A cultural map of the United Kingdom, 2003

This paper employs Multiple Correspondence Analysis (MCA) to map cultural participation and taste in the UK. It constructs what Bourdieu calls a space of lifestyles from evidence collected in a national random sample survey of the British population in 2003. MCA constructs the space relationally on the basis of similarities and differences in responses to questions about a large number of cultural items in several sub‐fields including music, reading, TV and recreational activity. These items are mapped along two axes and their clustering indicates affinities between tastes and practices across sub‐fields. The cultural patterns are described. We then superimpose socio‐demographic variables, including class, educational qualifications and age, the distribution of which indicates tendencies for certain categories of person to have shared tastes. The analysis reveals meaningful, socially differentiated patterns of taste. The space of lifestyles proves to be structured primarily by the total volume of capital (resources) held by respondents and by age. Strong oppositions are revealed. An older, educated middle class shares ‘legitimate’ established cultural preferences. The repertoire of a younger middle class group contains more contemporary and ‘popular’ items. Less well‐educated, working class groups are characterised often primarily by lack of cultural participation, but also, especially among the young, by an aversion to ‘legitimate’ culture.     

Cultural capital and the place of sport

It is not unusual now to talk about the culture of the body, or to see routine and organized physical activity, as well as sport, as part and parcel of cultural life. In recent decades body management techniques have become a very conspicuous aspect of self-presentation and have been served by the expansion of the supply of commercial services to deal with diet and health, physical training and cosmetic improvement to appearances. The professionalization and commercialization of sport have also accelerated. Bourdieu interpreted measures for body management and maintenance in terms of the accumulation and display of cultural capital. He distinguished three types of cultural capital: institutionalized, objectified and embodied. This article considers some of the elements of the very complex and extensive property, embodied cultural capital. The Cultural Capital and Social Exclusion (CCSE) survey included questions on sporting activity, sports spectatorship and physical exercise routines, important elements in the mosaic of contemporary cultural activities. This article teases out the patterns of participation and taste in this area, examining differentiation by class, gender, education, ethnic and age groups in particular. While showing that all these factors matter, gender is the most important source of differentiation, though this is more the case for sport than for exercise per se. In addition, it is shown that educational qualification is particularly important in predicting participation in exercise, whereas occupational class makes more difference to the choice of sport, whether playing or watching.     

Cultural adaptation and societal context: The role of historical heterogeneity in cultural adaptation of newcomers

In today’s global world, it has become increasingly important for individuals moving to a different country for work, study, or permanent relocation to successfully adapt to this new culture. Responding to recent calls in the literature for more ecological approaches to the study of cultural adaptation, we examine the effect of host country historical heterogeneity—or, the extent to which a country’s current inhabitants descended from a diverse pool of ancestors—on newcomers’ cultural adaptation to that country. Across two studies, we find that higher levels of host country historical heterogeneity predict higher rates of cultural adaptation among newcomers. This relationship persists even when accounting for individual characteristics of the newcomers and sociocultural/economic characteristics of the home and host countries. These results suggest that a country’s historical levels of diversity may contribute to the successful adaptation of newcomers above and beyond their personal characteristics, their home country environment, or current conditions in the host country, including current levels of diversity. These results have practical implications for facilitating newcomers’ successful cultural adaptation.     

Distinction through visual art

Visual art is one of the fields where, according to Bourdieu, culture is used to reproduce the class structure. Like other items in the cultural repertoire, paintings, as major examples of visual art, imply social divisions in how they are engaged with by artists, critics and audiences. Within the Bourdieusian framework, cultural engagements with paintings are interpreted as indicators of social position, since appreciation depends on a trained capacity in the family and the educational system, which is often inaccessible to less powerful sections of the population. This would imply that the sorts of paintings favoured by working-class people differ from those preferred by the middle or upper classes. More recent studies have contested the view that a gulf exists between the art tastes of different classes in ways that reproduce the class structure. The argument of the omnivore thesis that distinctions between more popular and legitimate tastes have become blurred has predominantly been based on empirical references in the field of music. This article explores this thesis on the basis of data about visual arts in the Cultural Capital and Social Exclusion project. While some differences continue to be connected to social divisions of income, education and occupational groups, important similarities are found across the board, and certain significant differences appear to relate to factors other than social class, such as ethnicity, age and gender. It is also significant that some people appear disconnected from and disinterested in paintings.     

