Crossing the language and cultural divide : the challenges of educating Asian law students in a globalising world

In 2004, there were sweeping, radical changes made to the underlying legal framework regulating life in China. This reflected such things as the incorporation of basic international human rights standards into domestic law - not only in China but in countries worldwide which highlights the increasingly global nature of many important legal issues. China is not immune from this development of cross pollination of legal processes. This has led to an increase in the internationalisation of legal education and the rapid rise in the number of overseas students who undertake at least part of their university studies in a foreign country. Academics need to develop cross-cultural sensitivity in teaching these overseas students; there are important reasons why the educative process needs to meet the different set of needs presented by international students who come to study in Australia. This teaching note sets out the experiences of two particular situations, the teaching of Business Law to Asian students and an innovative Australian postgraduate program taught in Mandarin.

Introduction : the anthropology of migration

This introduction to the volume places the study of migration within the wider processes of social change and the complex actions of class, gender and ethnicity that are integrated into the experience of displacement. It argues that the articles in this volume contribute important new ethnographic and theoretical analyses to our knowledge and understanding of the constraints and the opportunities provided by cultural diversity in several societies by elaborating upon recent advances made in conceptualisations of migrancy. It places particular emphasis on developing phenomenological approaches to migration studies which incorporate the lived experience of migrants into any analysis. It also suggests that redressing the neglect of this area of study in Australia has the possibility of generating informed interruptions into the current political shift towards divisive public debates on immigration and cultural pluralism.

The Hollywood effect : a comparative study of costume in Australia and the Proposition

This paper compares costuming practices in Baz Luhrmann’s Australia (2008) and John Hillcoat’s The Proposition (2005) and argues that high production values, such as in the blockbuster Australia, are not neutral mechanisms of production, but powerful prescriptive elements which do not result in a successful representation of cultural specificity. Australia is a typical blockbuster, it employs a large number of extras, it features compelling landscape shots, has been shot across four different locations and sets, and, importantly, is an international production with the 20th Century Fox. The film’s costumes were designed by Catherine Martin, who received an Oscar nomination in 2009. While global exposure of fashion in film and through celebrities’ endorsements has consolidated a historical synergy between the fashion industry and Hollywood, the Australian film and fashion industries have had a very limited exchange. Baz Luhrmann’s film is Australia’s first instance of promo-costuming and use of tie-in labels (Ferragamo, R.M.Williams, Prada, Paspaley). Catherine Martin thoroughly researched 1930s women’s wear, indigenous and stockmen’s clothing, and set up to make all costumes with a large team of costumiers and seamstresses, striving for authenticity. The Proposition won its costume designer Margot Wilson an AFI in 2005 for best costume, but compared to Australia the story, location and costumes are far harsher. Filmed around Winton in far west Queensland, the director John Hillcoat and Director of Photography Benoit Delhomme were insistent about realism, and emphasising the harshness of the Australian landscape. The realism of the costumes was derived from the fabrics and manufacturing, as well as the way they were shot, with the actors often wearing two or three layers of heavy wool during days of shooting in 50 degree heat, and the details of making and breaking down. The implication is that both films are culturally specific as they both deal with an Australian story. However, Australia is clearly produced according to a Hollywood blockbuster model, and closely matches Hollywood’s narrative and aesthetic characteristics, while The Proposition is a more modest film that eschews these conventions of beauty and glossed history. Despite its western genre-orientation, The Proposition is more successful than Australia when it comes to costuming, because its costumes are not only functional to the narrative, but, in Roland Barthes’ words, they also fulfil a prestation. This prestation highlights the social and cultural conflicts on which colonial Australia was founded, instead of gilding, and gliding, over them.

Literature, tourism and the city: Writing and cultural change

Today national and regional tourism organizations look to sophisticated cultural tourism programs to enhance the visitor experience for tourists of their particular city. Yet research indicates that a challenge exists in designing and implementing programs that take full advantage of a city’s historical and emergent literary cultures. In this paper we offer critical insights into how literary cultural heritage can foster the development of an integrated and dynamic approach and provide the experience sought by local and global tourists. International exemplars are cited together with an analysis of the Australian city of Brisbane that describes itself as a ‘new world city.’ The findings of our research show that programs that harness diverse literary cultures, rather than adhering to a single literary representation, are better equipped to build identity and thus extend cultural tourism potential.

