Quality,service level,or empire: which is the objective of the nonprofit arts firm?

In this article, we examine the objectives of nonprofit arts firms. We approach this problem from both theoretical and empirical angles, building a structural model of arts nonprofit utility that distinguishes between the maximization of quality, the organization’s level of service, and its budget. We then construct an empirical method for testing which objective is evident in firm-level data. As an example application, we test the objectives of the managers of American public radio stations in the 1990s, finding that about half of stations have discernible objectives. The data show service is not an objective for about 30% of the stations; quality can be ruled out for 49%; and budget is rejected for 69%. In addition, large stations are harder to classify by objective than small ones are.

Science and Engineering Doctoral Student Socialization,Logics, and the National Economic Agenda: Alignment or Disconnect?

This study explores the institutional logics and socialization experiences of STEM doctoral students in the context of the current American economic narrative that is specific to science and technology. Data from qualitative interviews with 36 students at three research universities first reveals a disconnect between a well-established national science and technology policy narrative that is market-oriented and the training, experiences, and perspectives of science and engineering doctoral students. Findings also indicate science and engineering doctoral students mostly understand entrepreneurship and innovation in the contexts of funding research activities and creating social impact, which parallel rather than oppose dominant academic values and norms. Based on the findings, we contend that it is both possible and prudent for universities and graduate programs to pursue strategies that align science and engineering doctoral education with the current national economic agenda and support the personal, professional values and perspectives of students without coming in conflict with the scientific core of the academy.     

Determinants of sales and price at auction for three Australian Indigenous artists: to pool or not to pool?

Albert Namatjira (1902–1959), Emily Kame Kngwarreye (c1910–1996) and Rover (Julama) Thomas (c1926–1998) are three of Australia’s best-known Indigenous artists. Each is known for one style of painting—Namatjira for watercolor on paper, Kngwarreye for acrylic (synthetic polymer) on canvas and Thomas for natural earth pigments on canvas. We estimate a sample selectivity model using data from the Australian Art Sales Digest to study the determinants of sales and the hammer price of artworks offered at auction from these artists. The results show that pre-sale information on the artwork and auction effects are significant and that the three artists studied are very different from each other. Thus, data should not be pooled when estimating these models.     

From finding to making: Jacques Rancière,Richard Rorty,and the antifoundationalist story of progress

What is the contemporary significance of the modern antifoundationalist story of progress? By offering a critique of foundationalism and representationalism, pragmatists like John Dewey and Richard Rorty elucidate the far-reaching implications of this question. This article argues that Jacques Rancière’s critique of traditional philosophy and of Louis Althusser’s version of Marxism can be regarded as an important part of the antifoundationalist story of progress. Furthermore, it highlights suggestive affinities (and some differences) between Rorty’s postmetaphysical scenario of a poeticised culture and Rancière’s notion of the aesthetic regime of art. This article seeks to prepare the ground for a comparison between Rancière’s topographical and horizontal critique and Rorty’s pragmatist humanism as nominalist historicism.