A Functional Analysis of the 2007 and 2012 French Presidential Debates

In 2007, Nicolas Sarkozy ran against Segolene Royal for President of France; Sarkozy won. In 2012, Sarkozy was challenged by Francois Hollande; Hollande won. This study applies the Functional Theory of Political Campaign Discourse to the French Presidential debates of 2007 and 2012. In 2007, candidates acclaimed more than they attacked and attacked more than they defended, as predicted. However, in 2012 acclaims were not used more than attacks probably because Sarkozy trailed in polls. Sarkozy and Royal discussed policy more than character. The incumbent in 2007 and 2012 acclaimed more and attacked less than the challengers on past deeds.     

Designing policy: collaborative policy development within the context of the European capital of culture bid process

ABSTRACT

How do ideas become policies? What route do they take from inception to implementation and what criteria are used to evaluate one set of proposals against another? This paper examines the development of the Creative Work Fellowship policy proposal in Limerick, tracing the origins of the idea, itself a contended and negotiated object, from discussions between academics and policy-makers through to scoping, pitching and scaling the policy to its eventual users. This policy idea was designed during the Intelligence Unit (IU) commissioned by Limerick2020 as part of the city’s bid to become European Capital of Culture in 2020. The IU took the form of a policy think-tank, tasked with generating insights, ideas and policy proposals into the place of culture within Limerick city and region. The IU structure created a set of actors and an epistemic community capable of both generating and using ideas effectively, chiefly through two mechanisms. The first involved a robust critique and rebuilding process that every element of the policy was exposed to; the second involved feedback from interested parties at specific stages in the process. This created a series of “policy entrepreneurs” capable of taking a fully costed and modelled policy suggestion to government. The findings presented in the paper include an analysis of the collaborative nature of this policy development process, Based on this framework, we also consider the role of the European City of Culture bid process as catalyst for policy development in a regional context, and present findings on this subject.     

A review of articles on multiculturalism in 35 years of IJIR

This article is a review of literature on multiculturalism in 35 years of publications in IJIR, spanning from the first issue of IJIR in 1977 to the current issue in May 2012. The review includes empirical and theoretical articles alone. Multiculturalism is discussed in light of demographic, policy, and psychological aspects. An inductive thematic analysis revealed four themes, namely, Multicultural Education, Attitudes toward Multiculturalism, Multicultural Interactions, and Multicultural Identity. Each of these themes is discussed, and the implications of the findings are explored. It is noted that policy and practice are yet to be refined to match the ideology of multiculturalism.     

Integration in Canada: A systematic review of the youth experience

Although there is substantial research examining adult perspectives of immigration and integration, there is notably less data on youth attitudes and experiences. When youth are surveyed, a preliminary review of the existing literature reveals that non-immigrant voices are very rarely included. This systematic literature review (a) identifies the major themes and summarizes the findings of existing research; (b) determines gaps in the existing literature and; (c) proposes recommendations for future integration research, policy, and interventions. Ultimately, this paper finds that integration policy and research in Canada tends to focus on the changes required by immigrant youth but rarely discuss the cultural adaptation and inclusion required by settled Canadians. A paradigm shift in research, settlement practice, and policy is necessary to better reflect the bi-directional cultural exchange and the mutual responsibilities of integration.     

Two cultures: the use and non-use of hypotheses in cultural policy research1

In the hard sciences research programmes are designed to generate evidence consistent or inconsistent with particular hypotheses. Hypotheses unsupported by evidence are modified or abandoned. The framers and testers of scientific hypotheses are members of the same profession, similarly trained and likely to interpret evidence in similar ways. They have professionally generalized responsibility for the quality and integrity of each other's work. Peer review systems are in place to monitor performance and expose chicanery. This is not the case in the cultural policy research arena. Here, policymakers, arts advocates and academic policy analysts are breeds apart. Their professional affiliations and lines of accountability are radically unlike. We have highly selective “advocacy” evidence on the one hand; highly developed but untestable academic theory on the other, suggesting the hypothetical existence of evidence for which academics are not allowed to look. Policymakers avoid “what if?” questions because they are paid to maintain positions of certainty. Academics ask, but lack the data to answer. Neither approach is satisfactory for shaping the future. This paper explains how the two opposing research traditions came into being and points to some of the problems which poor communication between theoreticians and practitioners can create.     