The uses of the outline for cultural formulation of the DSM-IV : from case conceptualization to treatment plan

ARTICLE 1 : RÉSUMÉ Amputation traumatique: Une étude de cas laotien sur l’indignation et l’injustice. La culture est un contexte essentiel à considérer pour produire un diagnostic et un plan d’intervention psychiatrique. Une perspective culturelle met en relief le contexte social dans lequel les symptômes émergent, et comment ils sont interprétés et gérés par la personne atteinte. Des études ethnoculturelles sur les maladies nous suggèrent que la plupart des gens nous donnent des explications pour leurs symptômes qui ont un fondement culturel. Bien que ces explications contredisent la théorie biomédicale, elles soulagent la souffrance des patients et leur permettent de donner une signification à cette dernière. L’exploration des caractéristiques, contextes et antécédents des symptômes permet au patient de les communiquer au clinicien qui pourrait avoir une explication différente de sa maladie. Cette étude de cas permet de montrer comment le Guide pour Formulation Culturelle du DSM-IV (The DSM-IV Outline for Cultural Formulation) permet aux cliniciens de solliciter un récit du patient en lien avec son expérience de la maladie. Notre étude examine l’utilisation par un patient laotien de « l’indignation sociale » (« Khuâm khum khang ») comme le modèle explicatif culturel de son problème malgré le diagnostic de trouble de stress post-traumatique qui lui fut attribué après une amputation traumatique. L’explication culturelle de son problème a permis au patient d’exprimer la signification personnelle et collective à sa colère et sa frustration, émotions qu’il avait réprimées. Cet idiome culturel lui a permis d’exprimer sa détresse et de réfléchir sur le système de soins de santé et, plus précisément, le contexte dans lequel les symptômes et leurs origines sont racontés et évalués. Cette représentation laotienne a aussi permis aux cliniciens de comprendre des expériences et les explications du client, autrement difficiles à situer dans un contexte biomédical et psychiatrique Euro-américain. Cette étude démontre comment il est possible d’améliorer les interactions entre cliniciens et patients et dès lors la qualité des soins par la compréhension de la perspective du patient et l’utilisation d’une approche culturelle. Mots clés: Culture, signification, idiome culturel, modèle explicatif, Guide pour Formulation culturelle du DSM-IV, indignation sociale, interaction entre patient et intervenant. ARTICLE 2 : RÉSUMÉ Impact de l’utilisation du Guide pour la formulation culturelle du DSM-IV sur la dynamique de conférences multidisciplinaires en santé mentale. La croissance du pluralisme culturel en Amérique du nord a obligé la communauté oeuvrant en santé mentale d’adopter une sensibilité culturelle accrue dans l’exercice de leur métier. Les professionnels en santé mentale doivent prendre conscience du contexte historique et social non seulement de leur clientèle mais également de leur propre profession. Les renseignements exigés pour les soins professionnels proviennent d’ évaluations cliniques. Il faut examiner ces informations dans un cadre culturellement sensible pour pouvoir formuler une évaluation des cas qui permet aux cliniciens de poser un diagnostic juste et précis, et ce, à travers les frontières culturelles du patient aussi bien que celles du professionnel en santé mentale. Cette situation a suscité le développement du Guide pour la formulation culturelle dans la 4ième édition du Manuel diagnostique et statistique des troubles mentaux américain (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed., DSM-IV) de l’Association psychiatrique américaine. Ce guide est un outil pour aider les cliniciens à obtenir des informations de nature culturelle auprès du client et de sa famille afin de guider la production des soins en santé mentale. L’étude vise l’analyse conversationnelle de la conférence multidisciplinaire comme contexte d’utilisation du Guide pour la formulation culturelle qui sert de cadre dans lequel les pratiques discursives des professionnels de la santé mentale évoluent. Utilisant la perspective théorique de l’interactionnisme symbolique, l’étude examine comment les diverses disciplines de la santé mentale interprètent et conceptualisent les éléments culturels et les implications de ce cadre pour la collaboration interdisciplinaire dans l’évaluation, l’élaboration de plans de traitement et des soins. Mots clé: Guide pour Formulation culturelle – Santé mentale – Psychiatrie transculturelle – Analyse conversationnelle – Interactionnisme symbolique

Utilización cultural de una lectura adaptada para el aula de inglés : the sugar glider.

