Framing Culture : Criticism and Policy in Australia

How is contemporary culture 'framed' - understood, promoted, dissected and defended - in the new approaches being employed in university education today? How do these approaches compare with those seen in the public policy process? What are the implications of these differences for future directions in theory, education, activism and policy? Framing Culture looks at cultural and media studies, which are rapidly growing fields through which students are introduced to contemporary cultural industries such as television, film and video. It compares these approaches with those used to frame public policy and finds a striking lack of correspondence between them. Issues such as Australian content on commercial television and in advertising, new technologies and new media, and violence in the media all highlight the gap between contemporary cultural theories and the way culture and communications are debated in public policy. The reasons for this gap must be investigated before closer relations can be established. Framing Culture brings together cultural studies and policy studies in a lively and innovative way. It suggests avenues for cultural activism that have been neglected in cultural theory and practice, and it will provoke debates which are long overdue.

Rethinking the notion of culture in the national history curriculum

Major global changes are placing new demands on the Australian education system. Recent statements by the Prime Minister, together with current education policy and national curriculum documents available in the public domain, look to education’s role in promoting economic prosperity and social cohesion. Collectively, they emphasise the need to equip young Australians with the knowledge, understandings and skills required to compete in the global economy and participate as engaged citizens in a culturally diverse world. However, the decision to prioritise discipline-based learning in the forthcoming Australian history curriculum without specifically encompassing culture as a referent, raises the following question. How will students acquire the cultural knowledge, understandings and skills necessary for this process? This paper addresses this question by situating the current push for a national history curriculum, with specific reference to the study of Indigenous history and the study of Asia in Australia.

Creativity, culture and tourism : the case of Istanbul and London film industries

During the last decade many cities have sought to promote creativity as a driver for economic growth. They have done this by encouraging specific sectors of creative industries. This paper focuses on the film industry as one of these sectors which also has a high level of interaction with place. Film industry, has had an important role in incubating the creativity potential. It can be a powerful magnet for creative people, fostering indigenous creativity and attracting outside talent, and might thus contribute to the formation of creative cities. This recent research suggests that the film industry has positively effect on tourism by increasing place recognition through the locations used in films and for cities that host film festivals. Film festivals provide events, workshops and experiences that allow visitors to express themselves through interaction with the place and its living culture. This paper examines the importance of creative industries for both urban development and sustainable tourism. To explore the relation between creative tourism, culture and the film industry and its effect on successful tourism planning this paper presents the preliminary findings of case studies of the film industry in Beyo

Ourplace : the convergence of locative media and online participatory culture

The trans-locative potential of the Internet has driven the design of many online applications. Online communities largely cluster around topics of interest, which take precedence over participants’ geographical locations. The site of production is often disregarded when creative content appears online. However, for some, a sense of place is a defining aspect of creativity. Yet environments that focus on the display and sharing of regionally situated content have, so far, been largely overlooked. Recent developments in geo-technologies have precipitated the emergence of a new field of interactive media. Entitled locative media, it emphasizes the geographical context of media. This paper argues that we might combine practices of locative media (experiential mapping and geo-spatial annotation) with aspects of online participatory culture (uploading, file-sharing and search categorization) to produce online applications that support geographically ‘located’ communities. It discusses the design considerations and possibilities of this convergence,making reference to an example, OurPlace 3G to 3D, which has to date been developed as a prototype.1 It goes on to discuss the benefits and potential uses of such convergent applications, including the co-production of spatial- emporal narratives of place.

Monopoly, monopsony, and the value of culture in a digital age: An axiology of two multimedia resource repositories

Broadly speaking, axiology is the study of values. Axiologies are expressed materially in patterns of choices that are both culture-bound and definitive of different cultures. They are expressed in the language we use; in the friends we keep; in the clothes we wear; in what we read, write, and watch; in the technologies we use; in the gods we believe in and pray to; in the music we make and listen to—indeed, in every kind of activity that can be counted as a definitive element of culture. In what follows, I describe the axiological underpinnings of two closely related multimedia repository projects— Australian Creative Resources Online (ACRO) and The Canadian Centre for Cultural Innovation (CCCI)—and how these are oriented towards a potentially liberating role for digital repositories.

