Museums in the U.K.: Some Evidence on Scale and Activities

This paper reviews the availability and quality of statistical evidence on the structure, visitor patterns and funding of the museum sector in the U.K. The policy context is discussed and the implications for cultural economics are reviewed.     

Communication Productivity: A Major Cause for the Changing Output of Art Museums

Art museum output changes away from collection maintenance to display events and to the sale of add-on goods. What is the driving force? A series of theoretical explanations are tested: technological changes which favor new input combinations and thus arrive at a changed output; changes in the relative price structure; income flows and their relation to the productivity of the different museum output segments. It will be claimed that changes in the ability of art museums to become productive as part of a communication network are the major driving force of the output change.     

Access to and participation in the arts: The case of those with low incomes/educational attainment

This paper looks at the issue of access to the arts in terms of the very unequal attendance at and audiences for the high arts by educational grouping. The meaning of equal access is analysed, recent data for two countries, namely the United States and Ireland, are examined and new evidence is proffered. The constraints/barriers to, and the rationale for, more equal attendance/audiences are examined. The paper concludes by outlining a number of possible responses to this continuing problem.This paper was presented at the 9th international conference of the Association for Cultural Economics, held in Boston, May 8–11, 1996.     

The Impact of the National Endowment for the Arts in the United States: Institutional and Sectoral Effects on Private Funding

This paper examines the impact of the National Endowment for the Arts on private donations to the arts. The aim of the analysis is to assess whether public funding generates a crowding effect on private giving. We distinguish between institutional and sectoral crowding phenomena and discuss their possible implications.We used both a qualitative approach and an econometric model to estimate the effect of NEA introduction and appropriations on donations. Our results suggest that at the institutional level NEA grants do not generally induce donations to recipients while at the sectoral level appropriations and private giving are independent. The introduction of the agency appears to have caused a decrease in donations.     

`To Relate Knowledge and Action': the Impact of the Rockefeller Foundation on Foreign Policy Thinking during America's Rise to Globalism 1939–1945

The Rockefeller Foundation played a key role inthe shift from `isolationism' to globalism inUS foreign policy between 1939 and 1945. TheFoundation utilised its considerable financialresources in a conscious and systematic attemptto assist official policymakers and academicsto build a new globalist consensus within thestate and public opinion. The article testsfour theoretical models that have been used todescribe Rockefeller initiatives. It concludesthat a Gramscian analysis provides the mosthelpful way of understanding the Foundation'srole in American foreign affairs.     

The Impact of Individual Differences and Group Diversity on Group Interaction Climate and Satisfaction: A Test of the Effective Intercultural Workgroup Communication Theory

Abstract

This study examined individual- and group-level effects of culture and cultural diversity on group interaction climate and satisfaction. Employees from 41 workgroups completed self-construal, face concern, interaction climate, and satisfaction questionnaires. Though analysis of ethnic diversity indicated that group diversity was positively related to perceptions of interaction climate, and had no association with satisfaction, multi-level analysis indicated that as ethnic diversity of the group increased, members of majority and minority ethnic groups had different perceptions of interaction climate and satisfaction. Results demonstrate the importance of considering individual-level manifestations of culture, group-level diversity, and the multi-level combination for workgroup analysis.     

Beyond Rock and Roll: The Economic Impact of the Grateful Dead on a Local Economy

For-profit popular music concerts, a seldom studied event, may create sizeable economic impacts in a local economy. Using information from a survey of more than 1,000 concert goers to a Grateful Dead performance in Las Vegas and RIMS II multipliers, we estimate income and employment impacts. We conclude that the potential large spill-overs effects of such an event should not be ignored. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

A Multimodal Approach to Identity: Theorizing the Self through Embodiment,Spatiality, and Temporality

Abstract

This article problematizes the theoretical assumption of communication-as-symbolic that delimits the way identity is theorized. I argue that deconstructing identity requires moving beyond the symbolic construction of social categories, and instead focusing on how a perceptual and embodied subject is constituted through communication. Informed by Merleau-Ponty's phenomenologically driven approach to critical inquiry, I present a multimodal approach that reveals how perceptual subjectivity and the reflexive body are constituted within, and constitutive of, the symbolic mechanisms of social construction. Utilizing various examples pertinent to intercultural communication, I theorize cultural identity through the perspective of communication-as-embodied.     

Identifying Communities in Need: Examining the Impact of Acculturation on Perceived Discrimination,Social Support,and Coping amongst Racial Minority Members in the United States

Utilizing a cognitive appraisal approach, this study examines how acculturation affects racial minority members' appraisals of and responses to racial discrimination. Racial minority members (N = 345) completed questionnaires about their prior experiences with racial discrimination and coping responses. Controlling for participants' prior experiences with racial discrimination and primary appraisals, the results revealed that acculturation helped explain individuals' need for social support, support message evaluations, and the pursuit of disengagement coping strategies. Findings from this study provide helpful information for the development of intervention and outreach programs for individuals in our communities who are coping with racial discrimination.     

