其實我想試試一些香港沒有的考試模式的
就例如在丹麥很常見的OralExam
雖則明知我不太有急才可即時對答
但在不計Grade的學期試試也蠻值得的
但……就是沒有碰到要OralExam的科
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形式為一星期的Take-home Exam
在指定時間內按所旗題目寫一篇5-8頁的Essay
05-05-2008開始考試的早晨，在脫離西班牙友人的魔爪後便返ASB
我沿著當日與Peeter奔跑找尋的士的路線行回去
往出ASB大門口的右手面的L-Building拿試題
因為目的只有一個，所以可以迅即返回Snogebæksvej
看過那兩條題目後，那條簡單那條難答不難分辨
而且愛丹麥的人如我當然會選擇第一條比較易的：從四方面講述丹麥的優點及好處
其中三方面更加顯而易見，新穎有貨到的靈感如泉湧
只是最後一方面情況未如順暢，留待寫完其餘的再想
第一日我真的很投入於考試之中，連續足足23小時足不出戶，並完成了七頁
做到這個階段，心也定了下來，將原本定下的五天交貨期限縮短至三天
或許我太老定，放慢了手腳
第三天07-05-2008過去了，我還欠多次的Proofreading
幸好沒有需要作出大改動，我亦十分滿意自己多角度的分析
答題卷最後要自行列印，並於13-05-2008 1000-1130間交回International Office
那天的我太早到，IO都未曾開門，所以到了IT Room消磨一下時間
而在那天開始，我決定在每次考試都在巴士上打飛，以作紀錄
而這個考試亦為我賺來丹麥的一個A
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Question No.1: ‘Moving Over Little Mermaid’ – Discussing the image of Denmark
Whenever I told my friends that I would be studying in Denmark for a semester, the only thing they could relate to this country is Kjeldsens butter cookies in a blue tin[i]. This not only implies how premium and penetrating the brand is to Hong Kong people and market, especially in the Chinese New year as a popular gift, but also shows how little they know about Denmark, a country located in the other side of the world.
Hong Kong is geographically far away from Denmark, with the total distance of 8802.9 km[ii]. From my personal experience, it took me 22 hours to travel from Hong Kong to Århus, because of this reason together with the fact that there is no direct flight to Copenhagen the capital, Denmark is normally not the first choice as a travel destination.
With such a separation and a very infrequent mention of Denmark in the media locally, Hong Kong people just have a very general, yet vague and maybe incorrect idea of this country. Even so, they may not want to spend time on gathering more information or knowing more about Denmark as they do not think that they would somehow get in touch with it.
Briefly, they think that Denmark is cold, is dark for more than half-a-day and is always rainy, but they are at the same time neglecting the opposite situation in summer; they think that Denmark has a frighteningly high living standard. As we can see from the Big Mac Index last year, such a hamburger from McDonald’s is 3 times more expensive here in Denmark (Denmark: $5.08 USD; Hong Kong: $1.54 USD)[iii]; They think that Denmark is naturally beautiful, quiet, peaceful and sparse, just a very different environment and atmosphere compared to Hong Kong; They think that Denmark is a good country to live in after knowing about the Danish welfare model and its high rankings in various global competitiveness indices[iv]. All in all, the positive and rosy images outweigh the negativity about the climate here, and Denmark is certainly perceived as the modern Utopia in the world by Hong Kong people, just like the nation that would only appear in fairy tales.
Similarly, Denmark is currently stereotyped as a quaint and proper country in other places. I think this is already an impression good enough to carry in the international stage as many countries in the world are simply struggling to achieve the same goal. It is no doubt a blessing to be able to hold this image firmly and so, I do not think that there is a need to change it; however, it would be an excellent idea to add more dimensions so as to make Denmark a more dynamic and human nation. The most important mission in this aspect of image-building is to find some ways to distinguish it, making its ‘personalities’ popping out from the group of Scandinavian Europe. I said so because the five countries, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Iceland, are more frequently to be referred to as a group, not as individuals. With a global marketing campaign spending DKK 412 million in the next 4 years, the attempt to stand out of the group should always be kept in mind and be achieved successfully.
Under the proposed plan, there are four new defining themes characterizing the country. I agree quite a large part of them.
