Design Integration Workshops 2012

Businesses will learn how design integration can increase growth and productivity, and gain a sustainable competitive advantage. This hands on two-day workshop will demystify design thinking and introduce you to both theory and practice for the latest, world-class design integration methods. Design integration will transform your business and boost resilience in the face of current global, social and economic challenges.

Cultural fitness for business process management : what is it and what is it worth?

While business process management (BPM) is often associated with large investments in IT systems and process analysis projects, the success of BPM initiatives largely depends on the cultural readiness of organizations for process management. In this article, we introduce a model that helps to understand the role of culture in managing business processes and to take the right investments into the development of organizational culture. For that purpose, we also describe an assessment tool that allows examining the supportiveness of an organizational culture for BPM initiatives. We show how the results of such an assessment help organizations to determine in which areas of a corporation investments in cultural change can be most beneficial.

Crime talk, FIFO workers and cultural conflict on the mining boom frontier

Australia is experiencing an unprecedented expansion in mining due to intense demand from Asian economies thirsty for Australia’s non-renewable resources, with over $260 billion worth of capital investment currently in the pipeline (BREE 10). The scale of the present boom coupled with the longer term intensification of competitiveness in the global resources sector is changing the very nature of mining operations in Australia. Of particular note is the increasingly heavy reliance on a non-resident workforce, currently sourced from within Australia but with some recent proposals for projects to draw on overseas guest workers. This is no longer confined, as it once was, to remote, short term projects or to exploration and construction phases of operations, but is emerging as the preferred industry norm. Depending upon project location, workers may either fly-in, fly-out (FIFO) or drive-in, drive-out (DIDO), the critical point being that these operations are frequently undertaken in or near established communities. Drawing primarily on original fieldwork in one of Australia’s mining regions at the forefront of the boom, this paper explores some of the local impacts of new mining regimes, in particular their tendency to undermine collective solidarities, promote social division and fan cultural conflict.

Experience of overseas-trained health professionals in rural and remote areas of destination countries: A literature review

This study aimed to review and synthesise existing literature that investigated the experience of overseastrained health professionals (OTHPs) in rural and remote areas of destination countries. A systematic literature review was conducted using electronic databases and manual search of studies published from January 2004 to February 2011. Data were analysed from the final 17 original report articles that met the inclusion criteria. The reviewed research studies were conducted in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK and the USA. Overseas-trained medical practitioners were the most frequently researched (n = 14); two studies involved nurses and one study included several health professionals. Three main themes emerged from the review and these were: (i) expectations; (ii) cultural diversity; and (iii) orientation and integration to rural and remote health work environment. The OTHPs were expected to possess the appropriate professional and cultural skills while they themselves expected recognition of their previous experiences and adequate organisational orientation and support. A welcoming and accepting community coupled with a relaxed rural lifestyle and the joy of continued patient care resulted in successful integration and contributed to increased staff retention rates. Recognition of expectations and cultural diversity by all parties and comprehensive orientation with sufficient organisational support are important elements in the integration of OTHPs and subsequent delivery of quality health care to people living in rural and remote areas.

Toward cultural epidemiology : beyond epistemological hegemony

It is more than 10 years since the anthropologist DiGiacomo (1999) answered the question “Can there be a cultural epidemiology?” with disappointment, concluding ethnographic and epidemiological narratives are divergent not complementary. In the same year, the epidemiologist Krieger (1999, p. 1151) asked related questions about the epistemological foundations of epidemiology: “Epidemiology is–or is not—the basic science of public health. Epidemiology is—or is not—an objective science. Science and advocacy are—or are not—distinct and contrary endeavours.” Again in the same year the Indigenous researcher Smith (1999, p. 1) wrote, “From the vantage point of the colonized, a position from which I write, and choose to privilege, the term ‘research’ is inextricably linked to European imperialism and colonialism.” The act of conceptualizing and practicing cultural epidemiology thus brings with it a series of deep epistemological questions about the nature of knowledge production. The Western academy of health research assumes an intellectual and moral privilege to fill gaps in knowledge aimed at yielding improvements in health status. With such privilege comes responsibility, since the power to conceptualize health problems and their solutions deserves considerable critical, historical, and political reflexivity, particularly at the boundaries between dominant and oppressed cultural spaces...

