Cultural impact on e-service use in Saudi Arabia : results from focus groups

This paper reports the results of focus groups obtained as part of a full study that uses a mixed method approach to answer the following question: what are the cultural values that impact on e-service use in Saudi Arabia? In order to answer this question we reviewed culture theories, dimensions, and models that have been identified in the literature. Four focus groups interviewing experts and general users (customers) of online services in Saudi Arabia have been completed aiming at the end to identify the uncovered elements of Saudi culture in the literature, which hopefully will result in developing a framework of cultural values that affect e-service use in Saudi context. This paper will firstly, introduce the importance of culture and define the aspects of Saudi culture. It will then describe the method used, and finally discussing the findings of the focus groups. Findings revealed four factors that have not been covered in the literature and need to be investigated namely: nepotism, the lack of human interaction, services oriented culture, and the career path.

Creative Industries and Urban Development : Creative Cities in the 21st Century

"The concept of creative industries has developed considerable academic and policy momentum in the 21st century. There has been a connection identified between the rise of creative industries and the urbanisation of the world’s population, particularly in relation to the significance of cities as sites of cultural production and consumption. Much of the work on creative industries and cities, however, has drawn upon 'imagined geographies' about the relationship between creativity and place. This collection draws together contributions that critically appraise recent urban cultural policy discourses, as well as reflecting on the role of culture and creative industries in the future development of cities."---publisher website

The Reading lesson

Drawing on the work of Ian Hunter the authors argue that literary education continues a tradition of circularity of argument derived from the humanities. They propose that the school subject, English in all of its apparently different historical manifestations focuses on the ideals of self-discovery and freedom of expression through literary study. The idea that literary interpretation or the production of specific readings is a skill that is taught in English classrooms challenges traditional understandings of literary study as a means for uncovering or revealing that which is hidden – be it the secrets of the text (or society or culture) or the secrets of the self – in order to come to a fuller realisation of culture and the self. Using examples from their previous work in developing activities for use with students in English classrooms the authors explore what it means to produce one’s ‘own reading’ of a text.

Cultural fitness for business process management : what is it and what is it worth?

While business process management (BPM) is often associated with large investments in IT systems and process analysis projects, the success of BPM initiatives largely depends on the cultural readiness of organizations for process management. In this article, we introduce a model that helps to understand the role of culture in managing business processes and to take the right investments into the development of organizational culture. For that purpose, we also describe an assessment tool that allows examining the supportiveness of an organizational culture for BPM initiatives. We show how the results of such an assessment help organizations to determine in which areas of a corporation investments in cultural change can be most beneficial.

Engineering across cultures : new learning resources for intercultural competency in engineering

BACKGROUND The work described in this paper has emerged from an ALTC/OLT funded project, Exploring Intercultural Competency in Engineering. The project indentified many facets of culture and intercultural competence that go beyond a culture-as-nationality paradigm. It was clear from this work that resources were needed to help engineering educators introduce students to the complex issues of culture as they relate to engineering practice. A set of learning modules focussing on intercultural competence in engineering practice were developed early on in the project. Through the OLT project, these modules have been expanded into a range of resources covering various aspects of culture in engineering. Supporting the resources, an eBook detailing the ins and outs of intercultural competency has also been developed to assist engineering educators to embed opportunities for students to develop skills in unpacking and managing cross-cultural challenges in engineering practice. PURPOSE This paper describes the key principles behind the development of the learning modules, the areas they cover and the eBook developed to support the modules. The paper is intended as an introduction to the approaches and resources and extends an invitation to the community to draw from, and contribute to this initial work. DESIGN/METHOD A key aim of this project was to go beyond the culture-as-nationality approach adopted in much of the work around intercultural competency (Deardorff, 2011). The eBook explores different dimensions of culture such as workplace culture, culture’s influence on engineering design, and culture in the classroom. The authors describe how these connect to industry practice and explore what they mean for engineering education. The packaged learning modules described here have been developed as a matrix of approaches moving from familiar known methods through complicated activities relying to some extent on expert knowledge. Some modules draw on the concept of ‘complex un-order’ as described in the ‘Cynefin domains’ proposed by Kurtz and Snowden (2003). RESULTS Several of the modules included in the eBook have already been trialled at a variety of institutions. Feedback from staff has been reassuringly positive so far. Further trials are planned for second semester 2012, and version 1 of the eBook and learning modules, Engineering Across Cultures, is due to be released in late October 2012. CONCLUSIONS The Engineering Across Cultures eBook and learning modules provide a useful and ready to employ resource to help educators tackle the complex issue of intercultural competency in engineering education. The book is by no means exhaustive, and nor are the modules, they instead provide an accessible, engineering specific guide to bringing cultural issues into the engineering classroom.

