Cultural information gathering by Australian students in France

Interviews with Australian university students returning from study in France indicate that problems in accessing crucial information are common experiences, and frequently lead to students reproducing stereotypes of French administrative inefficiency. Our paper argues that the issue is not one of information per se but of cultural differences in the dissemination of information. It analyses the ways in which students interpret their information-gathering difficulties, and the appropriateness of the strategies they devise for overcoming them. It then examines the pedagogical implications for preparing students for study abroad, suggesting means of both equipping students with alternative ways of understanding 'information skills' and intervening in the perpetuation of stereotypes. Cet article se base sur une quarantaine d'interviews avec des ��tudiants australiens ayant effectu�� des s��jours d'��tudes en France. La difficult�� d'acc��der aux renseignements jug��s indispensables revient souvent au cours des entretiens, source de frustrations qui am��ne les Australiens �� reproduire un st��r��otype de l'inefficacit�� fran��aise. Nous posons qu'il s'agit moins d'un manque d'informations que d'une diff��rence culturelle dans la diffusion des renseignements. Notre analyse porte sur les fa��ons dont les ��tudiants interpr��tent leurs difficult��s, ainsi que sur l'utilit�� de leurs strat��gies pour r��unir les donn��es souhait��es. Ce travail a des cons��quences p��dagogiques pour la pr��paration de tels s��jours : nous sugg��rons des moyens de conduire les ��tudiants �� concevoir autrement la recherche de l'information et leurs exp��riences, intervenant ainsi dans la transmission des st��r��otypes.

Rules of engagement: Cross-cultural glances in critical writing on recent French and Australian 'youth' films

This Article does not have an abstract.

Community, connection and conservation: Intangible cultural values in natural heritage - the case of Shirakami-sanchi World Heritage area

Intangible cultural heritage, according to a UNESCO definition, is 'the practices, representations, expressions as well as the knowledge and skills that communities, groups and in some cases individuals recognise as part of their cultural heritage'. Using a case study of Shirakami-sanchi World Heritage Area, this paper illustrates how the local community's conservation commitment was formed through their long-term everyday interactions with nature. Such connectivity is vital to maintaining the authentic integrity of a place that does not exclude humans. An examination of the formation of the community's conservation commitment for Shirakami reveals that it is the community's spiritual connection and place-based identity that have supported conservation, leading to the World Heritage nomination, and it is argued that the recognition of such intangible cultural heritage is vital in conservation. The challenge, then, is how to communicate such spiritual heritage today. Forms of community involvement are discussed in an attempt to answer this question.

Antipodas: Journal of Hispanic and Galician Studies

Special title: De La Mancha a Nueva Nurcia. Ima��genes de identidad en viejos y nuevos mundos: From La Mancha to New Nurcia. Images of identity in old and new worlds. In memory of Ben Haneman, doctor of medicine and friend, who contributed to the spread of quixotic ideals in Australia.