The Role of Competition in the Rise of Baroque and Renaissance Music

Section 1 introduces the hypothesis that competition among neighboring states may favor cultural innovation, and it surveys the available quantitative evidence. Section 2 starts from the assumption that European instrumental music had its breakthrough during the Baroque era and that the most famous composers came from the two countries characterized by the highest degree of political fragmentation: Italy and Germany. It suggests that political fragmentation has promoted musical composition and performance in several ways. The average duration of employment is proposed as a proxy for competition on the demand side. Section 3 shows that the most famous Italian and German composers of the Baroque period changed their employers significantly more often than their French and British counterparts did. Moreover, the Reformation led to musical competition between the Catholic and Protestant churches. Section 4 argues that competition for composers has also been important in other periods of European history – including competition between the Church and the courts. It shows that composers moved no less in the Renaissance than in the Baroque. Section 5 raises the question whether European music may also be said to express a competitive spirit. JEL classification: Z11     

The Dynamics of Chart Success in the U.K. Pre-Recorded Popular Music Industry

In this paper we investigate the dynamics of chartsuccess in the U.K. pre-recorded popular music industryover the period 1980 to 1993 using the British albumchart listings. We find that the incidence of chartsuccess is substantially skewed to the right, whethermeasured by total weeks spent per artist, averageweeks spent per album, or the total number of albumslisted per artist. We subsequently investigatepossible determinants of the length of chart survivalof albums in order to determine what may be drivingthe observed skewness. Our results indicate that thetype of album, seasonal demand, and initial popularityplay an important role in ensuring continued chartlisting of an album.     

Quality in the Performing Arts: Aggregating and Rationalizing Expert Opinion

The article is concerned with the issue of quality in drama, opera, and ballet, respectively. Relying on data from an expert opinion survey and from the statistical yearbook on theatres in Germany, the problem is addressed to what extent quality is linked to certain economic variables. After appropriately aggregating the ordinal expert judgments while controlling for expert-specific standards it is shown that this link is considerably closer for ballet and opera than for drama. Furthermore, in all three art forms positive but decreasing marginal returns of artistic expenses in terms of quality prevail.     

The editorial playlist as container technology: on Spotify and the logistical role of digital music packages

ABSTRACT

This article explores the role of editorial playlists in Spotify’s streaming economy. In particular, it approaches Spotify’s playlists as container technologies – i.e. technical solutions that assemble, preserve, and transport music objects and thereby uphold logistical operations within the music industry. Such an approach seeks to complement previous research concerning playlists, which has often analyzed their emotional and affective dimensions but paid less attention to how playlists enhance calculative, mathematical, and logistical retail flows within the online music economy. On the one hand, the article considers how playlists – like containers in general – materialize principles of modularization and automation in ways that enhance control and remote oversight. On the other hand, it discusses how the playlist is far from a perfected means of measurement and control, and sometimes acts as an unruly transport device. Ultimately, the article shows how the playlist format occupies an uneasy position between order and disorder within the digital music economy which has not yet been fully accounted for in the context of music-oriented media studies.     

Identity Mobilization Practices of Refugees: The Case of Iraqis in the United States and the War in Iraq

Abstract

This study illustrates the narrative construction of diasporic refugee identities in times of sociopolitical tensions. Specifically, this paper is concerned with how Iraqi refugees living in the United States constituted their identities through narrating in times of the War in Iraq. Gergen's social constructionist approach towards narrating and current theorizing in diaspora studies build the theoretical bases for the analysis. Narratives were collected through participant observations, interviews, and group discussion in the Pacific Northwest of the United States before, during, and after combat operations in Iraq were declared to be over by President Bush. The paper answers three questions. First, which events triggered the construction of Iraqi refugee identities in the United States? Second, what is the role of narrating in constituting Iraqi identities? Third, do the Iraqi narrators construct diasporic imaginations and if so, how? The findings show that the narrative construction of being Iraqi and a refugee was a relational achievement and situated response. The respondents constructed imaginations of transnational communities that included Iraqis in Iraq, Iraqis in refugee camps, and Iraqis in the United States. By integrating their emerging political voices in the United States with their political resistor identities in Iraq, the narrators made salient transnational links between being Iraqi, a displaced person, and a member of U.S. society, disrupted political discourses about Iraqis in the United States, and affirmed moral values.     

