Exploring cultural, social and psychosocial influences on women's drinking across the life span

Background Changing trends in women's alcohol consumption have demonstrated that women, in both younger and older cohorts, are drinking at increased levels than previously. However, little research investigates these changing trends or the influences behind them. Aims The current research aims to identify influences on women's drinking across a range of age groups, with a focus on multiple level influences (i.e. cultural, social and psychosocial). Methods One hour semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted, in 2011, with 35 women (aged 18-55) residing in Australia. Interview development was guided by an adaptation of Bronfenbrenner's Bioecological Model of Development (BBMD) to assess multiple areas of influences from cultural through to psychosocial. Results Interview findings highlighted the existence of multiple levels of influence on women’s drinking and thus provided support for the BBMD framework. Cultural influences identified related to gender roles and national identity. Exosystem influences (e.g. legislation, infrastructure, and media) and Microsystem influences (e.g. immediate social networks) were also identified. A range of psychosocial factors, such as identity, normative influence and attitude were also found as influencing drinking behaviours. Finally, changes across a woman’s life span, and intergenerational differences, were Chronosystem constructs that also emerged as key influences. Discussion and conclusions This study has provided an in-depth understanding into the key factors, occurring across multiple levels of influence, impacting upon women's drinking across younger and older cohorts. The findings also highlight changes in alcohol-related attitudes and behaviours across a life span and across generations. Future research should extend upon these findings based on larger, quantitative studies based on representative samples. The findings do provide key insights into the influences that need to be addressed within targeted interventions.

Cultural inhibitors to hearing the voices of child sexual abuse by church personnel

It is increasingly recognised that Christian Churches and their Institutions have historically been sites where the voices of survivors of child sexual abuse (csa) by Church personnel have not been effectively heard. This paper draws on data from a research project which sought the voices of Church Leaders who were identified as being pro-active in addressing csa within their individual denominations. From this research several key inhibitors to hearing survivor’s voices, within Churches of Australia, were identified. These key inhibitors include the culture of Churches themselves, gendered ideologies, constructions of leadership and the deployment of forgiveness. The identification of such factors creates space to learn more effective strategies for hearing the voices of survivors both within Churches and their organisations and externally. This paper goes beyond considering these factors to report on a collaborative project initiated, between Survivors Australia and Dr Death. This project specifically targets the voices of Australian Survivors of csa by Church leaders. It is hoped that this project will not only achieve the primary objective of hearing and valuing the voices of survivors of csa by Church leaders, but will also provide impetus for the creation of alternative ways of managing complaints of csa by Church leaders in Australia. Such complaints processes will be increasingly survivor focussed and include the creation of spaces where the voices of survivors are valued.

The Work-Retirement Environment

For most individuals who have the opportunity, paid work is a defining background to achievement in life. Employment has the potential to satisfy economic necessities, educational achievements, professional development, and social and cultural objectives. In many cases, it also assists individuals to define their identity, grow their self esteem, achieve personal ambitions, explore and develop collegial and professional relationships, grow skills and wisdom, and transmit this to the following generations. For many individuals, this process is not now defined and limited by a mandatory retirement date. Individuals are choosing to extend their engagement in the paid workforce and this has its benefits and challenges. This chapter examines these issues in the background of an increasingly ageing population.

Resistance is feral : digital culture, community arts, and the new cultural gatekeepers

The Community Arts sector in Australia has a history of resistance. It has challenged hegemonic culture through facilitating grassroots creative production, contesting notions of artistic processes, and the role of the artist in society. This paper examines this penchant for resistance through the lens of contemporary digital culture, to establish that the sector is continuing to challenge dominant forms of cultural control. It then proposes that this enthusiasm and activity lacks ethical direction, describing it as feral to encompass the potential of current practices, while highlighting how a level of taming is needed in order to develop ethical approaches.

A conceptual framework for the cultural integration of cooperative learning : a Thai primary mathematics education perspective

The Thailand education reform adopted cooperative learning to improve the quality of education. However, it has been reported that the introduction and maintenance of cooperative learning has been difficult and uncertain because of the cultural differences. The study proposed a conceptual framework developed based on making a connection between Thai cultures and cooperative learning elements, and implemented a small-scale research project in a Thai primary mathematics class with a teacher and thirty-two Grade 4 students. The results uncovered that the three components including preparation of teachers, instructional strategies and preparation of students can be vehicles for the culture integration in cooperative learning.

Stereotypes of age differences in personality traits : universal and accurate?

Age trajectories for personality traits are known to be similar across cultures. To address whether stereotypes of age groups reflect these age-related changes in personality, we asked participants in 26 countries (N = 3,323) to rate typical adolescents, adults, and old persons in their own country. Raters across nations tended to share similar beliefs about different age groups; adolescents were seen as impulsive, rebellious, undisciplined, preferring excitement and novelty, whereas old people were consistently considered lower on impulsivity, activity, antagonism, and Openness. These consensual age group stereotypes correlated strongly with published age differences on the five major dimensions of personality and most of 30 specific traits, using as criteria of accuracy both self-reports and observer ratings, different survey methodologies, and data from up to 50 nations. However, personal stereotypes were considerably less accurate, and consensual stereotypes tended to exaggerate differences across age groups.

Not all dimensions of work self-efficacy are equal : understanding the role of tertiary work placements in the development of the elements of work self-efficacy

This paper examines the relationship between a final year tertiary work placement for criminology students at Griffith University in Brisbane and the development of their work self-efficacy. Using a work self-efficacy instrument developed by Professor Joe Raelin at Northeastern University in Boston, a pilot phase in 2006 and a larger study in 2007 investigated the students’ responses across seven self-efficacy factors of learning, problem-solving, teamwork, sensitivity, politics, pressure, and role expectations. Both studies utilised a pre- and post-test and comparisons between these indicated that they believed their abilities to participate constructively in their professional work contexts significantly improved as a result of their placement experience except in the areas of learning, teamwork and sensitivity. This finding will allow us to continue to refine the processes of work placements in order to ensure the integrity of this method for student learning.

