Local authority historie parks in the UK

This chapter is based on the findings of a needs assessment survey of Britain's public parks, undertaken by the Institute of Leisure and Amenity Management, on behalf of the Heritage Lottery Fund, the Department for the Environment, Transport and the Regions and English Heritage. The survey followed an earlier exercise which had highlighted the lack of data about this area of Britain's heritage. The chapter focuses particularly on historic parks and is presented in three sections: the first looking at the aims and methodology of the survey and the rate of response; the second considering the survey findings; and the third presenting its conclusions and recommendations.

The main aim of the survey was to gather data about public parks in order to assist grant‐making by the Heritage Lottery Fund, through its Urban Parks Programme. The returns were used to create a database of local authority owned parks and open spaces, providing details of size, condition, features, facilities, status, conservation designations, visitor numbers and so on. The first section reports on the responses from local authorities, 174 of which had park stock. It notes that a further survey is in process to increase the knowledge base.

The second section provides details on individual parks defined by local authorities as being of historic interest; what conservation status or value they are seen to have; what condition they are in; and what features they possess. It goes on to consider the need for objective standards, covering their various uses and the opportunities they provide, as well as for the more easily quantifiable data of size, features and catchment area. The section also includes consideration of local authority knowledge of parks, aspects of best practice, regional variations in conditions, plus recent trends in parks management, such as the known impact of Compulsory Competitive Tendering and the possible effects of Best Value. Finally, the section covers the financial and training needs for the proper maintenance of parks, and considers the questions of the numbers and kinds of park users and ways of reflecting their concerns and needs.

The third section notes the general decline in the condition of parks over the last two decades, across the whole of the country. Recommendations include immediate, medium‐term and long‐term proposals. In the short term, the authors call for the completion and maintenance of the parks database and the dissemination of its findings. In the medium term, they recommend the development of agreed definitions for parks and their features, with national standards, guidance for Best Value, sharing of best practice, development of national and local parks strategies, improved training and career opportunities, and a standard formula for visitor numbers and usage. In the long term, the authors call for greater government recognition of the role of parks in urban regeneration, a comprehensive investment programme, and the encouragement of new ways of involving users, residents and others in the further development of parks.     

Developing the evidence base for UK film strategy: the research process at the UK Film Council

The UK Film Council established a Research and Statistics Unit in order to gather data relating to film to inform the development of UK Film Council strategy and to provide an information service to the industry, government, the arts and cultural sector and the wider research community. The Research and Statistics Unit draws data from both official and unofficial sources and commissions its own special-purpose studies to gather information relevant to the strategic objectives of the Council. Key tasks are the measurement of the size of the market for film and the various elements of the film value chain, the performance of films supported by the UK Film Council and the performance of UK films in general. Special-purpose research projects currently include a detailed survey of the film production workforce, a study of the economic impact of the UK screen industries and studies of the social impact of local cinemas and the experience of Black- and Minority-led film production companies. A range of industry and official partners are collaborating in these studies. The Research and Statistics Unit also provides statistical and policy analysis relating to the wider policy environment of UK film, including issues such as the future of film tax incentives. This analysis has been developed within the HM Treasury ‘Green Book’ framework with particular reference to understanding market failure in relation to film. Central to the market failure argument is the cultural value of film in both its qualitative and its quantitative aspects. UK Film Council research is placed in the context of the literature on hedonic pricing and contingent valuation. The industrial challenges of increasing cultural value are discussed. Finally, consideration is given to the potential of film to contribute directly to ‘public value’.     

Patterns of inequality in private funding of culture across the UK

By calculating an additively decomposable inequality measure following the lines of Shorrocks (1980; see Econometrica, 48(3)) we are able to evaluate regional disparities in private funding of cultural enterprises in the UK in a novel way. The country-wide index of inequality separates funding differences across regions from disparities within regions. Using data on private investment in UK cultural organisations, we consider three datasets: the first includes 139 organisations between 1993 and 2005; the second includes 573 organisations between 2002 and 2005; the third includes 898 organisations between 2005 and 2006. Differences among the 12 UK regions account for between a quarter and a third of overall funding inequalities. The largest contributor to funding inequality of cultural institutions in the UK is the degree of heterogeneity among cultural organisations within each region. We find that successful private fundraising is not significantly associated with the region where the organisation operates or with the particular cultural expression object of its activity. These are significant findings for cultural policymakers working on addressing issues of regional concentration of culture and diversifying sources of funding for the sector.     