The first one is ‘responsibility and balance’ which truly describes the way Denmark is operating. One of the most appropriate examples would be the Danish welfare system. The principle behind the welfare model is that the system and benefits, mainly a wide range of service benefits including free education and health services, should be covering all citizens without regarding to any employment or family condition. The state is responsible for financing and organizing the welfare benefits available to a far greater extent than in other European countries. For this reason, the model is accompanied by a taxation system with a high tax burden, in which inequalities in income distribution and the concentration of wealth and power are allowed less free play[v]. The country is well run, well organized, there is very little difference between high and low, rich and poor, the social safety net is thus secure in place, maintaining a balance among citizens, provided that they are responsible for paying tax regularly.
Besides its own welfare model, Denmark shows ‘responsibility and balance’ in many other ways: Association life is common among Danes as they spot they have the responsibility in any organization, with the idea of democracy deep in their minds[vi]; ranking the eighth in the Global Gender Gap Index both in 2006 and 2007, indicating that there is a high degree of gender balance and equality[vii]; having one of the lowest ‘power distance score’[viii], meaning that Danes have a more balanced roles between the bosses and employees, such that Danish employees are not afraid to argue with the managers and confront conventional wisdom when they think it is good for the firm and necessary to voice out[ix].
The second one is ‘high quality’. In terms of the tourism and transportation, the Copenhagen Airport (Københavns Lufthavn, Kastrup) won the latest Best Airport Award in the 10 – 25 million passenger category[x]. DSB, the state-owned rail service provider, supplies good products to customers with a number of special certificates, including the well-known ISO 9001:2000[xi]. Personally speaking, Danish trains are the most comfortable to travel with; in term of trade, a double-digit growth rate in the recent years on the export of dairy products to the US proves the fact[xii]. The import countries are fond of Danish food because there is a very strict quality control on them to ensure that Danish food, beverages and sweets are among the best in the world[xiii]; in terms of personal appearance, Danes are absolutely serious about this. Never before had I come across all people in the street dressed up, no matter in which age-group they are. Many of them use branded designers’ bags and are scrupulous about every single detail on their bodies; in terms of living, ‘Home’ is a central notion for Danish lifestyle and many efforts and money are invested in making the home inside more comfortable and tidier. Danes spend more time on achieving a higher housing standard than ever and this is a respect and a contribution to the quality of life[xiv].
The third one is ‘simplicity’. Being as a foreigner from Hong Kong, the Danish life is really simple, there are not many entertainments except partying, compared to where I live. This may be related to the unbalanced number of hours with daylight. In winter, the time of sunset would be as early as 1530[xv], people really cannot have many outdoor activities due to the darkness and thus, this leads to how much they treasure the light in summer time. It is not difficult to find that there are many people enjoying sun-bathing or BBQ as the sole activity in the whole afternoon.
Simplicity can also be shown from the buildings. Unlike what can be found in Norway and Sweden, the style of architecture in Denmark is mostly Functionalism. It is the principle that architects designing a building based only on the purpose of that building. Danish architects focus primarily on the functionality, at the expense of aesthetics and produced a large number of buildings that are characterized by straight angles, triangular roofs, and a kind of roughness provided by the minimally decorated concrete slabs that the buildings themselves are made of[xvi]. Obviously to many Danes, the interior is much more important.
The forth one is ‘being environmentally conscious’. The issue is urgent as Greenland, the self-governing Danish province located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans[xvii], is seriously affected by the global warming at this point of time. Geographically there, the ice cap covers almost the entire island, only in summer in the coastal areas are free of snow. However, the area of the ice sheet that has experienced melting has increased about 16% from 1978, and the melting rate has been accelerating since 2004[xviii]. If the warming goes on at its present rate, the sheet may disappear completely within the next thousand years, leading to a disaster to many cities as the sea-level would be raised by 7 meters by the melted ice[xix]. In order to take action, Denmark ratified Kyoto Protocol in 2002[xx] with the objective of reducing the emission of greenhouse gases by 2012[xxi]; apart from this, nationally, Denmark has the highest recycling percentage in the world[xxii], paper and cardboards, aluminium cans, plastics and glasses included, with the help of an extensive TV advertising also as part of the civil education.
On the other hand, however, there should be some more improvements in the aspect of ‘effectiveness’. For instance, a study concluded that Danish manufacturing companies are far less effective than their competitors in the other Nordic counterparts and were accused of having a ‘high mistake frequency’[xxiii]. I would also like to point out the medical system here with the reference of a real experience. Unlike Hong Kong, you cannot see a doctor whenever you need, 24/7. But you have to make an appointment during the office hours and doctor’s availability in the next day is not guaranteed, no matter how ill you are. Even after two-minute health diagnosis, you may not be able to get the curable medicines. The whole process is quite frustrating, and should never be the dark side to the brilliant image of Denmark.
