New technologies in cultural institutions: theory,evidence and policy implications

Publicly-funded cultural institutions such as theatre companies, symphony orchestras, museums, libraries and so on are increasingly engaging with new technologies as a means of improving their operational efficiency and extending the range of ways in which they pursue their cultural missions. For example, opera companies are broadcasting performances by satellite to cinemas, and art museums are using the Internet to show virtual exhibitions. These developments have implications for funding authorities who need to update their policy approaches to encompass a range of new technological phenomena. This paper provides a framework for assessing technological innovation in cultural institutions, and discusses the ramifications of such a framework for cultural policy. The paper is illustrated using the results of a recent research project that evaluated the UK National Theatre’s NT Live experiment and the Tate Gallery’s use of a web-based exhibition as strategies to expand their audience reach.     

Russia's penal peripheries: space, place and penalty in Soviet and post-Soviet Russia

Russia has a distinctive 'geography of punishment' that is the product of the use of the peripheries as a place of exile and incarceration. Framing the analysis in a discussion of recent penal theory, including in the works of Michel Foucault, the author traces the formation of Russia's penal peripheries up to the present day and uses the example of the north of Perm' oblast to analyse the process involved in forging a 'penal region'.     

The shock of the old: architectural preservation in Soviet Russia

In Soviet sources from the Brezhnev era, the history of architectural preservation after 1917 was presented as a triumph of rational state‐building and cultural organisation: with the support of Lenin, the Bolshevik government had rapidly put in place effective measures to protect historic buildings for future generations. As this article shows, the evolution of legislative and practical measures was considerably more complicated than this optimistic representation would suggest. In the early Soviet period, a highly ideologised understanding of the past meant that preservationist ambitions might (especially during the ‘Great Break’ of 1928–1932) be seen as intrinsically reactionary. The canon of historical buildings was shaped by perceptions of centrality to Soviet values, as well as historical and aesthetic importance. The article also explores the transformation of attitudes to architectural heritage as a response to destruction by the invading forces during the ‘Great Patriotic War’, after which commitment to preservation became far more whole‐hearted, although enforcement and financial support continued to be inconsistent. The Soviet case indicates not just the importance of heritage preservation to the cultural ambitions and self‐image of the modern state but the limits of commitment to preservation and the pressure placed on this by the commitment to all‐out modernisation and to the propaganda of new identities and values.     

从"正常化"走向"睦邻友好"--1989～1992年中苏(俄)关系简析

1989～1992年是中苏(俄)关系史上一个重要的时期,它包括三个阶段:中苏关系实现正常化(1989年);中苏关系过渡到中俄关系(1991年);建立睦邻友好原则(1992年).在这三个阶段中,"正常化"是核心,它贯穿其间,使三个阶段紧密相连.中苏关系之所以实现"正常化"主要是由国际形势的变化和两国的国家利益所决定的.此外,灵活的政策运用在处理"三大障碍"问题上发挥了重要的作用,为中苏关系正常化的最终实现创造了不可或缺的条件.中苏关系正常化,对后来的中苏(俄)关系产生了深远的影响,其中最重要的就是确立了新型的国家关系,使两国关系经受住了国际形势风云变幻的考验,奠定了两国关系稳定发展的基础.     

Monumentality in Urban Design: The Case of Russia

A prominent American urban geographer and observer of the Russian urban scene provides an overview of grand planning and monumental urban design in Russia and the former Soviet Union through the lens of four themes outlined in a previous paper by Larry Ford (2008). In the process, he adds two more themes relevant to Russia and the former USSR: town building and architecture intended to define and legitimize state power, and the shaping or remodeling of society to reflect a regime's ideology. Noting the obstacles in the West to getting large urban projects planned, accepted, and completed, he argues that monumental urban landscapes appear to demand some degree of sustained, centralized, authoritarian leadership. The latter has been present in Russia and the USSR during much of the past millennium, including the present, but the emergence of new commercial/corporate forces in urban land development also bears scrutiny in studies of the processes promoting urban monumentality. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: O18, R14, R52. 10 figures, 44 references.     

浅论苏区文化建设

中国共产党一贯重视文化建设。早在民主革命时期,党就在苏区根据地建立了专门的文化教育组织机构,颁布了一系列方针政策,尤其是在知识分子政策上纠正了"左"倾关门主义错误,广泛吸收利用知识分子。由此,苏区的文化教育事业蒸蒸日上,取得了令人瞩目的辉煌成就。     

Enhancing the mobility of collections and access to cultural heritage: immunity of cultural objects from seizure in Poland

This paper analyses, from the perspective of cultural policy considerations, the legal regime established by the recent Polish law on the immunity from seizure of cultural property on loan (2015). It deals with current trends of international museum exchange and explains the benefits and risks involved in cross-border loans of cultural material. This analysis is carried out by focusing on the actual practice and experiences of Polish museums, national and international regulations in force, and human rights considerations. The authors attempt to situate the Polish model for the protection of foreign cultural property on loan within the broader comparative context of the domestic legislation on museum exchange adopted in selected national jurisdictions. The article also offers a more general cultural policy discussion in the context of international museum exchanges of cultural material. Laws and policies facilitating such exchanges are weighed against other rights and interests encompassed in the protection of cultural heritage and the realisation of all human rights, including cultural rights.     

