work. We are all aware of Foucault’s use of the Bentham’s Panoptican:

The idea behind the panoptican prison was to enforce behavior and sense of control. ‘The arrangement of his room, opposite the central tower, imposes on him an axial visibility; but the divisions of the ring, those separated cells, imply a lateral invisibility. And this invisibility (that) is a guarantee of order. If the inmates are convicts, there is no danger of a plot, an attempt at collective escape, the planning of new crimes for the future, bad reciprocal influences … if they are schoolchildren, there is no copying, no noise, no chatter, no waste of time; if they are workers, there are no disorders, no theft, no coalitions, none of the distractions that slow down the rate of work. (Foucault, Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison.)

The important point was that it was not necessary to have a visible guard walking the corridors – it was enough to know the possibility of supervision and this led to self discipline and control (of the prisoners, schoolchildren and workers) that reinforced and re-stated the use of power that caused compliance.

I see in the use of Blackberries, and other similar gadgets, an extension of the disciplinary office – controlling people in time and space – ensuring their availability to work at whatever time it is and wherever they are physically. Even on the train, in their homes or during their ‘free’ time they are available for work. Not self-motivated to work but self-supervised and self- disciplined into performing at the beck and call of and subject to the invisible supervisory power of the modern office.

What Blackberryites are doing is giving up their agency and freedom, becoming a slave to a control mechanism that is not materially different to the electronic tag sometimes used to monitor and control the movements of ASBO bound kids.

Royston – a spokesperson of the popular front for the liberation from Blackberries

I was a little annoyed by the recent call by the industry leaders and the Conservative policy of selling the student loan book which will mean in practice students paying the equivalent of a commercial rate of interest for their loans at University. Currently the rate of interest for a student loan is set at around the rate of inflation – so assuming inflation gets back to a more normal rate over the next few years the long term loan rate will settle at around 3 to 5%. Although this seems high it is the cheapest way to borrow money to pay for a course and in effect a student will be paying back at purchase power parity. The value of the money paid back is at the same purchase value at the money drawn now.

Actually the interest rate due on loans fell to a negative number – 0.4% recently so at least in theory the principal was being reduced but the government fixed the minimum rate at 0% which sounds great but means that in these deflationary times the loan principle remains fixed and not reduced in line with the notional purchasing power.

One of the justifications for the student loan system was that graduates over a working lifetime would earn substantially more in salary – currently this is being mooted at around £100,000 over a non graduate. This looks like a substantial figure but when the time value of money is taken into account it seems not so much of a justification and when commercial loan rates are taken into account even less so.

The value of money depends upon its timing – money in the hand now is worth much more than money in 20 years time. Over time the value of money is reduced by inflation or by interest charges. For example a shopping basket in twenty years may cost around £45 more on a hundred pound basket of goods just to account for a 4% annual inflation over the time. This means that a £145 basket of goods can be valued at £100 at today’s prices. Similarly higher salaries are spread over the working lifetime and extra cash as a result of your degree can appear in twenty or thirty years time and be worth much less in today’s terms than you might expect.

Lets assume a student loan of £20,000 at the end of a course and treat this as an investment to achieve extra cash flow over a non graduate person each year over a forty year period of £2500 (£100,000 divided by 40). On a discounted cash flow of this money stream at 4% interest the breakeven is some 13 years away and the total value of the £100,000 at today’s prices is about £45,000. In other words for the loan of £20,000 it is paid back and you make £25,000 return on your investment over someone who did not bother. Behind these sorts of figures is the sad fact that most graduates will end up in jobs that pay no more than a non-graduate and will thus never get the return.

The situation is worse if we go along with the hare-brained idea to charge students a commercial loan rate currently at 8%. If we assume a 10% average interest rate over the forty years we are talking about breaking even on the investment in 25 years and the value of our £100,000 coming down to £20,000 at today’s prices. This sort of benefit is so far down the line that in investment terms in a business such a proposal would be thrown out.

We often are taken in by large sounding numbers that materialise years away (remember the endowment fiasco) and forget to account for the timing of the investment or the probability that we can cannot achieve it per se. Most graduates will have rather routine jobs that a generation ago were handled by A level high school leavers and the rewards for others may be years away whilst they find their feet. Training graduates is a long term investment for this country in ‘its’ intellectual capital and should be treated as something that will benefit society as a whole and help us stop or even reverse the long term decline in our global position as a trading nation. University education should be available to those who can do it in a grant maintained format without burdening young people with debts that take years to pay off in exchange for dubious long term benefits.