Non-national museum attendances in the UK. Part 2: counting them in

ABSTRACT

This is the second of two papers that together present an interim report on a study of visit numbers to UK regional and local museums. It identifies trends in museum visiting between 1891 and 2015 within the context of socio-economic change, and discusses the principle causes of annual variances (sometimes of substantial magnitude) at a local level. It suggests that changes in visit levels are generally within the control of a museum rather than the consequence of external influences, and questions how far the experience of the period since 2001 is comparable with what has gone before.     

罗丰禄:近代中国最早的职业外交家

福州豫章罗氏世居城内南营街，至五口通商福州始设英、法领事馆，外侨及传教士来者渐多，城外苍前山景物苍郁，领事馆及外侨多聚集于此，时又有教会办鹤龄英华书院（后改称英华中学），城中望族和巨商也竞置别业，罗氏亦由城内移居于此直至民国以后。罗氏家族在光绪年间出了一位职业外交家罗丰禄，丰禄字稷臣，出生于道光三十年（１８５０年），１８６７年考入福建船政学堂，他正是从这里开始走上职业外交宫的生涯。 福建船政学堂隶属于福建船政局，同治五年（１８６６年）清政府设立福建船政局，江西巡抚沈葆桢出任福建船政大臣。船政局的…     

Self-reported impacts of volunteering in UK zoos and aquariums

ABSTRACT

Zoos and aquariums are popular visitor destinations, with around 30 million visits made to them annually throughout the UK and Ireland. The role and mission of modern zoos have evolved, with the conservation of world’s remaining biodiversity now being their major purpose. They seek to aid biodiversity through a combination of public education, in situ and ex situ conservation programmes, and applied scientific research. Directly relevant to this paper, they are also institutions that actively recruit, attract and utilise volunteers. However, the impacts of volunteering in zoos and aquariums, on the volunteers themselves, are under-researched. Here we show that, in a survey of more than 500 volunteers at 19 different zoological collections in the UK, zoo volunteers report positive impacts, specifically in relation to increases in their human and social capital. We also found that these benefits were more pronounced in younger volunteers, and with those volunteers who received more initial training. We conclude that while volunteering in UK zoos correlates with significant personal benefits to individuals, zoos could aim higher and should seek to do more to maximise the positive effects of connecting volunteers with the wildlife and nature found in zoo settings, as well as tailoring their volunteer training programmes for different age groups.     

Health,functioning and social engagement among the UK Chinese

The present study examines factors associated with health, functioning and social engagement among Chinese in the UK. A total of 211 Chinese men and women aged between 15 and 79 years were recruited through a selection of Chinese social organisations across the UK. Data was collected using a self-completion questionnaire, which included domains examining health and functioning and social functioning; among others. Poor health and functioning was associated with levels of social support. Social engagement was associated with high levels of social support, network size, and contribution to others, emphasising the importance of meaningful social engagement. Those individuals with good cognitive and physical functioning felt more of a sense of social cohesion and inclusion and respect from others than individuals with poorer functioning. Findings emphasise the UK Chinese community's reliance on informal support networks rather than the utilisation of formal networks, which may go some way to explain the reported underutilisation of formal health and social support services among this community.     

Commercial radio: Serving UK communities

Sixty‐six per cent of the UK adult population listen to commercial radio and 77 per cent of all listening to UK local radio is captured by the commercial sector. While those working within this sector argue that it provides a popular and innovative broadcasting service, outside the sector opinion is mixed as to whether commercial radio offers much of value to UK society.

This chapter examines the claim that commercial radio stations function as public service broadcasters. In doing so, it seeks to discover what commercial radio offers listeners that can be defined as public service broadcasting. It identifies the social benefits offered by commercial radio, such as the involvement of listeners, the provision of information and encouraging citizenship, and it explains how these processes work, as well as providing what data have been collected on the sector as evidence. Finally, the chapter closes with a discussion of the capacity of all radio to draw on these social benefits and prosper in an era of technological change.     

＂ China in London 2008＂ Brings China and UK Closer

On February 6, 2008, the eve of the Chinese Year of Rat, Chinese red lanterns ignited major shopping streets of London. For the third year running, the ＂China in London＂ season was officially launched with grand parades. This spectacular event, aiming to showcase China＇s fascinating history and culture and strengthen ties between China and UK, has attracted a huge number of local residents and many prestigious institutions like the British Museum and the Royal Opera House.