Aim. Although cultural dimensions theory is a topical strand of quantitative cultural research, few intercultural simulation games use it. We present the design and review of the application of OASISTAN, an intercultural role-playing simulation game that is specifically based on cultural dimensions theory. Method. OASISTAN was first designed in 1999 for use in Master’s courses on cross-cultural management at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, attracting 20-23 year old students with a Bachelor degree in engineering and from various cultural backgrounds. Since its first design the game has been played approximately 45 times at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands and three times at Harbin Institute of Technology in China in the years 2006-2008. We reviewed their experiences designing and facilitating OASISTAN since 1999. Results. The game has a no-tech role-play design and revolves around the geopolitically complex region of the Caspian Sea, specifically the fictional country of ‘Oasistan’. The game consists of students forming small teams of Oasistani, Western and non-Western public/private actors collaborating with each other to try and reach the common goal of oil exploration and production in this country. In total 15-30 students were involved. We found that OASISTAN allowed its players not only to intensely experience the difficulty and awkwardness of being confronted with cultural differences, but also to interpret and understand these differences through cultural dimensions. Students who played OASISTAN identified ten out of the 12 dimensions by Maleki and De Jong. The two dimensions that students were not able to identify are uncertainty avoidance and collaborativeness. Conclusion. OASISTAN shows how a game design field (i.e., intercultural simulation gaming) can be reinvigorated in light of new or updated scientific theories pertaining to the field’s subject matter (i.e., cultural dimensions). Several opportunities for future research are identified.
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In this chapter, seven intercultural teaching experiences are contextualised by using the Hofstede (2011) model on cultural dimensions. The experiences are from Australia, China, France, Germany, Russia, India and Thailand. They are analysed using Hofstede’s four cultural dimensions of Power Distance, Individualism, Masculinity, and Uncertainty Avoidance. The results show that stereotypical behaviour in the teacher-student interaction is confirmed, but is also refuted in numerous instances and across the dimensions. The described cases also cover interactions between the guest lecturer and staff of the hosting universities in the seven countries. This anecdotal evidence shows more commonality with the Hofstede model than the teacher-student relationships do. Using Hofstede’s model to prepare for and carry out international guest lectures remains a useful tool. It is advised to keep an open mind and not take stereotypical behaviour for granted
The cultural tourism market has diversified and fragmented into many different niches. Previous attempts to segment cultural tourists have been largely unidimensional, failing to capture the complexity of cultural production and consumption. We employ multiple correspondence analysis to visualize the relationship between cultural consumers and attractions in a large data set (n = 12,905). This indicates that two dimensions describing the ranges between 'static' and 'dynamic' attractions and 'high-brow' and 'low brow' culture effectively discriminate different groups of arts and heritage tourists. The holiday structure itself seems to provide a context that influences the cultural consumption of actors. Thus higher levels of cultural capital are related to more accessible forms of culture, contrary to theoretical expectations. There is also evidence of the development of a cultural tourism 'travel career' with more dynamic cultural forms being characteristic of younger tourists and more high brow and static forms of culture being consumed in later life by those with higher levels of cultural capital.
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PRICCAPractice (Photographic Research in Cross-disciplinary and Cross-cultural Artistic Practices) is an online platform aimed at the artistic research practices of artists, designers and photographers into the status of photography in our society. The focus lies on newly developed methods concerning photography as part of an interdisciplinary artistic (and critical) research practice. PRICCAPractice’s objective is to examine how photography as a means of research can make reality visible again, and wants to investigate various photographic dimensions of reality in images that are not merely representations but also a commentary on photography itself and that, at the same time, explore the narrative and communicative possibilities and limitations of the photographic image. We are looking for artistic research practices in which a new, authentic relationship between the photographic image and reality will be researched. Our aim is to give photography a new position within art education and the artistic practice. Next to photography’s representational power we want to focus on its numerous research possibilities.