The impact of organisational culture on ERP systems implementation : lessons from Jordan

Jordan is adopting Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems in both its public and private sectors. Jordan's emerging private sector has historically close ties to the public sector; though a global market orientation requires a shift in its organisational culture. ERPs however embed business processes which do not necessarily fit with traditional cultural practices, and implementation success is not assured. This study looks at the perceptions of both public and private sector ERP implementations in Jordan and assesses these on various measures of success. There were few differences between public and private sectors, but the benefits actually realised in Jordanian ERPs fell short of claims made for the technology in other cultures.

An apprehensive aesthetic : the legacy of modernist culture

Art continues to bemuse and confuse many people today. Yet, its critical analyses are saturated with daunting analyses of contemporary art's exhaustion, its predictability or its absorption into global commercial culture. In this book, the author seeks to clarify this apprehensive perception of art. He argues it is a consequence not only of confounding art-works, but also of the paradoxical impetus of a culture of modernity. By positively reassessing the perplexing or apprehensive features of cultural modernity as well as of aesthetic inquiry, this book redefines the ambitions of art in the wake of this legacy. In the process, it challenges many familiar approaches to art inquiry in order to offer a new understanding of the aesthetic, social and cultural aspirations of art in our time.

Art, popular culture and cultural policy: variations on a theme of John Carey

The article presents a criticism of the accounts of John Carey in his book entitled "The Intellectuals and the Masses." The author focuses on Carey's argument that the art is not an eternal category but an invention of the late eighteenth century and it no longer has any intellectual legitimacy other than that of provoking feelings which are no more and no less valuable than those provoked by any other form of entertainment or physical activity

Selling education through “culture” : responses to the market by new, non-government schools

The move to a market model of schooling has seen a radical restructuring of the ways schooling is “done” in recent times in Western countries. Although there has been a great deal of work to examine the effects of a market model on local school management (LSM), teachers’ work and university systems, relatively little has been done to examine its effect on parents’ choice of school in the non-government sector in Australia. This study examines the reasons parents give for choosing a non-government school in the outer suburbs of one large city in Australia. Drawing on the work of Bourdieu specifically his ideas on “cultural capital” (1977), this study revealed that parents were choosing the non-government school over the government school to ensure that their children would be provided, through the school’s emphasis on cultural capital, access to a perceived “better life” thus enhancing the potential to facilitate “extraordinary children”, one of the school’s marketing claims.

Subjective fit with organizational culture : an investigation of moderating effects in the work stressor-employee adjustment relationship

Occupational stress has been a concern for human resource managers in light of research investigating the work stressor-employee adjustment relationship. This research has consistently demonstrated many negative effects between stressors in the workplace and employee adjustment. A considerable amount of literature also describes potential moderators of this relationship. Subjective fit with organizational culture has been established as a significant predictor of employee job-related attitudes; however, research has neglected investigation of the potential moderating effect of subjective fit in the work stressor-employee adjustment process. It was predicted that perceptions of subjective fit with the organization’s values and goals would mitigate the negative effect of work stressors on employee adjustment in an employee sample from three organizations (N ¼ 256). Hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed support for the stress-buffering effects of high subjective fit in the prediction of physical symptoms, job satisfaction, and intentions to leave. The theoretical and practical implications of the results are discussed.

Reciprocity : where art meets the community : action research in response to artistic encounters and relationships

This practice-led research project examines some of the factors and issues facing artists working in the public domain who wish to engage with the community as audience. Using the methodology of action research, the three major creative projects in this study use art as a socio-political tool with the aim of providing an effective vehicle for broadening awareness, understanding forms of social protest and increasing tolerance for diversity. The three projects: Floodline November 7, 2004, Look in, Look out, and The Urban Terrorist Project, dealt with issues of marginalisation of communities, audiences and graffiti artists respectively. The artist/researcher is outlined as both creator and collaborator in the work. Processes included ephemeral elements, such as temporary installation and performance, as well as interactive elements that encouraged direct audience involvement as part of the work. In addition to the roles of creator and collaborator, both of which included audience as well as artist, the presence of an outside entity was evident. Whether local, legal authorities or prevailing attitudes, outside entities had an unavoidable impact on the processes and outcomes of the work. Each project elicited a range of responses from their respective audiences; however, the overarching concept of reciprocity was seen to be the crucial factor in conception, artistic methods and outcomes.

