australia

Small Business Online-nouse

susanneah, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

DESIGN RATIONALE
Today many factors impact on visual communications in Australia, a land where independent small businesses formerly flourished. In this huge continent the logic of e-business is not yet accepted by most Australians. The design rationale of this presentation is to convey information that may be useful to the Australian small-business sector.

Connolly, Norman & West say: “in 2011… around 95 per cent of the 2 million actively trading businesses in Australia… were small businesses” (2011, p. 3). Liz Colley says “in ten years time, the workforce and working environment will look nothing like it does today” (cited by SGS Economics & Planning, December 2013, p. 6). The type of change Colley describes is already apparent as only around 40 per cent of small businesses operate online while 95 per cent of large Australian businesses do (digitalbusiness.gov.au, 2 July 2013).

Shaw says: “ the means of communication have been transformed… global communications systems… dominated like most other economic fields by Western corporations with global reach” (cited by Beynon & Dunkerley, 2000, p. 186). However, Cassells Duncan, Abello , D’Souza & Nepal, say “Australians [are] industrious… are a nation of inventors, born in part through our isolation from the rest of the world” (October, 2012, p. 3). So, the specific target audience for the presentation is Australians of any ethnic background, involved in any type of small business.

More than half of small businesses are sole operators (Connolly, Norman & West, 2011, p. 3, and personal family experience, 1954-2014). These are busy people, so the design decision was to use standard business communication in-print format. This is predominantly white space with sparse written text designed for a relaxed tone.

For legibility the font choice is fresh, clean sans serif Helvetica Neue, 35/17/14 point, ‘thin’ weight. To help retain key facts, occasional words or phrases are enlivened with Comic Sans MS, mostly 26 point, weight bold, in bright, quirky, ‘non-business’ colour combinations. For example, on page 3 the colours “red, orange and yellow… called by Kalmus the warm or advancing colours” are featured throughout the page, as they “call forth sensations of excitement, activity” (cited by Dalle Vacche & Price, 2006, p. 26).

Australia, possibly now the country with the greatest ethnic diversity (Our Country Our People, 2014) is today a puzzling place. Paul Maginn (27 January 2013), says Western Australians will soon… [be] increasingly diverse in terms of their cultural background”. Good visuals can slice “through the clutter” (Langton and Campbell, 2011, p. 16) and a big part of the design is in the choice of illustrations, especially the wry initial graphics on page 2, (Fig. 1) and page 3 (Fig. 2),

Langton and Campbell say In this melting-pot society “clever” and credible visual designs can masterfully exhibit many goods and services. Effective visuals can “establish a unique voice and brand” (2011, p. 16). Graphics like the artistic English-language vowel, ‘A’ on page 8 (Fig. 4) and the surreal orange/apple photograph (Fig. 6) on page 9, work in today’s complicated “language context“ Featherstone, 2006), where concreteness no longer exists.

In 2013 the internet was an accepted major communication mode with more than 80 per cent of Australian households (potential customers) connected to the internet (Dane, Mason and O’Brien-MacInally, 2013, p 9). Yet, while the internet is now the main communication channel, only about 37 per cent of Australians “used the internet on a monthly basis or more to… buy goods” (p. 17). Yet, as Derewianka (1946) says, humans “are constantly learning language, learning through language, and learning about language” (p.3).

Today many Australian small businesses have, as Connolly, Norman & West say, “a higher degree of volatility… [than medium and large] businesses with more diversified customer bases” (2011, p. 8). The design rationale is to return to what Trilling (2001) explains are two of the “seven pairs” of the “framework for … visual appreciation”. These, “determinacy versus indeterminacy” and “comprehensibility versus complexity”. These are necessarily dialectic, as they continue to rely on each other (p. 11). Today they provide background for the “unfamiliar style” (p. 11). of current, and dynamic local and global visual communciations. As Shaw says:

Although less easily summarized… [and] intermeshing
with economic and political globalization, people are
coming to see their lives in terms of common expectations,
values and goals. These cultural norms include ideas of
standard of living, lifestyle, entitlements to welfare,
citizenship rights, democracy, ethnic and linguistic rights,
nationhood, gender equality environmental quality, etc.
Many of them have originated in the West, but they are
increasingly , despite huge differences in their meanings in
different social contexts, parts of the ways of life and of
political discourse across the world. In this sense, we can
talk of the emergence of a global culture.
(cited by Beynon and Dunkerley, 2004, p. 186)

Imagery can assist. On page 3, this image is from the cover of a recent best-selling novel for Western readers by an ethnic Chinese writer. The picture shows a gentle, Western-user-friendly ‘bird in a tree’ (Fig. 2) The written text reminds about other invaluable visual tools – like cross-cultural dictionaries. On page 6 (Fig. 3) is chosen to demonstrate how California, USA, like Australia, is now a global, world society, which as ‘the West’ no longer exists needs to develop a “unity of working and learning” (McCullough, 1996, p. 9).

One visual communications tool in this difficult new world is photography. Sturken &
Carwright (2001), explain the subjective and objective combine in photography, whose
“details… can show off textures ” (Langton and Campbell, 2011,p. 8). For example, with
Australia’s extraordinary range of climate and terrain and associated lifestyles, photography can, when “ top-notch… [increase] the perception of a premium product” (p. 21) and elicit heightened audience response.

For small businesses like B&Bs, boutique hotels, farm and home-stays, camping grounds, trekking, restaurants, cafes, bars, etcetera, images like the two ‘Vintage Trailer’ photographs (Figs. 6 & 7), page 8 can, as Lilly Schonwald says, quickly “show how the building looks from daybreak to nightfall.” Schonwald explains as designs are “based on the light and the air…[they relate] back to nature and its surroundings and how it changes during different time periods throughout the day” (cited by Langton and Campbell, 2011, p. 12).

The presentation is designed to assist Australia’s small business sector to understand how visual communications in business in Australia today are affected by current major social changes The design rationale focussed on Australia’s now diverse, ‘world’ local community and engaging small-business operators in a dialogue about the internets’ ability to deliver visual communications locally and globally. Instead it became a personal learning experience. This allowed me to gain some understanding of how to use PowerPoint. While the initial design decision was to link engaging illustrations and small functional blocks of text to present these complicated, and possibly new ideas, I am unsatisfied with my result.
REFERENCES
Beynon J, Dunkerley D. (Eds.) (2000). Globalization. Hoboken: Taylor and Francis. From:
http://ecu.summon.serialssolutions.com/2.0.0/link/0/eLvHCXMwY2BQSDMsjQxTO1MSlwTDVOt-
DRNSTQ2tTS2ANYlQJZJLnwhJmjlHK0dxNiYErNE2WQcXMNcfbQTU0ujYeOYcQnAWtZYxNg48JQjlEF2C901-WBQMDQGpr9ko8m0TjZwjNKCU1OcnEONnSMC01GQCYTiFd

Cassells R, Duncan A, Abello A, D’Souza G and Nepal B, (2012) Smart Australians: Education and Innovation in Australia, AMP.NATSEM Income and Wealth Report, Issue 32, October 2012, Melbourne, AMP. From:
http://www.natsem.canberra.edu.au/storage/AMP.NATSEM%2032%20Income%20and%20Wealth %20Report%20-%20Smart%20Australians.pdf
Connolly, E., Norman, D., & West, E. (2011). Small Business: An economic overview. From:
http://www.abs.gov.au/websitedbs/d3310114.nsf/4a256353001af3ed4b2562bb00121564/ d291d673c4c5aab4ca257a330014dda2/$FILE/RBA%20Small%20Business%20An%20economic %20Overview%202012.pdf
Dalle Vacche, A. and Price, B. (Eds,) (2006). Colour: The film reader. New York, NY: Routledge.

Dane, S. K., Mason, C. M., and O’Brien-McInally, B. A. (2013).Household internet use in Australia: A study in regional communities. CSIRO Report: EP1310907. From: http://www.csiro.au/content/ps6d0

Derewianka, B. (1946 & 2000). Exploring how texts work. Newtown, Australia: PETA

Digital Business Online. (2 July 2013). ABS statistics. From: http://www.digitalbusiness.gov.au/2013/07/02/lat est-abs-statistics-many-australian-businesses-still-not-engaging-online/

Featherstone, M. (2006). Genealogies of the Global. Theory Culture Society 2006 23; 387 doi: 10. 1177/0263276406062704

Geoscience Australia. (2014). Australia’s size compared. From:
http://www.ga.gov.au/scientific-topics/geo-graphic-information/dimensions/australias-size-compared

Langton, D., and Campbell, A. (2011). 99 proven ways for small businesses to market with images and
design. Hoboken, N.J: Wiley-Blackwell. From:
http://ecu.summon.serialssolutions.com/2.0.0/link/0/eLvHCXMwY2BQMAZVEsBq2cwkJcXUMi01MR-
WYigxSkkzMUpKN0gxS4QsxQUPmSKW5mxADU2geKlOMm2uls4duanJpPHQMlz4PEDGypmJoZiD-
CzAfnGqBINCkkGacapRkpRmomFCBCes0i1NE9OM00BNpktlQzNjQGH2CCD

Maginn, P. (day/2014) Western Australia must embrace its new diversity. The Conversation. From:
http://theconversation.com/australian-census-booming-wiestern-australia-must-embrace-its-new-
diversity-7832
McCullouch, M. (1996). Abstracting Craft: The practiced digital hand. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press.

