Assessment of the influence of cultural barriers to HDR supervision of non-English speaking background (NESD) students in engineering and information technology (IT) disciplines

The paper details the results of the first phase of an on-going research into the sociocultural factors that influence the supervision of higher degrees research (HDR) engineering students in the Faculty of Built Environment and Engineering (BEE) and Faculty of Science and Technology (FaST) at Queensland University of Technology. A quantitative analysis was performed on the results from an online survey that was administered to 179 engineering students. The study reveals that cultural barriers impact their progression and developing confidence in their research programs. We argue that in order to assist international and non-English speaking background (NESB) research students to triumph over such culturally embedded challenges in engineering research, it is important for supervisors to understand this cohort's unique pedagogical needs and develop intercultural sensitivity in their pedagogical practice in postgraduate research supervision. To facilitate this, the governing body (Office of Research) can play a vital role in not only creating the required support structures but also their uniform implementation across the board.

Re-imagining China's future : soft power, cultural presence and the East Asian media market

As various contributors to this volume suggest, the term soft power is multifaceted. In 2002 Joseph Nye, the political scientist who coined the term more than a decade previously, noted that the soft power of a country rests on three resources: a country’s culture, its political values, and its foreign policies (Nye 2002). However, several factors can be drawn together to explain China’s adoption of this concept. First, China’s economic influence has precipitated a groundswell of nationalism, which reached its apex at the Opening Ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. This global media event provided an international platform to demonstrate China’s new found self-confidence. Second, cultural diplomacy and foreign aid, particularly through Third World channels is seen by the Chinese Communist Party leadership as an appropriate way to extend Chinese influence globally (Kurlantzick 2007). Third, education in Chinese culture through globally dispersed Confucius Institutes is charged with improving international understanding of Chinese culture and values, and in the process renovating negative images of China. Fourth, the influence of Japanese and Korean popular culture on China’s youth cultures in recent years has caused acute discomfit to cultural nationalists. Many contend it is time to stem the tide. Fifth, the past few years have witnessed a series of lively debates about the importance of industries such as design, advertising, animation and fashion, resulting in the construction of hundreds of creative clusters, animation centres, film backlots, cultural precincts, design centres and artist lofts.

Personalizing the design of computer-based instruction to enhance learning

This paper reports two studies designed to investigate the effect on learning outcomes of matching individuals' preferred cognitive styles to computer-based instructional (CBI) material. Study 1 considered the styles individually as Verbalizer, Imager, Wholist and Analytic. Study 2 considered the bi-dimensional nature of cognitive styles in order to assess the full ramification of cognitive styles on learning: Analytic/Imager, Analytic/ Verbalizer, Wholist/Imager and the Wholist/Verbalizer. The mix of images and text, the nature of the text material, use of advance organizers and proximity of information to facilitate meaningful connections between various pieces of information were some of the considerations in the design of the CBI material. In a quasi-experimental format, students' cognitive styles were analysed by Cognitive Style Analysis (CSA) software. On the basis of the CSA result, the system defaulted students to either matched or mismatched CBI material by alternating between the two formats. The instructional material had a learning and a test phase. Learning outcome was tested on recall, labelling, explanation and problem-solving tasks. Comparison of the matched and mismatched instruction did not indicate significant difference between the groups, but the consistently better performance by the matched group suggests potential for further investigations where the limitations cited in this paper are eliminated. The result did indicate a significant difference between the four cognitive styles with the Wholist/Verbalizer group performing better then all other cognitive styles. Analysing the difference between cognitive styles on individual test tasks indicated significant difference on recall, labelling and explanation, suggesting that certain test tasks may suit certain cognitive styles.

Reconnecting the interrupted landscape : a cultural landscape approach to Australian open-cut coal mining landscapes

In the late 20th century, a value-shift began to influence political thinking, recognising the need for environmentally, socially and culturally sustainable resource development. This shift entailed moves away from thinking of nature and culture as separate entities - The former existing merely to serve the latter. Cultural landscape theory recognises 'nature' as at once both 'natural', and as a 'cultural' construct. As such it may offer a framework through which to progress in the quest for 'sustainable development'. This 2005 Masters thesis makes a contribution to that quest by asking whether contemporary developments in cultural landscape theory can contribute to rehabilitation strategies for Australian open-cut coal mining landscapes, an examplar resource development landscape. A thematic historial overview of landscape values and resource development in Australis post-1788, and a review of cultural landscape theory literature contribute to the formation of the theoretical framework: "reconnecting the interrupted landscape". The author then explores a possible application of this framework within the Australian open-cut coal mining landscape.

Whole life cycle costing for Malaysia residential property development : the cultural environment

As knowledge of the residential development costing impact on resource and budgeting use increase, developers are moving towards more sustainable solution by implementing whole life cycle costing. Property management requires an understanding of infrastructure management, service life planning and quality management. Today, people are beginning to realize that effective property management in high-rise residential property can sustain the property value and maintain high returns on their investment. The continuous growth of high-rise residential properties indicates that there is a need for an effective property management system to provide a sustainable high-rise residential property development. For such reasons, this paper attempts to study the culture that have been applied due the residential property development in Malaysia as to improve to the best and sustainable practice in providing the best cost effectiveness management system in residential property development.

