Hurricane Katrina forced the largest and most abrupt displacement in US history. About 1.5 millio... more Hurricane Katrina forced the largest and most abrupt displacement in US history. About 1.5 million people evacuated from the Gulf Coast preceding Katrina's landfall. New Orleans, a city of 500,000, was nearly emptied of life after the hurricane and flooding. Katrina survivors eventually scattered across all fifty states, and tens of thousands still remain displaced. Some are desperate to return to the Gulf Coast but cannot find the means. Others have chosen to make their homes elsewhere. Still others found a way to return home but were ...
tors driving the lack of success of pronatalist policy in Singapore, the book offers several usef... more tors driving the lack of success of pronatalist policy in Singapore, the book offers several useful elements to the scholar of population policy or to someone teaching on the topic. Chapter Two provides a nice summary of the literature on the impact of pronatalist population policies on fertility outcomes, drawing from northern European and Asian countries. For those who are specifically interested in Singapore’s population policy, or in the details of population policy in specific contexts, Chapter Two and Appendix A provide a comprehensive history of the exact amounts of baby bonus schemes, changes in parental leave, and other subsidies and rebates provided to encourage fertility over time. The 2008 government pamphlet reproduced on pages 33–34, ‘‘Marriage and Parenthood Package,’’ provides wonderful insight into the government’s efforts. Among other things, it depicts cartoon parents with threebaby strollers and provides contact information for government-sponsored matchmaking services. Although rich in detail about the population policy, as well as the various funds set up by the Singaporean government for retirement, education, housing, and health, the book’s ultimate contribution to citizenship studies could have been more fully expressed. In particular, while Sun is right to point out that, ‘‘the making of future citizens is a joint enterprise—the reproduction of the nation at the state level, and family planning at the individual level’’ (p. 8), the empirical component of the book does not address the reproduction of the nation. Indeed, while Sun’s interviews reveal Singaporean’s desires for greater government support for childbearing, and that many feel their jobs are threatened by foreign workers, they speak very little to questions of national identity or citizenship. Furthermore, while Sun clearly describes the state’s creation of a disciplined population of workers in the background chapters, it would have been interesting to further address (perhaps with reference to Foucault) how the level of discipline may actually limit the state’s capacity to manage reproduction. Thus while the ‘‘state regards citizens as human resources’’ (p. 16) for sure, this view has not yet pushed the government to fund pronatalist programs sufficiently to increase fertility. There are also many places in the book, both in the presentation of the literature as well as the results from the interviews, where it would have been nice to hear more of Sun’s own voice, as opposed to providing direct quotations. The lingering question at the end of the book is whether the government of Singapore can actually increase fertility through policy mechanisms. Sun describes the overall ethos in Singapore as ‘‘welfare is primarily the citizen’s responsibility, not the state’s’’ (p. 40). The implication from the most ‘‘successful’’ examples of pronatalist population policy in northern Europe—where massive government expenditure has increased total fertility rates by fractions of a birth—is that the Singaporean state would have to switch to seeing citizens’ welfare as its own responsibility in order to increase fertility. Doing so would be a major shift from the stance it has taken since independence in 1965, but short of increasing immigration yet further, might be necessary in order to ensure Singapore’s continued economic success.
This bibliography was developed to assist the Illinois Arts Alliance (IAA) with the task of deter... more This bibliography was developed to assist the Illinois Arts Alliance (IAA) with the task of determining the need for a publication about interim directors specific to nonprofit arts organizations. Sources were compiled through scans of academic databases, internet search engines, information culled from consulting firms that provide interim director services for nonprofits, and recommendations from the staff of the IAA. To build the bibliography, search terms included: interim director, executive director, nonprofit management, nonprofit management change, nonprofit transition services, and nonprofit consultants. As is evident below, there is a variety of literature available. These sources range from fully refereed journals, to a range of specialized publications by consultants, nonprofit organizations, advocacy groups, and others. Articles published by refereed journals involve teams of scholars that review and assess an article for its quality and the contribution it makes to a s...
As the editor, Celina Jeffery, points out, this is a relatively under-researched topic in spite o... more As the editor, Celina Jeffery, points out, this is a relatively under-researched topic in spite of the fact that the practice of artists acting as curators – particularly of their own works – has been a conventional practice since as far back as the nineteenth century and maybe longer. Whether the motivation is dissatisfaction with exclusion, the conceptual framing of their work in exhibitions or texts or the meanings ascribed to their work, artists have often taken it upon themselves to select and present their work on their own. Such agency, accompanied by criticism or challenges to contemporary norms, has involved border crossing, deconstruction and redefinition – all of relevance to a broad range professionals working in visual studies interested in how meaning is constructed. Within the fine arts and the social sciences, such challenges often require new ways of thinking, and in this case it pushes the envelope on what constitutes an artist, a curator, an art form and an exhibition. As such, this book may have broader appeal than to just artists or curators. The impetus to understand these inventions underpins the growing interest in research on the topic of ‘the artist as curator’.