Digital futures for cultural and media studies

An ambitious rendering of the digital future from a pioneer of media and cultural studies, a wise and witty take on a changing field, and our orientation to it Investigates the uses of multimedia by creative and productive citizen-consumers to provide new theories of communication that accommodate social media, participatory action, and user-creativity Leads the way for new interdisciplinary engagement with systems thinking, complexity and evolutionary sciences, and the convergence of cultural and economic values Analyzes the historical uses of multimedia from print, through broadcasting to the internet Combines conceptual innovation with historical erudition to present a high-level synthesis of ideas and detailed analysis of emergent forms and practices Features an international focus and global reach to provide a basis for students and researchers seeking broader perspectives

The Multidimensional Loss Scale : validating a cross cultural instrument for measuring loss in Burmese refugees

The Multidimensional Loss Scale: Initial Development and Psychometric Evaluation The Multidimensional Loss Scale (MLS) represents the first instrument designed specifically to measure loss in refugee populations. Researchers developed initial items of the Multidimensional Loss Scale to assess Experience of Loss Events and Loss Distress in a culturally sensitive manner across multiple domains (social, material, intra-personal and cultural). A sample of 70 recently settled Burmese adult refugees completed a battery of questionnaires, including new scale items. Analyses explored the scale’s factor structure, internal consistency, convergent validity and divergent validity. Principal Axis Factoring supported a five-factor model: Loss of Symbolic Self, Loss of Interdependence, Loss of Home, Interpersonal Loss, and Loss of Intrapersonal Integrity. Chronbach’s Alphas indicated satisfactory internal consistency for Experience of Loss Events (.85) and Loss Distress (.92). Convergent and divergent validity of Loss Distress were supported by moderate correlations with interpersonal grief and trauma symptoms and weak correlations with depression and anxiety. The new scale was well received by people from refugee backgrounds and shows promise for application in future research and practice

HACC food service client cultural food preferences assessment tool

This assessment form is designed to help your HACC service provider arrange for the most appropriate food and meal services that they can. It includes questions relating to food preferences, health and nutrition, abilities to source and prepare foods as well as questions to highlight if you are at risk of not having adequate access to appropriate foods. It is understood that some people from certain cultures may not feel comfortable answering some of these questions. Therefore, please do not answer those questions with which you are not comfortable.

The financial services cultural orientation matrix

With saturation within domestic marketplaces and increased growth opportunities overseas, many financial service providers are investing in foreign markets. However, cultural attitudes towards money can present market entry challenges to financial service providers. The industry would therefore benefit from a strategic model that helps to align financial marketing mixes with the cultural dimensions of a foreign market. The Financial Services Cultural Orientation (FSCO) Matrix has therefore been designed, with three cultural dimensions identified which influence preference for financial products; preference for cash, aversion to debt and savings orientation. Based on a combination of these dimensions and their relative strength within a culture, eight different consumer segments for financial products are identified, and marketing strategies for each consumer segment are then proposed. Three cultural clusters from the GLOBE Project House et al. (2002) are used to highlight possible geographic markets for each of these consumer segments. In particular, this paper focuses on GLOBE’s Confucian Asia, Southern Asia and Anglo cultural clusters, as these clusters represent the most well established financial markets in the world and the fastest growing financial markets for the future. The FSCO Matrix provides the financial services industry with an innovative and practical tool for addressing cross-cultural challenges and developing successful marketing strategies for entry into foreign markets.

Legal, cultural and practical developments in responding to female genital mutilation : can an absolute human right emerge?