Inside the pleasure dome : cultural tourism on Australia’s Gold Coast

The City of the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia, will host the Commonwealth Games in 2018. In advance of the Games, the City is beginning to reposition the traditional marketing programs that were based around the four S’s- ‘sun, sand, surf and sex.’ There is a new emphasis on urban sophistication, sport, science, education and the environment. At the same time, local communities are asking for renewed attention to residential issues, particularly relating to recognising the importance of culture to the region. In this paper I explore the development of integrated computer technologies (ICTs) as a way of linking tourism, culture and place in the experience economy of the Gold Coast. The discussion is framed by theories of the post-tourist, contemporary cultural tourism and the role of mobile technologies, and the figure of the ‘referential tourist.’ An examination of stakeholder responses to changing business and social frameworks on the Gold Coast shows how discussions about a range of issues coalesce around cultural tourism. Local communities have the opportunity to engage with the new tourist as they move quickly between leisure and cultural experiences, at once connected to tourist expectations but increasingly self-directed. The Surfers Paradise Nights campaign, which is based around social media, is a case in point. This campaign aims to interest visitors in becoming a part of a familiar third place, an online space, but one that will sustain an emotive connection to the physical location and events. The paper also draws on research carried out in Brisbane, Queensland, in relation to building connections between place and culture on designated, self-directed journeys via iPhone technology. Participant responses indicate the importance of narrative to developing cultural frameworks.

Bovine colostrum modulates cytokine production in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells stimulated with lipopolysaccharide and phytohemagglutinin

Bovine colostrum has been shown to influence the cytokine production of bovine leukocytes. However, it remains unknown whether processed bovine colostrum, a supplement popular among athletes to enhance immune function, is able to modulate cytokine secretion of human lymphocytes and monocytes. The aim of this investigation was to determine the influence of a commercially available bovine colostrum protein concentrate (CPC) to stimulate cytokine production by human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). Blood was sampled from four healthy male endurance athletes who had abstained from exercise for 48 h. PBMCs were separated and cultured with bovine CPC concentrations of 0 (control), 1.25, 2.5, and 5% with and without lipopolysaccharide (LPS) (3 microg/mL) and phytohemagglutinin (PHA) (2.5 microg/mL). Cell supernatants were collected at 6 and 24 h of culture for the determination of tumor necrosis factor (TNF), interferon (IFN)-gamma, interleukin (IL)-10, IL-6, IL-4, and IL-2 concentrations. Bovine CPC significantly stimulated the release of IFN-gamma, IL-10, and IL-2 (p < 0.03). The addition of LPS to PBMCs cocultured with bovine CPC significantly stimulated the release of IL-2 and inhibited the early release of TNF, IL-6, and IL-4 (p < 0.02). Phytohemagglutinin stimulation in combination with bovine CPC significantly increased the secretion of IL-10 and IL-2 at 6 h of culture and inhibited IFN-gamma and TNF (p < 0.05). This data show that a commercial bovine CPC is able to modulate in vitro cytokine production of human PBMCs. Alterations in cytokine secretion may be a potential mechanism for reported benefits associated with supplementation.

Intermediaries and imaginaries in the cultural and creative industries

This paper conducts an historical and conceptual review of the idea of ‘cultural intermediaries’ and sets up a contrast between the cultural and creative industries. It draws on theorizations of ‘economic imaginaries’ and reconstructs the respective imaginaries of cultural and creative industries. It suggests that the former was organized around the culturalization of the economy and the second around the economization of culture. Nevertheless, there are complicities between them, not least in the contention that a new set of economic developments would redeem the traditional promises of culture.

Introduction: Cuba's Capacity to Share

The Capacity to Share is the first book to document how Cubans share their highly developed educational services with other low-income states, especially those in Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean. A variety of international and Cuban authors break new ground in presenting this research. They investigate the experiences of people who have studied in Cuba on scholarships from the Cuban government, the implications for their home countries, and the work of Cuban teachers and administrators to support education in other countries. The authors discuss how the Cuban "solidarity" approach prioritizes global educational cooperation for mutual support, rather than imposing conditional aid. The book offers original and unusual insights into issues of culture, education, aid, development, and change as they relate to low-income states.