Chicago is internationally known for the excellence of its major cultural institutions, which att... more Chicago is internationally known for the excellence of its major cultural institutions, which attract millions of visitors every year. What is the relationship between these organizations and the diverse population of Chicago? This study takes a significant step toward answering this question. Mapping Cultural Participation in Chicago is the first study of its kind of a major U.S. metropolitan area, and draws upon data – ticket purchases, subscriptions, donor lists – from Chicago's 12 largest cultural organizations and 49 smaller organizations. This information was linked to census data on socio-economic status, race, and ethnicity to provide neighborhood-by-neighborhood maps of participation patterns. The study, funded by a grant from the Joyce Foundation, establishes the first benchmark to enable organizations to assess the future effectiveness of their diversity-building efforts among African-Americans and Latinos. Researchers, led by Professors Robert LaLonde and Colm O'...
ABSTRACT: This analysis of public parading in New Orleans extends a cultural sociology framework ... more ABSTRACT: This analysis of public parading in New Orleans extends a cultural sociology framework to shed new light on the importance of public parades in the construction of meaning in the postdisaster city. Not dependent upon a functioning city structure for their existence, public parades reemerged in the months following Katrina and have remained self-generating resources creating the logic and momentum for rebuilding communities and meaning in local life. Among these are parades of Mardi Gras Indian Tribes and Social Aid and Pleasure Clubs in which historical narratives of fictive Indian tribes and fictive nouveau riche are annually reinvented. Performances—involving body adornment, processional display, improvisational music, and dance—express symbols of freedom, while the collective participation that is a central tenet to these rituals creates an enduring cultural consciousness of self and city. For participants and observers, these mass gatherings on public streets provide a purpose, a process, and a gauge of recovery of the city’s culture in post-Katrina New Orleans.
Hurricane Katrina forced the largest and most abrupt displacement in US history. About 1.5 millio... more Hurricane Katrina forced the largest and most abrupt displacement in US history. About 1.5 million people evacuated from the Gulf Coast preceding Katrina's landfall. New Orleans, a city of 500,000, was nearly emptied of life after the hurricane and flooding. Katrina survivors eventually scattered across all fifty states, and tens of thousands still remain displaced. Some are desperate to return to the Gulf Coast but cannot find the means. Others have chosen to make their homes elsewhere. Still others found a way to return home but were ...
tors driving the lack of success of pronatalist policy in Singapore, the book offers several usef... more tors driving the lack of success of pronatalist policy in Singapore, the book offers several useful elements to the scholar of population policy or to someone teaching on the topic. Chapter Two provides a nice summary of the literature on the impact of pronatalist population policies on fertility outcomes, drawing from northern European and Asian countries. For those who are specifically interested in Singapore’s population policy, or in the details of population policy in specific contexts, Chapter Two and Appendix A provide a comprehensive history of the exact amounts of baby bonus schemes, changes in parental leave, and other subsidies and rebates provided to encourage fertility over time. The 2008 government pamphlet reproduced on pages 33–34, ‘‘Marriage and Parenthood Package,’’ provides wonderful insight into the government’s efforts. Among other things, it depicts cartoon parents with threebaby strollers and provides contact information for government-sponsored matchmaking services. Although rich in detail about the population policy, as well as the various funds set up by the Singaporean government for retirement, education, housing, and health, the book’s ultimate contribution to citizenship studies could have been more fully expressed. In particular, while Sun is right to point out that, ‘‘the making of future citizens is a joint enterprise—the reproduction of the nation at the state level, and family planning at the individual level’’ (p. 8), the empirical component of the book does not address the reproduction of the nation. Indeed, while Sun’s interviews reveal Singaporean’s desires for greater government support for childbearing, and that many feel their jobs are threatened by foreign workers, they speak very little to questions of national identity or citizenship. Furthermore, while Sun clearly describes the state’s creation of a disciplined population of workers in the background chapters, it would have been interesting to further address (perhaps with reference to Foucault) how the level of discipline may actually limit the state’s capacity to manage reproduction. Thus while the ‘‘state regards citizens as human resources’’ (p. 16) for sure, this view has not yet pushed the government to fund pronatalist programs sufficiently to increase fertility. There are also many places in the book, both in the presentation of the literature as well as the results from the interviews, where it would have been nice to hear more of Sun’s own voice, as opposed to providing direct quotations. The lingering question at the end of the book is whether the government of Singapore can actually increase fertility through policy mechanisms. Sun describes the overall ethos in Singapore as ‘‘welfare is primarily the citizen’s responsibility, not the state’s’’ (p. 40). The implication from the most ‘‘successful’’ examples of pronatalist population policy in northern Europe—where massive government expenditure has increased total fertility rates by fractions of a birth—is that the Singaporean state would have to switch to seeing citizens’ welfare as its own responsibility in order to increase fertility. Doing so would be a major shift from the stance it has taken since independence in 1965, but short of increasing immigration yet further, might be necessary in order to ensure Singapore’s continued economic success.