The audiovisual action plan: a new audiovisual policy for Ireland

ABSTRACT

This article analyses the recent plan for the audiovisual industries introduced (after some delay) by the Irish Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. The Audiovisual Action Plan (“the Plan”) sets out the Department’s approach to the audiovisual industries and is, it is contended, evidence of a marketization of culture consistent with a creative industries perspective. The analysis of the Plan in a wider policy context identifies key issues shaping audiovisual production in Ireland. Using a thematic analysis approach from Braun and Clark (2005, 2019) a number of themes are developed from analysis of the relevant policy documents, broadly conceived around the increasing instrumentalism of culture. Taking a political economy perspective allows for development of themes around the commodification of the nation-state through the provision of policies that actively encourage a certain type of audiovisual production. Building on Mosco’s work on political economy (Mosco, 2009) the concept of spatialization from Lefebvre (Lefebvre, 1991) is used to interrogate the production of and commodification of space through Specifically, this article interrogates the policy norms underpinning the Audiovisual Action Plan introduced by the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht in Ireland in 2018 as part of Culture 2025, the national cultural policy framework. It identifies the key proposals which affect the audiovisual industries. It is concluded that the Plan (and other relevant policy documents) support a spatialized, commodified view of the audiovisual industries as primarily industrial in nature, paying scant attention to the consideration of such industries as cultural forces.     

Re-imagining the local in national cultural policy formulation – the case of the Anglophone Caribbean

ABSTRACT

The formulation of cultural policies in the Anglophone Caribbean constantly straddles the demands of global, regional and national imperatives as a function of its position as a region of post-colonial, small-island states. This paper will argue that the role these factors play in the art of policy making problematises conventions in the current global/local (glocal) debate circulating in the arena of Cultural Policy Studies. The paper shows that cultural policy making in the Caribbean constitutes a mélange of approaches that are in a constant state of contestation during the policy-making process. It employs content analysis of cultural policy texts from selected Caribbean states, as well as an analysis of stakeholder views from the national cultural policy consultations in Trinidad and Tobago to derive its findings. A Five Factor framework was developed to illustrate the range of responses that guide and shape local actors and activities in the national cultural policy domain. The research concludes that the relationship between the national and local (nocal) actors has to be re-imagined if cultural policy is to deliver on its promise of social transformation in the Caribbean.     

Interethnic parenting experiences in raising mixed-ethnicity children: A systematic qualitative review

There has been growing interest over the years in examining interethnic unions to explore their unique parenting configurations and associated mixed-ethnicity children’s outcomes. One aspect that determines parenting is how parents perceive and experience their parenting role in relation to one another, to their children, and to society at large. The present review aimed to narratively and systematically synthesize the existing literature on the strengths and challenges that parents experience in interethnic unions about themselves, their partners or co-parents, or their mixed-ethnicity children. A total of 49 studies were identified through a systematic search. Included studies were dissertations and published journal articles that contained qualitative and quantitative findings. Five themes were identified about the interethnic parenting experience: (1) strengths in parenting mixed-ethnicity children, (2) challenges in interethnic parenting, including the specific challenge of negotiating cultural differences between parents, (3) strategies to overcome cultural differences, (4) self-reflections about parents’ own ethnocultural backgrounds, and (5) similarities in parenting between interethnic and non-interethnic parents. A Model of Interethnic Parenting Experiences summarizing the identified themes is outlined. The review findings are discussed with reference to gaps in the literature and potential moderators of the known parameters regarding interethnic parenting. Recommendations for future research are made that may further elucidate the nuanced experience of interethnic parenting.     

Mapping the knowledge base in study abroad from the United States: A scoping review from 2001 to 2021

Prior literature reviews of study abroad outcomes (Miller & Perrin-Thompson, 2014; Twombly et al., 2012; Varela, 2017) have provided important direction for the field, yet they either were conducted without clear inclusion criteria or excluded qualitative research. In the current scoping review, we extend their work through conducting a systematic literature search inclusive of qualitative research and map the knowledge base of study abroad for students enrolled at universities in the United States who received academic credit for study abroad from fall 2001 (post-9/11) to spring 2020 (COVID-19 pandemic onset). We identified 373 articles meeting inclusion criteria and created a database of filterable information (e.g., participant characteristics, program duration) for the included articles. In the current study, we organize and visually display findings, identify gaps in the knowledge base, and recommend future directions for research and research reporting.     

