Typography and the branding of culture: a methodological investigation into the way typography is used to brand cultural festivals in Australia

The observance of and participation in festivals and celebratory events is an increasingly significant aspect of the contemporary experience (Picard & Robinson, 2006). With the prestige that comes from holding culturally relevant and socially acceptable festivals that serve the discourses of “city branding” and the “creative industries” in a competitive global context; significant government, community and private funding is allocated to such events. Festivals have become a central figure of not only the political economy of tourism but also of urban regeneration and cultural tourism. Cultural festivals possess the hallmarks of destination branding or place branding and inadvertently share some of the attributes that influence visitors’ decisions to visit such destinations (Blain, Levy, & Ritchie, 2005; Cooper, 2005; Esu & Arrey, 2009; Jayswal, 2008). Branding is a vital part of this festival space and relies on typography to establish the symbolic values and representations of urban freedoms; rich histories, cultured places, playfulness and stimulation that seek to subvert our daily existence while performing the task of engaging local, national, and international visitors and participants. However, professional practices demonstrated in the design, media and arts industries have far outpaced the extent to which this phenomenon has been written about in the academic or public realm. What this paper intends is to interrogate appropriate semiotic approaches in an effort to analysing the discursive practices of typography as it performs in service to branding cultural festivals in Australia. The intention is to establish a methodology suited to the significant role typography performs within this context and to offer a contribution to design research that not only engages with the artefacts of design but with the conceptualization of designed meaning in 21st century visual culture.

Trustworthiness: self-assessment of an institutional repository against ISO 16363-2012

Today, almost every document we create and the output from almost every research-related project, is a digital object. Not everything has to be kept forever, but materials with scholarly or historical value should be retained for future generations. Preserving digital objects is more challenging than preserving items on paper. Hardware becomes obsolete, new software replaces old, storage media degrades. In recent years, there has been significant progress made to develop tools and standards to preserve digital media, particularly in the context of institutional repositories. The most widely accepted standard thus far is the Trustworthy Repositories Audit and Certification: Criteria and Checklist (TRAC), which evolved into ISO 16363-2012. Deakin University Library undertook a self-assessment against the ISO 16363 criteria. This experience culminated in the current report, which provides an appraisal of ISO 16363, the assessment process, and advice for others considering embarking on a similar venture.

Heritage and nationalism: an unbreachable couple?

This book explores heritage from a wide range of perspectives and disciplines and in doing so provides a distinctive and deeply relevant survey of the field as it is currently researched, understood and practiced around the world

Translating difference: questions of representation in cross-cultural research encounters

This paper addresses questions of cross-cultural communication and represen tation as they arose in a longitudinal research project which sought to learn about the lives and concerns of older women. It focuses on the translations and mistranslations that occurred in narrative workshops where Australian researchers, who did not speak Vietnamese, worked with Australian Vietnamese women aged 55-74 and a translator to produce video diaries of the older women's everyday life. A number of workshop interactions around storytelling are examined to document the complexities that can arise when communities meet and interact across cultures. The aim is to 'come clean' about the problems of trying to conduct research without a common language and to suggest just how difficult translations and representations of culture really are and how easily preconceptions and cultural positionings interfere with the process of communication that is actually occurring.

Qualitive research in a cross-cultural context: Fijian experiences

In this article, the authors discuss the experiences of conducting qualitative research in traditional Fijian communities. This provided the setting for the cross-cultural exchange between the researcher and research participants and from which the authors draw important considerations for the design of future qualitative studies. In particular, the authors discuss the need to adapt essentially Western research designs to accommodate different cross-cultural styles of facilitation, group dynamics, spatial arrangements, gender issues, protocol, patterns of participation, and perception of time. They propose a model that clarifies the types of roles and styles of facilitation observed in a Fijian workshop setting and comment on how different cross-cultural dynamics between the researcher and participants can influence the success of qualitative research.

'Research as dialogue' and cross-cultural consultations : confronting relations of power

ln this paper, we discuss methodological issues that emerged as we worked through a small empirical research project, 'Engaging Aboriginal students in education through community empowerment'. Recent national policy statements (see, for example, MCEETYA 2000,. NBEET 1995) argue the importance of education/research that keeps the locus of control within the Aboriginal community as a means to further the goal of self-determination and improve educational outcomes. In keeping with these recommendations, our project aimed to challenge assimilationist frameworks and sought to 'empower' members of the local Aboriginal community through participation in the project. 'Research as dialogue' was a guiding principal and a primary aim was to listen actively to all key stakeholders in the remote community setting, particularly to lndigenous parents, students and teachers, in order to identify current strengths and concerns regarding the provision of culturally inclusive schooling. A proposed second stage of the project is to develop, on the basis of these consultations and in collaboration, community-based education projects that engage non-attending Aboriginal students. Here we discuss the consultative processes undertaken in stage one of the project, and critically analyse the difficulties as well as potential strengths of trying to form collaborative partnerships as researchers across cultural differences and with diverse community groups.

