Cultural tuning of a disaster education tool: A comparative study of Japan, El Salvador, and Mexico

Abstract

This paper describes the cultural tuning (CT) of Bosai Duck, a disaster education tool developed in Japan, for use in El Salvador and Mexico as well as the impact of its adaptation, dissemination, and utilization by local stakeholders. CT is the process of adjusting and adapting a tool or initiative used in one culture for use in a different culture, thereby lessening cultural conflicts and culturally embedding the tool or initiative into its new context. By comparing the experiences in three countries, this study aims to identify the elements of CT (i.e., what was culturally tuned) and suggest methods for implementing CT effectively. This study was conducted against a background in which the inherently asymmetric and unidirectional structure of international support obstructs the full implementation of CT. For example, educational materials supplied by developed countries to developing countries are merely translated into the local language. This causes two problems. First, the desired results often do not persist, and second, the support may elicit cultural conflict in the developing country. Therefore, this study used action research to implement CT of the original Japanese Bosai Duck to create the Salvadoran version as well as the Mexican version. A comparison of three versions revealed that values in terms of how each society views the relationship between nature and society, norms in terms of weighing disaster risks, and procedures in terms of organizational hierarchy were culturally tuned. As a result, continuous use of the materials by local stakeholders was realized without causing cultural conflicts.