Our Country Our People. (2014). From: http://australia.gov.au/about-australia/our-country/our-people.
SGS Economics & Planning. (December 2013). Valuing Australia’s Creative Industries. From:
http://www.creativeinnovation.net.au/ce_report/webapp/static/pdfs/CIIC-Valuing-Australias-Creative- Industries-2013.pdf
Sturken, M., and Cartwright, L. (2001). Practices of Looking: An introduction to visual culture. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.
Trilling, J. (2001). The Language of Ornament. London, England: Thames & Hudson Ltd.

Small Business Online-nouse

2014, CCA1108, for Presentation Guru-my thoughts for small business online

susanneah, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

 

DESIGN RATIONALE

Today many factors impact on visual communications in Australia, a land where independent small businesses formerly flourished. In this huge continent the logic of e-business is not yet accepted by most Australians. The design rationale of this presentation is to convey information that may be useful to the Australian small-business sector.

Connolly, Norman & West say: “in 2011… around 95 per cent of the 2 million actively trading businesses in Australia… were small businesses” (2011, p. 3). Liz Colley says “in ten  years time, the workforce and working environment will look nothing like it does today” (cited by SGS Economics & Planning, December 2013, p. 6). The type of change Colley describes is already apparent as only around 40 per cent of small businesses operate online while 95 per cent of large Australian businesses do (digitalbusiness.gov.au, 2 July 2013).

Shaw says: “ the means of communication have been transformed…  global communications systems…  dominated like most other economic fields by Western corporations with global reach” (cited by Beynon & Dunkerley, 2000, p. 186). However, Cassells  Duncan, Abello , D’Souza & Nepal, say “Australians [are] industrious… are a nation of inventors, born in part through our isolation from the rest of the world” (October, 2012, p. 3). So, the specific target audience for the presentation is Australians of any ethnic background, involved in any type of small business.

More than half of small businesses are sole operators (Connolly, Norman & West, 2011, p. 3, and personal family experience, 1954-2014). These are busy people, so the design decision was to use standard business communication in-print format. This is predominantly white space with sparse written text designed for a relaxed tone.

For legibility the font choice is fresh, clean sans serif  Helvetica Neue, 35/17/14 point, ‘thin’ weight. To help retain key facts, occasional words or phrases are enlivened with Comic Sans MS, mostly 26 point, weight bold, in bright, quirky, ‘non-business’ colour combinations. For example, on page 3 the colours “red, orange and yellow…  called by Kalmus the warm or advancing colours” are featured throughout the page, as they “call forth sensations of excitement, activity” (cited by Dalle Vacche & Price, 2006, p. 26).   

Australia,  possibly now the country with the greatest (recent) ethnic diversity (Our Country Our People, 2014) is today a puzzling place. Paul Maginn (27 January 2013), says Western Australians will soon… [be] increasingly diverse in terms of their cultural background”. Good visuals can slice “through the clutter” (Langton and Campbell, 2011, p. 16) and a big part of the design is in the choice of illustrations, especially the wry initial graphics on  page 2, (Fig. 1) and page 3 (Fig. 2),

Langton and Campbell say In this melting-pot society “clever” and credible visual designs can masterfully exhibit many goods and services. Effective visuals can “establish a unique voice and brand” (2011, p. 16). Graphics like the artistic English-language vowel, ‘A’ on page 8 (Fig. 4) and the surreal orange/apple photograph (Fig. 6) on page 9, work in today’s complicated “language context“ Featherstone, 2006), where concreteness no longer exists.

In 2013 the internet was an  accepted major communication mode with more than 80 per cent of Australian households (potential customers) connected to the internet (Dane, Mason and O’Brien-MacInally, 2013, p 9). Yet, while the internet is now the main communication channel, only about 37 per cent of Australians “used the internet on a monthly basis or more to… buy goods” (p. 17). Yet, as Derewianka (1946) says, humans “are constantly learning language, learning through language, and learning about language” (p.3).

Today many Australian small businesses have, as Connolly, Norman & West say, “a higher degree of volatility… [than medium and large] businesses with more diversified customer bases” (2011, p. 8). The design rationale is to return to what Trilling (2001) explains are two of the “seven pairs” of the “framework for … visual appreciation”. These, “determinacy versus indeterminacy” and “comprehensibility versus complexity”. These are necessarily dialectic, as they continue to rely on each other (p. 11). Today they provide background for the “unfamiliar style” (p. 11). of current, and dynamic local and global visual communications. As Shaw says:

Although less easily summarized… [and] intermeshing

with economic and political globalization, people are

coming to see their lives in terms of common expectations,

values and goals. These cultural norms include ideas of

standard of living, lifestyle, entitlements to welfare,

citizenship rights, democracy, ethnic and linguistic rights,

nationhood, gender equality environmental quality, etc.

Many of them have originated in the West, but they are

increasingly , despite huge differences in their meanings in

different social contexts, parts of the ways of life and of

political discourse across the world. In this sense, we can

talk of the emergence of a global culture.

(cited by Beynon and Dunkerley, 2004, p. 186)

Imagery can assist. On page 3, this image is from the cover of a recent best-selling novel for Western readers by an ethnic Chinese writer. The picture shows a gentle, Western-user-friendly ‘bird in a tree’ (Fig. 2) The written text reminds about other invaluable visual tools – like cross-cultural dictionaries. On page 6 (Fig. 3) is chosen to demonstrate how California, USA, like Australia, is now a global, world society, which as ‘the West’ no longer exists needs to develop a “unity of working and learning” (McCullough, 1996, p. 9).

One visual communications tool in this difficult new world is photography. Sturken &

Carwright (2001), explain the subjective and objective combine in photography, whose

“details…  can show off textures ” (Langton and Campbell, 2011,p. 8). For example, with

Australia’s extraordinary range of climate and terrain and associated lifestyles, photography can, when “ top-notch… [increase] the perception of a premium product” (p. 21) and elicit heightened audience response.

For small businesses like B&Bs, boutique hotels, farm and home-stays, camping grounds, trekking, restaurants, cafes, bars, etcetera, images like the two ‘Vintage Trailer’ photographs (Figs. 6 & 7), page 8 can, as Lilly Schonwald says, quickly “show how the building looks from daybreak to nightfall.” Schonwald explains as designs are “based on the light and the air…[they relate] back to nature and its surroundings and how it changes during different time periods throughout the day” (cited by Langton and Campbell, 2011, p. 12).

The presentation is designed to assist Australia’s small business sector to understand how visual communications in business in Australia today are affected by current major social changes  The design rationale focussed on Australia’s now diverse, ‘world’ local community and engaging small-business operators in a dialogue about the internets’ ability to deliver visual communications locally and globally.  Instead it became a personal learning experience. This allowed me to gain some understanding of how to use PowerPoint. While the initial design decision was to link engaging illustrations and small functional blocks of text to present these complicated, and possibly new ideas, I am unsatisfied with my result.

REFERENCES

Beynon J, Dunkerley D. (Eds.) (2000). Globalization. Hoboken: Taylor and Francis. From:

http://ecu.summon.serialssolutions.com/2.0.0/link/0/eLvHCXMwY2BQSDMsjQxTO1MSlwTDVOt-

DRNSTQ2tTS2ANYlQJZJLnwhJmjlHK0dxNiYErNE2WQcXMNcfbQTU0ujYeOYcQnAWtZYxNg48JQjlEF2C901-WBQMDQGpr9ko8m0TjZwjNKCU1OcnEONnSMC01GQCYTiFd

 

Cassells R, Duncan A, Abello A, D’Souza G and Nepal B, (2012) Smart Australians: Education and Innovation in Australia, AMP.NATSEM Income and Wealth Report, Issue 32, October 2012, Melbourne, AMP. From:

http://www.natsem.canberra.edu.au/storage/AMP.NATSEM%2032%20Income%20and%20Wealth %20Report%20-%20Smart%20Australians.pdf

 

Connolly, E., Norman, D., & West, E. (2011). Small Business: An economic overview. From:

http://www.abs.gov.au/websitedbs/d3310114.nsf/4a256353001af3ed4b2562bb00121564/ d291d673c4c5aab4ca257a330014dda2/$FILE/RBA%20Small%20Business%20An%20economic %20Overview%202012.pdf

 

Dalle Vacche, A. and Price, B. (Eds,)  (2006). Colour: The film reader. New York, NY: Routledge.