Equally, I doubt the relevance of mentioning Danes holding ‘experimental and bold attitude’. I have read an article about how reluctant Denmark people are to extremes[xxiv], and I think it is a true description which can be applied to my Danish friends. But maybe the theme is to consolidate the long-lasting adventurous characteristic of Vikings instead.
I think it is a better idea to include some other characteristics of the Danes which can also be related to the specialty of the country as well. It is because only people there can be the truest and most persuasive symbols or representatives of that particular nation. For this reason, we should make use of the fact that Danes being named as the happiest people in the world, after an extensive international survey of 90 countries[xxv]. This result can be extended to say that Denmark is the happiest place on earth too[xxvi]. Their happiness may be from the openness and welcome to the surroundings. Culturally, they accept people with different lifestyles. Denmark has been the first country to approve homosexual marriage with equal rights in 1989. Also, according to a research committed earlier this year, Danes have a very positive attitude with regard to young people's relations across different cultures[xxvii], supporting a cosmopolitan attitude towards cultural interchange; socially, the demographic structure in Denmark is simply equal to the word ‘diversity’, there are many ethnic groups living together in this country, including Scandinavian, Vietnamese, Arab (Palestinian, Moroccan, Lebanese, Egyptian, Iraqi) and Pakistani[xxviii]. The different races are totally accepted as part of the family in Denmark; internationally, the proximity of Germany and close co-operation with Sweden, Norway, Finland and Iceland not only makes Denmark the gate between the Nordics and continental Europe, but also allows it to orient the country South in an economic and political sense, yet North in the cultural sense.
Denmark is not all about Kjeldsens and Little Mermaid, it is a lively country with a great potential to gain more awareness globally. Now, in addition to the suggested themes, I can also sincerely say, Denmark is happy, open and welcoming!
[ii] Travel Distance Calculator: http://www.mapcrow.info/cgi-bin/cities_distance_airpt2.cgi?city3=-1948399%2CH&city4=273591%2CD
[vi] Association life & the Media: http://www.denmark.dk/en/menu/AboutDenmark/DenmarkInBrief/DenmarkAnOverview/GenderEqualityAssociationLifeAndTheMedia/
[vii] The Global Gender Gap Report: http://www.weforum.org/en/Communities/Women%20Leaders%20and%20Gender%20Parity/GenderGapNetwork/index.htm
[viii] Clearly Cultural (Power distance index): http://www.clearlycultural.com/geert-hofstede-cultural-dimensions/power-distance-index/
[ix] Why Denmark loves globalization: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1684528,00.html
[x] Airports Council International: http://www.aeroportoditorino.it/pdf/aci_europe_awards_2007_ENG.pdf
[xi] DSB – quality: http://www.dsb.dk/cs/Satellite?pagename=DSBUK/Page/Indholdsside_med_sidemenu_uden_introindhold&c=Page&cid=1125633325451
[xii] Denmark – Market opportunities: http://www.ambwashington.um.dk/en/menu/CommercialServices/Markedsmuligheder/SidsteNyt/DanishHighQualityProductsSuccessfulintheUS.htm?WBCMODE=p
[xiii] Danish Exporters: http://companies.danishexporters.dk/exporters-food-beverages-and-sweets.asp
[xiv] Denmark – Lifestyle: http://www.limbistraine.com/ro/cercetare/Gabriela-Sauciuc/2.Denmark-Country-mentality-lifestyle-values.html
[xv] Sunrise and sunset in Århus: http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/astronomy.html?n=1405&month=12&year=2008&obj=sun&afl=-11&day=1
[xix] National Geographic News (Greenland Melt May Swamp LA, Other Cities): http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/04/0408_040408_greenlandicemelt.html
[xx] Danish parliament ratifies Kyoto protocol: http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15994/story.htm
[xxiii] Danish manufacturers are not very effective – study: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0HXI/is_2002_Feb_25/ai_n25042753
[xxiv] Cultural vaules in Danish advertising: http://www.limbistraine.com/ro/cercetare/Gabriela-Sauciuc/Cultural-values-in-danish-advertising.html
[xxviii] Demographics of Denmark: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Denmark
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