Conservation of stained glass windows with protective glazing: Main results from the European VIDRIO research programme

The methodology of protecting the European stained glass windows against environmental risk (e.g. meteorological factors, air pollution, microorganisms) by means of an external glazing is not new. In spite of many scientific studies carried out in the last 20 years, some questions were still up for discussion. The European VIDRIO (2002–2005) project gave an answer to these questions. The research carried out by the different project partners established a new multidisciplinary approach aimed at evaluating the efficiency of the protective glazing systems and their effects on stained glass windows conservation, and finally at assessing the most appropriate strategy to preserve stained glass windows. Scientific results showed that the so-called isothermal glazing (i.e. ventilation by the air coming from the inside of the building) protected efficiently the ancient stained glass window from environmental attack (i.e. rain, pollutants, condensation, thermal shocks) with very limited secondary effects. The scientific research highlighted that its efficiency was strongly related to the technical design of the protective system. In particular, the ventilation and the size of the interspace had to be carefully considered. The research developed within the VIDRIO project was turned into general recommendations to the owners and practitioners on the best practice for the stained glass windows future conservation.     

Attitudes of the cultural tourist: a latent segmentation approach

As a result of globalization, the widespread use of ICTs, and advances in transport infrastructure, tourism destinations have to confront an increasingly competitive setting. When to this one adds the saturation of some of the original markets, the consolidation of traditional coastal destinations, and changes in client preferences and habits, it is not surprising that cultural tourism is being seen as having considerable growth potential over the next few years. In this context, policy-makers have been striving to better understand the cultural tourism market by attempting to segment their clients so as to adapt their offer to the client’s needs and leave the client satisfied with the experience. Unfortunately, most studies on cultural tourism segmentation have been purely psychographic. While this can help to explain attitudes, it fails to identify, access, and quantify segments, and is of little use for implementing specific strategies. The aim of the present work was to study the influence of socioeconomic and demographic variables (age, academic level, expenditure on tourism, inter alia) on the predisposition to choose cultural tourism (the “culturophile tourist”). To this end, we have developed a novel methodological approach and applied it to the results of a survey conducted by Andalusia’s Middle Towns Initiative. The approach uses the latent variables resulting from a latent class analysis to estimate log-linear models.     

民俗,流淌的母亲河

人们对民俗的了解和喜爱,往往始于儿时的经历与感知,因为人一出生便活在民俗中了。生活在乡村的自不必说,即使生活在城市的,长辈们往往有意无意之中将故乡的风物习俗随日常生活带到了城市,使孩子幼小的心灵仍然飘荡着故乡泥土的芳香,绵延着田园生活的温馨和从容……随着年龄与阅历的增长,人们越来越感悟到:一个人走得再远,也不可能走出心灵深处的"故乡",那是涵养情感,孕育人文情怀的精神家园。     

Culture is a good thing: A welfare-economic judgment

Note: I am indebted to Professors Moses Abramovitz and Melvin Reder for their valuable criticism of earlier drafts of this paper.     

建设和谐文化

从本期开始,<文化交流>杂志改双月刊为月刊,这对海内外153个国家和地区的读者朋友们来说,是一件值得庆贺的喜事.……     

Fashioning the Discipline: History of Science in the European Intellectual Tradition

This paper offers personal reflections on the fashioning of the history of science in Europe. It presents the history of science as a discipline emerging in the twentieth century from an intellectual and political context of great complexity, and concludes with a plea for tolerance and pluralism in historiographical methods and approaches.Robert Fox held the chair of the history of science at Oxford University between 1988 and 2006. He has been active in a number of international organizations, including the International Union of the History and Philosophy of Science, of which he is a past president, and the European Society for the History of Science, whose founding president he became in 2004.     

The efficiency of German public theaters: a stochastic frontier analysis approach

In recent years the economic performance of public non-profit sectors such as cultural services has become an interesting economic issue. This is due to the high dependence of cultural institutions on public funding on the one hand and the increasing cost-pressure on public budgets on the other hand. In order to achieve an efficient, cost-minimizing resource allocation public authorities who decide on the distribution of public budgets need reliable performance indicators. Against this background, this paper analyzes the efficiency of German public theaters for the seasons 1991/1992–2005/2006. Using a stochastic frontier analysis approach, we test whether the assumption of cost-minimizing behavior is reliable in this sector. Moreover, several panel data models that differ in their ability to account for unobserved heterogeneity are applied to evaluate the impact of unobserved heterogeneity on the efficiency estimates. The results indicate that the cost-minimizing assumption cannot be maintained. Consequently, an efficiency analysis based on a cost function approach seems inappropriate in the case of German public theaters. Further, we find a considerable unobserved heterogeneity across the theaters, which causes a significant variation in the models’ efficiency estimates. This implies that failing to account for unobserved heterogeneity leads to biased efficiency values. Overall, our results suggest that there is still space for improvement in the employment of resources in the sector.     