 

Dane, S. K., Mason, C. M., and O’Brien-McInally, B. A. (2013).Household internet use in Australia: A study in regional communities. CSIRO Report: EP1310907. From:  www.csiro.au/content/ps6d0

 

Derewianka, B. (1946 & 2000). Exploring how texts work. Newtown, Australia: PETA

 

Digital Business Online. (2 July 2013). ABS statistics. From: http://www.digitalbusiness.gov.au/2013/07/02/lat est-abs-statistics-many-australian-businesses-still-not-engaging-online/

 

 Featherstone, M. (2006). Genealogies of the Global. Theory Culture Society 2006 23; 387 doi: 10. 1177/0263276406062704

 

Geoscience Australia. (2014). Australia’s size compared. From:

http://www.ga.gov.au/scientific-topics/geo-graphic-information/dimensions/australias-size-compared

 

Langton, D., and Campbell, A. (2011). 99 proven ways for small businesses to market with images and

design. Hoboken, N.J: Wiley-Blackwell. From:

http://ecu.summon.serialssolutions.com/2.0.0/link/0/eLvHCXMwY2BQMAZVEsBq2cwkJcXUMi01MR-

WYigxSkkzMUpKN0gxS4QsxQUPmSKW5mxADU2geKlOMm2uls4duanJpPHQMlz4PEDGypmJoZiD-

CzAfnGqBINCkkGacapRkpRmomFCBCes0i1NE9OM00BNpktlQzNjQGH2CCD

Maginn, P. (day/2014) Western Australia must embrace its new diversity. The Conversation. From:

http://theconversation.com/australian-census-booming-wiestern-australia-must-embrace-its-new-

diversity-7832

McCullouch, M. (1996). Abstracting Craft: The practiced digital hand. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press.

  

Our Country Our People. (2014). From: http://australia.gov.au/about-australia/our-country/our-people. 

SGS Economics & Planning. (December 2013). Valuing Australia’s Creative Industries. From:

http://www.creativeinnovation.net.au/ce_report/webapp/static/pdfs/CIIC-Valuing-Australias-Creative- Industries-2013.pdf

Sturken, M., and Cartwright, L. (2001). Practices of Looking: An introduction to visual culture. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.
Trilling, J. (2001). The Language of Ornament. London, England: Thames & Hudson Ltd.

2014, CCA1108, for Presentation Guru-my thoughts for small business online

Dream-scape is South-West Australia

susanneah, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

This essay is set in the cultural life, as it is lived in the current era, in the
landscape of the South-West of West Australia. This essay presents and briefly analyses three of this region’s in-landscape local artistic and community
practice cultural achievements. Some display the successful use of traditional methods, and all work to develop unique regional identity. This essay briefly
considers and analyses the particular ways these cultural creations bear
witness to change and contestation of landscape.

This essay describes three arts or community practice in the everyday
(Williams, 1958) cultural life of the South-West region of Western Australia. This essay describes only a tiny sliver of the society’s “cultural geography” (Crang, 1998, p. 2). This community and region are is diverse, increasingly so in this digital-information era (Bonnett, 2004).

In that region of Australian (as elsewhere now, in this modern world) ” … social and ritual” values emanate from a uniquely ” … heterogenous … ethnic, cultural and social mix” (Kaino, 1995,p. vii). In this region art locates itself and its audience visibly within its landscape. The first cultural landscape this essay describes is “Re-Discover Bunbury”.

This is the Bunbury Street Art project (SixTwoThreeZero, 2016). This fits the definition of the arts:

the expression or application of human creative skill and
imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting
or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily
for their beauty or emotional power
(Oxford Dictionaries, 2016).

Locals and visitors alike experience: “the new observations and meanings, which are offered and tested” (McKenzie, S1, 2016, Week 1) as they adore or detest the street art. They view, talk about and reflect on right there in Bunbury, in these South-West streets. A visitor-blog entry on “Life Images by Jill” (26 January, 2016), and associated Facebook website, provides an animated, personal experience of Re.Discover Bunbury, amplify this community practice.

Social activist group Six Two Zero Three (2016) run the project, and so contribute to the overall quality of Bunbury landscape. They maintain and use excellent statistics gathered from this project to peacefully support cohesive community,
They develop a regional arts dialogue and enliven regional landscape.

However, Wilson shows how projects like this may still be contested, due to:

insufficient interest… in progressing the artistic agenda…
exacerbated by a paucity of data and insufficient
community between arts, higher education and research
policy and the practitioner worlds that are governed by
them (cited by Hare & Lousieksien, 23 March, 2016).

Wilson, an academic researcher, who demonstrates this failure is not confined to universities, says: “artists need audiences, both critics and public, to hone their skills” (cited by Hare & Lousieksien, 23 March, 2016). This is a high level of contestation of landscape and Wilson is shown to be instigating a counter-movement.

The contestation begins by those who could communicate “the arts and learning —the special processes of discovery and creative effort.” (Williams, cited by McKenzie, Week 1, S1, 2016). Wilson states there may be some positive change to this situation (cited by Hare & Lousieksien, 23 March, 2016).

Change came through generations of community who have continued to lobby for the Busselton Jetty (Busselton Jetty Timeline, 2016). Here, generational
success is an example of: “Orr’s work, [1990] and later, Wave[‘s] and Lenger’s [1991, which] presents a key insight; namely, that knowledge, and therefore learning, [are] embedded in cultural practices” (Hoadley, 2012). The Busselton Jetty
communicates to its community as an excellent long-term example of often
continuous, harmonious landscape-building: positive power and people in work.

Now a cultural community installation, the jetty dexterously operates both “Lexus… [and] Olive Tree” (Lull, 2007, p. 52). The Busselton Jetty, and its story, display as almost-magical, historic theatre (Busselton Jetty Timeline, 2016). The beginnings of this working jetty were over a century ago; a working life, hard-wrought by community, endeavour, and entreaty. This month the jetty landscape will be enlivened with hot cups of tea and Arnott’s biscuits.

Jetty length will be activated as visitors stroll the long walk, view the mural and play arranged games at its end in the “Busselton Jetty Biggest Morning Tea” (2016). The jetty will, as it has now for generations, awaken, live, and work fruitfully – on many arts and community practice levels. Even while it delivers high community theatre – right there, onto its South-West landscape.

The gentle community practice-role of arts and crafts of the South-West
community is in the “Waroona Yarn Bombers’ Heartfelt Project”. (Trip Advisor (May, 2016), It lends thoughtful, creative, highly-visible support to community of the South-West and the landscape terribly affected by bushfire (Hondros, 15 January, 2016).

This community endeavour expresses solidarity for sad and awful loss in the
bushfires (Waroona Yarn Bombers, 2016). The wider West Australian community empathises strongly and actively with this project. This peaceful and spontaneous endeavour reflects the arts and crafts movement. Founded in the 19th century England, where:

decorative arts… sought to revive the ideal of craftsmanship
in an age of increasing mechanization and mass production
(Oxford Dictionaries, 2016).

This community response; authentic, cultural communication, employs
traditional Caucasian handicraft skills, like crochet. These products project
“… certain ideological principles (sets of governing ideas)… displayed,
perceived, [and] conform” (Crouch, 1999, page1). Their Facebook sites (2016) widely communicate this re-gain of burned landscape.

Facebook widely communicate this identification with landscape and event. The the artwork works how , as Hall (1959) explains, “culture is communication and communication is culture” (p. 169). Via this adornment of landscape, sadness and support are expressed, for the people’s wounds, and the landscape’s.

This swell of support is cultural community practice. It communicate messages to and about community (Brown, cited by Kaino, 1995, p. 115). These regional
practitioners, culturally innovative, “re-creat[e] more traditional and less alienating lifestyles” (Kaino, 1995, p. ix). The artistry on the burned trees use traditional modes.

This is a strong confirmation of craft as “cultural production” (Kaino, 1995, p. ix). In those communications are key factors, cultural: “psychological … relational …
situational … environmental… ” (King, 7 April, 2016). They operate within Australia’s diverse landscape of “culture… or beliefs or values” (Crang, 1998, p. 2).

They crochet mandalas, or “circular figure representing the universe in Hindu and Buddhist symbolism” (Oxford Dictionary, 2016)”. These reflect the landscape, the region’s cultural diversity, and its inclusiveness. These regional cultural practices are:

(micro)movement[s] …. [not] grand-scale and calculable
transformations in society … [these are] tiny or almost
imperceptible actions … [with the] potential to produce
change (Harlot of Hearts, 2016).