This bibliography was developed to assist the Illinois Arts Alliance (IAA) with the task of deter... more This bibliography was developed to assist the Illinois Arts Alliance (IAA) with the task of determining the need for a publication about interim directors specific to nonprofit arts organizations. Sources were compiled through scans of academic databases, internet search engines, information culled from consulting firms that provide interim director services for nonprofits, and recommendations from the staff of the IAA. To build the bibliography, search terms included: interim director, executive director, nonprofit management, nonprofit management change, nonprofit transition services, and nonprofit consultants. As is evident below, there is a variety of literature available. These sources range from fully refereed journals, to a range of specialized publications by consultants, nonprofit organizations, advocacy groups, and others. Articles published by refereed journals involve teams of scholars that review and assess an article for its quality and the contribution it makes to a s...
As the editor, Celina Jeffery, points out, this is a relatively under-researched topic in spite o... more As the editor, Celina Jeffery, points out, this is a relatively under-researched topic in spite of the fact that the practice of artists acting as curators – particularly of their own works – has been a conventional practice since as far back as the nineteenth century and maybe longer. Whether the motivation is dissatisfaction with exclusion, the conceptual framing of their work in exhibitions or texts or the meanings ascribed to their work, artists have often taken it upon themselves to select and present their work on their own. Such agency, accompanied by criticism or challenges to contemporary norms, has involved border crossing, deconstruction and redefinition – all of relevance to a broad range professionals working in visual studies interested in how meaning is constructed. Within the fine arts and the social sciences, such challenges often require new ways of thinking, and in this case it pushes the envelope on what constitutes an artist, a curator, an art form and an exhibition. As such, this book may have broader appeal than to just artists or curators. The impetus to understand these inventions underpins the growing interest in research on the topic of ‘the artist as curator’.
Chicago is internationally known for the excellence of its major cultural institutions, which att... more Chicago is internationally known for the excellence of its major cultural institutions, which attract millions of visitors every year. What is the relationship between these organizations and the diverse population of Chicago? This study takes a significant step toward answering this question. Mapping Cultural Participation in Chicago is the first study of its kind of a major U.S. metropolitan area, and draws upon data – ticket purchases, subscriptions, donor lists – from Chicago's 12 largest cultural organizations and 49 smaller organizations. This information was linked to census data on socio-economic status, race, and ethnicity to provide neighborhood-by-neighborhood maps of participation patterns. The study, funded by a grant from the Joyce Foundation, establishes the first benchmark to enable organizations to assess the future effectiveness of their diversity-building efforts among African-Americans and Latinos. Researchers, led by Professors Robert LaLonde and Colm O'...
ABSTRACT: This analysis of public parading in New Orleans extends a cultural sociology framework ... more ABSTRACT: This analysis of public parading in New Orleans extends a cultural sociology framework to shed new light on the importance of public parades in the construction of meaning in the postdisaster city. Not dependent upon a functioning city structure for their existence, public parades reemerged in the months following Katrina and have remained self-generating resources creating the logic and momentum for rebuilding communities and meaning in local life. Among these are parades of Mardi Gras Indian Tribes and Social Aid and Pleasure Clubs in which historical narratives of fictive Indian tribes and fictive nouveau riche are annually reinvented. Performances—involving body adornment, processional display, improvisational music, and dance—express symbols of freedom, while the collective participation that is a central tenet to these rituals creates an enduring cultural consciousness of self and city. For participants and observers, these mass gatherings on public streets provide a purpose, a process, and a gauge of recovery of the city’s culture in post-Katrina New Orleans.
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Papers by Diane Grams