Tertiary educators' voices in Australia and South Africa: experiencing and engaging in African music and culture

Music tertiary educators can foster positive experiences that promote diversity, enhance intercultural and cross-cultural understanding through our teaching. Through findings of interview data of tertiary music educators’ understandings of multicultural music practice at two South African universities and at an Australia university, I used interpretative phenomenological analysis to analyse the data. Two major themes emerged: why is it important to teach multicultural music like that of Africa, and what are some of the effective ways of preparing students to best teach it? The data provides insights into an appreciation of and respect for music and cultural diversity. In multicultural societies educators cannot deliver courses based solely on one’s own identity and cultural perspective. I argue that music education may be seen as an agent of social change where music teaching and learning can occur through exploring, experiencing, expressing and engaging in the music of our own culture and that of others.

Thermal comfort in outdoor places a multicultural perception

The outdoor places are receiving more importance being contributing in the social cohesion and sustainability within societies. Providing comfortable sustainable urban places is an important factor affecting their success especially in multicultural areas where climatic conditions are perceived differently according to the diversity of users. Different design elements such as design form proved to be able to improve the outdoor thermal comfort. However, the integration of the climate dimension in the design process of outdoor places is lacking due to insufficient interdisciplinary work between urban climatology, and urban design. The main aim of the research is to examine the influence of cultural and climatic background on users’ thermal sensation and comfort within the same context. The methodology of the research is provided through quantitative analysis of a case study in Melbourne, Australia as one of the global cities characterized by the diversity and plurality of its population. The case study approach is adopted in order to examine the users’ thermal comfort within its contextual variables. Multiple sources of evidence such as climate measurements, questionnaires and observations are used to ensure the validity of results. The findings are to contribute to the quality and equality of design for outdoor urban places.

The treatment of multicultural issues in contemporary forensic psychology textbooks

This article examines whether practice issues relating to clients from different cultural or ethnic groups are adequately addressed in a wide selection of contemporary forensic psychology textbooks. Specifically, we examine the extent to which cross-cultural issues are engaged within these texts, and how well the information provided informs forensic practice. While most of the reviewed texts acknowledged the need to consider cultural issues, there was relatively little discussion of specific issues, and practical guidelines were rarely offered. It is argued that without more widespread acknowledgment of the direct implications of cultural issues for forensic practice, it is unlikely that a fair and reliable system for the investigation and treatment of complaints made by and against people from different cultural groups will be obtained.

A reputation-based trust model for agent societies

Trust and security issues are prevalent in agent societies, where agents are autonomously owned and operated in a networked environment. Nowadays, trust and reputation management is a promising approach to manage them. However, many reputation models su.ered from a major drawback – there is no mechanism to discourage agents from lying information when making a recommendation. Although some works do take into account of this issue, they usually do not penalize an agent for making poor referrals. Worse, some systems actually judge an agents referral reputation based on its service reputation. In situations where this is unacceptable, we need to have a mechanism where agents are not only discouraged from making poor referrals, but are also penalized when doing so. Towards this, we propose a reputation-based trust model that considers an agents referral reputation as a separate entity within the broader sense of an agents reputation. Our objective is not to replace any existing reputation mechanisms, but rather to complement and extend them.

Towards a multicultural world : identifying work systems, practices and employee attitudes that embrace diversity

The research program described focuses on identifying the role of organisational culture, as reflected in workplace systems and practices, and employee and group attitudes in the outcomes of interactions among dissimilar parties. A systematic, theory-testing approach underlies the program, which aims to both develop and validate the diversity openness construct. The Perceived Dissimilarity-Openness Moderator Model developed from the research asserts that the affective, cognitive and behavioural consequences of diversity depend in part upon the perception of difference and subsequent quality and magnitude of the response to the perceived dissimilarity. When individuals or social systems (groups or organisations) are diversity-closed, outcomes are predicted to be less positive than when they are diversity-open.

Speaking of race and ethnic identities : exploring multicultural curricula

New demographic patterns as well as new communication and information technologies and administrative and marketing practices have irrevocably altered schools in Australia's large cities. This study examines the ways that teachers and parents in one urban school speak about race and ethnicity in the midst of these changes. Beneath the ironic relationship between difference and sameness which underpins multicultural debate are different understandings that determine ways some belong and some do not belong within the school community. This paradoxical relationship persists, despite increasingly post-modern definitions of identity that underpin the field of this debate. I conclude that the examination of multicultural curricula must include the normalized ways of knowing and 'being' identity, which underpin conversations about race and identity.

Multicultural education and racism: the case of Arab-Australian students in contemporary Australia

This paper discusses the social and cultural dimensions of the educational experiences of Arab-Australian students. It seeks to explore the cultural attitudes and the social experiences of Arab-Australian secondary school students from two schools situated in Melbourne's northern region. The paper seeks to examine how Arab-Australian students and their families understand and construct their own social and educational experiences in relation to schools' initiatives as well as wider social discourses. The empirical findings presented in this paper suggest that there are critical links between Arab-Australian students' perceptions of belonging, identity and citizenship on the one hand, and their attitudes to schooling and educational experiences on the other. The study's findings show the need for current patterns of multicultural education research and practice to incorporate more systematically socio-political dynamics beyond the confines of school and family factors.

Changing governance mechanisms and its impact on Australian Building Societies' performance

This paper examines the relation between the governance mechanism (ownership structure) and performance of Australian building societies. Financial performance measures, provided by financial ratios of the major mutual building societies in Australia are used to explore their behaviour under different governance structures in the 1980s and 1990s. The theoretical and empirical literature has suggested that mutual deposit-taking institutions should have lower profitability and higher operating expenses than their publicly listed counterparts. Accounting ratios are observed over time to investigate if governance change in mutual deposit-taking organizations accounted for any discernable differences in profitability and cost efficiency pre- and postdemutualisation.

Cultural understanding: rethinking music teacher education in a multicultural Australia

This paper provides a multicultural perspective to music education in Australia and makes recommendations for the creation of more suitable intercultural training programs in Australian universities. It explores issues of multiculturalism in higher education institutions and argues that music education is a useful platform to address and rethink cultural diversity, where difference can be celebrated. Within Australian multicultural society, the rights and traditions of all people are recognized, respected and included. In this process, higher education institutions are challenged to prepare student teachers to meet the needs of society. This involves cultural understanding and the creation of multicultural curricula. From reflecting on current music education programs offered at Deakin University, Melbourne, it is argued that there is need to rethink current approaches to music education pedagogy. Although there are attempts to have an all inclusive approach in teacher training, the music curriculum is still trapped in the potpourri effect of trying to create culturally responsive teachers for every permutation of the multicultural classroom. When Australian society, ideally approaches true styles of multicultural music, teachers and students will celebrate the rich diversity of this nation.

Does organizational structure matter? The behaviour of Australian Building Societies pre-and post-demutualization

Financial performance measures, provided by accounting-based financial ratios, of the major mutual building societies in Australia are used to explore their behaviour pre-and post-demutualization in the 1980s and 1990s. The theoretical and empirical literature has suggested that mutual deposit-taking institutions would have lower profitability and higher operating expenses than their publicly listed counterparts. Common accounting ratios are observed over time to investigate if ownership change in a mutual deposit-taking organization accounted for any discernable differences in profitability and cost efficiency of the firms after conversion.