Furthermore, the digital plunges these three real, regional cultural products, into the virtual, and into the “international”, (Brown, cited by Kaino, 1995, p. 115). There each communicates its unique “cultural geography” (Crang, 1998). There they
show and develop meaning for [many] people” (McKenzie, Week 1, S1, 2016, slide 10).

This essay is set in South-West of Western Australia, where three particular art, and community practices create identity and argument about that landscape. This essay describes how the region enjoys a rich in-landscape of local artistic and community practice. These cultural achievements arising from and continue the use of successful, traditional methods of peaceful cultural dispute. All work to develop unique regional identity. This essay considers and analyses the particular ways these cultural creations bear witness to change and contestation within the South-West landscape. These are places of cultural ideas, communicate and
respond to thoughts and ideas about landscape and place. These three places are good examples of how digital communication may extend, globally. knowledge of regional, novel cultural product, and of regional landscape and identity may extend far and wide. So these cultural communications activate their own
landscape globally. This essay thus communicates about a most complicated, culturally alive and well landscape. While economic support is critical and yet uncertain, art activates this South-West place, is disputed within that
landscape is vital and changing. Via community practice the people re-use,
re-engineer their environment. This landscape is supportive of the identity of the region and its people. The impact of the South-West on its artisans, and its landscape is, opportunity: places to practice, places to mount and exhibit art, to air their identity, to practice change and to grow.

Reference

Bonnett, A. (2004). The Idea of the West: Culture, Politics and History. Houndmills: Macmillan Palgrave.

Busselton Jetty Biggest Morning Tea. (2016).
from: http://www.busseltonjetty.com.au/3056/

Busselton Jetty Timeline. (2016).
from: http://www.busseltonjetty.com.au/the-jetty/history-of-the-jetty/

Crang, M. (1998). Cultural geography. London: Routledge.

Crouch, C. (1999). Modernism in art, design & architecture. London, UK: Palgrave.

Hall, T. (1959). The Silent Language. New York, NY, USA: Anchor Books.

Hare, J., and Loussikian, K. (23 March, 2016).
University art collections fail to have impact on broad society. The Australian.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/higher-education/university-art-collections-fail-to-have-impact-on-broad-society/news-story/caee4a15d1bf05d1633aa3e6a8e410fb

Harlot of Hearts. (2016).
from: http://harlotofthearts.org/index.php/harlot/article/view/340/192
Hoadley, C. (2012). What is a community of practice and how can we support it?
In D. H. Jonassen & S. M. Land (Eds.), Theoretical foundations of learning
environments (Second ed., pp. 287-300). New York: Routledge.

Hondros, N. (15 January, 2016). WA fires: heartbreaking aerial photos emerge of
Waroona,Yarloop bushfire damage. WA Today.
from: http://www.watoday.com.au/wa-news/wa-fires-stunning-aerial-photos-emerge-of-waroona-and-yarloop-bushfire-damage-20160115-gm73rx.html

Kiano, L. (Ed). (1995). The necessity of craft:
Development and women’s craft practices in the Asian-Pacific region. Perth, WA: University of WA Press.

King, D. (7 April, 2016). Three Classes of Vocalised Pause. Donn Kings’ Corner. from: http://donnellking.com/blog/2016/04/three-classes-of-vocalized-pause/#more-6054

Life Images by Jill. (May, 2016). blog and website.
from: http://lifeimagesbyjill.blogspot.it/2016/01/australia-day-re-discover-street-art.html

Life Images by Jill. (May, 2016). Facebook site. from:
https://www.facebook.com/Life-Images-by-Jill-854589601225869/
Lull, J. (2207). Culture-on-demand: Communication in a crisis world.
Melbourne, Australia: Blackwell.

McKenzie, V. (S1, 2016). ECU CCI1103. Lecture and Tutorial notes.

Oxford Dictionaries. (2016). definition of the arts.
from: http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/art

Oxford Dictionaries. (2016). definition of arts and crafts movement.
from: http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/arts-and-crafts-movement?q=arts+and+crafts+movement

Oxford Dictionary. (2016). definition of mandala.
from: http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/mandala

Re.Discover Bunbury. (2016). Bunbury Street Art Festival.
from: http://www.sixtwothreezero.com

Sixtwothreezero. (2016). website. from: http://www.sixtwothreezero.com

Waroona Heartfelt Project. (May, 2016).
from: https://www.tripadvisor.com/LocationPhotoDirectLink-g495084-d2457518-i185015962-Waroona_Visitor_Centre_and_Gallery-Waroona_Western_Australia.html

and

Waroona Heartfelt Project. (May, 2016). Facebook. from:

Waroona Yarn Bombers. (2016).

Waroona Mandalas Project. (2016).
from: https://rubyjaneslane.com/2016/03/11/waroona-community-lifting-the-spirits-of-recent-fire-victims-with-crochet-mandalas/
Williams, R. (1958). Culture is ordinary. In Gray, A. & McGuigan, J. (Eds.). (1993). Studying culture: An introductory reader. (pp. 5–14). Melbourne: Edward Arnold.

Dream-scape is South-West Australia

Most of my CMM3119 unit work has been pilfered. Here’s a little. 2009

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Diir and Cotillard and Eiffel
Diir and Cotillard and Eiffel

CMM3119. Case Studies in Communication. Body Culture. Semester 1, 2009. Dr Rod Giblett. ECU Mt. Lawley.
Journal

Week Four

Marion Cotillard’s Dior Ad

This ‘season’s contemporary fashion image (fashion by Dior, using famous tragic new, young artiste – played Edith Piaf), above, seems to me to recreate a situation; it is a metaphor; a direct, although warped, circumstance arising out of an historic basis, namely the famale part of the tradition of human roles of gatherer = female ( as versus hunter = male). In this image the female has her ‘dilly’ bag protecting her body (in particular the reproductive organs and the area where the ovaries are housed), she appears to be apprehensive, in danger in a precarious and dangerous situation (out on a limb), has put herself in danger while she is actively seeking ‘something’ …. ? – another ‘essential’ commodity by Dior, or running from the dinosaur/bird of prey – whilst stealing it’s eggs for her offspring?

The female historically identifies and scavenges all and any useful or edible matter they can find, often at great risk to themselves (this still happens when the need is great, – see refugee camps, overcrowded India, remote communities in New Guinea). In this process a huge (generally unwritten bank/store of knowledge is developed, and handed down, generation to generation – still).

This drive is primarily motivated by the wellbeing and safety of the family, especially the children – how to feed, clothe and shelter them – and herself – so that she can continue to maintain them. In affluent, modern societies this very strong drive, which was idling has been deliberately warped, and the media has the major part in this, into empty compulsive consumption patterns, particurlarly for ‘designer’ and ‘brand-name’ goods

This has been able to be effected, as in our time when there are few direct threats in the lives of middle-class and working –class western citiizens, the hunter/gatherer drive/s have not gone away – how can they – the major impetus of preotection of the young human being so closely linked to the primary drive of procreation. In addition, there is a great deal of leisure and very little danger, so there is constant needs to be met – recreation and stimulation

So in modern society, we see a situation today where the male = hunter drive is still primarily positive. The drive is now channelled into activities external to the male, outward-looking. The goals set are generally attainable with hard work , which the drive provides the impetus for. The re-directed drive allows the opportunity to develop a secure personal position, ensure an asset base to provide for his, and his partner’s old age, and thus maintain his self-esteem, and enhance his position within his community and society, no matter how old he gets.

In the female, however, there is a deliberate warping (via the media) and opposite occurs, a negative situation has developed. The female = gatherer drive is turned into a narsissistic, inward-looking, preoccupation with attempting an impossible goal, that of maintaining a depreciating asset, the woman’s youth and beauty.

Baudrillard explores the ‘silent’ protest of the masses to ‘culture’ and it seems to me possible that NOW – women are – albeit slowly – turning this empty use around, still locked into their conspicuous consumption, yet they now form a silent protest against the society and those that cause them to become these empty vessels .

Try to find the article on the current, (fairly young) woman feminist (not lesbian) who tries to find patterns in society that show these things – Canadian. The New Yorker magazine (month?) 2008

http://www.ecologypapers.com/list.html
Modern Society’s Contempt for the Natural World
[ send me this paper ]
This 5 page report discusses the ways in which contemporary society has evolved to have an attitude of contempt regarding the natural world. The writer argues that such an attitude is the basis for adverse conditions now faced by humanity. Bibliography lists 5 sources.
Filename: Conature.wps

Below are quotes from

Stuttles, G. D. (1968). The Social Order of the Slum: Ethnicity and territory in the inner
city. Chicago: University of Chicago Press

‘Implicit in this concept of natural man is the conviction that moral restraints and ideal standards of behavior have little real power in a situation in which they contradict man’s natural impulses’ (p. 104)

‘dwelling unit as a woman’s world’ (p. 76). ‘separation of male and female world’ (p. 76).
‘Males almost never take an opportunity to introduce into [a household] furnishings or upkeep any sign identifiable as their own’ (p. 76)

‘Clothing, grooming and personal display add another area in which [people of the slums] can look for and find ethnic differences’ (p. 67).