Coordination in the Science System: Theoretical Framework and a Case Study of an Intermediary Organization

Many science systems are witnessing the rise of intermediary organizations with a coordinating mission, but to date a systematic understanding of their function and effects is lacking. The aim of this paper is to contribute to the understanding of the coordinating efforts of intermediary organizations. Starting from the definition of coordination as the establishment or strengthening of a relationship among the activities in a system, with the aim to enhance their common effectiveness, I develop a heuristic framework that facilitates the systematic analysis of coordination in science. I illustrate and substantiate my framework with the empirical case study of a Dutch coordination task force in the area of chemical technologies. Thanks to the framework I could disentangle a number of functions that this task force fulfils concerning research programming, funding allocation and supporting interactions and collaborations. This approach enabled me to systematically analyse a very heterogeneous set of processes that each deserve to be called coordination. The analysis yields a clear overview of eight coordination processes that are each described in terms of activities, intervention, relationships, mechanisms and performance. I conclude my paper with suggestions for further research on coordination in the science system.     

The buy-out/property right share choice in film financing: Financial rationing,adverse selection and the bayesian dilemma

Reduced state support of film financing in Europe requires the creation of an efficient market of private cinema financiers. Principal-agent models with and without common consent over film risk show that the two main problems of film financing (high risk and lack of collateral for the borrower) may be solved if the financier achieves economies of scale in costs of capital and is efficient in information gathering. Conversely, the pathology of a market with inefficient financiers includes: film financial rationing, adverse selection, and refusal of financial support to otherwise profitable film projects. From the normative point of view, the creation of efficient financiers would be fostered by institutional changes that promote market thickening and risk spreading (the case of the USA) instead of simple forms of risk shifting (the case of Italy).     

Mode 2 and the Tension Between Excellence and Utility: The Case of a Policy-Relevant Research Field in Sweden

This paper investigates the impact of changing science policy doctrines on the development of an academic field, working life research. Working life research is an interdisciplinary field of study in which researchers and stakeholders collaborated to produce relevant knowledge. The development of the field, we argue, was both facilitated and justified by the, at the time dominant, science policy orthodoxy in Sweden, sector research. Sector research science policy doctrine favoured stakeholder-driven research agendas in the fields relevant to the sector. This approach to agenda setting was highly contested by Swedish universities and left scientists vulnerable to the fallout from any conflicts arising among the stakeholder groupings that were part of the governance arrangement. Our case shows that working life research was in part a victim of the struggle between science and policy over who sets the agenda for science in Sweden. In this struggle, each side chose to use ‘scientific quality’ as a proxy for furth ing its respective interests and visions for how science should be governed. The paper argues that this case is of interest to the continued elaboration of the Mode 2 thesis and the debate about ‘relevant science’. We find that the close association with stakeholders and the concomitant dependence it created left working life research unable to defend itself against its critics and that this state of affairs was particularly problematic for social science research on working life.     

Postdoctoral Life Scientists and Supervision Work in the Contemporary University: A Case Study of Changes in the Cultural Norms of Science

This paper explores the ways in which postdoctoral life scientists engage in supervision work in academic institutions in Austria. Reward systems and career conditions in academic institutions in most European and other OECD countries have changed significantly during the last two decades. While an increasing focus is put on evaluating research performances, little reward is attached to excellent performances in mentoring and advising students. Postdoctoral scientists mostly inhabit fragile institutional positions and experience harsh competition, as the number of available senior positions is small compared to that of young scientists striving for an academic career. To prevail in this competition, publications and mobility are key. Educational work is rarely rewarded. Nevertheless, postdocs play a key role in educating PhD students, as overburdened senior scientists often pass on practical supervision duties to their postdoctoral fellows. This paper shows how under these conditions, postdocs reframe the students they supervise as potential resources for co-authored publications. What might look like a mutually beneficial solution at a first glance, in practice implies the subordination of the values of education to the logic of production, which marginalizes spaces primarily devoted to education. The author argues that conflicts like this are indicative of broader changes in the cultural norms of science and academic citizenship, rendering community-oriented tasks such as education work less attractive to academic scientists. Since education and supervision work are central cornerstones of any functioning higher education and research system, this could have negative repercussions for the long-term development of academic institutions.     