From revolutionary heroism to cultural heritage: museums,memory and representation in Laos

ABSTRACT. Museum exhibitions in Laos represent two main strands of Lao national identity discourse. First, they glorify the ‘liberation struggle’ of the so‐called ‘Lao multiethnic people’ under the leadership of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party, and therefore serve as important ideological tools for the current regime's self‐legitimisation. Second, they display the history and cultural heritage of the Lao nation, providing the postcolonial state with a narrative of historical continuity and civilisation that is focused mostly on the dominant ethnic Lao culture. This article explores the contradictions within official images of the Lao nation‐state and how these opposing strands of national identity compete or interact. Museums as key arenas of ideological tensions constitute illuminating fields of research on discourses of national identity in Laos.     

18-20世纪俄国的国家与现代化

传统社会向现代社会的过渡常常导致社会冲突,解决冲突的方式不一,其中以改革和革命为主.当改革不足以解决尖锐的社会冲突之时,革命便不可避免,旧制度随之寿终正寝,而由国家实施的改革模式则力主法律的继承性和合理化变化.19-20世纪初的俄国则成为这样两种社会发展模式博弈的舞台.俄国通过革命解决了当时的社会冲突,其革命模式对许多亚非拉国家产生了深远影响.然而,这些采取革命方式解决冲突的国家多以失败告终,不仅未能步入现代化道路,反而使国家陷入混乱状态.现代化进程顺利与否完全取决于其自身的历史条件与外部因素,盲目效仿他人不足取.     

俄罗斯华侨历史概述

从19世纪中期开始, 华侨问题就引起了俄罗斯政府和学者的注意。俄罗斯华侨见证并参与了远东地区的开发和十月革命, 而后又经历了国内战争、新经济政策、工业化、农业集体化、卫国战争等剧烈的社会动荡和变革。无数华侨为苏维埃政权的诞生、苏联社会主义建设以及抗击德国法西斯入侵奉献了自己的力量和生命。与此同时, 复杂多变的俄(苏) 中两国关系以及远东地区政治和军事局势对俄罗斯华侨的命运产生了种种不利影响。本文分1917年二月革命和十月革命之前、革命和国内战争期间以及苏联时期三个时期, 对19 世纪中期至20 世纪中期的俄罗斯华侨历史进行考察,以加强两国学者对俄罗斯华侨问题的了解和交流。     

Immigration to Russia: Inevitability and Prospective Inflows

A U.S.-based geographer joins a senior Russian demographer in an effort to explore the potential flows of immigrants to Russia (principally from the Commonwealth of Independent States and to a lesser extent from China) to stem the country's recent population decline and compensate for looming decreases in the country's working-age inhabitants. More specifically, they examine the demand for immigration to Russia and assess the likelihood of three possible scenarios (high, medium, and low) to meet that demand by 2026. Particular attention is paid to the likely interplay of immigration and domestic migration in terms of its effects on the future distribution of migrants among Russia's federal districts. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: F220, J110, J210, J610. 6 figures, 4 tables, 33 references.     

Marginalized for a lifetime: The everyday experiences of gulag survivors in post-Soviet Magadan

Over the past decade notions of social capital have become embedded in the social development lexicon, often presented as the ‘missing link’ within development theory. Much social capital‐based research takes Robert Putnam's theorization of the subject as its starting point. Putnam's work argues that social capital can be measured by a region's levels of trust and civic engagement. While its use, and conceptualization, has undergone much academic debate, often formal institutions still employ this very narrow, and arguably Western‐centric, reading of the subject. This paper argues that while at the micro‐level social capital has little to do with the civic engagement and trust theories posited by Putnam, it still has relevance to the lives of marginalized individuals and is an important factor in their continued survival. To explore this, drawing on extensive qualitative research conducted in Magadan, Moscow and St Petersburg, I critically examine the construction of everyday survival strategies among Gulag survivors living in Russia's far northeast city of Magadan. Denied a return to their ‘homeland’ upon their release, this group experienced considerable marginalization in the post‐Stalin period. This was exacerbated when the collapse of the Soviet Union saw pensions in the far northeast of Russia fall to below 50% of the state‐set subsistence minimum. The paper demonstrates the importance of social capital to this group by showing how their survival is based on far more than interactions with formal and informal organizations.     