A procedure for determining the chemical composition of binder and aggregate in ancient mortars: its application to mortars from some medieval buildings in Pisa

The use of a scanning electron microscope equipped with a microanalytical system is proposed for characterising ancient mortars. A calculation procedure is presented that allows a determination of the binder and aggregate compositions (including volatile components) from microprobe data collected on the binder, and chemical, mineralogical, petrographical and physical data collected on the mortar bulk sample. The proposed procedure is applied to 11 mortar samples from three historical monuments built in Pisa throughout the Middle Ages. The binder of the analysed samples consists of a carbonate crystalline fraction and an amorphous carbonate-free fraction that makes up from 20 to 60 % by weight of the binder. The aggregate composition, on average, is close to that of the Arno River sands.     

A note on glass and silica in oil paintings from the 15th to the 17th century

This articles reports new discoveries relating to ground glass and silica in European easel paintings from the 15th to the 17th centuries that were created by various German, Italian and Netherlandish artists. The earliest known additions of these extenders date to the early 1430s. Glass powder of varying fineness, prepared from vessel or window cullet, is often found in red lake glazes as well as in other colours or preparatory layers of paintings. SEM/EDX analyses of the glass particles reveal a variety of chemical compositions (soda ash, wood ash, wood ash-lime, wood ash-lead, mixed alkali), which are discussed with respect to the provenance of the paintings. Historical sources on painting techniques mention glass additions most frequently to accelerate drying of oil paints, but also occasionally to facilitate grinding of pigments. Another possible function of powdered glass and silica, especially in oil-bound red lake glazes, is that of a transparent filler, as will be here discussed based on paint trials.     

The contribution of urban-scale environmental monitoring to materials diagnostics: A study on the Cathedral of Modena (Italy)

The problem of environmental monitoring aimed at identifying and evaluating the weathering mechanisms affecting historical stoneworks is here discussed and a methodology based on the use of already available, long record, urban-scale environmental data is proposed. An example of its application to the Cathedral of Modena (Italy, XII-XIV century, included in the UNESCO's World Heritage List) is then presented. In this case, the methodology allowed the identification of the main degradation causes, which found significant confirmation by material diagnostics on the available samples and finite element structural modelling. Thanks to the decay causes identification allowed by the proposed methodology, more effective restoration procedures can be outlined.     

Research and Publication by Communication Faculty in East Africa: A Challenge to the Global Community of Communication Scholars

Abstract

Few African scholars publish articles in top journals, present papers at prestigious conferences, or produce monographs that influence the direction of the field of communication as a whole. We explored hindrances to scholarly productivity in East Africa by administering questionnaires to faculty members at five leading communication departments and conducting in-depth interviews with department heads, librarians, and other senior faculty members. Results indicated that an increase in institutional priority on research and publication makes this an opportune juncture for collaboration with the international scholarly community to facilitate research and publication activity by African academics.     

亚的斯亚贝巴城市规划及相应空间结构变迁研究 ——从1855年至今

近现代埃塞俄比亚的首都亚的斯亚贝巴建立于1868年,其城市空间结构在一百多年中受到地理环境、殖民统治和城市规划等因素的影响而发生变迁,是这个国家现代化历程的缩影.以埃塞俄比亚近现代政治、经济变更为分期标准,将亚的斯亚贝巴自19世纪建城以来的城市发展分为5个时期进行研究,分别是现代化开端、殖民时期、战后重建、非洲马克思主...     

Immigrant perpetrators in the news: A terror management approach to resultant hostility,perceived vulnerability,and immigration issue judgment

This study found that mortality salience in TV news activated more hostile attitude toward the perpetrators and negative judgment on the immigration issue. Social group difference influenced news viewers’ immigration issue judgment, but did not affect their resultant hostility and perceived vulnerability. More negative attitudes emerged toward the immigration issue when immigrant perpetrators were portrayed negatively in the news. News viewers with exposure to mortality salience in TV news reported more negative toward immigrants. Exposure to mortality-related elements in TV news could lead to social conflicts that were viewed as a severe threat by U.S. government and policymakers.     

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。     

A methodology for the identification of glass panes of different origin in a single stained glass window: Application on two 13th century windows

The chemical composition of 11 glass panes originating from two 13th century non-figurative windows were analyzed by means of Scanning Electron Microscopy–Energy Dispersive X-ray system (SEM-EDX). The windows were discovered in the back-wall of the triforium during the restoration of the choir of the cathedral St. Michael and St. Gudule in Brussels (Belgium). In order to determine if these windows were fabricated with glass of different origin or not, the compositional difference between the panes were compared with the variation in composition as a result of the following causes: (1) compositional fluctuation between panes cut from the same sheet of glass, (2) compositional fluctuation caused when panes are cut from different sheets that were made with the same batch, (3) compositional fluctuation caused when the glass is made from different batches at the same production center, and (4) compositional fluctuation as a result of glass produced at different fabrication centers.