Resumen basado en la publicación

La Relevancia de las creencias sobre diversidad cultural en la formación del docente = The significance of beliefs on cultural diversity in the training of teachers

Uno de los rasgos más característicos de los centros educativos en estos momentos lo constituye la presencia de un alumnado culturalmente diverso. Gestionar de forma adecuada tal diversidad cultural y asegurar una educación de calidad para todos/as que posibilite la construcción de una ciudadanía plural, intercultural y democrática se plantea como uno de los retos más importantes a los que se enfrenta el sistema educativo en general y el profesorado en particular

Genealogía de la diversidad : la diversidad cultural como poder constituyente

El motivo de este artículo es analizar la trayectoria mutante de la diversidad cultural, con el objetivo de entender su importancia en las políticas públicas contemporáneas. Para ello se repasan los distintos períodos históricos por los que cruza este concepto. En la noción de diversidad cultural converge la lucha por los derechos civiles y políticos de los inmigrantes africanos y asiáticos así como, la crítica a las visiones del desarrollo político y las teorías coloniales y postcoloniales que sitúan el debate sobre las relaciones culturales entre el norte y el resto del mundo a mediados del siglo XX. En un segundo momento los territorios de lo diverso amplían sus actores, enfoques y tramas y los estudios culturales de corriente crítica reconocen estas rupturas obligando a la toma de decisiones políticas en materia de cultura. En 1997 y como síntesis a estos procesos, la Comisión Mundial de Cultura y Desarrollo publica el Informe Mundial sobre la Diversidad Cultural, documento fundamental cuyo impacto se ve reducido por una tendencia al multiculturalismo laxo propio de la orientación ultraliberal. En 2010, el Informe Mundial de la UNESCO 'Invertir en la diversidad cultural y el diálogo intercultural' sitúa definitivamente la diversidad como poder constitutivo de las políticas no solo de desarrollo sino también de participación democrática y uno de los asuntos más esenciales de las agendas contemporáneas

Australian cultural and innovation policies: never the twain shall meet?

 In recent years, Australian cultural policy-makers have begun to pay more attention to innovation policy. Several of the Australian states specifically address issues of innovation in their formal cultural policies, and the Australia Council for the Arts has published an Innovation Strategy which purports to constitute 'a coordinated approach to supporting creativity as one of Australia's most valuable assets' (Australia Council 2006).

However, despite this prima facie policy commitment to supporting and fostering innovation in the arts and cultural industries, there remains a disconnect between cultural and innovation policies in Australia. On the one hand, cultural policies in Australia are confused and incoherent in their approach to cultural innovation, and many policy settings as they apply to cultural industries are antithetical to the aims of fostering innovation and R&D. Meanwhile, innovation policies continue to pay only marginal attention to the creative arts and cultural industries. This disconnect will be briefly examined in three fields of cultural policy: arts and cultural funding; copyright and intellectual property policy; and broadcast media policy.

It is argued that rather than promoting innovation, existing policy frameworks in all three areas, when not specifically framed around the protection of vested interests, are often contradictory and inimical to the disruptive influence of innovative artists, technologies and firms. Possible reasons for the disconnect include pragmatic matters of busy ministers and low policy priorities, and conceptual confusion over the status and value of culture.

Community journalism in Australia: a media power perspective

This article provides clarity about the different types of journalism that come under Australia’s vibrant community media umbrella and conceptualizes their relationships to one another against the backdrop of dominant media. We draw on critical-cultural theory, using the concept of media power to argue that journalism invents and reinforces the idea of “community” among audiences, generating advantages and sometimes inequalities as well. It is also used to differentiate certain community journalism practices from mainstream norms and conventions, although we highlight that “community” is a powerful idea that dominant media use to their advantage as well.

