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.     

A Note on Kalhori Kinship Terms

Despite the great number of studies conducted by Western scholars exploring kinship terminologies in different languages, there seems to have been little attempt at dealing with kin words in Iranian languages like Kurdish. More specifically, Kalhori, as a southern dialect of Kurdish, has rarely been subject to studies of this nature. Underlining the significance of such studies in the wider linguistic and anthropological contexts, this study attempts to explore kin words Kalhori speakers use to refer to or address their relatives. We also make an attempt to investigate the possibility of presenting a formal explanation of the terms by placing them in a componential analysis framework.     

New compositional data on ancient mortars from Hagia Sophia (Istanbul,Turkey)

This study shows the results of a multidisciplinary collaboration between the University of Calabria (Italy) and the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), about the compositional characterization of some mortars taken from Hagia Sophia in Istanbul (Turkey), one of the most important buildings in antiquity. Twenty samples of joint mortars were analysed by micro-chemical analyses (SEM-EDS), X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD), optical microscopy (OM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The compositional study allowed us to define, with more detail, the construction phases of the fifth, sixth and tenth century. The petrographic analysis in thin section by optical microscopy showed four typologies of sands, used as aggregate, with specific compositional features. SEM-EDS analyses and TEM observations of the binder around the ceramic fragments of the aggregate showed the presence of different morphologies of single C-S-H compounds.     

“Global/local” community engagement: advancing integrative learning and situated solidarity

This article illustrates how “global/local” community engagement, a particular form of experiential learning and political work that draws upon geography conceptually, pedagogically, and programmatically, is well suited to advance integrative learning and invite students into social action. Through specific examples from Mount Holyoke College, we argue that “global/local” community engagement helps students cultivate the skills and dispositions of reciprocity, reflexivity, and place-based and interdependent knowledge production. These are habits of mind and patterns of praxis necessary for enacting “situated solidarity,” a practice with great potential for grappling with the complex challenges and marked divisiveness of the twenty-first century. As our empirical examples demonstrate, the geographic concept of contour lines matched with the pedagogies of accompaniment and co-labor guide “global/local” community engagement. We conclude with a set of recommendations for implementing “global/local” community engagement in other institutions of higher education to reveal the context-specificity of our examples and the possibilities for application elsewhere.     

A characterisation study of Ubaid period ceramics from As-Sabbiya,Kuwait, using a non-destructive portable X-Ray fluorescence (pXRF) spectrometer and petrographic analyses

The Ubaid cultural phenomena (6500–4200 BC) of southern Mesopotamia has been used to characterise other archaeological sites in the Arabian Gulf region. The aim of this inquiry is to explore the nature of the interaction between the homeland of the Ubaid and the wider Gulf region. Through the use of a non-destructive portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) spectrometer, this study seeks to characterise and identify the chemical and mineralogical compositions of the ceramic assemblage from the Bahra 1 site of the As-Sabbiya region, Kuwait. The chemical results demonstrated that a combination of six trace elements [rubidium (Rb), strontium (Sr), yttrium (Y), zirconium (Zr), niobium (Nb) and barium (Ba)] occur significantly enough to delineate clay-based artifact groups—local red coarse from Ubaid, while the mineralogical analysis confirms the pXRF result and identifies the source of the raw materials and temper as well. Also, the comparison between the Ubaid and Bronze Age assemblage results suggests that potters used different clay resources within their own regions and/or production techniques.