We are often attracted to renewable sources as there seems an almost unlimited amount of potential energy available if only we can get our hands on it. We often we hear of proponents of renewable sources coming up with fantastic pools of resource at high efficiencies that we can access at no (apparent) cost. Take for example tidal energy. The amount of energy in tidal power generated by the gravitational energy of (mainly) the moon comes to a total of about 3.5 terawatt hours (1012) which seems at first sight a great deal of energy but is in fact only 20% of the global demand in total. Furthermore there are twenty places in the world where tidal flow exceeds the around 1.5 meters per sec at peak flow which would be sufficient to drive a turbine farm which means the actual accessible power is very small (and periodic) at around 200 gigawatt’s (109) of available energy – or around one thousandth of the available energy supply. So there is in principle a large amount of energy there but unfortunately we are unable to access it in any reasonable way.
I was drawn to these interesting facts in the New Scientist after a meeting where it was proposed to me that if we could all have Sterling engines installed in our homes and drive them with natural gas instead of the big power generators doing it for us we could enjoy 95% efficiencies in conversion as against the around 30% the best generators achieve. However this was a mistake and would breach the laws of thermo dynamics if it were true as a typical sterling engine has a thermal efficiency of between 20 to 30% which is nicely comparable to a car engine but not I am afraid in the 90% range. Given that most Sterling engines require exotic materials and tend to be quite expensive I doubt this is a starter in cost terms alone – although up to 150 or so KW that might be in the running for a home generator utilising waste head from the house say in summer (acting as a air conditioner).

As so often is the case spokespeople appear every so often extolling the virtues of a green half baked idea when the engineering aspects almost always rules out getting anywhere near such stratospheric benefits. We have only to look at wind power, many of the turbines operate as miserable efficiencies and blight the landscape for miles around. What is needed is a bit more evidence based evaluation and a little less hype and hope.

Roy

Facebook Pages vs. Profiles: Don’t Make the Wrong Choice by Lani and Allen Voived

If there’s one thing we hate, it’s to be the bearer of bad news. Okay, we know, who actually likes to be the bearer of bad news, aside from your gossipy Aunt Edna? But we digress. We’ve had more than a few businesses and organizations reach out to connect with us on Facebook recently who have set their business/organization up as a personal account, known in Facebook parlance as a ‘Profile.’ These are well-meaning folks who have amassed hundreds of connections – ‘Friends’ – and we’re just going to be blatant and capitalize the terminology for ultimate clarity.

These businesses/organizations are at risk to lose all the equity they’ve built on Facebook. Immediately, suddenly, and without prejudice. You see, Facebook’s rules say ‘Profiles represent individuals and must be held under an individual name, while (Fan) Pages allow an organization, business, celebrity, or band to maintain a professional presence on Facebook. So if you’re using a Profile to represent a business or organization on Facebook, you’re violating their Terms of Use, and you could have your Profile – including all Friends, content, and customization – deleted without warning.

Now, what are the chances you’ll get found out in the sea of 400,000,000 users? Maybe not huge. But for what it’s worth, we know firsthand that it’s not an urban legend. It happened to a client of ours, on a product line in which we’re not involved. Once we got wind of what was going on, we warned them of the risk. They didn’t take heed, and their account got found and axed within the same week. Thankfully, they hadn’t gone too far down the Facebook road on that account – they lost a couple of months of activity and about 200 Friends. But ones who have reached out to us in recent months have many more Friends, and years of content that could literally disappear overnight.

If you use a Profile to represent yourself as a professional associated with a business or organization, you’ve got no worries. (Unless you maintain a second Facebook Profile for your personal life – that’s against Facebook’s rules, too.)If you ARE using a Facebook Profile against their Terms of Use, however, here’s what you should do:

1. Create a Fan Page for your business or organization.
Also referred to simply as a ‘Page,’ that’s the functionality Facebook created just for folks like you.

2. Send a message to all your Friends.
Tell them you’re converting your Profile over to represent you as a person by a certain date, and refer them to your newly created Page to continue to interact with your business/organization. In fact, give yourself time so you can send 2-3 messages. When’s the first time you remember taking immediate action on something yourself?

3. Follow through.
Even if you think you have no use for a personal Profile on Facebook (you do, but let’s not get into that right now), don’t waste the equity you’ve already built up. You’ve done your due diligence by letting your Friends know multiple times about the change. So make the change, and let your Friends do what they will in response. It’s an opt-in/opt-out society.

Good luck with the conversion, and if you have any in-the-trenches stories about this issue, or other related tips ‘n tricks to share, by all means post ‘em on our ‘Epiphanies, Inc. – Social Marketing & Success Strategies’ Fan Page on Facebook. And if you’re not on Facebook at all yet, do what you can to get past your hesitations and get on board. 400,000,000+ humans can’t be wrong … can they?

As Certified Social Media Strategists and Certified Inbound Marketing Professionals, Lani and Allen Voivod of Epiphanies, Inc., train teams, craft strategies, and serve as long-term success partners for a handful of global brands, industries, and mission-driven organizations. Find out how they can help your business boost visibility, community, competitive edge, memberships, and profits at http://facebook.com/AhaYourself!