郊区化进程中城市功能空间演变 ——以上海为例

在郊区化背景下,以上海为例,利用网络开放数据与统计年鉴数据探究工业、居住、商业三类城市功能空间的郊区化轨迹.研究发现,上海经历了工业郊区化引领、城市蔓延的郊区化、多中心发展的成熟郊区化3个阶段.郊区化模式的渐进发展带来了城市功能空间复杂性演化,郊区由单一产业导向的生产空间向工业、居住、商业多要素互动的综合城区转型,进而...     

Contingent Valuation and Semiparametric Methods: A Case Study of the National Museum of Sculpture in Valladolid, Spain

Research on cultural economics is very interested in the economic valuation of non-market goods, particularly in the field ofcultural heritage where contingent valuation techniques are currently being used with both parametric and non-parametric statistical methods to estimate the willingness to pay for cultural goods. In the literature analysed, the number of studies using semiparametric methods, however, is very limited. Our analysis is intended to help fill this gap by offering a parametric, non-parametric and semiparametric economic valuation of the National Museum of Sculpture (Museo Nacional de Escultura), located in Valladolid,Spain. In addition, we also gain insight on a controversial issue affecting most European museums, particularly those located in Latin countries: the role voluntary donations might play in the funding of public museums.     

城市夜间休闲服务水平与活力度匹配分析 ——以南京市为例

城市夜间经济的良性发展是体现城市活力以及实现"双循环"的重要支撑.基于百度POI和百度热力值数据,采用耦合-协调模型、核密度分析法,以南京市为例,进行城市夜间休闲服务水平与活力度的匹配分析,研究发现:(1)南京市夜间休闲服务水平呈现"中心高外围低"的分布格局,由中心到外围,夜间休闲场所的高密度区面积逐渐变小、分布逐渐分...     

名城名校的文化教育社区综合体实践研究--以清华大学“苏世民学者项目(书院)”为例

在信息技术和现代社交网络转型的社会背景下,具有悠久历史文脉的著名大学已成为所在名城的文化遗产和景观资源。新时代的教育模式正转型为文化教育社区。提炼了国内外高等教育新的理论实践,以清华大学"苏世民书院"为研究对象,探讨文化教育综合体设计实践思路,即新型社交生态系统的文教社区模式。     

The Economics of Monomedia and Cross-Media Expansion: A Study of the Case Favouring Deregulation of TV and Newspaper Ownership in the U.K.

Since the early 1990s, regulators across the globehave faced increasing pressure from media firms toliberalise domestic media and cross-media ownershiprestrictions. Based on empirical research carried outin the U.K., this paper examines the ``economic' case putforward in favour of deregulation. Findings suggestthat, although factors other than size will affectperformance, there is generally a strong and positivecorrelation between the market share and the operatingprofitability of firms involved in either televisionor radio broadcasting or newspaperpublishing. But, with regard to cross-media ownershipof television and newspapers, there is nocompelling evidence that diagonal integration bringsabout inherent synergies, economies of scope or othereconomic benefits. Thus, whereas a variety ofeconomic efficiency gains may be available to justifya relaxation of restrictions over monomedia expansion,few such benefits can be found in support ofderegulating cross-ownership of television andnewspapers.     

