The cultural role of capital cities : Hanoi and Hue, Vietnam

Hanoi promotes itself both as a place for foreign investment in urban development and as the 'cradle of Vietnamese civilisation'. Special status is given to places of national heritage significance, and policy makers and planners face challenges of balancing heritage conservation and modern development. By contrast, the former capital, Hue, continues to decline economically relative to other Vietnamese cities and is discovering value in its imperial heritage as a 'vector for development'. These Vietnamese capital cities demonstrate that heritage conservation is a key consideration in government efforts to improve the position of their constituencies in the newly-shaping global and national economic systems.

Exploring our nation's capital: exploring the role of cultural institutions in the teaching of history and social education in the primary classroom

Explores the role of cultural institutions in the teaching of history and social education in the primary classroom in Australia. Keys to effective teaching and learning of history; Potential of cultural institutions to foster historical interest, relevance, importance and significance; Practicalities of accessing cultural institutions.

Applicability of financial theories of capital structure to the Chinese cultural context: a study of privately owned SMEs

Using a new dataset of 1539 Chinese small and medium-sized enterprises this article investigates the firm-level determinants of capital structure and tests them against the predictions of financial theory. Firm size and profitability are both found to be related to leverage as posited by pecking-order theory. In contrast little support is found for the predicted relationship between asset structure and leverage. These findings are discussed in relationship to their Chinese cultural context. The managerial and policy implications of the research are then explored.

Baby, it`s you : international capital discovers the under threes

Well-established international entertainment firms such as Disney and Fisher-Price are joining new start-up firms such as Baby Einstein to create a 'Baby' market of products (including toys, games and videos) specifically targeted at children aged 0-3 years. Despite its novelty, the 'Baby' market mirrors older markets that these firms have created around other demographic groups (e.g. older children, adolescents and adults) - it redefines its target demographic group around specific commodities and promotes its redefinition as 'common sense'. The 'Baby' firms redefine babies solely as early learners whose potential to learn can be released by these firms' brand-name 'educational' or 'developmental' products. Many adults buy these products because they accept the firms' redefinition of babies, but other adults ignore the firms' promotional messages and buy the products to give themselves some time apart from their babies. The 'Baby' market is significant for children and adults because it changes young children's relationships with adults and because it subordinates local cultural differences to a children's culture that purports to be 'global' but has, in reality, extremely narrow foundations in class, race and gender.

Breaking the cultural mould : the key to women`s career success

This white paper explores the role of organisational culture in either supporting or constraining the success of women in the workplace and investigates the benefits of gender diversity and what organisations can do to prevent ongoing gender bias.

Valuing local built heritage in a global setting : identity & visual perceptions of cultural built heritage in Northern Ireland

‘In these troubled times with the world in search of its bearings and way ward minds using the terms “culture” and “civilization” in an attempt to turn human beings against one another, there is an urgent need to remember how fundamental cultural diversity is to humanity itself’ (UNESCO 2002). The progressive idea of culture can be used in regressive ways by extremists who used it occasionally to pursue the politics of xenophobia and exclusion. The hypothesis that different communities can share the same culture but have different visual perception of their built environment might seems contradictory. It is essential to describe what is meant by the ‘same culture’. The ever evolving changes of definition and re-definition of the word has not yet settled. This paper adopts the descriptive definition of culture while challenging its interpretation. The descriptive definition refers to ‘all the characteristics activities by a people’. While this description is generally accepted, the interpretation of what ‘a people’ means is divisive. It is not clear how Eliot defines ‘a people’. Is the term genetically prescribed or is ‘a people’ place related? And what about the moral and religious orientation? This paper argues that culture is basically place related and the forces that shape a culture of a ‘people’ are deeply embedded in the environmental forces that also shape other aspects of the place making and its identity. The paper addresses the questions of conflicts, value systems, and culture definitions and the inseparable links with architecture aesthetics.

Local built heritage in Northern Ireland is taken as a case study. Unlike many parts of the world, visual perceptions in Northern Ireland is well recognised with iconic as well as formal representations. The population is well aware of the signified as well as the signifiers. The boundaries between iconology and formalism theories are very blurred in the Northern Ireland context. This paper examines how the two communities visually perceive their shared built heritage and the extent of overlapping between the understanding of iconic and formalist visual representations in the built environment. The paper takes the buildings of the successful economic ventures of the shirt industry in the 19th century as a case study. The case study provides an insight of how a signified value of a successful economic regeneration initiative that is deeply imbedded in the social structure and within the urban fabric can overcome divisive visual perception. The paper examines the possibility of building upon the historical success of the shirt industry to promote architectural cultural dialogue in which cultural built heritage in Derry is able to facilitate knowledge creation and social capital in different arenas.