Developing cultural responsiveness in environmental design students through digital storytelling and photovoice

As the Latino population in the United States grows, it will become increasingly important for undergraduate students in environmental design and related disciplines to become more culturally responsive and learn how to understand and address challenges faced by population groups, such as Latino youth. To this end, we involved environmental design undergraduate students at the University of Colorado in a service-learning class to mentor Latino youth in the creation of multimedia narratives using photovoice and digital storytelling techniques. The introduction of technology was used as a bridge between the two groups and to provide a platform for the Latino youth to reveal their community experiences. Based on focus group results, we describe the impact on the undergraduate students and provide recommendations for similar programs that can promote cultural responsiveness through the use of digital technology and prepare environmental design students to work successfully in increasingly diverse communities.

Cultural Policy

The development of cultural policy during the twentieth century is underscored by three key developments. First, the formation of the Arts Council of Great Britain in 1946, first headed by the Cambridge economist Lord Keynes, saw the scaffolding developed for ongoing government support for the arts. In doing so, it established the principle of an “arm’s length” relationship between the government of the day and individual artists, through the development of independent arts boards engaged in the peer review of creative works. Second, the formation of the Fifth Republic in France in 1958 saw the creation of a Ministry of Culture, headed by the writer André Malraux. Malraux and his successors have seen three major tasks for a national cultural policy: government support for the creation of new artistic and cultural works; the promotion and maintenance of cultural heritage; and enabling equitable access to creative works and creative opportunities through all segments of society. Finally, at a global level, agencies such as UNESCO have sought to promote national cultural policies as an element of national sovereignty, particularly in the developing world, and this has involved addressing sources of structural inequality in the distribution of global cultural and communications resources...

Inside the pleasure dome : cultural tourism on Australia’s Gold Coast

In 2018 the City of the Gold Coast in south-east Queensland, Australia, will host the next Commonwealth Games. The City is made up a 57 km stretch of coastline and hinterland divided by a major highway. The famous surfing beaches are framed by high-rise development while the hinterland is marketed as a green, unspoilt environment. The winning bid for the Games, and discussion about future infrastructure and marketing of the region’s attributes, has focussed attention on the way City residents and policy makers think about their region in broad terms. Whereas in the past tourism marketing has been directed towards the pleasures of sun and surf by day and bright lights by night, various regional tourist stakeholders are beginning to reorient their programs. This paper considers some of the competing aims of the various stakeholders in this region and the interaction of existing ‘cultures’ with new technology and the demands of permanent residents, using data from a case study of e-literary trails developed in Brisbane, the capital city of Queensland. The importance of tourist imaginaries as a basis for using rich accounts of the past for future planning is emphasized.

Cross-cultural learning experiences in architectural education

This qualitative study looks at the joint output of 20 architecture students from 2 different countries during their short respective Study Tours to each other’s country to discern the effect of cross-cultural experiences on their learning. This paper uses the students’ joint design efforts and reflective writings to investigate the outcome of this cross-cultural educational exchange. Their joint design efforts resulted in the making of small built structures, drawings and collaborative design proposals for an urban setting. In addition, a short questionnaire and personal interviews were also used as methods to gain insight into their experience and to use as a comparative study. The question is also raised in this paper of whether spontaneous friendship among students is integral to long term learning in a cross-cultural context in comparison to pre-designed learning objectives on the part of the educators. This paper also initiates the dialogue of the extent of cultural influences and universal ideas on collaborative architectural design. With increasing joint design ventures between architectural firms in different countries, there is interest in how collaborative design can be understood in a cross-cultural context. This paper examines short term cross cultural experiences and its contribution to architectural education.

Grand tours in the glare of the sun : harnessing digital media to develop cultural tourism in Queensland, Australia

It has been well established that highlighting the cultural attributes of a region through stories of place, local histories, and the creative arts boosts tourism income to a region. Cultural tourism also serves to promote the creative industries to visitors and residents alike and, by enhancing a region’s cultural identity, fosters new opportunities for the arts. It can therefore offer considerable potential benefit to the creative economy in Australia. However, in comparison with Europe, where cultural tourism can rely upon an established historical, artistic and literary cultural identity that stretches back to Grand Tours of the seventeenth century, in Queensland, Australia the relatively new enterprise of cultural tourism must compete with visitor expectations of sun, surf and the natural landscapes, which have become the mainstay of tourism advertising. Moreover, in Queensland, it is essential to connect vast distances, diverse communities and a variety of cultural experiences. We must also take account of the expectations of contemporary tourists, who anticipate a digitally mediated travel experience and increasingly seek to connect with local communities in authentic ways. In this paper we consider the unique considerations that must be taken into account in the Queensland context and propose approaches to developing an integrated identity that embraces both the ‘great outdoors’ and the region’s cultural attributes. We make recommendations for providing the types of digitally mediated ‘local’ experiences that cultural tourists now expect, and illustrate the design principles we propose through early, tentative approaches to smart phones, locative media and augmented reality applications for cultural tourism in the region. We conclude by proposing additional ways to formulate a digital strategy in line with the recommendations we make.

Cultural content matters: A critical sociology of language and literacy curriculum

A theoretical rationale, policy analysis and research agenda for a critical sociology of language and literacy curriculum, outlining the agenda for a political economy of textbooks.