Giblett chapter 1 – ‘active and passive’ (also preface 2008) – female passively absorbs all the messages, addiction, the female actively acts out the necessary traditional ‘gatherer’ functions gone mad. In this way the masculine in our society disarms the feminine.
Baudrillard speculates this is positive in a way, and inevitable, age-old ritual. Gane, M. (1993). Baudrillard Live: Selected interviews. New York: Routledge

In today’s societies those families who form the ‘upper’ class, are invisible, the masses no longer ‘see’, there is no interface now to know how this most powerful part of the culture works and lives. Deliberately obscuring this, and superimposed onto the class system is the cult of fame, with individuals generally chosen from the working or middle class, who have been formed into today’s popular culture royalty, to distract the masses into falsely believing this group are the most powerful and influential group, when they are (unwitting – or complicit?) puppets of those above. (Berman?)

Gane interviewing Baudrillard ‘Fashion is a grand game, a beautiful game. But there is really no history of fashion, it is a recurrent circulation of forms.’ ‘Increasingly, art has become fashion in the profound sense of the term.’ ‘It is more a survival among the remnants than anything else’. (1993, p. 95)

Page 3 of 4 Susanne Harford student number 10043898. Baudrillard,, Gane, Berman,

Most of my CMM3119 unit work has been pilfered. Here’s a little. 2009

And… I received a “Fail” for all my 2011 thinking, writing, & reflections efforts, herein PRN2120.

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PRN 2120 – Foundations of Public Relations. Semester 1, 2011. Assessment 2
Media depictions (including film and television) are a primary source of how the citizenry learns about a profession.
(Susanne Johnston, 2010a, p. 1)

word count without references: 1600 (approx)
Including references: 2113

From an early age filmic texts like newsreels and movie informed and influenced me. Later, television, another one-way communication process, exposed me to a North American sitcom Bewitched, and to consumerism. This lengthy series depicted the fantasy life story of an inexperienced young advertising executive, his family and his profession. The story was based on an intertwined metanarrative, a binary made up of an archaic and a modern myth. This powerful narrative provided an important personal learning experience for me. The integrity of Darrin the advertising-executive-character was established by compliance with current, major, ethical, cultural standards. Throughout this essay I rely on the theory of public relations, media, communications and culture to reveal just a few of the countless ways public relations affected the series’ construction. I also argue this comprehensive screen depiction of public relations profoundly influenced my understanding of the profession in an enduring, positive way.

In 1950’s country Western Australia pre-ordained international and national news and movies only arrived once a month – in tin canisters – and without advertisements. Advertising historian Gawen Rudder exactly encapsulates my feelings when he says: “In the ‘50s and so on, advertising was so new and so novel that we watched open-mouthed. Like, “Isn’t this brilliant?” even if it wasn’t brilliant.” (The History of Advertising, 29th. May, 2003, p.1). One very successful American television series introduced me to advertising. This was Bewitched, a “fantasy sitcom” (“Bewitched”, n.d.). This powerful narrative had instant appeal; “as our film industry became more sophisticated … so did our advertising style” (Rudder, cited by The History of Advertising, 29th. May, 2003, p. 2).

Operating “under the umbrella of advertising” (Johnston, 2010b, p. 198), Bewitched was a televised ‘smash’ that ran from September 1964 until July, 1972 (“Bewitched”, n.d.). On one level the series was overt, transparent – and successful. It did not conceal it was a huge “press agentry [exercise] … the most common form of public relations” (Grunig cited by Harrison, 2011, p. 88), and, according to Crawford, within a century what Australians ate for breakfast depended upon advertising (2008). At that time I already knew “public relations functions were carried out” (Johnston, 2010b, p. 189). I was aware of being ‘sold’ Uncle Toby’s Oats and Chevrolet, and that those companies were major sponsors (All About the Bewitched Music Theme).

The television screen depicted the novel life and work environments of Darrin and his circle. Just as Lee (2004, p. 157) describes, these new concepts and ideas soon transfixed me. The underpinning strategy incorporated a well-defined:

hierarchy of effects … this theory suggests the sequence
in which people may come to be persuaded. The sequence
is: (1) awareness; (2) comprehension; (3) agreement or
acceptance; and (4) retention of the acceptance and
consequent behaviour change
Mackey, cited by Johnston & Zawawi, 2003, pp. 61, 62.

Classified as a “fantasy sitcom” (About TV.com Australia), the “comedy, romance …genres” also applied (Johnston, 2010, p. 189). Bewitched was much, much more, “a prism through which the subject[s] can be viewed” – and persuaded (Lee, as cited by Johnston, 2010a, p. 5).. As Edgerton explains “television [sheds] additional or nuanced light” (as cited by Johnston, 2010a, p. 5), and during eight years the series made its target audience aware of: “bigotry, racism, consumerism, materialism, human vanity, women’s liberation and mass hysteria” (“Bewitched”, n.d.). This popular culture entertainment “contributed to … discussion in a meaningful way” (Johnston, 2010a, p. 7).

As Lee (2004, p. 157) generally describes, Bewitched fitted neatly into some topics. They are what Johnston more specifically calls public relations themes; “power, fame, truth, deception, morality and love” (2010b, p. 189). While comprehending the series was providing a continuous stream of novel and engaging information, I never questioned the pedagogical form of the narrative – I was in agreement.

Foucault describes this type of one-way communication as “discourse” (as cited in Social Science Information). Harrison quotes L’Etang, who says discourse are “patterns of language that may communicate (and may seek to persuade) a particular set of values or knowledge” (2011, p. 86). This series provided what Johnston calls “understandings learned through television and film become part of the collective memory of a group within society” (2010a, p. 6). These exist in every society, where:

the production …
is at once controlled, selected, organised and redistributed
according to a certain number of procedures, whose role it
is to avert [the society’s] powers and its dangers, to cope
with chance events, to evade its ponderous, awesome
materiality
(Foucault, 1971, as cited in Social Science Information)

In this screen depiction the discourse and characters are components of what Barthes describes as a “myth … [or a] body of ideas, beliefs and practices”. He explains the function of myth in communication and culture is “to naturalise what is not natural or given but what is constructed”, that myth is an “ideology … being a body of ideas, beliefs and practices … [that] operate to promote the values and interests of dominant groups” (J. Hall, 2010, p. 3). The series promoted new values and interests via a not-entirely-new, Australian myth.

These values and interests of a “dominant coalition” (Grunig, as cited by Harrison, 2011, p. 167) and were housed in a “negotiated construction … to maintain their … ‘spontaneous consent’ of subordinate classes” (Strinati, 1995, p. 147). The new myth was an example of Gramsci’s “cultural hegemony” theory (p. 148). It contained a binary structure that contrasted two major Western-society “metanarratives”, or “absolute, universal and all-embracing claims to knowledge and truth” (p. 209), and appearing clearly on the surface of the text was an old, traditional, religion-based myth; heterosexual marriage. This myth appeared to be the primary context and was tightly associated with British-Empire dominance of the still-colonial society. However, Darrin’s was a ‘mixed-marriage’. Another, younger, more vigorous metanarrative lived unseen within the discourse: the American Dream.

Darrin the male junior advertising technician in the series is American; young, white, positive; a living embodiment, a “positive depiction” (Johnston, 2010b, p. 190), of the American Dream. Harrison states that “public relations practitioners are central to these power/knowledge processes through their role as discourse technologists” (2011, p. 86). Darrin the discourse technologist has a multi-faceted personal life intimately linked to his work-environment, the advertising house, the advertising campaigns he is involved in developing and Larry, his older boss. The narrative deliberately creates various potentially negative conflicts. The cultural theorist Stuart Hall reveals the binaries and negatives are tools that help “maintain the state in a capitalist society” (1986, n.p.).

The adversarial nature of this filmic text reinforces established value systems – and delivers the new ideologies. Darrin becomes an unlikely angel – delivering messages of modernity – by dealing with conflicting dualism in a mild-mannered way. Darrin is “cast as [the] strong socially responsible” individual, perfectly positioned to herald important covert, yet “commonsense” messages. (Johnston, 2010b, p. 204). The narrative often “incorporated … textuality … to preserve the collective memory” (p. 193). Both are communication device found in communications theories. Mackey says “theories are essential to understanding because the theories we hold influence what we consider to be ethical behaviour” (cited in Johnston & Zawawi, 2003, p. 47). A good example of media ethics theory in practice is the last episode on 23rd. February, 1972, when Darrin​

learns that honesty is not exactly the best policy when he
jeopardises an important account. It seems as though he may
have lost the account, but the client likes the honesty between
Darrin and Larry and gives them a break
(“Bewitched”, n.d.).