Cultural capital and the literary field

The literary field has been conceptualized in social scientific work as patterned in particular ways. Historically, popular reading has been linked with contested processes of social change. Tastes for reading have, following Bourdieu, been seen as embedded in continuing processes of distinction and the making of hierarchies. Research has demonstrated the ways in which these hierarchies might be reflective of gender as well as of class relationships. This article examines the findings of the Cultural Capital and Social Exclusion study in the light of these debates. The survey gathered data about the types of reading material used by a representative sample of the United Kingdom (UK) population, including their preferences for newspapers, magazines and books. The article reports on a number of possible relationships identified in the study about the location of reading as a social practice, drawing on the survey data and explanatory accounts of respondents' reading preferences drawn from focus groups and interviews. The regularity of participation in reading and ownership of books are outlined in relation to occupational class. Evidence relating to the reading of magazines and newspapers is then examined in the light of contemporary policy concerns. Patterns of taste in books are explored, examining preferences for ‘literary’ genres, gender, education and ethnicity. The article concludes by addressing the position of taste for, and knowledge of, specific works representing a range of positions within the literary field to complete the picture of cultural capital and the literary field in the contemporary UK.     

Cultural map of Finland 2007: analysing cultural differences using multiple correspondence analysis

This paper explores the patterns of cultural consumption in Finland using data collected in 2007 from a randomly selected sample of 3,000 persons. This is an explanatory study employing Multiple Correspondence Analysis as a method to map the cultural consumption patterns in Finland. The paper refers to a number of previous studies addressing the same issue in Denmark and particularly the UK in an attempt to place the results within a comparison framework. The main argument of this paper is not simply that within socio-economic groups there is a preference for similar culture, but that cultural preferences follow a structure over different domains that can be detected without reference to socio-economic factors. As a result of the analysis, two dimensions of the MCA solution are found, which represent differentiations between high engagement in culture versus disengagement and contemporary versus traditional forms of culture. These dimensions are very similar to the dimensions found in the UK, even if the placement of individual cultural activities varies somewhat. The applicability of the Bourdieusian approach to cultural differences between classes, as well as recent critical developments of the theory of distinction, will be discussed in light of the results.     

Spatial equity and cultural participation: how access influences attendance at museums and galleries in London

ABSTRACT

This paper addresses how neighbourhoods operate as opportunity structures for cultural participation, and therefore how unequal access to cultural facilities might influence levels of participation and profiles of participants. The neighbourhood effects literature identifies how where people live shapes their lives, including their participation in various activities, but this has not been applied to cultural participation. Sociological theory explores the importance of social stratification of cultural consumption, but has largely ignored the role of place. In this paper sociological explanations of cultural participation are extended to incorporate the influence of access to cultural infrastructure. An innovative accessibility index for museums and galleries in London, using online searches to weight their attraction, is linked to the Taking Part Survey, and used to predict attendance. Alongside social stratification, significant neighbourhood characteristics are identified, including, importantly, access to museums and galleries. Improved access has a strong positive relationship with attendance, which varies according to qualifications and ethnic group: those with degrees are most likely to attend, but the relationship with access also operates for those with fewer qualifications, who according to traditional explanations have little disposition to attend. The implications of the substantial spatial inequity in investment in museums and galleries are discussed.     

The musical field

This article examines musical taste, as revealed by the Cultural Capital and Social Exclusion survey. It shows that musical taste is highly divided and contentious, with large numbers of people intensely disliking certain genres of music. It shows the existence of two distinctive musical taste communities, one linking taste for rock, electronic, urban, world and heavy metal music, and the other linking classical music and jazz. Tastes for specific musical works do not easily map onto musical genres, and are less closely correlated with each other. Using logistic regression, it is shown that age and ethnicity in particular, and gender, educational qualifications and occupational class, strongly condition taste for both musical genres and works.     

