Generational and cultural indicators of technology and innovation in family business

The internet revolution has affected everybody in some way. Technologies used in business range from telephones to industry-specific machinery. Mostly though, business technology has come to mean the internet. In literature concerning innovation and the adoption of technology in business, research invariably centres on small to medium businesses (SI'v1Es), as these can be defined reasonably easily. Statistics on family businesses are limited, however, because family businesses are so difficult to categorize and define.

The Australian Family Business Survey of 1993 (Institute of Chartered Accountants) determined that family business is the largest form of business ownership in Australia and represents 83% of all business enterprises, although Basu (2004) believes that over two thirds of all world-wide businesses are owned or managed by families and around half of all businesses in Australia are family businesses. The Australian Institute of Management (AIM) (2004) states that the wealth of family and private businesses is estimated at $3.6 trillion and that family firms generate 50 per cent of Australia's employment growth, account for 40 per cent of Australia's private sector output, and are a seed bed for innovation and the information of large companies.

The difficulty in defining a family business is heightened because family businesses can take many forms ranging from sole traders to private companies to public companies. Hence, when talking about family business, you could be referring to the sole trader dealing with organic produce to an IT organisation employing hundreds of staff. Basu (2004) thinks that while ordinarily, in non-family businesses, the business and family domains remain separate, the key distinctive characteristic of family businesses is that family members work together for economic purposes. In other words, the family is not merely a social unit but also an economic unit. Craig and Lindsay (2002) believe that family involvement in the business is what makes the family business different... researchers, however, cannot seem to agree as to what constitutes 'family involvement' in a business so that it can be defined as a family business and that family business is ... a business that is governed and/or managed with the intention to shape and pursue the vision of the business held by a dominant coalition that is controlled by members of the same family or a small number of families in a manner that is potentially sustainable across generations of the family or families.

Game geek's goss: linguistic creativity in young males within an online university forum (94/\/\3 933k’5 9055oneone)

In this paper the authors explore the use and adaptation of a language specifically developed for, and by, a community of young people who play computer games. Leet speak or 1337 5p34k, the language used by the participants in this study, incorporates symbols and numbers as substitutes for the letters contained in words. Described by the group as an ‘elite’ language or ‘leet speak’, the authors’ interest was captured by the derisive and ironic use of the language in an online forum for a tertiary first year unit of study. Rather than merely defining its participants within an elite cultural boundary, ‘leet speak’ is utilised ironically to unearth ‘wannabees’ (those seeking entrance and acceptance into the game world, generally 12 –16 year olds). Of particular fascination to the authors was that despite the clear self- demarcation of the group from the users of ‘leet speak’, and their insistence on its use solely by ‘newbs and wannabees’, the group continued to use the language to communicate with each other online. In this research, language defines the cultural group of games technology students in terms of the group’s continual subversion of the language’s very foundations whilst still using it to communicate. Perhaps most interesting was the group’s nonchalant admission that they perceived this to be the function of all languages ‘all languages are created purely for communication so dont [sic] have a cry about ppl been [sic] lazy’.

Dien Bien Phu: development and conservation in a Vietnamese cultural landscape

It has been possible to nominate places for their cultural landscape values to the World Heritage List since December 1992. The Operational Guidelines (2005) define cultural landscapes as cultural properties that ‘represent the “combined works of nature and man” designated in Article 1 of the Convention’. They are illustrative of the evolution of human society and settlement over time, under the influence of the physical constraints and/or opportunities presented by their natural environment and of successive social, economic and cultural forces, both internal and external’ (Para 47). Refining this further, the World Heritage system recognises three categories of cultural landscapes:

1. Clearly defined landscapes designed and intentionally created by man;

2. Organically evolved landscapes of two subtypes:
·  Relict or fossil landscapes in which an evolutionary process has come to an end but where its distinguishing features are still visible;
·  Continuing landscapes which retain an active social role in contemporary society associated with a traditional way of life and in which the evolutionary process is still in progress and where it exhibits significant material evidence of its evolution over time;

3. Associative cultural landscapes where the outstanding universal value relates to the powerful religious, artistic, or cultural associations of the natural elements rather than the evidence of material culture.