城市中央文化区集聚度研究--以江苏省13市公共文化空间为例

"中央文化区"作为城市的大型公共文化设施的集聚中心,对于城市文化活力的增强,城市人文品质的提升有着重要意义。通过对江苏省13个地市城市公共文化空间集聚度的空间分布调查,认为,城市公共文化设施空间的集聚度和集聚数量,与城市能级正相关;城市公共文化空间的集聚性与城市文化能级正相关;城市公共文化设施的集聚性也与城市规划的理念有着直接关联。     

European cultural statistics in a comparative perspective: index of economic and social condition of culture for the EU countries

In the article, we present the construction of an index of economic and social condition of culture using datasets of Eurostat’s Cultural Statistics Pocketbooks from 2007 and 2011 and Eurostat’s COFOG data. The datasets allow us a broad perspective over a set of more than 200 variables in 12 domains for the EU-27 member states. Using high-dimensionally adjusted factor analysis (Metropolis–Hastings Robbins–Monro algorithm), we construct an index and determine a set of its several dimensions (as seen from the cultural statistics viewpoint). Using cluster analysis, we determine the general similarities and differences among the analysed countries and show several broadly different groupings that roughly, but not exclusively follow the divide speculated in some previous studies. The analysis therefore brings a novel and statistically developed tool to empirically follow the changes in the economic and social condition of culture from the viewpoint of cultural statistics, while the clustering of models has important consequences for empirical cultural policy and has to be verified in future studies.     

走向跨文化研究的文学理论

本文探讨文学理论的走向,提出跨文化研究可以成为文学理论回应文化研究冲击和挑战的一条途径。作为一项综合研究方法,文学理论的跨文化研究是对中、西二元模式的超越,追求的是审美与文化、内部与外部、自律与他律的结合,具体包括文化间性、主体间性和文本间性三个层面的间性研究,其目的是实现中外文论的平等对话。     

Towards a Culture of Application: Science and Decision Making at the National Institute of Standards &; Technology

How does the research performed by a government mission agency contribute to useable technologies for its constituents? Is it possible to incorporate science policy mechanisms for increasing benefits to users in the decision process? The United States National Institute of Standards &; Technology (NIST) promises research directed towards industrial application. This paper considers the processes that produce science and technology at NIST. The institute’s policies for science provide robust examples for how effective science policies can contribute to the emergence of useful technologies. To progress towards technologies that can be years away, the agency uses several means for integrating the needs of eventual information users into the prioritization process. To accomplish this, NIST units, such as the Materials Science and Engineering Laboratory, incorporate mechanisms for considering user need and project impact into different stages of its scientific decision processes. This, and other specific strategies that the agency utilizes for connecting the supply of science to information demand, provide lessons for generating useable science.     

Evaluating the effects of direct support on the economic situation of artists

The paper deals with the relationship between direct public support for artists and the economic situation of artists. The empirical findings stem from a research project on the situation of artists in Finland. Some problems connected with obtaining relevant data on artists' economic situation are presented. The effects of direct financial support granted to individual artists on their income level and income discrepancies are illustrated with different patterns of impact. A brief presentation of the goals and measures of public policy towards artists in Finland is given, and the relationship with policy objectives and income effects of direct artists support is discussed. Two issues relevant for evaluating artist policy are raised: the need to account for the fundamental differences between art fields and artistic occupations, and the need to study the actual functions grant income has for the artists.     

The Socio-Political Construction of a European Census of Higher Education Institutions: Design, Methodological and Comparability Issues

This paper reports on an experiment concerning the social construction of statistical definitions, where the first census of Higher Education Institutions in Europe has been developed. It conceptualizes the construction of indicators as a social process of definitions and boundaries’ negotiation, involving value judgments, social and political opinions, as well as practical interests and power strategies of actors. The paper exemplifies this process on three issues, namely the social demand for establishing a census, the controversy concerning the definition of a perimeter as well as the selection of indicators, and the nature of comparability judgments. We first conclude that the socio-political dimension has to be explicitly taken into account when designing statistical systems; second, that social scientists involved in this process need to openly recognize the conflicts around the definition of indicators; third, that the objectified and taken for granted status of indicators makes them a powerful instrument to influence policy decisions and, that indicator designers need to make their own value judgments and interests fully transparent.     

文史方家姜亮夫

4月27日上午,姜亮夫先生诞辰110周年之际,浙江大学紫金港校区图书馆举行了文史大家姜亮夫先生史料捐赠仪式暨捐赠史料展览揭幕仪式。姜亮夫先生的女儿姜昆武、女婿徐汉树精心整理的1300余件姜亮夫先生遗留的手稿、实物、唁电等史料正式入驻浙大档案馆。