While Darrin in gender/race/ethnicity is the dominant major public relations industry stereotypes of the era (Johnston, 2010a, p. 11) and possibly classifies as an “intellectual lightweight” who displays some “unfulfilled, obsequious” characteristics, he is not “cynical, greedy, isolated … [or] manipulative” (Johnston,2010b, pp. 190, 191). Darrin exhibited other attractive features – an open mind, egalitarian nature, modesty, and willingness to learn. In the episode Darrin and achieves all five of Grunig’s “ethical duties in the workplace … duty to self, client, employer, profession and society” (Harrison, 2011, pp. 128, 129).

In this episode and many others, Darrin is not assisted by Larry, the boss or public relations management. A successful old-style advertising magnate, Larry displays many classic advertising-character faults of today; “cynical, greedy …manipulative” (Johnston, 2010, pp. 190, 191). Darrin conquers all these binaries, plus other-world problems created by his in-laws. American film critic A. O. Scott, when reviewing the critical public relations documentary The Corporation, states:

Surviv[ing] at least as much on seduction as on coercion,
and that it [capitalist society] has flourished not
simply by means of chicanery and domination but
by extending, and often fulfilling,
promises of freedom, creativity and individual choices
(30 June, 2004, n.p.).

Bewitched, did not coerce, it promised freedoms, creativity and individual choices. By delivering layers of new ideas it proposed cultural change. On an overt level, the narrative depicted Darrin, a young advertising executive, and a seductive picture of his family and life, and his values. Uncle Toby’s Oats was included in the individual choices proffered. Forty years later, my family still prizes that particular oats brand – over all others. With the benefit of hindsight, and of education at ECU, it is possible to see I was in agreement with the lesson, I retained that agreement and I changed my views and behaviour to an affiliation to the American Dream.

Bewitched was classified as fantasy/comedy/romance but also used sophisticated media, communications and cultural theory strategies. These were used to deliver a story of the advertising profession. The young advertising technician Darrin and older manager Larry characters presented a binary of the good and bad of the profession. The lead role Darrin dealt with many crises. In his private and professional life he exhibited little discrimination, was ethical and could co-habit when times were different and people were strange. Via the one-way-communication medium of television, this screen portrayal provided a valuable balanced/positive pedagogic model over an impressive period. The series generated public analysis and consideration of important issues, at a time when that society was not particularly thoughtful. While openly and successfully advertising new consumer products to Australia in the 1950s and 60s, the television series Bewitched also depicted the advertising profession, and in showing the way the profession conveyed information to the masses, it revealed the public relations component. This series was itself an impressive example of public relations as it was a massive, well-planned and executed, vastly successful, covert campaign. This influential narrative met the dominant coalition’s public relations objectives on both functional and management levels: firstly it resulted in successful sales records; secondly it openly, positively and successfully introduced the advertising profession to Australians. Lastly, the campaign was a brilliant public relations propaganda/press agency model covertly equipped a generation of Australians to deal positively with the chaos of modernity. Until recently – when a new metanarrative was recently installed.

Reference

“Bewitched”. (n.d.). AboutTV. Com Australia. (2011). CBS Entertainment. Retrieved from
http://www.tv.com/bewitched/show/140/summary.html

All About the Bewitched Theme Music. Retrieved from
http://bewitched.net/music.htm

Crawford, R. (2008). But wait, there’s more …: a history of Australian advertising, 1900-
2000. Carlton, Victoria: Melbourne University Publishing.

Social Science Information. (n.d.). Michel Foucault 1971. 10:7
doi:10.1177/05390184710100021.Maison des Sciences de l’Homme. Retrieved from: http://ssi.sagepub.com/content/10/2/7.citation

Hall, J. (2010). CMM1101 Reading Media Texts.ECU tutorial notes. Limited publication.
Available from ECU School of Communications and Arts.

Hall, S. (1986, June). The Problem of Ideology – Marxism without Guarantees. Journal of
Communication Inquiry. Sage Journals Online. June 1986. 10 (2) 28-44
http://sagepub.com/content/10/2/28. doi: 10.1177/019685998601000203

Harrison, K. (2011). Strategic Public Relations: A practical guide to success. South Yarra:
Palgrave Macmillan.

Johnston, J. (2010a). A history of Public Relations on screen; Cinema and television
depictions since the 1930s. The First International History of Public Relations Conference. 8 & 9 July 2010. Bournemouth University.

Johnston, J. (2010b). Girls on Screen: How film and television depict women in public
relations. PRism. 7 (4): http://www.prismjournal.org/fileadmin/Praxis/Files/Gender/Johnston.pdf

Johnston, J. & Zawawi, C. Eds. (2003). Public Relations: Theory and practice. 2nd Ed. Allen & Unwin

Lee, M. (2004). What does Hollywood think nonprofit CEOs do all day? Screen depictions of
NGO management. Public Organisations Review. 27 (3) 157.

The History of Advertising.(2003, 29th. May). Transcript of Episode 17 George Negus
Tonight: Future: History. People. Profiles. http://www.abc.net.au/dimensions/dimensions_future/Transcripts/s867614.htm

Rutzou, D. (2007, 13th November). Unlocking the mystery of public relations: Presentation
by Dennis Rutzou to The Institute of Independent Business National Workshop.
http://www.drpr.com.au/publicrelations/public-relations-company.html

Scott, A. O. (2004, June 30). Film Review. The Corporation (2003): Giving corporations the
Psychoanalytic Treatment. The New York Times.
Movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9FO2E7D81538F933AO5755COA9629C8B63
Tutor: Katie Turton. ​Susanne Harford student No 10043898 March/April 2011​Page 1 of 6

And… I received a “Fail” for all my 2011 thinking, writing, & reflections efforts, herein PRN2120.

The Cultures Didn’t Clash … At Least Not In The Way ‘They’ Wanted….”.

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CMM3115 Global Communications​ ​Assessment 1 Semester 2, 2011
September.
CLASH OF CULTURES

Globalisation is now entrenched in this current era of Australian, Western life. Globalisation already profoundly alters, in countless ways, this democratic society and the lives of many individuals in it. Globalisation carries many good factors, and is often referred to as the age of information, or technological advances. Yet this multi-faceted, now-inevitable way of life is a conflicted age with substantial potential for clashes of culture. That pitential  is directly related to communication difficulties between different components of Australian society – differing groupings of existing inhabitants, and those who are newly-permanent parts of the Australian community. These factors significantly change the Australian society and disturb, for good or bad, the established Australian culture.  Major factors in this clash are the high levels of anxiety and the collapse in communication occurring at various fundamental levels in Australian society today.

Globalisation has for some time been upon the ‘democratic nation’, aka monarchy’s-colony, of Australia, and can now be perceived. Manuel Castells says, beginning in the 1990s, a global construction of “wealth, information and power” became identifiable. Not simply another facet of traditional “domination… [this is] “a new global social structure” (2004, p. xv). Castells says because its structure contains two principal and contradictory characteristics, globalisation is invariably conflicted (2004).
The first characteristic is a multi-faceted “cultural identity” which provides fleeting avenues of protection against the second characteristic of “programmed networks” (Castells, 2004, p. xv). In addition as,  Panizza Allmark explains, a further dimension in this diverse era carries a “time-space compression that… creates cultural tensions and pressures” (CMM3115 lecture notes, 2011).

Also, Johnathan Pickering says “globalisation and culture are multi-centred and heterogeneous in nature” ((2001, p. 47) and Eric Aarons more specifically describes this era as “a profound crisis of sustainability for a planet with seven billion people and growing” (cited by McKnight, 2010, p. 54).

Upon finding themselves in this confusion which is termed globalisation, people naturally seek protection. They search for solutions in their own, known culture – “Australia”.

The existing Australian culture is quite unique and while  Pickering argues “the diversity and vitality …are as great as they have ever been” (p. 56), Jon Stratton talks about the “structural organisation of Australian society” (2009, p. 1). He calls Australian society a “race-based class system where the middle-class has remained predominantly white” (p.1). He classifies Australia as a nation where “Anglo-Celtics… [are] the source of ‘Australian values… and the hegemonic Australian culture’ “(2009, p. 16). These two differing views of Australian society and culture are probably a good representation of its diversity.

In addition, Australia’s populace, and culture continue to diversify ever more rapidly, causing an enormous amount of important factors to impact ever more strongly. For example, Stratton describes “Australian[s’]… history of intense dislike of migration” (2009, p. 2).

He  is interested in why the arrival of modest numbers of “asylum seekers arriving by boat” creates such inordinate levels of community anxiety, and why there is such an emphasis on assimilation (p.1). Stratton seems to consider assimilation as a one-way process yet the arrival of new comers, into any established society, automatically involves numerous, often two-way  processes of assimilation. Broadly: assimilation allows an existing culture to continue to function and  is an imperative if a culture is to dynamically evolve.