Cultural policy indicators: reflections on the role of official statisticians in the politics of data collection

Cultural policy indicators are being constructed in many countries today as a consequence of reforms in public governance aimed at increasing cost-effectiveness and general efficiency as well as transparency and accountability. Drawing upon a project of the Finnish Ministry of Education, the article discusses the responsibilities of official statisticians in regard to the collection and processing of data to be used as “evidence” of the outcomes of cultural policies. Official statisticians are bound by an ethical code that emphasises the objective and independent production of information on different aspects of the economy and society. Direct involvement with the construction of cultural policy indicators may threaten the integrity of official statisticians, because such work would require close collaboration with administrators and decision makers who have their own particular interests in the cultural field. Moreover, the system of cultural statistics, which was established internationally at the turn of the 1970s, has a history of providing justification for public cultural policies. The Finnish project, in which two officials from Statistics Finland functioned in the role of commissioned experts, was officially about societal effectiveness indicators but was extended to encompass arguments for cultural policy. The final report even went as far as to propose that cultural considerations could be mainstreamed through indices and evaluation schemes covering all policy sectors. The article shows how easily official statisticians are drawn into the politics of data collection in the field of culture even when precautions are in place. The article concludes that the code of ethics of official statisticians serves as an indispensable buffer against partiality, but, to put this ideal fully into action, cultural statisticians need to develop reflexive practices that combine an applied approach and critical discourse. Such practices are similar to those outlined recently by cultural policy researchers.     

A New Chapter for the Ancient Silk Road 2012 Year of Chinese Culture in Turkey

<正>Opened on December 12, 2011 and after 365 days, the 2012 Year of Chinese Culture in Turkey is closed as a full success on December 04, 2012. Various events during the Year are like a strong "Chinese wind"blowing across dozens of Turkish cities. According to statistics from the Culture Section of the Embassy of China in Turkey, during the Year,     

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.     

A grey literature review of the Cultural Olympiad

This article considers the development of the UK Cultural Olympiad supporting London's successful bid to stage the Olympic Games in 2012. It suggests that the Cultural Olympiad is a complex event itself and needs to be better understood if any impacts are to be felt in a meaningful sense. The event is thus considered through review of over 50 documents relating to its management, in the context of a number of identified themes: cultural development, developing institutional frameworks, social benefit, educational benefit and promotional benefit.     

A review of the acculturation experiences of international students

Universities in Western countries host a substantial number of international students. These students bring a range of benefits to the host country and in return the students gain higher education. However, the choice to study overseas in Western countries may present many challenges for the international student including the experience of acculturative stress and difficulties with adjustment to the environment of the host country. The present paper provides a review of current acculturation models as applied to international students. Given that these models have typically been empirically tested on migrant and refugee populations only, the review aims to determine the extent to which these models characterise the acculturation experience of international students. Literature pertaining to salient variables from acculturation models was explored including acculturative stressors encountered frequently by international students (e.g., language barriers, educational difficulties, loneliness, discrimination, and practical problems associated with changing environments). Further discussed was the subsequent impact of social support and coping strategies on acculturative stress experienced by international students, and the psychological and sociocultural adaptation of this student group. This review found that the international student literature provides support for some aspects of the acculturation models discussed; however, further investigation of these models is needed to determine their accuracy in describing the acculturation of international students. Additionally, prominent acculturation models portray the host society as an important factor influencing international students’ acculturation, which suggests the need for future intervention.     

The Gramppian Hills: An Empirical Test for Rent-Seeking Behaviour in the Arts

To remind cultural policy practitioners that rent-seeking theory exists (in recently published cultural economics reference books the theory is hardly mentioned), and to encourage theoreticians further to develop their models of personal and institutional behaviour predicting and explaining it, this article suggests a simple graphical test for rent-seeking behaviour in the non-profit art world. The author hopes to reinvigorate debate about arts rent seeking and about its good and ill effects, about possible diagnostic techniques and about possible control measures.     