The Golden Age of the Arts? Taking Part Survey Findings on Older People and the Arts

The UK has an ageing population, and this trend is likely to continue. This article uses data from a new survey called ‘Taking Part’ to analyse patterns of arts engagement among older people (defined as those aged 55 and over) and the reasons for and barriers to older people engaging with the arts. While levels of engagement generally decline among older groups, those aged 55–74 make up a substantial part of the audience for a number of arts events including classical music, opera and craft exhibitions. Indeed, the analysis shows that the 55–64 age cohort is among the most actively involved with the arts. Adults in older age groups also engage with the arts, participating in a range of activities including crafts, reading and watching arts programmes on TV. When analysed further, socio-demographic factors including gender, disability status and socio-economic status emerge as important predictors of arts engagement among older people. Data on motivations and attitudes show that older people engage in the arts for enjoyment, relaxation, to see a specific performer or event and for a sense of a social occasion. In terms of barriers to arts engagement, time is less of an issue for older people, while the impact of poor health (particularly among people with a limiting disability) and the lack of social networks and transport is intensified among older age groups. The article closes with a consideration of the implications for arts engagement among older people of a number of projected future trends, including continuing population ageing and increasing average number of years spent in poor health, increasing Internet use, the narrowing of gender inequalities in life expectancy, the growth in ethnic minority representation among older people and pension reform.     

Workplace and school microaggressions on anxiety symptoms: The role of cultural values among Hispanic Americans

ObjectivesThis study examined the main and interaction effects of the workplace and school microaggressions and cultural values of cultural pride, familismo, espiritismo, and simpatia on anxiety symptoms among Hispanic Americans.Design266 U.S. Hispanic American college students participated in this cross-sectional survey research. Of the 266 participants, 68% identified as cisgender women; 87% reported English mastery. The reported mean age was 19.92 (SD = 3.07).ResultsTo test whether cultural values moderated the relationship between workplace and school microaggression on anxiety symptoms, we conducted separate interaction models for each interaction term. Findings showed that overall, cultural values and specific values of cultural pride and espiritismo moderated the relationship between workplace and school microaggression on anxiety symptoms. Specifically, the positive relationship between workplace and school microaggression and anxiety symptoms was most robust for Hispanic Americans endorsing greater cultural values and specific values of cultural pride and espiritismo.ConclusionsThese findings suggest that Hispanic Americans who closely associate with these cultural values may be more conscious of being othered and marginalized by these microaggressions, which may lead to higher reports of anxiety symptoms. Taken together, our findings suggest that these cultural values may serve as a risk or protective factor in the relationship between workplace and school microaggressions and anxiety symptoms and has implications for vocational interventions.     

Cultural Dis/Continuity in African-American and Ghanaian Mothers’ Voices and Identities

With Cultural Continuity Theory as a framework, this study used quantitative (N?=?204) and qualitative (N?=?63) methods to explore how Ghanaian and African-American mothers communicate their motherhood perceptions and identities. Survey, interview, and focus group data obtained from this investigation suggest cultural discontinuity in the rhetoric the participants use to describe their motherhood experiences and identities. Though this multi-method study is meaningful in that it provides a space for the underrepresented voices of African-American and Ghanaian mothers to be heard, it challenges previously held notions of continuity within African-American and African societies. Based on the findings, this study also considers implications relative to the similarities and differences in African-American and Ghanaian motherhood philosophies, and it offers recommendations for future research.     

The impact of national culture on the increase of COVID-19: A cross-country analysis of European countries

In recent years, countries have been fighting with increasing momentum against outbreaks. This struggle requires the effective implementation of several measures that are required in medical science. However, the cultural characteristics of each society prevent these measures from being applied in the same way globally. One area in which social scientists have not applied much effort is observing the impact of countries' cultural characteristics in the fight against outbreaks. Therefore, this study aims to determine whether cultural differences among countries have an impact on their fight against outbreaks. This study uses the COVID-19 pandemic’s total cases and selected European countries’ cultural dimension scores as data. Due to the differences in the measurement units of cultural and outbreak variables, a stepwise multiple logarithmic regression analysis is preferred to select the proper regression model. The results have shown that power distance has a significant and negative effect on the increase rate of the total COVID-19 cases per million (IRTCCPM). In addition, the results have demonstrated that both individualism and indulgence have significant and positive effects on IRTCCPM, at the 95 % confidence level. However, the hypotheses concerning the impacts of masculinity, uncertainty avoidance, and long-term orientation on the IRTCCPM are rejected at the α = 0.05 level. In light of the findings of this study, it can be asserted that countries act in harmony with their cultural characteristics in the formal or informal practices of their fight against outbreaks. The contributions of the study can be discussed in academic and practical fields.     