Challenges of international design chain integration and cultural diversity : organisational reflexive capability

Increasingly project teams on international mega projects are composed of multiple partners from different countries forming joint ventures to achieve a higher level of strategic flexibility. Establishing and maintaining local business networks are critical to ensure the success of exporting firms. Firms who achieve competitive advantage in international markets and long term economic sustainability constantly adapt their business practices to achieve client satisfaction by a combination of self, market and project needs assessment. Successful firms ultimately achieve this in local markets but in international market this is intensified with the complexity of barriers grounded in cross-cultural contexts. The need for flexibility, adaptability and continual reassessment is enhanced as the market evolves in various localities. Reflexivity theory was used to develop a conceptual model to explain the way in which firms develop awareness, responsiveness and adaptability for long term success in diverse international markets. This paper summarizes the initial Australian study which developed the model grounded in empirical observations of design construction firms working on projects in developing countries and a second study of Malaysian firms which validated the model. The aim of this study was to develop a performance measurement framework for capabilities assessment of international collaborative partnerships. The study explored the joint venture partnerships between Australian and Malaysian property and construction professionals. Four Malaysian organizations were examined as case studies and two key activities of design management and knowledge management were analyzed in relation to social, cultural and intellectual capital transformation within the Reflexivity Capability Maturity Assessment Framework.

The role of reflexive capability in relation to intellectual capital on multi international partnerships

This paper reports the results of an analysis of five Malaysian firms who have worked successfully on multi international partnerships and/or megaprojects. A case study methodology was employed to examine the barriers and successful strategies the firms used in decision making in various international markets. A common characteristic across the firms was the ability to self reflect and adapt their practices to different international conditions despite numerous differences between countries including cultural, social, project governance structures, regulatory, terminology and codes. A reflexive capability model developed from the social sciences theory of individual agent reflexivity was developed to explain the way in which firms as an entity can develop awareness, responsiveness and adaptability for long term success in diverse international markets. This paper builds upon an initial Australian study which developed the model grounded in empirical observations of internationalising design construction firms by presenting the results of a second study of Malaysian firms. Results indicate that the model of reflexivity capability is a useful way to interpret practices that are undertaken in multi partner relationships on larger more complex projects. Successful Malaysian firms within joint venture relationships display an ability to self reflect and adapt. This transformation process is critiqued in relation to the relationships between social, cultural and intellectual capital. Reflexive capability is a characteristic of the successful case study firms working within global models of practice. The reflexive capability model is explained in relation to common themes identified in relation to the management of intellectual capital in successful multi international partnerships and megaprojects.

Erotic capital, popular pedagogy, and healthy adolescent female sexuality

The sexualization of the female body in contemporary media has created considerable anxiety about its impact on girls. Much of the resulting research focuses on the influence of visual media on body image and the flow-on effects for girls' health. Rather less attention is paid to the pedagogical role of popular romance fiction in teaching girls about their sexuality. Given the pronounced increase in eroticized fiction for girls over the past decade, this is a significant oversight. This article applies Hakim's (2010) concept of erotic capital to two chick lit novels for girls. The elements of erotic capital—assets additional to economic, cultural and social capital—are used to explore the lessons these novels teach about girl sexual subjectivities and sociality in a sexualized culture.

A labour of love: mothers, emotional capital and homework

This paper develops a new analysis of homework by building on feminist scholarship which documents the invisible labour done by women in support of their children's education. While numerous studies have examined the relationship between homework and achievement, little attention has been paid to the largely gendered and potentially stressful nature of ‘parental involvement’. The analytic focus in this paper is on the complex emotional and pedagogical dimensions of homework and the ways it is shaped by socio-cultural contexts. Videotaped homework interactions between one working-class and two middle-class mothers and their children are examined using Bourdieu's concepts of habitus and capital. The analysis distinguishes between productive pedagogical relationships and those that promote extensive anxiety and are counterproductive to learning. The paper argues that the reserves of cultural and emotional capital required for homework completion are significant and that class position does not necessarily guarantee the ways in which these capitals are mobilised.