On the personal scale, assimilation requires good communication. Stephen Matchett reveals the UN protects the rights of everyone to “seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, either orally, in writing or in print… or though any other media” (p. 20).  Unfortunately, Stratton (2002) does not, in this information age, discuss how a notable lack of effective communication hinders many debates, including migration, in many societies. Including Australia.
Australia is a democracy, but it is a capitalist society. In the now-globalised Australian environment communication has been segmented and shredded by the power of the economic sector. For example, George Megalogenis says “the difference for Australia [now] is the quarry is generating national income while also continuing to hollow out large parts of our economy, and society” (2011, August 27-28, p. 1).

This hollowing out means today in Australia the protection culture can offer its people is limited and uncertain. This is because of globalisation’s economically-driven, or capitalist “programmed networks” (Castells, 2004, p. xv). In Australia these programmed networks include those of communication.

The enormity of these influences, exerted by economic interests, is a major concern to huge sectors of the community, both working and middle-class (Megalogenis, 2011, August 27-28). This, and other concerns, are directly related to the ‘boat-people’ cincerns (above) and how the visa entry system to Australia which is now “employer-driven” (Stratton, 2009, p. 4). The existing community perceive these matters to contain several direct threats to their “cultural identity” and to their associated quality of life.
These concerns directly position “Australian skilled workers within a global market… [which] drives down Australian wages” (Stratton, 2009, p.4). Today “nine-tenths of the local economy is already on the edge of recession” (Megalogenis, 2011, August 27-28).

The average Australian can understand clearly what is happening to his bargaining power; there is only one direction in which his lifestyle is going – and that is down. These are key changes to modern Australian culture, and to the ( industrialised) Australian way of life.

These factors create unremitting pressure throughout the existing Autralian culture, and yet these huge changes are also part of the entire world’s globalisation process, where, Castells says, the governing structures of [all] societ[ies are] undergoing dramatic change (2004). Megalogenis says, in Australia it is a “restructure as profound as the Hawke-Keating-Howard deregulation project of the 80s and 90s” (2011, August 27-28, p. 1).

The Australian image is closely tied to one of strong self-sufficiency. Any reduction in something as fundamental as wages immediately reduces the level of protection Australian “cultural identity” (Castells, 2004) may offer the masses. Little wonder this is making the average Australian so very anxious.
There are many anxieties occurring in Western society now. This is time, according to Eric Aarons, for “every society to reverse the priority capitalism gives to individual betterment and gain and give that priority instead to social needs” (cited by McKnight, 2010, p. 54).

. Globalisation may hold out that promise, but right now, globalisation is causing chaos. Just when social stability is vitally important, many major institutions, previously fundamental cornerstones of democracy, have almost entirely lost credibility with the public (Castells, 2004).
These institutions include government, banks, stock exchange, the housing market, health, education systems and the judiciary (Castells, 2004). Castells’ view is that the conflict identified in globalisation forces culture at all levels to undergo dramatic change (2004).

Pickering calls this a “mixed harvest” for Australia (2001, p. 48). Megalogenis says institutions such as the Australian government do not properly understand the communications problems they are having, and the furore they are creating within the society (2011, August 27-28, p. 1).

Communication dysfunction now in Australia has been examined in other recent media articles. Dennis Shanahan describes as the profound the government “disconnect. [in relation to] the depth of feeling in the electorate” (2011, August 27-28, p. 11). Megalogenis says “this change is bewildering for the community because it is being imposed without our national leadership owning it, let alone explaining where it will take us” (2011, August 27-28, p. 2).

Australian community is reeling because it is currently at the mercy of what Stratton calls “the primacy of the market” (2009, p. 4). During these turbulent changes of globalisation those governing have lost contact, possibly forever, with the governed.
Effective communication between established levels within any society is essential, yet today, regardless of party politics, Australian politicians seem to have lost the art of communicating or “the nature of cultural transmission” (Pickering, 2001, p. 48) with those they are (supposedly) elected to govern.

Megalogenis describes the current situation.
​​A mining boom is an opportunity only if government
understands its role is: to ensure the nine-tenths of the
economy not directly connected to it can still function.
(2011, August 27-28, p. 1).

Substantial further clashes within the culture are possible as nine-tenths of the economy is also nine-tenths of the Australian people – badly hurt by economic globalisation. Individuals now must find and accommodate themselves to, “new ways of living” (Castells, 2004).

Globalisation has the potential to create an Australia “full of confrontations between people, groups, and nations who think, feel and act differently” (Geert Hofstede & Gert JanHofstede, 2005, p. 2). Globalised Australia is changing so rapidly, “the pace… has undoubtedly intensified” (Pickering, 2001, p. 49). If globalisation is “compression of the world… into a ‘single place’” (Robertson cited by Pickering, 2001, p. 48), it is difficult to see how to overcome the substantial levels of individual communication difficulty that will exist.

One example is discussed in a recent article by philosopher Tim Soutphommasane. His subject is virtue, and he investigates whether a common view of this key universal human value is possible. Soutphommansane says “there remains minimal shared understanding… in a society that contains citizens with diverse moral beliefs and practices” (2011, August 27-28, p. 8). Tomlinson says:

​​Cultural transmission involves an interactive
process of negotiation, incorporation and
resistance.. Furthermore, there are many other
aspects of culture that remain highly resistant…
such as language, personal relationships and
religious, ethnic and political affiliations.
(cited by Pickering 2001, p. 51).
Given all these separate stresses and strains, it seems Australians need to quickly become aware of the complications globalisation is imposing and work at developing effective communication methods, and in his analysis there are a number of factors which Stratton does not address.On the street it is evident forces of globalisation now operating within Australia are deeply, quickly and economically negatively affecting many in the the existing society. Pickering says these forces of globalisation “operate… at many levels, including the economic, political, environmental and cultural” (2001, p. 48). This is change with a huge problem – and with such a profound failure of communication comes substantial potential for clashes of culture. Anxiety is heightened today in Australia when the community attempt to express themselves because a large majority of this democracy are either not heard, or not understood.

Reference

Castells, M. (2009). The Information Age: Economy, Society & Culture. Vol.II. The
power of identity. (2nd. Ed). Maldon, USA: Blackwell Publishing.

Hofstede, G. & Hofstede, G. J. (2005). Cultures and Organisations: Software of the
mind. Intercultural Cooperation and its importance for survival. New York: McGraw Hill.

James, J. D. (2010). McDonaldisation, Masala McGospel and Om Economics:
Televangelism in Contemporary India. New Delhi: SAGE Publications India Pvt. Ltd.

Pickering, J. (2001). Globalisation: A threat to Australian culture? Globalisation and
Australian culture. pp. 46-59. Journal of Australian Political Economy No. 48

Matchett, S. (2011, Monday, June 27). Feel free to feast at UN’s internet buffet. The
wry side. A Plus. p. 20. The Australian.

Megalogenis, G. (2011, August 27-28). Changing Gear. Inquirer 1. The Weekend
Australian.

McKnight, D. (2010, Spring) Rethinking Marx, the market and Hayek. pp. 53, 54.
Dissent

McPhail, T. L. (1987). Electronic Colonialism: The future of international
broadcasting and communication. Newbury Park, Calif: Sage Publications, Inc.

McPhail, T. L. (2002). Global Communications: Theories, stakeholders and trends.
Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Shanahan, D. (2011, August 27-28). Labor loses on the left and right. Focus. p. 11.
The Weekend Australian.
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Susanneharford student no 10043898 Tutor:

Aside

CMM113 Week 3. Discursive Pillars

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In Western post-modern/modern society of Australia, Foucault’s model of discourse can be applied. One discursive pillar is provided by Australia’s powerful media. Australian government policy provides a second. The true intent is always hidden.

Foucault said western post-modern society created “discursive formations” to send highly structured, hidden messages to their populace. Hall’s definition of discourse is that which: “represent[s] the West, the Rest, and the relations between them”, and also “a particular kind of knowledge … [which] also limits the other ways in which the topic can be constructed” (Hall cited in Hall & Geiben Eds., 1992, p. 291).

Two media opinions, “School meals go halal in London” (Brown, The Australian, August 6, 2010. p. 11.) from The Times, London, describe firstly, the “forced adoption of foreign [Muslim food laws or ] religious practices” in certain London high-schools. The second, “Veil a relic of repressive culture” (Ali, The West Australian, August 6, 2010. p. 21), is a longer, critical analysis of some Muslim dress, stating: “Philosophically, Islamism is a revolt against modernism” This media creates Foucault’s ‘discursive formation’.

An outline of the writer, Dr Ameer Ali, is provided at the end of the article. The garments are described as:

the burqa and the niqab along with the male turban and long beard

are the representative symbols of this new threat, part of the “Islamist

intrusion… [whose] ultimate objective of establishing an Islamic world

order, [whereby] political Islam promotes the growth of parallel societies

in the West that are excluding Muslims from mixing with others ….