Rethinking participation in the Aarhus as European Capital of Culture 2017 project

This paper examines the relationship between cultural participation and regional development with reference to the European Capital of Culture in 2017. From the bidding stage, Aarhus 2017 claimed it put “participation” at the heart of its strategic plans, through consultation at roadshows and exhibitions. In addition, it aspired to use culture as a catalyst for development not only in the city of Aarhus but across the region of Central Denmark. This paper, therefore, examines how participation is defined and implemented to address regional development in the Aarhus 2017 process through textual analysis of documentation from Aarhus 2017 and delivery partners as well as over 20 interviews with managers and participants involved in a range of 2017 projects. The paper argues against the common prioritisation of urban and professional cultural institutions and makes the case for decentralised cultural provision that supports both amateurs and professionals through a regional networked structure.     

Distinction on the box: Cultural capital and the social space of broadcasting

The literature on cultural capital has had relatively little to say about television viewing, except insofar as television has served as a negative point of reference in relation to which other cultural practices register their distinctiveness. This article, by contrast, examines the respects in which practices of distinction are operative within the space of broadcast television. Looking first at the ‘internal economy’ of television as expressed in the relations between genre, programme and channel preferences, it then examines how these preferences are related to occupational class, gender, level of education and ethnicity. While showing that divisions within the space of broadcasting are most powerfully articulated in terms of age and gender, the article also shows that occupational class and level of education play important roles in stratifying television audiences along traditional ‘high’/‘low’ lines. A closer analysis of the relations between these variables reveals more complex patterns of distinction, particularly in the place occupied by ‘new drama’ and ‘new comedy’ in the preferences of younger, well-educated viewers.     

Learning styles and their impact on cross-cultural training: An international comparison in France, Germany and Quebec

Every person has his or her own individual way to learn and to solve problems in day-to-day situations. These personal cognitive strategies, acquired in a long socialization process are called “learning styles” and may differ depending on gender, age or culture.In this study, the learning styles of over 300 students in business administration in France, Germany and Quebec are examined with the Learning Style Inventory (LSI). Representative and significant learning differences where found. This is why the LSI can be used in a first step for the illustration and comparison of typical patterns of learning. In a second step the results may be of use to international trainers in making decisions about course design and methods of cross-cultural training in relation to the learning profiles of the participants.     

Social adjustment and dynamics of segregation in higher education – Scrutinising the role of open-mindedness and empathy

Earlier research has suggested that ethnic minority students have a significantly lower chance of attaining academic success compared to their peers without an ethnic minority background. Numerous research has also illustrated the importance of social capital for being academically successful. In two studies we examine the particular role of interethnic interactions in the social and academic adjustment of students in higher education. We use a Flemish university as a case study. Study 1 (N = 1549) uses mediation analysis, and Study 2 (N = 2479) replicates the first study using SEM (structural equation modelling). We first found that social adjustment is necessary for adjusting academically, and that it has a small, but positive effect on study success. While adjusting socially by interacting with students from other ethnic groups is of little benefit to native Flemish students, the opposite is true for students with a migration background. Furthermore, the more open-minded native students are, the less socially adjusted they tend to be, and they seem to benefit from a more close-minded stance than from open-mindedness in terms of adjusting to the social (and academic) context of a university.     

Indicators for arts and cultural policy: A Global perspective

Taking an international view of cultural indicators, this paper is an account of the state of play of indicator development. It reviews the literature on cultural indicators, raising analytical and global coordination issues, and adapts ‘good practice’ ideas from the literature. It is argued that improving cultural indicators is not simply about improving statistical methods: it is also about understanding better the nature of arts activities, improving the articulation of arts policies and considering the complex interrelationships between statistics and policy and the impacts that measurement can have on ‘stakeholders’ in the arts and cultural sectors.     