Social capital framework in the adoption of e-learning

This is a study of the influence of social and cultural factors on the adoption of e-­learning in higher education in Malaysia, Indonesia, Turkey, Singapore and Australia. Particular attention in each case was given to factors relating to social capital, attitudes and patterns of behavior in leadership, entrepreneurialism, and teaching and to broader sets of attitudes that shape general outlook. A case study approach was chosen in order to enable a richer and more finely grained analysis of the issues. The case studies are based on semi-­structured interviews and observations conducted over several years. This research shows that previously known factors that affect the adoption of e-­learning in higher education, namely, policy, guidelines, paradigm shifts and pedagogical change, are also significant in the contexts of each of the case studies in this research. However, this research shows that the adoption and uptake of e-­learning technologies is also strongly shaped by cultural and social factors but not in ways that might first have been expected. It is not so much that there are specific cultural and social factors relating to specific e-­learning technologies, but rather, that the degree of uptake of these technologies depends on teachers being encouraged, guided and assisted to innovate and adopt new technology. This can only occur when there is sufficient social capital, mediated through appropriate social networks, to build trust, overcome objections and anxieties, and generally motivate staff to engage in challenging, time-­consuming initiatives in e-­learning that generally do not promise immediate rewards.

Certain culture-­based issues emerged as important. These included staff mentoring, clustering through ‘bamboo networking’, trust-­building and overcoming fear of ‘losing face’ (kiasu), facilitating women to take the initiative and lead, developing sensitivity to cultural differences, encouraging entrepreneurialism and rewarding pioneering endeavours, all of which were present in varying degrees across all five case studies. There were subtle variations on a central theme, which was clearly that of the impact of social capital as a driver. It was social capital played out through personal relationships and social networks that most strongly influenced individual teachers to be sufficiently motivated to add to an already busy schedule by taking on the additional burdens of pioneering e-­learning technology and it was those social relationships that provided guidance and ongoing encouragement. As a consequence of these findings, this study offers a social capital model of e-­learning adoption, which suggests that the adoption and uptake of e-­learning technologies is strongly shaped by cultural and social factors.

The maintenance of Central Thai cultural identity through hybrid music genres

Thailand has experienced rapid industrialisation, modernisation and cultural changesince the mid-nineteenth century. Many Western cultural forms have been adopted intoThai life, including Western popular music. An external view of these processes andtheir results might suggest that Thailand has become quite ‘Western’. However, closeranalysis reveals that elements of foreign cultures have long been adopted and adaptedinto Thai culture, and used as social capital to build an image of modernity andcosmopolitan sophistication.One of the adaptations made has been the fusion of Western genres with Thaiones, to form new hybrid styles of music. One hybrid genre that has developed largelyover the past half century is Dontri Thai Prayuk (‘modernised Thai music’), whichfuses aspects of Western pop with elements of Central Thai classical music. As thispaper demonstrates, clear patterns emerge in the way Thai musicians have maintainedmarkers of Thai identity and fused them with Western elements that signifymodernisation.Motivations behind this deliberate fusion of Thai and Western elements areexplained by the theories of ‘musical accommodation’ and ‘acts of identity’ – thatmusicians will converge with or diverge from other music-cultures in order to gainapproval or assert a separate identity, in ways that deliberately change the underlyingrules of the source musics to form a new identity. Analysis of Dontri Thai Prayukfusion music shows that it has changed the underlying rules of Thai classical andWestern popular music to display a music-cultural identity that is Thai, yet modern.

Understanding the symbolic capital of intercultural interactions: a case study of international students in Australia

Intercultural interaction plays an important role in contributing to international students’ learning and wellbeing in the host country. While research on international students’ intercultural interactions reveals multifaceted aspects of personal and social factors, there is a tendency to consider language barrier and cultural differences as individual factors that constrain their interactions with the institutional community. Drawing on 105 interviews with international students in Australian vocational education and training and dual sector institutions, this paper examines international students’ intercultural interactions in host institutions and the factors that act as enablers or inhibitors for intercultural interactions. It highlights the social and structural conditions in creating symbolic capital of elitist Anglo-Australian culture and English language, and social differentiation. This paper offers insights into understanding the legitimacy of such elitism, in hope that future conceptualisation, research and practices of intercultural interactions may locate international students within their cultural diversity.