The document discusses cultural integration and the increasing homogenization of culture across the world. It argues that major cities are becoming very similar, sharing compatible systems of commerce, leisure pursuits, and built environments. Technological changes, multinational corporations, and global media have accelerated the spread and adoption of mass consumer culture worldwide, leading to the proliferation of "Trude-like" cities that are virtually indistinguishable from each other. Sports, brands, food, music and other cultural aspects now diffuse widely and help connect disparate places.

1. Cultural Integration

2. Global migration http://www.publicprofiler.org/worldnames/Default.aspx http://www.gracenote.com/map/ Music being adopted worldwide NOW!

3. Cultural integration? Is it true that major western cities and societies are looking more and more like the sort of cities that middle-class, white, plastic Americans want to live in? There is a pervading sense that major western cities are becoming very much the same.

4. Invisible Cities. Italo Calvino described a fictional city called Trude in his novel Invisible Cities . Calvino's character Marco Polo referred to how there increasingly seemed to be many Trude-like cities in the world.

5. This was the first time I had come to Trude, but I already knew the hotel where I happened to be lodged; I had already heard and spoken my dialogues with buyers and sellers of hardware; I had ended other days identically, looking through the same goblets at the same swaying navels. Why come to Trude? I asked myself. And I already wanted to leave. "You can resume your flight whenever you like," they said to me, "but you will arrive at another Trude, absolutely the same, detail by detail ..." (Calvino, Invisible Cities , 1972:128).

6. Do we have a world composed of Trudes? Is the culture of western cities homogeneous, uniform? Or increasingly homogeneous?

7. Are culture and economy becoming increasingly uniform across the globe? Cities increasingly seem to share compatible systems of commerce, identical leisure pursuits and cuisine, similar social relations, and uniform built environments. There is plenty of evidence of Trude-like convergence across the planet.

8. Uniform ways of life: language; architectural styles; leisure; fashions; sports; etc

9. Take for example the spread across the globe of US cultural products, such as Hollywood films, McDonald's cuisine and Coca-cola. The spread of such products helps explain why the beverages and entertainment in Trude-like cities had become so monotonously familiar to the traveller.

10. The process of cultural integration has come about and accelerated in recent years due to a number of factors: Technological change (ease of long distance travel and recent developments in communications) The influence of TNCs Global media networks The expansion in world trade International migration Cultural imperialism (colonisation)

11. There are a variety of ways in which culture can be spread and be adopted or adapted around the globe. The media Brand images Food Music Religion Sport Fashion

17. Kabul, Afghanistan

18. Diffusion Diffusion is the spreading of mass consumer culture

19. Adoption Adoption is the taking up of mass consumer culture

20. Adaptation Adaptation is the adjusting of mass consumer culture to suit new circumstances

21. Factors affecting cultural integration So what lies behind the spread of such products?

22. Three key influences include: technological developments (communications) commercial forces (TNCs) international regulatory environments (free trade)

23. The rapid development of communications technologies, the aims and strategies of transnational corporations in the entertainment industries, and the international regulatory environment, have all contributed to cultural integration.

24. yourtv.com.au

29. In recent years, due to sponsorships by large companies, especially globalised companies, and the role of media in particular new cable and satellite channels, the process has accelerated.

30. 3. Brand images http://www.nationalmotivationnetwork.com/day-in-the-life.php Life in the day of logos

31. http:// www.interbrand.com/best_global_brands.aspx?langid =1000

34. Romania

35. Abu Dhabi http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/sep/03/middleeast.art the world in miniature

36. Brand Image Challenge Racing the clock, come up with one international brand name for each letter of the alphabet

38. 4. Sport http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7396348.stm Man United in Sierra Leone 2008 http://www.globalpolicy.org/globaliz/cultural/2006/0609kofifootball.htm At the UN, How We Envy the World Cup - Kofi A. Annan

39. www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVArC_klWEI New Caledonia Bowl alternately Stumps together No bails Mostly women who wear floral dresses Samoa At least 16 a side Sing & dance when wicket taken Vanauatu Bowl alternate ends

40. Match the team and sponsor Sports and Brand images/TNCs

51. A Casualty of the Financial Crisis: Sports Sponsorships http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1841701,00.html?xid=rss-topstories Sept 2008

52. Commonwealth Countries

53. Cricket World Cup playing countries

54. Commonwealth Countries

55. Rugby Union World Cup playing countries

56. Commonwealth Countries

57. Rugby League World Cup playing countries

58. Commonwealth Countries

59. Netball World Cup playing countries

60. Commonwealth Countries

61. Hockey World Cup playing countries

62. Commonwealth Countries

63. (Women's) Rugby world cup

64. Commonwealth Countries

65. Example : Religions http://www.mapsofwar.com/ind/history-of-religion.html Spread of religions interactive map