Project culture in the Chinese construction industry : perceptions of contractors

In recent years culture has become one of the most studied topics in project management research. Some studies have investigated the influence of culture at different levels – such as national culture, industry culture, organisational culture and professional culture. As a project-based industry, the construction industry needs to have more insight concerning cultural issues at the project level and their influence on the performance of construction projects. Few studies, however, have focused on culture at the project level. This paper uses a questionnaire survey to determine the perceptions of Chinese contractors about the impact of project culture on the performance of local construction projects. This is augmented by a series of in-depth interviews with senior executive managers in the industry. The findings indicate that specific project culture does contribute significantly towards project outcomes. In particular, goal orientation and flexibility, as two dimensions of project culture, have a negative statistical correlation with perceived satisfaction of the process, commercial success, future business opportunities, lessons learnt from the project, satisfaction with the relationships, and overall performance. This paper also indicates that the affordability of developing an appropriate project culture is a major concern for industry practitioners.

University and workplace culture : lifelong learning in nursing students

Lifelong learning in nursing is an essential if the individual is to remain a competent professional. It becomes apparent that whilst the university culture is supportive of the concept or lifelong learning, the workplace culture is not. Students are discouraged from challenging the norms despite a collaborative partnership that promotes lifelong learning.

The influence of national culture on communication practices : a case study on Malaysian organisation

National culture is deeply rooted in values, which are learned and acquired when we are young (2007, p. 6), and „embedded deeply in everyday life. (Newman & Nollen, 1996, p. 754). Values have helped to shape us into who we are today. In other words, as we grow older, the cultural values we have learned and adapted to will mould our daily practices. This is reflected in our actions, behaviours, and the ways in which we communicate. Based on the previous assertion, it can be suggested that national culture may also influence organisational culture, as our „behaviour at work is a continuation of behaviour learned earlier. (Hofstede, 1991, p. 4). Cultural influence in an organisation could be evidenced by looking at communication practices: how employees interact with one another as they communicate in their daily practices. Earlier studies in organisational communication see communication as the heart of an organisation in which it serves, and as „the essence of organised activity and the basic process out of which all other functions derive. (Bavelas and Barret, cited in Redding, 1985, p. 7). Hence, understanding how culture influences communication will help with understanding organisational behaviour. This study was conducted to look at how culture values, which are referred to as culture dimensions in this thesis, influenced communication practices in an organisation that was going through a change process. A single case study was held in a Malaysian organisation, to investigate how Malaysian culture dimensions of respect, collectivism, and harmony were evidenced in the communication practices. Data was collected from twelve semi-structured interviews and five observation sessions. Guided by six attributes identified in the literature, (1) acknowledging seniority, knowledge and experience, 2) saving face, 3) showing loyalty to organisation and leaders, 4) demonstrating cohesiveness among members, 5) prioritising group interests over personal interests, and 6) avoiding confrontations of Malaysian culture dimensions, this study found eighteen communication practices performed by employees of the organisation. This research contributes to the previous cultural work, especially in the Malaysian context, in which evidence of Malaysian culture dimensions of respect, collectivism, and harmony were displayed in communication practices: 1) acknowledging the status quo, 2) obeying orders and directions, 3) name dropping, 4) keeping silent, 5) avoiding questioning, 6) having separate conversations, 7) adding, not criticising, 8) sugar coating, 9) instilling a sense of belonging, 10) taking sides, 11) cooperating, 12) sacrificing personal interest, 13) protecting identity, 14) negotiating, 15) saying „yes. instead of „no., 16) giving politically correct answers, 17) apologising, and 18) tolerating errors. Insights from this finding will help us to understand the organisational challenges that rely on communication, such as during organisational change. Therefore, data findings will be relevant to practitioners to understand the impact of culture on communication practices across countries.