Designing cultural probes for children

This paper reports on the challenges faced during the design and deployment of educationally-focused cultural probes with children. The aim of the project was to use cultural probes to discover insights into children's interests and ideas within an educational context. The deployment of a cultural probe pack with children aged between 11 and 13 has demonstrated the method's effectiveness as a tool for design inspiration. Children's responses to the cultural probe have provided a valuable insight into the attributes of successful probe activities, the nature of contextual information which may be gathered and the limitations of the method.

Design for inspiration : children, personal connections and educational technology

The project is working towards building an understanding of the personal interests and experiences of children with the aim of designing appropriate, usable and, most importantly, inspirational educational technology. kidprobe, an adaptation of the technology probe concept, has been used as a lightweight method of gaining contextual information about children's interactions with 'fun' technology. kidprobe has produced design inspiration which focuses primarily on the social and emotional connections children made. The use of kidprobe has generated some important ideas for improving the use of probes with children. It is an important first step in understanding how to effectively adapt probing techniques to inspire the design of technology for children.

Spatial literacies, design texts and emergent pedagogies in purposeful literacy curriculum

There has recently been an emphasis within literacy studies on both the spatial dimensions of social practices (Leander & Sheehy, 2004) and the importance of incorporating design and multiple modes of meaning-making into contemporary understandings of literacy (Cope & Kalantzis, 2000; New London Group, 1996). Kress (2003) in particular has outlined the potential implications of the cultural shift from the dominance of writing, based on a logic of time and sequence in time, to the dominance of the mode of the image, based on a logic of space. However, the widespread re-design of curriculum and pedagogy by classroom teachers to allow students to capitalise on the various affordances of different modes of meaning-making – including the spatial – remains in an emergent stage. We report on a project in which university researchers’ expertise in architecture, literacy and communications enabled two teachers in one school to expand the forms of literacy that primary school children engaged in. Starting from the school community’s concerns about an urban renewal project in their neighbourhood, we worked together to develop a curriculum of spatial literacies with real-world goals and outcomes.

From allure to ethics : design as a ‘creative industry'

In this chapter I look at the question of design and ethics in a situation where design as a set of related economic practices has been re-positioned as a key identifier for a new kind of ideas-driven industry - the creative industries. Previously marginal to cultural policy in the form of applied arts, in the creative industries agenda design became a privileged meeting place, or indeed broker, for art and industry, economy and commerce. I explore the new kinds of ethical challenges this brings.

Urban Informatics Research and Insights for Libraries, Cultural Industries and Innovation Systems

Over less than a decade, we have witnessed a seismic shift in the way knowledge is produced and exchanged. This is opening up new opportunities for civic and community engagement, entrepreneurial behaviour, sustainability initiatives and creative practices. It also has the potential to create fresh challenges in areas of privacy, cyber-security and misuse of data and personal information. The field of urban informatics focuses on the use and impacts of digital media technology in urban environments. Urban informatics is a dynamic and cross-disciplinary area of inquiry that encapsulates social media, ubiquitous computing, mobile applications and location-based services. Its insights suggest the emergence of a new economic force with the potential for driving innovation, wealth and prosperity through technological advances, digital media and online networks that affect patterns of both social and economic development. Urban informatics explores the intersections between people, place and technology, and their implications for creativity, innovation and engagement. This paper examines how the key learnings from this field can be used to position creative and cultural institutions such as galleries, libraries, archives and museums (GLAM) to take advantage of the opportunities presented by these changing social and technological developments. This paper introduces the underlying principles, concepts and research areas of urban informatics, against the backdrop of modern knowledge economies. Both theoretical ideas and empirical examples are covered in this paper. The first part discusses three challenges: a. People, and the challenge of creativity: The paper explores the opportunities and challenges of urban informatics that can lead to the design and development of new tools, methods and applications fostering participation, the democratisation of knowledge, and new creative practices. b. Technology, and the challenge of innovation: The paper examines how urban informatics can be applied to support user-led innovation with a view to promoting entrepreneurial ideas and creative industries. c. Place, and the challenge of engagement: The paper discusses the potential to establish place-based applications of urban informatics, using the example of library spaces designed to deliver community and civic engagement strategies. The discussion of these challenges is illustrated by a review of projects as examples drawn from diverse fields such as urban computing, locative media, community activism, and sustainability initiatives. The second part of the paper introduces an empirically grounded case study that responds to these three challenges: The Edge, the Queensland Government’s Digital Culture Centre which is an initiative of the State Library of Queensland to explore the nexus of technology and culture in an urban environment. The paper not only explores the new role of libraries in the knowledge economy, but also how the application of urban informatics in prototype engagement spaces such as The Edge can provide transferable insights that can inform the design and development of responsive and inclusive new library spaces elsewhere. To set the scene and background, the paper begins by drawing the bigger picture and outlining some key characteristics of the knowledge economy and the role that the creative and cultural industries play in it, grasping new opportunities that can contribute to the prosperity of Australia.