How cultural differences cause dimensions of tourism satisfaction

This paper develops a conceptual model of the relationship between different cultural values and how they influence consumer satisfaction in the tourism industry. It is hypothesized that cultural differences manifest themselves in different levels of importance being placed upon different aspects of service, and the differences between the levels of importance and the actual service received cause differences in the levels of satisfaction. These hypotheses are tested using 269 independent samples of levels of importance and 411 independent samples of satisfaction of tourists from four cultural groups (Australian, USA/Canadian, Japanese, Mandarin speakers) who visited Melbourne, Australia in the period May-September, 1996. The analysis develops dimensions of importance and satisfaction separately for each cultural grouping, and uses structural equation modeling (Amos 3.6) to develop the causal model measuring the way in which importance of service dimensions cause dimensions of satisfaction. Conclusions from the analysis show little evidence of a causal relationship between importance of service quality attributes and satisfaction. However, significant differences are found between cultures for different levels of satisfaction resulting indirectly from differences in the importance and actual levels of service received.

Bonding with cultural brands: exploring the 'binds that tie us'

In contexts such as those in the arts and culture industry, where the use of branded products may be difficult to access due to intermittent availability, or, where the branded product outcomes may be difficult to predict, it is argued that consumers form complex relationships with brands.
In order to explore these complex relationships, this research explores the components of the bond that consumers form with arts and cultural products and brands. This research highlights empirically five components of brand bonding with arts and cultural products, viz., brand trust/affinity, social/self connectedness, loyalty, emotional connectedness and brand involvement. These results found that intricacies emerge, such as consumer optimism about branded product failures, anticipation of usage, and a sense of responsibility for the success of the brand. More importantly, these findings suggest that in situations where service outcomes are uncertain, and where the service is available intermittently, loyal consumers are still willing to develop a relationship based on their connectedness or bond with the brand, despite the situational difficulties associated with accessing it.

Evaluation of the Chinese version of the disability of the arm, shoulder and hand (DASH-HKPWH): cross-cultural adaptation process, internal consistency and reliability study

Abstract
The Disability of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH) was translated into Chinese by a physiotherapy team of the Prince of Wales Hospital, Hong Kong (DASH-HKPWH).

Objectives
This study evaluated the cross-cultural adaptation process, face validity, internal consistency and reliability of the DASH-HKPWH.

Method
Language officers and medical professionals from different fields were invited to translate and evaluate the face validity of the DASH-HKPWH. 88 patients were recruited to complete two DASH questionnaires on two occasions 1-2 weeks apart.

Results
Some adjustments were made to the translations based on the cultural and linguistic practice in Hong Kong. The face validity was satisfactory with a mean endorsement score of 3.2. The difference between the mean of DASH scores was not significant (t = −0.35, p = 0.73). The ICC (1,1) and Cronbach's alpha for the 30-item Disability/Symptom of the DASH-HKPWH was 0.77 and 0.94, respectively.

Conclusion
The translation was valid and reliable and acceptably equivalent to the original version. The questionnaire is suitable for measuring changes experienced by patients with any upper extremity disorders.

Maintenance of traditional cultural orientation is associated with lower rates of obesity and sedentary behaviours among African migrant children to Australia

Background: Migrants from developing to developed countries rapidly develop more obesity than the host population. While the effects of socio-economic status on obesity are well established, the influence of cultural factors, including acculturation, is not known.

Objective: To examine the association between acculturation and obesity and its risk factors among African migrant children in Australia.

Design and participants: A cross-sectional study using a non-probability sample of 3- to 12-year-old sub-Saharan African migrant children. A bidimensional model of strength of affiliation with African and Australian cultures was used to divide the sample into four cultural orientations: traditional (African), assimilated (Australian), integrated (both) and marginalized (neither).

Main outcome measures: Body mass index (BMI), leisure-time physical activity (PA) and sedentary behaviours (SBs) and energy density of food.

Results: In all, 18.4% (95% confidence interval (CI): 14–23%) were overweight and 8.6% (95% CI: 6–12%) were obese. After adjustment for confounders, integrated (ß=1.1; P<0.05) and marginalized ß(=1.4; P<0.01) children had higher BMI than traditional children. However, integrated children had significantly higher time engaged in both PA (ß=46.9, P<0.01) and SBs (ß=43.0, P<0.05) than their traditional counterparts. In comparison with traditional children, assimilated children were more sedentary (ß=57.5, P<0.01) while marginalization was associated with increased consumption of energy-dense foods (ß=42.0, P<0.05).