山地城市更新改造策略研究——以贵阳市老城区为例

我国城市发展已由增量时代转向存量时代,山地城市存量空间更新、激活是实现城市可持续发展的关键。在长期发展的过程中,山地城市遗留了大量密度高、环境差的老旧小区、棚户区,以及低效闲置用地,这些空间与人民日益增长的美好生活需求相背离,亟需更新改造。以贵阳市老城区(云岩区、南明区)为研究实例,探究山地城市更新改造策略。首先摸清贵阳市老城区城市更新底数,并总结老城区目前更新存在的困境,然后针对性地提出分区引导、容量控制、分类实施、政策保障的更新策略,最后提炼出几点适用于山地城市更新的策略。     

基于数字技术的历史街区空间更新与文化价值活化设计 ——以南京南捕厅历史街区为例

以南京市南捕厅历史街区为例,通过综合运用三维地理信息系统、多元异构时空数据分析、历史信息比对等技术手段,展示了复合历史空间导向的数字化保护与更新实践.通过无人机倾斜摄影测量技术,对历史街区的大场景进行纹理数据采集,构建整个历史街区的三维数据模型.在历史研究的基础上,为历史街区更新构建合理的历史空间形态框架,并对历史街巷...     

White America's Construction of Black Bodies: The Case of Ron Artest as a Model of Covert Racial Ideology in the NBA's Discourse

Abstract

Hybridization scholars have shown that the implosion of culture in response to globalization has led nations to feel threatened and thus reclaim their cultural differences. Nouvelle Star, the French version of American Idol, is a powerful representation of this process. The global format which emphasized popularity and emotions was rejected to showcase traits considered to be distinctly French: intellectualism and musical taste. By exploring the franchise's history and analyzing Nouvelle Star's episodes and audience responses, this paper describes how global similarities and national differences were produced in a movement of cultural hybridization.     

The Opposition between Two Models of Labour Market Adjustment: The Case of Audiovisual and Performing Arts Activities in France and Great Britain over a Ten Year Period

The growth of employment in audiovisual andperforming arts activities during a ten year period(1981–1992) in France and in Great Britain was theresult of a double tendency: An increasing number ofindividuals with cultural occupations working incultural industries and structural changes in thelabour market (more flexible workforce, increasingfragmentation of work opportunities). Qualitativedifferences emerged between both countries, leading totwo different forms of flexibility. Full timeemployment decreased in France, while it increased inGreat Britain with, during the same period, aconsiderable growth of self-employment.This paper explores different hypotheses forexplaining such a divergence. It concedes that thestrategies of organisations, and especially the risingnumber of adhocracies (according to Mintzberg'stypology) rather the choices of workers trying tooptimise their earnings were responsible. Publicpolicies played also a central role. In Great Britainthe Enterprise Allowance Scheme, and in France, thespecific Social Security benefit for artistscontributed to the increase in self employment in thefirst case, and in temporary employment in the othercase.     

Comparative projects and the limits of choice: ethnography and microfinance in India and Paraguay

In recent years, microfinance – the suite of financial products offered to the poor – has been widely adopted in international development policy. Organizations around the world have replicated this model successfully. This essay takes the comparative case more explicitly to read against the tendency to understand microfinance as the globally institutionalized and realized norm, and local unruly credit economies as the exception. We go beyond comparing credit in India and Paraguay in order to illustrate how comparison is actually central to the banking practices of microfinance. Moreover, it is the collaborative anthropological project that helps to show this, allowing not only for empirical grounds of comparison, but also raising theoretical and methodological questions of comparison itself. In juxtaposing microfinance in our two fieldsites, we find that as credit proliferates globally, so do the comparative projects both of borrowers and lenders in the disparate worlds of Kolkata and Ciudad del Este. At the same time, these were constrained by the global financial comparisons between countries made by investors. Ethnographic methods are vital for understanding how microfinance becomes part of a wider repertoire of financial strategies used by women while simultaneously offering the grounds for women to undertake their own acts of comparison.     

Perceptions of police-civilian encounters: Intergroup and communication dimensions in the United Arab Emirates and the USA

This study investigates the impact of perceived police accommodation on police–civilian interactions. Elaborating theoretically beyond a range of cross-cultural studies, we examine the cultural impact of accommodative communication in the United Arab Emirates and the USA, as the prior context demonstrates sociocultural parallels and differences including the influence of Sharia law. Between-country comparisons evaluate the mediating role of trust, affect, and intergroup orientation on various civic outcomes. Accommodative communication was the strongest predictor of trust for both nations and demonstrated a direct impact on moral alignment and willingness to help only in the United Arab Emirates.