Dr. Ameer Ali is a former head of the Muslim Community Reference Group,

hand-picked after the London bombings to address Islamic extremism

and promote tolerance.

Although Dr. Ali concludes positively by challenging the ‘West’ to rise to the occasion and provide answers, the major tone of the article is ominous and negative.

Both dwell upon the spectre of the “Other” (Hall, 1996, p. 238). Currently Australian government –endorsed Muslim immigration, combined with the arrival of Muslim ‘boat people’, is a major negative form of ‘the Other’. Common collective knowledge includes threats of ‘Other’ to valued nationalist traditions, and associated freedoms. Policy caused conflict between already-established Anglo-Celts, and Italians, Yugoslavs. These were conflicts between Christians. Only small migrant numbers of other religions were allowed. By reporting new ‘Others’ may force change in areas as fundamentally important as freedom of choice – of food – and religion, the media become what Croteau and Hoynes calls “key sites where basic norms are articulated” (2003, p. 163).

Historically Anglo-Celt Australia has accommodated change, but not without anger and fear – and violence. Running important English-opinion at this time – clearly demonstrates the strong Anglo-Colonial power in Australia, but – perhaps since the ‘world global financial crisis, Australia has been sold off: the traditional Anglo-colonial control has changed. No longer the preferred Christian 53rd American state, – now Muslim Saudi Arabian vassal.

Reference:

Ali, A. (Friday, August 6, 2010). Veil a relic of repressive culture: The burqa and niqab are the products of a misogynist and patriarchal tribal system. Opinion: The West Australian. p. 21.

Brown, D. (Friday, August 6, 2010). School meals go halal in London. The Australian. p. World 11.

Croteau, D. & Hoynes, W. (2003). Media Society: Industries, images and audiences. London: Sage

Hall, S. Ed. (1997) Difference: Cultural representations and signifying practices. London: Sage.

  1. Hall, S. & Gieben, B. Eds. (1992). Formations of modernity: The West and the rest: Discourses and power. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Aside

Week3ActivityWENTTOAGARDENPARTY. AUG-SEPT. 2015 IMC STUDY SLH

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SUMMARY:

TASK: WEEK 3 ACTIVITY

 

Weekly Activity

Complete the following activity in your online journal.

Integrated Marketing Communications

1. Think of an event you have attended/been a part of recently.

Analyse the strategic nature of this event in terms of;

a. Target audience
b. Event creative concept
Positioning and Key Message(s) for the event
Objectives of the messaging terms of decision-making stage and
information processing level
Message appeal (rational, emotional)
The impact, credibility and longevity of the medium used

 

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

 

 

SUSANNE LORRAINE HARFORD

PRN2124 OFF-CAMPUS, S2, 2015

MY SET TASK JOURNAL ENTRY NUMBER 4

 

WEEK THREE ACTIVITY

 

Weekly Activity: Complete the following activity in your online journal.

This task, and subject event are considered from the “Integrated Marketing Communications” (IMC) perspective.

 

Think of an event you have attended/been a part of recently.

 

  1. THE EVENT:

An event attended recently and was part of, for the first time, was a small, communal BBQ in Australia.

 

This small annual event has run for about 10 years. It is open to all. Compact, well-designed and colourful invitation notices are posted in local shops, cafes, and bars. High-quality BBQ food, (meat and non-meat) and drink, all typical of the area, are amply provided by one local family. About 70, smart-casually-dressed local people attended this year. They brought with them their children, and a few guests. Some families return for the event and I was the guest of one of those families. Community members personally contribute more food and drink and bring many and diverse, interesting, often home-cooked dishes. The event was held in the elevated front area of a local church, with wonderful stone seating and an excellent view out all over the local area. The event is entirely independent of the church. The event begins at sundown (around 7pm) on a Friday, late-summer. It ends at 10pm sharp, where a small voluntary collection is made – for the church and to cover the cost of cleaning the site, provision of chairs, benches and tables, BBQs, etc.

 

2, Analyse the strategic nature of this event in terms of:

 

  1. Target audience:

 

Primary target audience:

The key target audience – any and every member of the small, local yet ethnically-diverse community.

 

Secondary audiences: Attending local residents’ guests, and their children, are secondary, potentially developing audiences – at each annual stage.

 

 

Strategically this annual event:

  • Demonstrates the community’s cohesiveness.
  • Strengthens a diverse community.
  • Widens familiarity and common understanding within the community.
  • Thanks the community members for the community cohesiveness.

 

  1. Event creative concept:

 

“Strength in our endurance and diversity”

 

 

Positioning: This annual event:

  • is open to all community members
  • has no economic agenda its position in society continues to be unique
  • is not linked to profit and power so its position is unchallenged

 

 

Key Messages are:

 

  • annual “Thank YOU” event – to ALL community members for their support of their common community
  • annual demonstration of communal cohesiveness, understanding and appreciation

 

 

 

Key Objective: to strengthen and consolidate the local community, to make new community members welcome and part of that community.

 

 

Messaging Terms: The terms of communication were transparent, simple, with no hidden agenda/s.

 

This event exemplifies the power of common endevour:

 

  • a pleasantly-anticipated, rhythmic, local annual event reinforces bonds within an ethnically-diverse local community

 

  • a further expansion and development of many existing strong and useful bonds within a diverse local community

 

Decision-Making:

Decision-making is organic, as:

after 10 years of successful non-profit-linked operation this event is

  • voluntary
  • effective
  • established
  • on-going
  • changes are gradual
  • about 99% of labour required is unpaid

 

 

Information-processing: The information in the event message can be easily processed – as it is simple, successful and transparent. No hidden agendas.

 

Message Appeal:

 

  • Rational: The primarily family-member comprised target audience finds this event-message rational as it already works effectively to strengthen their community.

 

  • The community members relate to the event message at it works to create and develop strength, familiarity and understanding within their community.

 

Message impact

  • As an impartial visitor/observer, the event was extremely enjoyable. I met many interesting people I probably would never have otherwise. So the event had a positive, immediate impact on me.
  • In addition, the event was powerful: I have since met and spent time with several individuals I met at that event. So it has (already) had longer-term positive effects on me.

 

  • Long-term impacts were easy to observe in others, for example when listenting to much verbal positive reinforcement before, during and post-event.

 

  • That some community members structure, or break their holidays to attend also demonstrates the event’s attraction and power.

Message credibility and longevity:

  • The event’s credibility is evident in:
    • Its durability

 

Message awareness/call-to-action:

  • The number of participants
  • The immediate and longer-term results I experienced and observed
  • The willingness of volunteer participants
  • The good-will evident amongst the diverse community members
  • New types of community members participating

 

Message medium used:

 

  • The event itself
    • Face-to-face
    • the lead-up, actual event, and the post-event WOM
    • new connections
    • reinforce old connections

 

  • The use of product placement
    • Personal experiences of
    • local produce
    • local cuisines

 

END

 

 

 

 

 

 

SUMMARY:

 

This type of “non-economic/marketing”-based event or communication is indeed a modest style of IMC. It uses various communication items – like word-of-mouth, printed advertisement, buying power, the actual event, and the pre, in-event and post-event discussion, analysis and oral records, where goodwill is conveyed and reinforced. However, this event has little need to exhaustively gather information, nor to analyse it, as there are no “targets” in the audience (Masterman & Woods, 2006, p. 34).

 

The size of the target audience is easy to obtain from the local rate-payer register and as such is finite, given a 10/15% contingency, which should always be taken into account in any case.

 

Because of the target audience, the nature of the event and what it communicates (the types of local produce available) the gathering of large amounts of internal and external data is really counter-productive, as there is no one available to analyse it or reflect upon it. This is because here there is no “challenge in research and analysis” as audience demographic sub-groups are not particularly relevant. Word-of-mouth generated-information is generally sufficient to run such an event in a small community like this one, as it is simple to “get the information” needed when needed (Masterman / Woods, 2006, p. 34).

 

 

 

Although the target-audience

SMART:

 

SWOT:

Many strengths:

Annual date set well in advance so the venue is available.

The date is known by the community.

Event creates communal goodwill.

Event uses voluntary communal effort involving many parties.

There is positive and strong anticipation of the event.

There are positive, first-hand recollections and good memories of this event over the years. This community’s diverse children grow up experiencing this event.

 

There were few weaknesses: possibly some type of physical accident – as the area is high and the path steep and not very well lit.

 

Opportunities were many: the guests were from all walks of life. They mingled freely and introduced each other. The community members brought guests they also introduced to others. Their children mixed. Traditional foods and drinks produced locally were discussed and appreciated.

 

Threats were also few: the potential for inclement weather as the event is held in the open, possibly some unpleasant party might attend.

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