Cultural impact on Chinese corporate disclosure-a corporate governance perspective

Purpose – The purpose of this preliminary study is to explore the impact of changed cultural environment on the voluntary disclosure behaviour of Chinese listed companies.
Design/methodology/approach – A theoretical framework of the relationship between corporate disclosure and governance forms the basis of the research. A composite checklist of corporate disclosure was developed using relevant corporate governance indices and analyses were carried out on the 2003 financial reports of 120 Chinese listed companies. Six areas of voluntary disclosure of the sample companies were analysed and reported. These areas are: board structure and functioning, employees related issues, director remuneration, audit committee, related party transactions and stakeholder interest.
Findings – The results suggest that as China's cultural and social norms change, there was willingness of Chinese listed companies to provide voluntary information in addition to the disclosure requirements. Information relating to stakeholder interest and employees issues are found more frequently disclosed by listed companies than those which were regarded as sensitive. This is an exploratory study which shows that further research may provide more concrete evidence of the changing corporate disclosure environment in China.
Research limitations/implications – This study based on one year's results and as such has limitation in the interpretation of the results. Further research is necessary to demonstrate the impact of culture in corporate disclosure.
Practical implications – The results have practical implications for professional accountants and auditors to understand further the trend of voluntary disclosure in China. The paper provides some evidence of the changing scene of Chinese corporate governance practice.
Originality/value – This study fulfils a gap in prior research by examining the effect of cultural implications in corporate governance, in an emerging economy. The composite voluntary disclosure checklist will serve a good basis of measurement in corporate disclosure.

'Research as dialogue' and cross cultural consultations : confronting relations of power

The 'rescuing' of Indigenous children (from their communities) through education, and the notions of assimilation associated with that, is an aspect of colonialism that has persisted into the so-called 'post-colonial' era. Recent national policy statements (eg. MCEETYA, 2000; NBEET, 1995) argue the importance of education/research that keeps the locus of control within the Aboriginal community as a means to further the goal of self determination and improve educational outcomes. In this paper, we report on the initial stage of a small empirical research project, Engaging Aboriginal Students In Education Through Community Empowerment.

'Research as dialogue' was a guiding principal and a primary aim was to listen actively to all key stake holders in the remote community setting, particularly to Indigenous parents, teachers and service providers, in order to identify current

strengths and concerns regarding the provision of culturally inclusive schooling; and then, to develop, on the basis of these consultations and in collaboration, community-based education projects that engage non-attending Aboriginal students.

In this paper, we critically analyse the difficulties as well as potential strengths of trying to form collaborative partnerships as researchers, across cultural differences and with diverse community groups. For example, what does 'acknowledging' very different cultural perspectives actually mean to/in this kind of research process? The ways in which relations of power amongst all parties are played out in/through such an approach is also opened up for scrutiny and further discussion.

The dual technique model within case study approaches to cross-cultural management research in China

This paper advocates the effectiveness of a dual technique model of interviewing, which combines narrative and depth interview techniques, within the case study method in a cross-cultural management research setting, an Australian MNC operating in China. The case study is acknowledged to be a highly appropriate method for gaining insight into the complicated area of cross-cultural management enquiry in order to generate new theories. In this context, we propose a model which combines the narrative and the depth interview techniques in the interview process, and have illustrated its usefulness with material drawn from the China-Australia cross-cultural research interface.

After establishing the rationale for the model, the discussion focuses on the practicalities of applying it in interviews, in relation to the preparation, warm-up and trust building phases, and in the exercise of personal interviewing skills in cross-cultural research, in this case, the advantage of the interviewer being bilingual.

A sustainable practice: rethinking nature in cultural research

I start this paper with a question that is also a provocation: how sustainable is a cultural studies that does not take account of nature? What I propose is that before we speculate on how this field can engage with the  environmental concerns that face us this question must first be asked. For what cultural studies can offer in the face of ecological stress, I will argue, is circumscribed by its own traditions. If the logics or conceptual parameters of the discipline resist an accommodation of the conditions of sustainability then we have little to offer. Yet if this is the case, what is the future of cultural studies given not only the current import of environmental issues but also the challenge that these material circumstances raise to our dominant traditions of research? Through a discussion of the limits of social constructivism and the prevalence of deconstructive critique in cultural studies, this paper thinks through what an alternative practice might be. It looks to the theoretical and practical application of assemblage, or gathering, as a generative tool for cultural research, and speculates that what we need at this time is a double agenda: to make our own discipline sustainable as we mobilize the  particular capacities, methods and knowledges of cultural research in  response to ecological distress.

Cultural issues in commencing the supervision of Chinese research students

This paper discusses the impact Chinese students’ culturally-specific features might have on the processes by which they commence their higher degrees by research candidature. We explain how existing frameworks in cross-cultural studies and an appreciation of the different educational background might be used to create a better understanding of the Australian supervisor-Chinese PhD student relationship. We provide strategies to deal with features of Australian academic culture which the Chinese candidate might find confronting so as to maximise the chances of a successful start to candidature and a reduction in the possibility of problems arising.