Evaluating legacies: Research,evidence and the regional impact of the Cultural Olympiad

From the bidding stage onwards, the London 2012 Olympics has been framed by an explicitly instrumental agenda, with objectives including increasing participation in sport in the UK and economic and physical regeneration in host sites, through investment in the Olympic Park and its surrounding infrastructure. The bid also signalled the ambition that London 2012 should be the first Olympics to deliver legacy through a nation-wide cultural programme in the build up to and alongside the Games [Kennell, J. & MacLeod, N. (2008, November 6–8). A memetic framework for the conceptualisation and evaluation of the Cultural Olympiad of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Paper presented at the 2nd Bi-annual International Tourism Studies Association conference in Shanghai, China. Retrieved from http://gala.gre.ac.uk/3951/], deliberately putting in place infrastructure for each English region and nation, shortly after the bid's success was announced. The ensuing national Cultural Olympiad, part funded by Legacy Trust UK, was evaluated through a series of research exercises which aimed to document the legacy and impact of the cultural programme. Through the case study of a regional programme in the North West of England, “We Play”, this article considers how evaluation research has been used locally to develop policy stories and legacy narratives which interpret and interact with the changing landscape of arts funding and cultural policy in the UK.     

Locus of control: A review of cross-cultural research

This paper reviews some 70 reports of cross-cultural research in locus of control done prior to 1981. Findings of cross-cultural and cross-ethnic similarities and differences are generally inconsistent and inconclusive. Neither do studies of antecedents, correlates, and consequents of the construct enhance our faith in its universal generality. Issues such as cross-cultural conceptual and functional equivalence, dimensionality, appropriateness of measuring instruments, modes of cross-cultural comparison, and theoretical contribution are raised. Potential fruitfulness of research on the control dimension is asserted, given that we attain some modifications in our methodology.     

Sameness and diversification: A global quantitative survey on cultural innovation in the visual arts

Cultural policies and cultural policy-making are closely associated with creativity and cultural innovation. While the festivals, large-scale art exhibitions and literary conferences supported by such policies play a vital part in the cultural landscape, in recent years they have been increasingly criticised as actually preventing creativity and innovativeness. The claim is that they foster a limited number of creative individuals while rejecting others, and that they are dominated by Western cultural norms that erase cultural diversity. A lack of wide-ranging empirical data with which to substantiate such claims, particularly from an historical perspective, has led to the creation of a 15,000-entry database with the names, nationalities and other details of the artists participating in perennial exhibitions, such as documenta, the Havana Biennial, Istanbul Biennial and Gwangju Biennale. These biennials and perennial exhibitions are widely regarded as vital to the definition of artistic standards and innovations in the visual arts, as exerting an important influence both in their home countries and abroad, and as encouraging the participation of artists from around the world. The first part of this paper considers which artists have appeared in regularly occurring exhibitions, determining whether the majority of them are, indeed, the same and whether there is any bias towards a particular cultural region. The second part inquires whether biennials and other regularly occurring exhibitions in the Western hemisphere “ignore” artists from other regions, or whether they, in fact, represent a global perspective. In short, this paper explores the cultural diversity of these perennial exhibitions and determines whether they favour artists from particular regions, while excluding others. The findings reveal that the data do not support these assumptions and that international exhibitions do, in fact, contribute to creativity, diversity and multiculturalism.     

Humility and Bridging Differences: A Systematic Literature Review of Humility in Relation to Diversity

Psychologists’ interest in humility has increased in recent years. This paper provides the first review on the role of humility in the context of diversity. The results of the nine studies reviewed here, which were identified through a systematic literature search, show a lack of agreement among researchers on the conceptualisation of humility and how it can be measured. Additionally, humility has been found to be associated with less prejudice towards Syrian refuges, sexual minorities and religious groups. It also seems to play a positive role in the context of religious conflicts, disagreements and conflicting views. These promising findings on humility in relation to various domains of diversity are discussed, and the limitations of this review and recommendations for future research are provided.