The iPhone Moment, the Apple Brand and the creative consumer : From “hackability and usability” to cultural generativity

In this chapter I position the iPhone as a “moment” in the history of cultural technologies. Drawing predominantly on advertising materials and public conversations about other "moments" in the history of personal computing and focusing on Apple’s role in this history, I argue that the design philosophy, marketing, and business models behind the iPhone (and now the iPad) have decisively reframed the values of usability that underpin software and interface design in the consumer technology industry, marking a distinctive shift in the history and contested futures of digital culture.

Mediating cultural politics : a dialogue with Georgina Born

The following dialogue is based on an interview conducted as part of Professor Born’s visit to Brisbane in 2006, which included three public seminars at the University of Queensland (UQ) and Queensland University of Technology (QUT). The following dialogue provides a counterpoint to these events and to Born’s work as a whole, drawing together and extending key themes in the cultural politics of both public service broadcasting and new media technologies. It begins by discussing the possibilities of public sphere theory to provide useful models of institutional design. The discussion moves from there to SBS Television – an example of Public Service Broadcasting that provides an interesting contrast to the BBC, especially by virtue of SBS’s relationship with the politics of multiculturalism in Australia. The second half of the interview draws out the issues around cultural value, cultural power and the politics of technology in relation to new media, and concludes by focusing especially on the problems and potentialities of ‘user-generated content’.

Rethinking regulatory design : The Australian National Classification Scheme review

This paper considers issues of methodological innovation in communication, media and cultural studies, that arise out of the extent to which we now live in a media environment characterised by an digital media abundance, the convergence of media platforms, content and services, and the globalisation of media content through ubiquitous computing and high-speed broadband networks. These developments have also entailed a shift in the producer-consumer relationships that characterised the 20th century mass communications paradigm, with the rapid proliferation of user-created content, accelerated innovation, the growing empowerment of media users themselves, and the blurring of distinctions between public and private, as well as age-based distinctions in terms of what media can be accessed by whom and for what purpose. It considers these issues through a case study of the Australian Law Reform Commission's National Classification Scheme Review.

Part-time job design : symptom and solution for a changing work environment

Part-time work presents a conundrum. Across industrialised countries, there has been significant growth in part-time work as a solution to resolving the diverse interests of employers, workers and families in managing time and resources. However, there are intrinsic disadvantages associated with part-time work; notably with pay and career prospects, which impact the same stakeholders it is intended to benefit. These disadvantages are particularly evident in professional services organisations, due to strong cultural norms of long work hours, single-focused commitment to work and 24x7 availability. There are indications, both in research and practice, that the design of part-time work arrangements could be improved to address some of the disadvantages associated with part-time work, and to challenge norms and dated assumptions that influence the structure of professional work. This study explored the changes made when professional service workers move from a full-time to part-time arrangement. The study drew on a recently proposed framework for work design, which extended previous models to reflect substantial changes in the contemporary work environment. The framework proved to be a useful perspective from which to explore the design of part-time work, principally because it integrated previously disconnected areas of literature and practice through a broader focus on the context of work. Exploration of the differences between part-time and full-time roles, and comparisons between part-time roles in similar types of work, provided insights into the design of professional part-time work. Analysis revealed that having a better understanding of design characteristics may help explain disadvantages associated with professional part-time work, and that some full-time roles can be more easily adapted to part-time arrangements than others. Importantly, comparisons revealed that even roles that are considered difficult to undertake on a part-time basis can potentially be re-designed to be more effective. Through empirical testing of the framework, a contextualised work design model is presented that may guide further research and the practice of crafting part-time arrangements. The findings also suggest that poor work design may lead to the symptoms associated with professional part-time work, and that improved work design may be a potential solution to these structural constraints.

Design on the future: developing and enacting sustainable living programs in primary schools

Sustainable living is high on the international agenda (Ginsberg & Frame, 2004; Sutton, 2004). If education is fundamental to global transformation towards sustainability, then schools are in strategic positions to facilitate this change. Over recent years, schools in Australia have become more active in encouraging sustainability with the implementation of programs such as Science Education for Sustainable Living (SESL) that focus on topics such as energy efficiency, recycling, enhancing biodiversity, protecting species, and managing resources. This paper reports on a government funded Australian School Innovation in Science, Technology and Mathematics (ASISTM) project titled “Integrating science, technology and mathematics for understanding sustainable living” in which teachers, preservice teachers and other science professionals worked collaboratively to plan and enact a range of SESL programs for primary school students. Participants in this study included: 6 teachers, 5 preservice teachers, 2 university partners, 2 scientists, 4 consultants, and over 250 primary students. The findings from this qualitative study revealed a need for: (1) professional development for understanding SESL, (2) procedures for establishing and implementing SESL, and (3) strategies to devise, implement and evaluate SESL units of work.