Conclusions: Maintenance of traditional orientation was associated with lower rates of obesity and SBs. Health promotion programs and frameworks need to be rooted in traditional values and habits to maintain and reinforce traditional dietary and PA habits, as well as identify the marginalized clusters and address their needs.

Understanding barriers to attendance and non-attendance at Arts and Cultural Institutions: A Conceptual Framework

This paper draws together themes from within the leisure, arts and other literature related to why people might not attend cultural institutions and identifies eight barriers: 1) Physical; 2) Personal Access; 3) Cost; 4) Time and Timing; 5) Product; 6) Personal Interest; 7) Socialisation/Understanding; and 8) Information. Many of these barriers appear to be interrelated and as such strategies to address non-visitation will most likely need to be complex to allow the full range of barriers to be addressed.

Cultural diversity in the Australian classroom and the experience of Arab-Muslim students

Table of Contents : Preface Introduction 1. Building the Australia-India Relationship- Bruce Bennett 2. Plural Cultures, Monolithic Structures- Kapila Vatsyayan 3. The Homogenised Other: Cultural Diversity and Social Inequality- Alan Mayne 4. Deliberative Democracy and Modern Pluralism- Subrata Mukherjee 5. ‘A long and winding road’. From Cultural Homogeneity to a Multicultural Society: An Analysis of Inclusion and Exclusion in Australia- David Roberts 6. Limits of Multiculturalism in a Liberal Polity: Need for a Shared Identity-Sushila Ramaswamy 7. “Australia is a Multicultural Community –you’ll feel at home”:Cultural Diversity and the Promotion of Australia Internationally- Andrew Hassam 8. Accommodation of Cultural Diversity in India: Reflections on Past and Present- Abdulrahim P. Vijapur 9. Gandhian Ideas on Cultural Diversity and Unity in India- Sailaja Gullapalli 10. Multiculturalism: Australian and Indian Approach-Sonu Trivedi 11. Post Colonial Formation, Paradigm Consolidation and Economic Marginalization- S. Ram Vemuri 12. Dalits and Indigenous Australians: Affirmative Actions and Existing Realities- Swaraj Basu 13. Exploring a Critical Tradition in Communications Research: A Cultural Discourse- Amita Singh 14. Education and Empowerment: Dalits and the Demand for Modern Education in Colonial India- Shashi Bhushan Upadhyay 15. Recent Developments in Indian Migration to Australia (with Special Reference to Academics)- Graeme Hugo and Gouranga Lal Dasvarma 16. Cultural Diversity in the Australian Classroom and the Experience of Arab-Muslim Students- Sally Percival Wood 17. Working Australia Efficiency and Equity- Liz Hall 18. North-East India’s Cultural Diversity: Trends of Unrest and Marginalization- Sudhir Jacob George 19. Socio-economic Inequities of Tribal Communities in India- Priti Singh 20. Reinventing Australian Identity-D. Gopal 21. Identity and Rights of the Diaspora in the Post-colonial Era- R. Narayanan 22. Understanding Cultural Diversity: Reflections from the Americas- Satya R. Pattnayak Contributors Index