Female genital mutilation (FGM) is a cultural practice involving the deliberate, non-therapeutic physical modification of young girls’ genitalia. FGM can take several forms, ranging from smaller incisions, to removal of the clitoris and labia, and narrowing or even closing of the vagina. FGM predates and has no basis in the Koran, or any other religious text. Rather, it is a cultural tradition, particularly common in Islamic societies in regions of Africa, motivated by a patriarchal society’s desire to control female bodies and lives. The primary reason for this desire for control is to ensure virginity at marriage, thereby preserving family honour, within a patriarchal social structure where females’ value as persons is intrinsically connected to, and limited to, their worth as virgin brides. Recent efforts at legal prohibition and practical eradication in a growing number of African nations mark a significant turning point in how societies treat females. This shift in cultural power has been catalysed by a concern for female health, but it has also been motivated by an impulse to promote the human rights of girls and women. Although FGM remains widely practiced and there is much progress yet to be made before its eradication, the rights-based approach which has grown in strength embodies a marked shift in cultural power which reflects progress in women’s and children’s rights in the Western world, but which is now being applied in a different cultural context. This chapter reviews the nature of FGM, its prevalence, and health consequences. It discusses recent legal, cultural and practical developments, especially in African nations. Finally, this chapter raises the possibility that an absolute human right against FGM may emerge.

Students’ beliefs about willingness to access complementary and alternative therapies (CAT) training for future integration into psychology practice.

It is suggested that all psychologists gain basic training in the types of complementary and alternative therapies (CAT) their clients may be using. As psychology students are the next cohort of health professionals who will inform future initiatives in the field, it is important to first understand the factors which influence their decisions about CAT integration. Drawing on the Theory of Planned Behavior, we investigated the beliefs that differentiate between psychology students who are high or low on willingness to access training in CAT for future practice use. Psychology students (N = 106) completed a questionnaire assessing the likelihood of both positive and negative consequences of accessing training and utilizing CAT within a psychological practice, important others approval, and barriers preventing them from this integration behavior. Those students high compared to low on willingness more likely to endorse positive outcomes (e.g., offering a more holistic approach to therapy) of accessing CAT training for future practice use and to believe that important others (e.g., clients) would support this behavior. We identified important beliefs of student psychologists related to decisions about undertaking CAT training for future professional use and can inform educators and policy-makers about CAT training and integration in psychology practice.

Digital archives and cultural memory : discovering lost histories in digitised Australian children's literature 1851-1945

A recent Australian literature digitisation project uncovered some surprising discoveries in the children’s books that it digitised. The Children’s Literature Digital Resources (CLDR) Project digitised children’s books that were first published between 1851 to 1945 and made them available online through AustLit: The Australian Literature Resource. The digitisation process also preserved, within the pages of those books, a range of bookplates, book labels, inscriptions, and loose ephemera. This material allows us to trace the provenance of some of the digitised works, some of which came from the personal libraries of now-famous authors, and others from less celebrated sources. These extra-textual traces can contribute to cultural memory of the past by providing evidence of how books were collected and exchanged, and what kinds of books were presented as prizes in schools and Sunday schools. They also provide insight into Australian literary and artistic networks, particularly of the first few decades of the 20th century. This article describes the kinds of material uncovered in the digitisation process and suggests that the material provides insights into literary and cultural histories that might otherwise be forgotten. It also argues that the indexing of this material is vital if it is not to be lost to future researchers.

Improving asset management process modelling and integration

Asset management (AM) processes play an important role in assisting enterprises to manage their assets more efficiently. To visualise and improve AM processes, the processes need to be modelled using certain process modelling methodologies. Understanding the requirements for AM process modelling is essential for selecting or developing effective AM process modelling methodologies. However, little research has been done on analysing the requirements. This paper attempts to fill this gap by investigating the features of AM processes. It is concluded that AM process modelling requires intuitive representation of its processes, ‘fast’ implementation of the process modelling, effective evaluation of the processes and sound system integration.

Cultural Studies : Mediterranean Crossings

A 1000-word review of Mediterranean Crossings: The Politics of an Interrupted Modernity by Iain Chambers (Duke UP, 2008)

Practical insights into curricula integration for primary science

As indicated in a previous Teaching Science article, effective planning for curricula integration requires using standards from two (or more) subject areas (e.g., science and English, science and art or science and mathematics), which also becomes the assessment foci for teaching and learning. Curricula integration of standards into an activity necessitates pedagogical knowledge for developing students’ learning in both subject areas. For science education, the skills and tools for curricula integration include the use of other key learning areas (KLAs). A balance between teacher and student-centred science education programs that draw on democratic processes (e.g., Beane, 1997) can be used to make real-world links to target students’ individual needs. This article presents practical ways to commence thinking about curricula integration towards using Australian curriculum standards.