The Cuban Revolution and Internationalism: Structuring Education and Health

The Capacity to Share is the first book to document how Cubans share their highly developed educational services with other low-income states, especially those in Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean. A variety of international and Cuban authors break new ground in presenting this research. They investigate the experiences of people who have studied in Cuba on scholarships from the Cuban government, the implications for their home countries, and the work of Cuban teachers and administrators to support education in other countries. The authors discuss how the Cuban "solidarity" approach prioritizes global educational cooperation for mutual support, rather than imposing conditional aid. The book offers original and unusual insights into issues of culture, education, aid, development, and change as they relate to low-income states.

Cuba's Education System: A Foundation for "The Capacity to Share"

The Capacity to Share is the first book to document how Cubans share their highly developed educational services with other low-income states, especially those in Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean. A variety of international and Cuban authors break new ground in presenting this research. They investigate the experiences of people who have studied in Cuba on scholarships from the Cuban government, the implications for their home countries, and the work of Cuban teachers and administrators to support education in other countries. The authors discuss how the Cuban "solidarity" approach prioritizes global educational cooperation for mutual support, rather than imposing conditional aid. The book offers original and unusual insights into issues of culture, education, aid, development, and change as they relate to low-income states.

Re-framing fashion : from original and copy to adaptation

Partington notes that clothing produced by individual consumers through adaptation of patterns is contextualised as a watered down version of original couture. In its most reductive form, this notion characterises fashion as commercial and exploitative. Descriptors such as appropriation, imitation, copy and so forth have restricted the opportunity to understand fashion as a major global cultural form and institution. Therefore exploring and understanding the concept of adaptation will shift the attention from a superficial assessment of original versus imitation or copy to adaptation as a practice that provides a better framework for the understanding of designers’ and couturiers’ innovative practices and creativity, describing also the active engagement of consumers with fashion at the micro level. Adaptation can also provide a way to understand different historical shifts in the fashion system, from individual creative agency with home dressmaking and re-making to the explosion of the mass market and the consequent abandonment of such practices. Home dressmaking has been replaced by fashion remix of mass produced garments, a practice that thrives in our environment of globalised fast fashion. Thus this chapter suggests the need for a contextual requalification of concepts such as original, copy, imitation and copyright, and argues that these categories have been played against each other, but they are in fact interdependent. Today, big labels and conglomerates try to control knowledge and innovation through copyright, but, fashion escapes copyright because, in fashion, creativity is contextual. The institutionalisation of couture from 1868 served as a way to control knowledge about production processes in fashion; on the other hand, adaptation practices, often subversive, have been fundamental to the democratisation of fashion.

Cultural impact on e-service use in Saudi Arabia : results from questionnaire

This paper reports the results of a mixed method approach to answer: what are the cultural values that impact on e-service use in Saudi Arabia? Cultural theories, dimensions, and models previously identified in the literature, in addition to individual interviews and focus groups, test the current identified uncovered elements of Saudi culture. This paper will firstly, introduce the importance of culture and define the aspects of Saudi culture. It will then describe the method used and present the questionnaire findings. All of the tested hypotheses were found consistent with their predicted outcomes except hypotheses 4 and 8 were partially consistent. It is evidenced that consideration of the impact of the cultural values will mainly contribute to the enhancement of social and organisational aspects of e-society research and practices, by deeply understanding them as of the influntials to e-service implementation.

Cultural impact on e-service use in Saudi Arabia : the need for interaction with other humans

This paper reports the results of a mixed method approach to answer: To what extent do cultural values impact on e-service use in Saudi Arabia, and if so how? This paper will firstly, introduce the importance of culture and define the aspects of Saudi culture with focus on our scope: the fear of a lack of Interaction with other Humans. It will then describe the method used and present the qualitative and quantitative findings related to the need for Interactions with other Humans. Much of the written literature about human interaction aims at Information Systems design or design improvement. Yet, this is different to what is being investigated in this study. One of the factors this study will consider is the perceived lack of interaction with other humans or the anxiety people may feel in missing the physical interaction with other people by fully moving business interaction to the virtual world. The review of the literature indicates that the impact of such factor on Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) use has not been studied. This research aims to cover this gap by investigating to what extent the fear of a lack of Interaction with other Humans, as one of Saudi Arabia’s cultural values, impacts on e-service use in Saudi Arabia. The tested hypothesis was found consistent with its predicted outcome: the fear of a lack of Interaction with other Humans is a negative predictor of intention to use e-services in Saudi Arabia. It is evidenced that consideration of the impact of the cultural values will mainly contribute to the enhancement of ICTs implementation and use.