对改革开放以来我国文化产业政策绩效的几点思考

产业政策绩效问题一直是我国产业理论研究的难点和薄弱环节。本文回顾了我国文化产业政策的实践历程,对我国文化产业政策的绩效进行了比较系统的分析评估,认为我国文化产业政策虽取得了一定成效,但总的效果并不理想。作者在分析了其中原因后指出,要提高文化产业政策绩效,必须适应形势的要求对我国文化产业政策作出必要的调整。     

Measuring Complex State Policies: Pitfalls and Considerations,with an Application to Race and Welfare Policy

Welfare policy is multidimensional because of the political compromises, competing goals, and federalist structure underpinning it. This complexity has hindered measurement and, therefore, the comparability of research on race and welfare policy. This paper describes a measurement strategy that is transparent, replicable, and attuned to matching the assumptions of statistical models to the policy process. We demonstrate that this strategy leads to more nuanced conclusions regarding the relationship between minority caseloads and the flexibility of state welfare policies. The strategy and recommendations are adaptable to research agendas that scholars bring to the comparative study of welfare in the U.S. states, countries, or other units—and to other complex policies enacted in federal systems.     

Public game funding in the Nordic region

ABSTRACT

In this paper, we explore the policies related to support structures surrounding national game industries, with focus on the three Nordic countries Finland, Norway and Sweden, and investigate what kind of context the Nordic welfare state model has provided for game development. The three cases illustrate how Nordic welfare state measures have interacted with the games industry over time. While the political ideals have been fairly similar, our study demonstrates how the objectives and practical means of state engagement have differed significantly. We argue that although the three countries all have support schemes of which game companies can take advantage, there are significant differences in the degree to which each individual country has organized government interventions and support. While the Finnish state has treated game development as an endeavour in business development, the regional Nordic game program and the Norwegian state has developed a cultural policy that primarily aims to protect the cultural heritage. The Swedish state has not established a tailormade policy directed towards game development but has a broad spectrum of general policies for supporting research and business development. We suggest that future research should investigate how the public funding is structured and how discourses are formulated around appeals for more public funding for the games industry.     

对在华苏联专家问题的历史考察:基本状况及政策变化

向国外派遣大量专家和顾问 ,是冷战时代社会主义国家之间关系的一种特别现象。本文以大量中国地方档案和俄国解密档案及当事人回忆为依据 ,讨论了 2 0世纪 5 0年代在华苏联专家的基本状况。作者认为 ,1 0年之间约 2万名苏联专家来华 ,完全是中国巩固政权和发展经济的要求 ;中苏双方对短时间内大量专家来华都缺乏必要的准备和严格的管理 ;1 95 4— 1 95 6年是专家来华的高潮 ,受波兰事件影响 ,从 1 95 7年双方加强对专家来华的控制 ;1 95 7— 1 96 0年中国实行少而精的原则 ,特别要求增加国防新技术专家 ,但中苏关系恶化导致专家工作停顿。苏联派往中国的专家人数最多 ,时间最长 ,加强这一课题的研究 ,对探讨社会主义国家关系特点 ,分析中苏同盟破裂的原因 ,以及思考中国走向现代化的发展道路具有特别意义。     

苏联社会文化定式的形成、特点和演变

文化定式是指在跨文化交际过程中,人们将具有相同特征的一群人或者任何民族、种族塑造成一定的形象。不同的社会文化背景和历史条件下,人们对事物的认识会发生变化,有时认识与真实情况完全相悖。苏联不同时期社会对外部世界的认识不一,根本原因在于官方宣传的引导,次要原因是社会传统和文化传承。既有的社会文化定式将长期影响人们对事物的认识。     

Germans from Russia in Saskatchewan: An Oral History

The Germans from Russia are a prominent settlement group in the rural landscape of Saskatchewan. Perhaps because they came incrementally, by chain migration, rather than by organized group colonization, they compose an ethnic group little noticed by historians. Also, their immediate origins are divided, inasmuch as earlier German-Russian immigrants came directly from Russia, whereas many twentieth-century German-Russian immigrants came to Canada from the United States, mainly from North Dakota and South Dakota. This article offers the first focused, scholarly historical treatment of German-Russian immigration and life in Saskatchewan. Drawing on oral histories collected with the support of the Faculty Research Program of the Canadian Embassy, it focuses particularly on growing up German-Russian on the prairies, positing a German-Russian ethnic identity distinct both from neighbor immigrant groups in Saskatchewan and from origin communities in the United States.     

No Race in Any Direction: State Welfare and Income Regimes

This paper has two objectives. First, we examine state adoption and implementation of income support policies under the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996. We develop a composite measure of income support that includes welfare programs that scholars traditionally investigate and adds optional policies that encourage independence through work. Second, we engage a substantive focus on the administrative ability and willingness of states to adopt and implement sophisticated income support policies. We investigate the extent to which state government professionalism, ideology, economic resources, and racially based policies have shaped state policy. We find that the percentage of the state population is liberal; state racial demographics and governmental professionalism are critical determinants of state welfare and income support regimes. Significantly, we find no evidence that states are converging toward high‐quality, effectively financed welfare policies or income regime policies to help the poor move into and economically survive in the job market.