Cultural Diversity as a Concept of Global Law : Origins, Evolution and Prospects

“Cultural diversity” has become one of the latest buzzwords on the international policymaking scene. It is employed in various contexts – sometimes as a term close to “biological diversity”, at other times as correlated to the “exception culturelle” and most often, as a generic concept that is mobilised to counter the perceived negative effects of economic globalisation. While no one has yet provided a precise definition of what cultural diversity is, what we can observe is the emergence of the notion of cultural diversity as incorporating a distinct set of policy objectives and choices at the global level. These decisions are not confined, as one might have expected, to cultural policymaking, but rather spill over to multiple governance domains because of the complex linkages inherent to the simultaneous pursuit of economic and other societal goals that cultural diversity encompasses and has effects on. Accounting for these intricate interdependencies, the present article clarifies the origins of the concept of cultural diversity as understood in global law and traces its evolution over time. Observing the dynamics of the concept and the surrounding political and legal developments, the article explores its justification and overall impact on the global legal regime, as well as its discrete effects on different domains of policymaking, such as media, intellectual property and culture. While the analysis is legal in essence, the article is meant to speak also to a broader transdisciplinary public. The article is part of the speacial issue on ethnic diversity and cultural pluralism, which is available under the creative commons licence: http://www.mdpi.com/journal/diversity/special_issues/ethnic-diversity/.

Ni crisol de razas, ni pluralismo cultural : Pluralismo social. Migraciones y pautas matrimoniales en una ciudad patagónica (Neuquén, 1960-1990)

Este trabajo pretende aproximarse al problema de la integración de los migrantes en sociedades de crecimiento explosivo. Para ello, centra sus reflexiones en un caso particular: la ciudad de Neuquén (Patagonia, Argentina) en el periodo comprendido entre 1960 y 1990. Tomando en consideración los comportamientos matrimoniales de migrantes de diferentes orígenes, tanto intra e interprovinciales como trasandinos, el texto intentará discutir los alcances de categorías como las de melting pot, pluralismo cultural y pluralismo social. El trabajo analiza un corpus documental compuesto por cerca de tres millares de actas matrimoniales extraídas del Archivo de la Dirección Provincial de Registro Civil de Neuquén

Ni crisol de razas, ni pluralismo cultural : Pluralismo social. Migraciones y pautas matrimoniales en una ciudad patagónica (Neuquén, 1960-1990)

Este trabajo pretende aproximarse al problema de la integración de los migrantes en sociedades de crecimiento explosivo. Para ello, centra sus reflexiones en un caso particular: la ciudad de Neuquén (Patagonia, Argentina) en el periodo comprendido entre 1960 y 1990. Tomando en consideración los comportamientos matrimoniales de migrantes de diferentes orígenes, tanto intra e interprovinciales como trasandinos, el texto intentará discutir los alcances de categorías como las de melting pot, pluralismo cultural y pluralismo social. El trabajo analiza un corpus documental compuesto por cerca de tres millares de actas matrimoniales extraídas del Archivo de la Dirección Provincial de Registro Civil de Neuquén

Ni crisol de razas, ni pluralismo cultural : Pluralismo social. Migraciones y pautas matrimoniales en una ciudad patagónica (Neuquén, 1960-1990)

Este trabajo pretende aproximarse al problema de la integración de los migrantes en sociedades de crecimiento explosivo. Para ello, centra sus reflexiones en un caso particular: la ciudad de Neuquén (Patagonia, Argentina) en el periodo comprendido entre 1960 y 1990. Tomando en consideración los comportamientos matrimoniales de migrantes de diferentes orígenes, tanto intra e interprovinciales como trasandinos, el texto intentará discutir los alcances de categorías como las de melting pot, pluralismo cultural y pluralismo social. El trabajo analiza un corpus documental compuesto por cerca de tres millares de actas matrimoniales extraídas del Archivo de la Dirección Provincial de Registro Civil de Neuquén