"This book explores and presents research that centers on the historical, political, sociological, and economic factors that engender global inequities"--Provided by publisher.

A group of New Zealand's leading cultural studies scholars provide their perspectives on the politics of display in this thought-provoking collection of essays. Philip Armstrong, Roger Blackley, Kyla McFarlane, Annie Potts, and Paul Williams, among others, showcase their thinking about cultural activities--looking and showing, viewing and arranging--that are deeply embedded in ideology. From the antique plaster casts held by Auckland Museum to the wild foods on New Zealand's West Coast, the essays pursue a variety of trajectories on how New Zealanders display themselves and what they profess and contest in their collective representations.

Culture and Public Relations explores the impact of culture – societal and organizational – through the global lens of public relations. Structuring the volume around three themes -- culture as an environment for public relations; the culture of PR globally; and the impact of PR on culture -- the editors bring together compelling discussions on such questions as how spirituality, religion, and culture have affected public relations, and how public relations culture has been affected by the "corporate cultures" of business enterprises. Additionally, the volume provides studies on the effect of culture on public relations practice in specific countries. With contributors from Europe, Asia, Australia, and North America, this collection offers international perspectives on a topic that is growing increasingly important in public relations study and practice. It is required reading for scholars, researchers, and students in public relations and also has much to offer the business discipline, for those seeking to integrate culture and communication to their practices.

The Queensland Art Gallery presents UNNERVED: THE NEW ZEALAND PROJECT, the second in a series of country-specific exhibition projects focusing on its contemporary collections. Since the 1990s, the Gallery's holdings of contemporary work from New Zealand have grown rapidly, partly through increased awareness and interest in the Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art exhibitions. UNNERVED, and its accompanying publication, explores a particularly rich dark vein that recurs in New Zealand contemporary art and cinema. Psychological or physical unease pervades many works in the exhibition, with humour, parody and poetic subtlety among the strategies used by artists across generations and genres. Major sculptures by Michael Parekowhai, installations by Lisa Reihana and Michael Stevenson and photographic series by Yvonne Todd, Anne Noble and Greg Semu feature alongside video art by Sriwhana Spong and Nathan Pohio. The exhibition is accompanied by the film program, New Zealand Noir.

Place: Local Knowledge and New Media Practice explores tensions between global cosmopolitanism and local practices in the new media environment. This edited collection of work by practitioners and scholars emphasises political issues raised by artists working in an indigenous cultural setting. Indigenous epistemologies provide sophisticated structures for negotiating belonging among communities who may become widely dispersed from their homelands. New media, by contrast, demonstrates biases toward the the dislocated: a cosmopolitanism implicitly located in the urban, where communities form and fragment in “virtual” environments. Nonetheless, questions of belonging and identification remain for those of us who use new media networks. Through analysis of a range of contemporary art and film projects, and tracking recent developments in cultural theory, the book provides diverse perspectives on how long-held attachments to place are transforming in the new media context.

'The creation of new science requires moving beyond simply understanding one another's perspectives. We need to find transformative spaces for knowledge exchange and progress.' Māori have a long history of innovation based on mātauranga and tikanga – the knowledge and values passed down from ancestors. Yet Western science has routinely failed to acknowledge the contribution of Indigenous peoples and their vital worldviews. Drawing on the experiences of researchers and scientists from diverse backgrounds, this book raises two important questions. What contribution can mātauranga make to addressing grand challenges facing New Zealand and the world? And in turn, how can Western science and technology contribute to the wellbeing of Māori people and lands?

Only a decade ago, the notion that museums, galleries and heritage organisations might engage in activist practice, with explicit intent to act upon inequalities, injustices and environmental crises, was met with scepticism and often derision. Seeking to purposefully bring about social change was viewed by many within and beyond the museum community as inappropriately political and antithetical to fundamental professional values. Today, although the idea remains controversial, the way we think about the roles and responsibilities of museums as knowledge based, social institutions is changing. Museum Activism examines the increasing significance of this activist trend in thinking and practice. At this crucial time in the evolution of museum thinking and practice, this ground-breaking volume brings together more than fifty contributors working across six continents to explore, analyse and critically reflect upon the museum’s relationship to activism. Including contributions from practitioners, artists, activists and researchers, this wide-ranging examination of new and divergent expressions of the inherent power of museums as forces for good, and as activists in civil society, aims to encourage further experimentation and enrich the debate in this nascent and uncertain field of museum practice. Museum Activism elucidates the largely untapped potential for museums as key intellectual and civic resources to address inequalities, injustice and environmental challenges. This makes the book essential reading for scholars and students of museum and heritage studies, gallery studies, arts and heritage management, and politics. It will be a source of inspiration to museum practitioners and museum leaders around the globe.