Accounting for quality: arts evaluation,public value and the case of “Culture counts”

Arts policy has a longstanding relationship with the concept of “quality” and the ways in which organisations measure, evaluate and account for it. Culture Counts, an evaluation system and digital platform, compiles data from standardised evaluation surveys of different stakeholder groups – organisations, audiences, critics, funders and peers – and provides the means to compare and triangulate data in an accessible format. As a result, it claims to provide a more effective, democratic tool for quality measurement of art, which demonstrates the public value of funding [Department of Culture and the Arts, & Knell, J. (2014). Public value measurement framework: Measuring the quality of the arts. Perth: Department of Culture and the Arts.]. Through qualitative research with two consortia of organisations involved in Culture Counts pilot projects in Manchester, England and Victoria, Australia, we explore these claims, comparing the reception and promotion of the system in both countries and considering its potential incorporation into policy assessment frameworks and adoption within arts organisations’ existing evaluation capacities.     

Learning during tourism: the experience of learning from the tourist's perspective

The purpose of the research described in the paper was to explore the learning experience that occurs during leisure tourism from the tourist's perspective. Learning throughout the lifespan occurs in diverse contexts and travel presents a unique learning environment enabling both unplanned and planned opportunities. The Husserlian phenomenology presented here involved in-depth interviews with 10 recent tourists and revealed the following 6 qualities of the tourism learning experience: contrast, freedom and flexibility, fun and engagement, authentication, reflection and exploration. The results of the study are discussed in relation to learning, leisure and tourism concepts. Future directions for research are presented.     

The making of Mark Rothko's Harvard Murals

Mark Rothko's Harvard Murals are a series of paintings on canvas commissioned by Harvard University and created in the early 1960s. The present study investigates Rothko's creative process, materials, and technique with ultraviolet and infrared imaging, analytical chemistry, cross-sectional analysis, and comparisons with the literature. Infrared and Raman spectroscopy imaging of cross sections help with the chemical mapping of the paint stratifications. A comparison of paper studies, studies on canvas, and the final five works installed give a detailed insight into Rothko's editing process. The intimate relationship between works on paper and canvas is traced by uncovering a back and forth between the two media, and the mixing of dry pigment with binder is a common theme for works on both supports. Motif developments, changes, and distinct painting campaigns become apparent with ultraviolet induced visible fluorescence imaging and infrared reflected infrared digital photography. Color measurements and microfading experiments give insight into the stability and light sensitivity of the materials used by Rothko in the Harvard Murals.     

Teaching English language learner students in US mainstream schools: intersections of language,pedagogy, and power

This study explored to what extent two groups of mainstream teachers in the Midwestern region of the USA with differing degrees of English language learner‐specific university preparation reportedly engaged in practices that incorporated the native languages of English language learner students in instruction. The study further examined specific strategies reported by mainstream teachers in promoting native language use in instruction as well as challenges identified in implementing this practice. The study used a mixed‐method design that included analyses of survey data from a quantitative study (n = 227) and qualitative analyses of teacher discourse from course documents and open‐ended survey questions. Findings indicated that while both groups of teachers reportedly engaged in practices that promoted native language use in instruction to some extent, teachers with at least three courses of English language learner‐specific university preparation appeared to engage in these practices to a much greater extent than those without such preparation. This paper explores the implications of results from this study for teacher education programmes in the USA with the responsibility of preparing teachers effectively to serve growing numbers of culturally and linguistically diverse student populations.     

Challenges in theorising ‘Black middle‐class’ women: education,experience and authenticity

This viewpoint draws on discussions at two seminars to consider ambivalent attitudes amongst a group of Black women towards considering themselves and/or other Black people as ‘middle class’. The first seminar highlighted the experiences of a group of Black ‘middle‐class’ parents and the second, which was organised as a result of the reaction the first seminar received, sought to explore attendees views as to whether they thought Black people could be Black and ‘middle class’. The viewpoint contends that the concept ‘Black middle class’ is incompatible with some Black women’s notions of self, and that their ambivalence about the ‘Black middle classes’ is partly rooted in an emotional need to remain connected to the wider Black community. Whilst these women’s understandings of the ‘Black middle classes’ are informed by their gendered and racialised experiences, there is also evidence of a denial of (class) privilege.     

Aerobic training but no resistance training increases SIRT3 in skeletal muscle of sedentary obese male adolescents

In recent years, prevalence of obesity in children and adolescents has increased. A strategy for prevention and management of obesity is aerobic training (AT) due to its effectiveness to decrease fat mass. AT increases the content of SIRT3, a mitochondrial protein that increases the expression of PGC-1α and NFR1, thereby enhances mitochondrial function and metabolic health. Resistance training (RT) provides metabolic benefits but its effect on SIRT3 content is unknown. To compare the effect of AT and RT on SIRT3, PGC-1α and NRF-1 protein levels in skeletal muscle of sedentary obese adolescents. Twenty-seven sedentary obese male adolescents (age: 16.7?±?0.9 years; BMI: 33.7?±?4.3?kg/m²) completed a 1-month control period prior to randomization to one of two supervised exercise protocols: AT (3 days/week, 40 min/day, 70–80% peak heart rate) or RT (3 days/week, 11 exercises, 2 sets/exercise, 12 repetitions/set) for 12 weeks. Biopsies were obtained from the vastus lateralis muscle before and after 12 weeks to analyse SIRT3, PGC-1α and NRF-1 proteins content. Peak oxygen consumption (VO_2peak) and anthropometric variables were evaluated before and after training. AT increased SIRT3 content, which was associated with improvements in PGC-1α content and body fat percentage. RT did not affect SIRT3 or PGC-1α. VO_2peak increased only in AT. The increase in muscle mitochondrial SIRT3 was observed only following AT. In contrast, RT increased muscle mass without improving SIRT3 in obese male adolescents.     

Consistency in teachers’ judgments

Professional teachers at first stage of secondary school were asked to assess the relative weights of five dimensions that in Italy must be considered when the final grades of students are decided. The teachers were also asked to give an overall evaluation of two samples of typical (i.e., students who record similar performances on all the dimensions) vs. atypical students (i.e., students who exhibit poor performance on at least one dimension and good or excellent performances on the others). The results show that the teachers shared a weighting scheme for assessment of the importance of the five dimensions. However, their overall evaluations were consistent with this weighting scheme only with reference to typical students. When the teachers evaluated atypical students, their judgements were highly inconsistent. The paper briefly discusses the implications of these findings.