Death and late-stage dementia in institutions : a cultural analysis

The first purpose of this study was to describe the deaths of fifteen nursing home residents with late-stage dementia. The devastating effect of dementia on a person has been called a ‘living death’ (Woods, 1989). The caring which occurs when someone is going through this process in a nursing home was recorded and analysed. In analysing this act of caring, the second purpose was to look for the origins of the structures and the sources of pressure that shaped the context and therefore helped determine the behaviour of the various groups under observation. These groups were residents and their relatives, the staff of the nursing home and the treating doctors. Before commencing observations and carrying out this study, an understanding needed to be developed of: the condition of dementia as it is perceived by health professionals and presented in the media; the institutions in which the majority of people with dementia end their days; the background and conditions of the staff who nurse in them; the models of care that guide and determine policies; and the conceptions of life and death which underpin relevant laws and moral standpoints. Accordingly, in part 1. chapter 1 the history, causes, pathology and effects of dementing conditions are examined. Relevant medical and lay literature including media influences are examined which pertain to the subject of death and dementia and nursing home care. The history of this institutional care is briefly examined together with the growth of the discipline of gerontological nursing. Chapter 2 discusses some of the effects of this history on present day care and the concept of emotional work being carried out within the present day aged care public policy regulations. The moral arguments surrounding illness and dying in Australian society today are briefly discussed. Chapter 3 describes the conceptual framework for the study, the ethnographic method that has been employed and an outline of critical theory as the basis for analysis. The chapter concludes by recounting the practical steps taken to arrange the field work, secure the consent of participants, record data and gather documents, and outlines the ethical considerations given to the undertaking of the study. Chapter 4 describes the context in which the study took place and the first tentative exploration of the culture from an etic perspective. Part 2 describes the death trajectories observed and raises some questions about alternative strategies that may have been considered within a different paradigm of caring. In chapter 5 the death trajectories of each of the fifteen residents in the study are described, each written with a particular emphasis to illustrate aspects of the culture of care that emerged through thematic analysis. Observations, comments and feelings from staff and family are wound in and around these case studies. Chapter 6 looks more closely at the impact of policy and institutional pressure on the milieu in which these deaths took place. Part 3 draws conclusions from the observations and makes suggestions for emancipatory change as viewed from the author's standpoint of critical ethnographic analysis. In the final chapter an argument is presented for policy change that leads a movement towards palliative care practices for people with late-stage dementia. Approaches to implementation of palliative care will need to take account of any expression by the resident such as an advanced directive, indicating a preferred approach to treatment in the period prior to death; a need for a better understanding of such issues as the significance of body breakdown, the manifestations of pain and electrolyte imbalances; the surrounding ethical complexities and shift in public opinion, and perhaps, most of ail, the culture of the institutions in which this dying will take place. A definition of late-stage dementia which might be used in determining patterns of care is set out. A discussion about changes in practice which relate lo communication with treating doctors, the administering of antibiotics, the relief of pain, the mobilisation of residents and the provision of food and water takes place in light of the evidence found. The discussion of these issues is raised in the form of debate. Each aspect needs more rigorous analysis and information so that evidence-based practice, rather than care which is value-laden and emotional, can be used when treatment decisions are made for people with late-stage dementia.

Sophistic 3.0 and the end of media relations

This paper looks at Web 2.0 as a new form of discursive art which may be changing human subjectivity - which may be producing new kinds of people. It casts the Web 2.0 era as the 'Third Sophistic' in comparison to the two other sophistics: (1) the period from the Ancient Greek Enlightenment when grammar, rhetoric and dialectic were invented by the original pre-Socratic sophists up until the times of Plato, Aristotle, and Isocrates; and (2) the Second Sophistic in the early centuries of the Common Era when 'epideictic,' that is subtle, artistic rhetoric was perfected. These sophistics marked alterations in the possibilities for human cultural expression and conception. Are we experiencing a 'Sophistic 3.0'? If so what are the likely consequences for contemporary discourse and its media?

Children’s preferences for group musical activities in child care centres : a cross-cultural study

This paper reports on a cross-cultural research study of children’s preferences for group musical activities in child care centres. A total of 228 young children aged 4–5 years in seven child care centres in Hong Kong and in the Adelaide City of South Australia participated in the study. Both qualitative and quantitative data were collected via a mixed method approach. Result showed that dancing/moving was children’s most preferred musical activity in centres. Significant differences were found between children’s cultural contexts and their preferences for three activities: (1) Singing; (2) Listening; and (3) Playing instruments. Qualitative data further revealed the social phenomena of these two cultural contexts which influenced children’s preferences. Implications for the curriculum planning of early childhood music education arising from these findings are discussed.

A cultural battlefront in the total war : theatre in Australian internment camps

In 1943, at the Berlin Sportspalast, Joseph Goebbels made his infamous speech on 'total war', appealing to the crowd to represent Germany as a nation and asking them whether they wanted a war 'more total and radical' than had been previously imagined. In Australia in 1944, the idea of this 'total war' struck a resonance with German civilians interned in Tatura, Victoria. Writing to protest a planned release of internees, these Camp 3 internees claimed an involvement in the 'total war', arguing that any release from the camp would necessitate working towards the 'total destruction of the political, economical and cultural existence of the German Reich and the German nation.' A curious, and important, part of their argument was that such a release would mean that their 'cultural life would be endangered.' It is precisely this 'cultural life' within internment that I wish to examine in this paper.