Complex but integrated: Exploring social and cultural identities of women Third Culture Kids (TCK) and factors predicting life satisfaction

The 21 st century, defined by cultural diversity and global mobility, has triggered an unprecedented increase in multicultural individuals, defined as people who internalised more than one culture. Contrasting evidence related to multiculturalism calls for more explorative research to understand cross-cultural identities. The present study explored social and cultural identities of adult female Third Culture Kids (TCKs) (n = 122), multicultural individuals who live mobile lives, and adjustment factors of a global mindset, social inclusiveness and essentialism to find predictors of life satisfaction. We classified social identity into four we-concepts: we-group, we-category, we-attributive and we-axiological, and cultural identity into three configurations: integration, categorisation and compartmentalisation. Our results suggested that TCK define social identity predominantly based on passport country (we-category) and relationships with family and friends (we-group). We indicated that axiological (value-based) social identification and global mindset buffered essentialism and categorisation known to disturb cross-cultural relationships. There was a general tendency for integrated cultural identity, with cultural configurations of categorisation and compartmentalisation correlating positively with essentialism. Hierarchical regression analysis evidenced that integrated multicultural identity, global mindset, and social inclusiveness were significant positive predictors of life satisfaction for female TCK. These results feed into a better understanding of the TCK configurations of collective identities and highlighted new factors related to TCK well-being.     

Where I’m from? Third Culture Kids about their cultural identity shifts and belonging

This study explored the affect of Third Culture Kids (TCKs) towards their home and host culture(s) and how this affect may indicate possible cultural identity shifts as distinguished in Sussman’s (2000) cultural identity shift model. To this end, the method of poetic inquiry was used. The poems were concerned with TCKs’ affective experiences (Prendergast, 2009). We also investigated whether TCKs described their belonging in terms of personal relationships rather than in terms of geographical locations.Twenty TCKs, ranging in age from 26 to 70 years and from five ‘home cultures’, expressed their early cross-cultural experiences through the free verse poem of “Where I’m from”. A mixed method approach of qualitative and quantitative research was applied, by combining poetic inquiry using a free verse poem format and clustering these data by means of coding in Atlas.ti. TCKs’ poems were analyzed using belonging, affect, and practices-food-nature-events as key codes.Findings revealed that TCKs expressed stronger positive affect towards their host cultures than towards their ‘home’ cultures, indicating a subtractive cultural identity shift. We also found that TCKs defined their belonging more in terms of personal relationships than in terms of geographical locations. This study shows that TCKs’ sense of belonging seems more related to the question who than where I am from.     

Measuring creativity: A case study in the UK's Designer Fashion sector

Since before the 1997 General Election, New Labour has repeatedly emphasized the importance of the creative industries in underpinning the national economy and as an engine of economic growth. The Creative Industries Task Force Mapping Documents of 1998 and 2001 sought to define and quantify in broad terms economic activity across 13 distinct creative industries. More detailed estimates have been published by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) in successive annual Creative Industries Economic Estimates.

An assessment is provided of the way in which the creative industries have been measured using the Office of National Statistics' Standard Industrial and Standard Occupational classifications (SIC and SOC). These classifications have themselves been revised since the early 1990s, and further revisions are in prospect from 2007. In this analysis particular focus is given to the ‘Designer Fashion’ sector, illustrated by a number of tables and data analyses.

These actual and proposed revisions have helped in documenting the rapidly emerging creative industries, which have reportedly grown at two to three times the rate of the UK economy as a whole. However, as the Regional Culture Data Framework published in 2002 records, serious problems remain in providing valid assessments of the creative industries sectors from ‘official’ published sources, even for the UK as a whole, let alone at the regional level emphasized by the Regional Culture Data Framework's regional sponsors. In any case, often the ‘scaling factors’ applied to official SIC codes to define creative industries appear arbitrary.

Many of the Regional Culture Data Framework's recommendations, notably the adoption of a more comprehensive ‘supply-chain’ approach to documenting the cultural sector, make further demands upon the existing official structural classifications and the data bases underpinning them. Even where all elements in the ‘supply chain’ are well documented, there are still questions about the validity of this approach. For example, should wholesale and retail distribution of creative industry products be regarded as part of the ‘Cultural Cycle’?

In conclusion, it is suggested that the ‘official’ data has marked limitations in documenting the creative industries and does not realistically or adequately capture the more interesting and dynamic elements of an industry like ‘Designer Fashion’. This is disappointing in a context where central government has placed increasing emphasis upon evidence-based policy to support the development of the creative industries, and where the British ‘Designer Fashion’ sector has lamented the lack of central support in comparison with the French or Italian industries. It is suggested that a more customized approach to collecting data about the creative industries is needed if the results are to usefully inform the further development and profile of these sectors.