1. LEARN and OBSERVE — Spend time preparing and learning about the country or culture you plan to enter so that a mental foundation is laid. Any good student would study the subject matter before an exam or presentation, and the same principle applies in the realm of international travel. Also, be culturally aware. Observe cultural similarities and differences and use them to understand the behavior of your international counterpart. Adopting an analytical perspective on cultural norms and values is central to crossing cultures.
2. SOCIAL STRUCTURE — Expect that the notion of “equality” is not a universal one. Men and women are not treated equally across the world, and likewise, people of differing ethnicity, religious, linguistic and status are often not treated equally either. Learn to suspend judgment in order to function within the host country, and be sure to learn how to distinguish between gender, cultural, ethnic, linguistic, religious or status differences. Often these factors function in tandem with one another, while being distinct. Understanding the social structure of a country will often help in parsing how the structural elements contribute to the social and cultural distinctions.
3. SUSPEND VALUES — Whatever personal values (see #2 in regard to the value of equality) may be held at home, it is very likely that they will not easily translate into other cultures and contexts. The famed anthropologist, Clifford Geertz, reminds us that if we expect to find “home truths” in other parts of the world, we might as well stay home. Patience, flexibility and tolerance are, thus, requisite qualities for all travelers. Respectfully adhere to cultural norms, even if you do not agree with them, and try not to take offense to habits and customs with which you may not be familiar. Try to function “within” the host country’s culture and social system rather than approaching it antagonistically. In this regard, the old adage of “When in Rome, do as the Romans…” remains golden advice.
4. NETWORKS– Build a network or personal and professional contacts if you plan to be in another country or culture for an extended stay. Note: Cross-culture expert, Roger Axtell, suggests finding a mentor with experience who can act as a sponsor, help socialize you into the new culture, and in the case of business professionals, even extend your credibility. In many countries, from the most basic functions to the most bureaucratic offices rely upon networks of contacts.
5. PERSONAL APPEARANCE — Seriously consider the matter of personal appearance and self-presentation. Often considered a “soft” or insignificant subject, self-presentation can be critical to business success by portraying care and professionalism in cultures where appearances are key factors. Appearance can also contribute to safety factors as it can bring unwanted attention to travelers, thus making them targets for criminal activities. Pay close attention to how your international counterparts present themselves in the professional and personal domains.
6. SELF-PRESENTATION — Thoughtfully take into account the matter of personal behavior and self-presentation. The old adage “just be yourself” is pleasant rhetoric to the ears of fellow Westerners, and especially Americans. While such naturalness and ease may require little effort, it is the single most problematic attitude of international travelers as it demonstrates a gross incognizance of cultural differences. Instead, observe how people in the host country behave and attempt to emulate that behavior with subtlety. Often, small changes such as modulating one’s voice or behaving more formally in status-oriented cultures are sufficient forms of cultural integration.
7. PARA-LANGUAGE — Pay close attention to “para-language,” that is, gestures and body language in other countries. The way in which Americans nod “yes” (up and down) means the opposite thing in other countries such as India. Hand movements are also critical as they can often denote epithets and other colorful meanings. The Chinese, however, have a complex and esoteric code of hand gestures that are involved in commercial transactions. Do not assume universal meanings as something as seemingly ubiquitous as a smile may not translate the same meaning in other cultures. Westerners assume the smile transmits positive feelings, however, in Eastern cultures, smiling often connotes discomfort or embarrassment. In still other cultures, smiling demonstrates weakness or shallowness. Close attention should also be paid to eye contact, hand shaking and spatial relationships.
8. PROTOCOL — Give some thought and attention to the matter of protocol. In written communication with people from other countries and cultures, distinctive practices are the norm. Take time to find out about appropriate and polite customs of written communication. In-person communication and etiquette is also key. Westerners, and especially North Americans, tend to adhere to informality in greetings and introductions, often preferring to interact on a first name basis. Other cultures such as Middle Easterners, preference more formal interactions, while Latin Americans pay close attention to titles. Beyond the realm of communication, take time to learn about the status hierarchy. As noted in #3, equality is not a universal value and many cultures tend to be status-oriented. Many cross-cultural experts recommend using bilingual business cards where titles favorably denote status.
9. PUNCTUALITY — Remember that the notion of time is a culturally constructed one. Try to adhere to culturally-appropriate norms of punctuality. European countries and the United Kingdom have a high regard for the issue and demand precise attention to punctuality, while Canada, the United States, and Australia expect and appreciate promptness. In contrast, the Mediterranean countries tend to have a more relaxed attitude toward promptness and in Latin America and Africa, time is a very fluid consideration!
10. DRINKING AND DINING — Think about culturally distinct norms of dining when traveling or living in another country. Table etiquette should be considered. Although Americans tend to cut meat with the right hand and then flip to fork use with that very hand, Europeans and many Latin Americans unwaveringly use the fork in the left hand and the knife in the right hand. In Asian cultures where chopsticks are used, learning how to efficiently use these utensils in advisable. Pay attention to where utensils are placed on the plate during and after eating as the cues of etiquette evolved in order to signal to waiters and attendants when more food was requested or when one is finished with a meal. Travel also involves consuming foreign and exotic foods. Although your first impulse may be to refuse to eat the sheep’s brain offered in the Middle East or pig intestines offered in South East Asia, remember that these foods are considered delicacies at home and are likely offered in the spirit of honor. When serving meals to people of other cultures, remember to consider religious restrictions (Muslims and Jews do not eat pork; Hindus do not eat beef; and various denominations of Christianity and Islam do not drink alcohol). If you are the person with a religious or dietary restriction, simply explain that fact to your host while noting that you have no objection to others partaking the particular food or drink.